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LATIN 226: Roman Lyric

Spring 2003 ¥ Wheaton College

11:30 Ð 12:20 MWF ¥ Meneely Hall 303

 

Professor Mulligan ¥ Knapton Hall 119

E-Mail: bmulliga@wheatonma.edu ¥ Tel: x3661

Office Hours: M W F 9.30-10.20; M W 2-3

 

Course Description and Objectives:

 

Latin 226 is an intermediate-level Latin literature course that will introduce you to selections of Latin lyric poetry from the 2^nd century BCE to the 20^th century CE. The focus of the class will be on developing your ability to read and appreciate Latin lyric poetry. Special attention will be paid to the formal analysis of poetry and in gaining a familiarity with lyric meters.

 

What is Lyric poetry? Originally a term used to describe songs sung to the accompaniment of a lyre, lyric poetry has come to designate all non-dramatic poetry not composed in dactylic hexameter (e.g. epic, satire) or elegaic couplets (e.g elegy, epigrams). ÒLyric" therefore encompasses a vast range of poetry, including hymns to gods, erotic poetry, brutal ad hominem attacks, and philosophical meditations.

 

Weeks 1-10: We will begin by reading selections from the two major surviving lyric poets of Roman antiquity: Catullus (c. 84-54 BCE) and Horace (December 8^th, 65 Ð November 27^th, 8 BCE). Catullus, a provincial aristocrat from northern Italy, was a leading member of an avant-garde group of writers called the "Poetae Novi", poets who openly rejected traditional Italian poetic forms and themes in favor of Greek lyric conventions and meters.  Horace, the son of a freedman from a region to the southeast of Rome, was less of an overt radical than Catullus but nevertheless pushed the poetic potential of the Latin language to new heights. In the pages of his Odes can be found some of the most beautiful and well-wrought poems ever written. Because both Catullus and Horace often consciously imitating and adapting Greek poetry, whenever possible we will read samples of Greek lyric (in translation) that influenced the Roman lyric poets.

 

Weeks 11-13: After gaining an appreciation for the canonical works on Roman lyric, we will survey examples of lyrics from the 1^st and 2^nd centuries CE (Petronius, Marcus Aurelius), Late Antiquity (Ausonius, Boethius, Ambrose, Fortunatus), the Middle Ages (Carmina Burana, Ecclesiastical Hymns and Songs), and contemporary ÒNeo-Latin.Ó

 

Course Format, Requirements, Grading:

 

Much of our class time will be devoted to reading and examining prepared texts and in developing skills and strategies for accurately reading Latin. This requires consistent, diligent preparation of the assigned material. While I encourage you to make use of multiple translations in preparing assignments, it is essential that you incorporate the interpretations therein in your own interpretation of the poem. You will be expected to have read and re-read Latin assignments until you can explain Ð preferably from an unmarked text - both what is being said and how the language of the passage creates that meaning.

 

In order to target the pace of the class as accurately as possible, a syllabus for the following week will be provided every Friday. Assignments are due on the day listed in the syllabus. Adequate advanced notice of exams and papers will be provided.

 

As you well know, language acquisition and cultivation requires daily preparation, attendance, and participation. Because of the unavoidable vicissitudes of fate and health, I will excuse up to 2 absences in the course of the semester. Additional absences without my prior approval will result in a reduction of your course grade by 3 points.

 

I will evaluate you based on your performance in class, on written homework assignments (also known as parsing assignments), and on frequent announced and unannounced quizzes. Throughout the semester, various topics will be assigned for brief in-class presentations. Also, there will be short projects and presentations spread throughout the semester culminating in an 8-10 page final project. These will allow the class to gain a broader understanding of the historical epochs under consideration and of the production and interpretation of poetic texts.

 

Your final grade will be calculated based on the following formula:

á       Class preparation & Assignments             40%

á       In-semester exams & Quizzes                 20%

á       Final Project:                                          20%   

á       Short papers and presentations:               20%

á       Attendance                                              +/-

 

Required Texts (226)

 

• Catullus = The Student's Catullus, 2nd edition, ed. Daniel H. Garrison. Oklahoma University Press, 2000. ISBN: 0806127635 ($19.95)
• Catullus/Lee = The Poems of Catullus, Guy Lee trans. Oxford University Press, 1998. ($10.95)
• Horace = Horace Odes and Epodes: A New Annotated Latin Edition, ed. Daniel H. Garrison. Oklahoma University Press, 1998. ISBN: 0806130571 ($21.95)
• Horace/West = The Complete Odes and Epodes, David West trans. Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN: 019283942X ($10.95)
• Miller = Miller, Andrew W.. Greek Lyric: An Anthology. Hackett Publishing, 1996. ISBN: 0872202917 ($11.95)

 

Suggested Text (226)

 

• A&G = Allen and Greenough's New Latin Grammar, Anne Mahoney ed. Focus Publishing, 2001. ISBN: 1585100277
• Halporn = The Meters of Greek and Latin Poetry. James W. Halporn, Martin Ostwald, Thomas G. Rosenmeyer. Hackett Publishing, 1994. ISBN: 0872202437
• Wheelock = R. A. LaFleur, ed., WheelockÕs Latin, 6th edition, Harper-Collins, 2000.
  ISBN:  0060956410