Week 7

A Poet of His Times

Mar. 10

Primary Readings: Horace Odes 1.14 (O navis, referent in mare - 20v.)

Readings in Translation: Horace Odes 1.37, 1.15; Archilochus 105; Alcaeus 6, 208a; Lucretius 2.1-19

Listening Assignment: Odes 1.14 on CD

Questions: A) How does the juxtaposition of Odes 1.14 with 1.15 (the Prophecy of Nereus) alter/complicate/inform your interpretation of each poem? B) Hellenistic epigrams often used a ship as a metaphor, not for the state, but for a woman, esp. one in love; is this interpretation plausible in Odes 1.14? C) Who is the addressee in Alcaeus frr. 6 & 208a? Who is the addressee in Horace Odes 1.14? How does this alter the tone of the Horace's poem? D) Lucretius's De rerum natura was an epic in 6 books that seeks to teach Epicurean philosophy. Having read his image of the joy felt by seeing a man struggling at sea, does this effect your interpretation of Odes 1.14?

Quiz on Horace's Life & Times - Take Home, due at start of class

Mar. 12

Primary Readings: Horace Epodes 7 (Quo, quo scelesti ruitis? - 20v.), Horace, Odes 3.2.13-24, Wilfred Owen "Dulce et Decorum est"; Owen Seaman "Pro Patria"

Readings in Translation: Horace Epodes 16, Horace Odes 3.2 (all)

Questions: A) What effect does the change of addressee have at Epodes 7.15? B) What could the "scelus" at Epodes 7.18 be? C) Epodes 16 is an example of deliberative oratory (here, of course, a fictional fantasy); what solution to Civil War does Horace recommend? Where will the Romans find peace? Horace's Promised Land is free not only of physical hardships but also of the influence of certain mythological items and characters (v.59f); why would Horace's exclude these from his paradise? D) According to Horace in Odes 3.2, why is it sweet to die for one's fatherland? E) Consider how both Owen and Seamen appropriate Horace's statement in Odes 3.2; to what extent do the allusions to Horace inform or complicate the program of the later poems? F) George S. Patton had a different rebuttal to Horace Odes 3.2: "..now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country."

Mar. 14

Readings in Translation: Horace Carmen Saeculare, Vergil Eclogue 4, Horace Odes 1.19

Questions: A) In Vergil's Eclogue 4, what is the significance of the opening invocation of the Muse? Why might these Muses be Sicilian? How is Vergil's new Golden Age unusual? Can you think of any parallels in other cultures? How does Vergil articulate the return of war before the triumph of peace? B) What are the themes of the Carmen Saeculare? How is Roman characterized? What virtues does Horace invoke? How does the performance context of the Carmen Saeculare influence your interpretation/appreciation of the poem?

Quiz: Vocabulary 451-500

Assignment: Paper 4-5p. DUE Friday, March 28; Analysis and Comparison of Horace, Odes 1.1 & 3.30