Course syllabus

Latin 202/204 – Roman elegy

Semester 2, 2017

 

Lecturer:  Maxine Lewis

Room:  Room 810, Humanities building (level 8)

Email: maxine.lewis@auckland.ac.nz

Office hour: Tuesday 3-4pm, in Arts Student Centre space (or by appointment)

 

ASSESSMENT

 

Passage analysis 20% 1,500 words

Oral component 5%

Essay 35% 1,500-1,750 words

Participation 10%

Final exam 30% 2 hours

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES

 

You will:

 

• Read poems by Augustan-age writers in Latin and analyse their stylistic traits, vocabulary, and treatment of themes.
• Develop knowledge of how different Augustan-age writers deal with gender, sexuality, morality, and power.
• Explore controversies about authorship and authenticity.
• Place the poets in their socio-cultural and –historical context.
• Develop your skills at passage analysis/textual commentary, and practice Latin scansion.
• Work collaboratively in class.
• Develop oral and written communication skills through assessment tasks.

 

TEXTS

 

PRESCRIBED, will be provided by lecturer

Selections of poems from Propertius, Ovid, Sulpicia will be provided.

 

Heroides - Commentaries in English

**Peter E. Knox, ed. Ovid Heroides: Select Epistles. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995 (reprinted 2000).

**Palmer, A. Ovid: Heroides. (Final editing by Purser, L.) Oxford, 1898. Reprinted by Gg Olms in 1967.

Goold, G. P. Ovid: Heroides. Amores. (Rev. of G. Showerman, 1914) Cambridge. (1977)

Some commentaries on the epistles that we will study are not in English but are worth consulting if you read Italian or German:

**Barchiesi, A. ed. P. Ovidii  Nasonis Epistulae Heroidum 1-3. Florence. 1992

**Dörrie, H. (1971) P. Ovidii Nasonis Epistulae Heroidum. Berlin and New York.

 

Sulpicia’s Elegies

Commentaries in English

Smith, Kirby Flower, ed. The Elegies of Albus Tibullus: The Corpus TIbullianum Edited with Introduction and Notes on Books I, II, and IV, 2-14. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1971 [1913].

There is an online commentary available through Perseus: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0070:text=comm:poem=1

 

Grammars/Dictionaries

You will likely need a Latin dictionary and a Latin grammar book for reference as some tricky constructions might come up. There are many options.

 

Kennedy’s Revised Latin Primer is condensed and useful. If you plan to continue your study of Latin, Kennedy’s is a valuable investment. Copies are available in the bookstore, the university library and the Lacey library.

 

Allen & Greenough’s New Latin Grammar is highly recommended and is available online as a PDF download:

 

http://cdn.textkit.net/AG_New_Latin_Grammar_AR5.pdf

 

PARTICIPATION AND ATTENDENCE

 

You will be assigned set lines to prepare for each class (around 30 lines for each class, excepting when we have a seminar scheduled). This means reading the Latin and working what it means and how it works syntactically. If you have questions about the grammar, we will discuss them in class. Before class you are also expected to analyse the passage, looking for structure, poetic or literary devices, important themes, etc, which we will talk about in class.  The commentaries will assist you in grasping the syntax and the poetic devices. Where possible, use multiple commentaries to get the widest possible perspective on the poem.

 

During class we will work through issues arising from the text by translating lines, scanning and reading the poems’ meter, and analysing stylistic features. This is the space for you to raise questions of Latinity or interpretation which we will work through together. We will conduct some work in groups.

 

When a seminar is scheduled, all students are expected to have read through the set questions and any set readings, and taken appropriate notes (including identifying questions that need to be posed).

 

10% of your final grade will be determined by the level of your participation in the course. This primarily relates to the quality and frequency of your participation in class discussions, however, participation can also be indicated by written contributions, e.g. short responses to the senior seminars or commentaries on the week’s reading. If you are ill or are otherwise unable to come to class, please contact the co-ordinator.

 

Attendance at class is strongly encouraged both for your education and your assessment.

 

PREPARATION AND READINGS

 

FOR CLASS

As second year/intermediate students you are expected to focus on reading and understanding the poems, while developing your knowledge of Latin style, poetic techniques, and scansion. For your class preparation commentaries will greatly help you with this. There is also good scholarship for broader interpretative issues.

 

For a very recent and comprehensive introduction to Roman erotic elegy, see:

Gold, Barbara K., ed. A companion to Roman love elegy. Malden, Mass.; Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012. Especially Part 5 on gender, Part 6 on theoretical approaches, and Part 1 on various authors.

 

Readings on Propertius’ Elegies

 

Allen, A. W. "Elegy and the Classical Attitude Toward Love: Propertius I, 1." Yale Classical Studies 11 (1950): 255-77.

Allen, Archibald W. ""Sincerity" and the Roman Elegists." Classical Philology 45, no. No. 3 (1950): 145-60.

Ancona, Ronnie, and Ellen Greene. Gendered Dynamics in Latin Love Poetry. Arethusa books.  Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005. Relevant Chs are by Greene and Valladares.

Cairns, Francis. Sextus Propertius: the Augustan elegist.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.

Gold, Barbara K. ""But Ariadne Was Never There in the First Place": Finding the Female in Roman Poetry." In Feminist Theory and the Classics, edited by Nancy Sorkin Rabinowitz and Amy Richlin. New York: Routledge, 1993. 75-101.

Greene, Ellen, and Welch, Tara S. ed. Oxford readings in Propertius. 1st ed.  Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.

Günther, Hans Christian. ed. Brill's companion to Propertius.  Leiden: Brill, 2006.

Hubbard, Margaret. Propertius.  London: Duckworth, 1974.

Janan, Micaela Wakil. The Politics of Desire: Propertius IV. The Joan Palevsky imprint in classical literature.  Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001.

Keith, A. M. Propertius: Poet of Love and Leisure.  London: Duckworth, 2008.

Newman, John Kevin. Augustan Propertius: the Recapitulation of a Genre. Spudasmata.  Hildesheim: Olms, 1997.

McClure, Laura. Sexuality and Gender in the Classical World: Readings and Sources. Interpreting ancient history.  Oxford: Blackwell, 2002.

Propertius, Sextus, S. J. Heyworth, and James Morwood. A commentary on Propertius, Book 3 [in Text of Book 3 in Latin verse with English prose translation; introduction and commentary in English.].  Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.

Wyke, Maria. "Written Women: Propertius' Scripta Puella." Journal of Roman Studies 77 (1987): 47-61.

Veyne, Paul. Roman Erotic Elegy: Love, Poetry, and the West. Translated by David Pellauer.  Chicago; London: The University of Chicago Press, 1988.

 

Readings on Ovid and the Heroides

There are four recent edited volumes which have many articles introducing Ovid, his works and his Augustan setting:

**Boyd, Barbara Weiden. Brill's Companion to Ovid. Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2002.

**Hardie, Philip R. The Cambridge Companion to Ovid. Cambridge, U.K.; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002.

**Knox, Peter E. A Companion to Ovid. Chichester, U.K.; Malden, Mass.: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.

**Knox, Peter E. Oxford Readings in Ovid. Oxford readings in classical studies.  Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.

Each of these volumes has a chapter specifically on the Heroides which is worth reading:

Fulkerson, Laurel. "The Heroides: Female Elegy?" In A Companion to Ovid, edited by P. E. Knox. 78-89. Malden MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.

Kennedy has a chapter in Knox ed. 2006 which can be found through JSTOR in its original form: Kennedy, Duncan F. "The Epistolary Mode and the First of Ovid's Heroides." The Classical Quarterly 34, no. 2 (1984): 413-22.

Kennedy, Duncan F. "Epistolarity: the Heroides." In The Cambridge Companion to Ovid, edited by Philip Hardie. 217-32. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.

Knox, Peter E. "The Heroides: Elegiac Voices." In Brill's Companion to Ovid, edited by Barbara Weiden Boyd. Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2012. 117-39.

The works below take a more specific approach; each is quite important:

Barchiesi, Alessandro. "Future Reflexive: Two Modes of Allusion and Ovid's Heroides." Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 95 (1993): 333-65.

**Davis, Peter J. Ovid and Augustus: a Political Reading of Ovid's Erotic Poems. London: Duckworth, 2006. Ch 4 on Heroides

Farrell, Joseph. "Reading and Writing the Heroides." Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 98 (1998): 307-38.

Jacobson, Howard. Ovid's Heroides.  Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1974.

**Lindheim, Sara H. Mail and Female: Epistolary Narrative and Desire in Ovid's Heroides. Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin Press, 2003. Also available as an e-brary book.

Rosenmeyer, P. A. "Ovid's Heroides and Tristia: Voices From Exile." Ramus 26, no. 1 (1997): 29-56.

**Spentzou, Efrossini. Readers and Writers in Ovid's Heroides: Transgressions of Genre and Gender.  Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.

Spoth, F. 1992. Ovids Heroides als Elegien. Munich: C. H. Beck.

**Verducci, Florence. Ovid's Toyshop of the Heart: Epistulae Heroidum.  Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1985.

 

Readings on Sulpicia

 

Bréquet, Esther. Le roman de Sulpicia: elégies IV, 2-12 du Corpus Tibullinum.  Roma: Bretscheider, 1972.

Gold, Barbara K., ed. A companion to Roman love elegy. Malden, Mass. ; Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012.

Fabre-Serris, J. "Sulpicia: An/other Female Voice in Ovid's Heroides: A New Reading of Heroides 4 and 15.". Helios 36, no. 2 (2009): 149-73.

Keith, Alison. "Critical Trends in Interpreting Sulpicia." The Classical World 100, no. 1 (2006): 3-10.

Hemelrijk, Emily A. Matrona Docta: Educated Women in the Roman élite from Cornelia to Julia Domna.  London: Routledge, 1999. Pp146-184

Hinds, Stephen. "The Poetess and the Reader: Further Steps Towards Sulpicia." Hermathena, no. 143 (1987): 29-46.

Keith, Alison. "Critical Trends in Interpreting Sulpicia." The Classical World 100, no. 1 (2006): 3-10.

Lyne, R. O. A. M. Ch 19 “[Tibullus] III and Sulpicia” in Lyne, R. O. A. M. Collected papers on Latin poetry.  Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.

Lowe, N. J. "Sulpicia's Syntax." The Classical Quarterly 38, no. 1 (1988): 193-205.

Merriam, Carol U. "Sulpicia: Just Another Roman Poet." The Classical World 100, no. 1 (2006): 11-15.

Milnor, Kristina. "Sulpicia's (Corpo) reality: Elegy, Authorship, and the Body in {Tibullus} 3.13." Classical Antiquity 21, no. 2 (2002): 259-82.

Parker, Holt N. "Catullus and the "Amicus Catulli": The Text of a Learned Talk." The Classical World 100, no. 1 (2006): 17-29.

Pearcy, Lee T. "Erasing Cerinthus: Sulpicia and Her Audience." The Classical World 100, no. 1 (2006): 31-36.

Santirocco, Matthew S. "Sulpicia Reconsidered." The Classical Journal 74, no. 3 (1979): 229-39.

Wyke, Maria. "Taking the Woman's Part: Engendering Roman Love Elegy." Ramus 23, no. 1-2 (1994): 110-28.

 

A note on Talis readings:

I have put hard copies of books relevant to this course on Talis under textbook or 3 day loan (this is for hard copies of books) to make sure that everyone can access them fairly. I expect you to track down works on the bibliography here which are electronic via the library website.

 

COURSEWORK

 

You cannot complete both pieces of coursework on the same poem.

 

PASSAGE ANALYSES

 

• You must complete ONE written passage analysis and complete the oral component. This consists of introducing the passage to the class and outlining the key issues related to it, and then taking a leading role in subsequent discussion and being the expert on-call for the duration of the lesson. During the class where you are ‘on-call’ I still facilitate the discussion and also take questions from students.
• See the separate document for passage analysis guidelines, exemplar, and details of seeking extensions/late penalties.

 

 

ESSAY 1,500-1,750 WORDS

 

Nota bene: This is a Latin course. Your essay must engage with the source material in its original language, demonstrating understanding of the Latin syntax, structure, and poetic construction, as well as the wider concepts. Bibliography on individual authors is provided above.

 

Essays are due in class Thursday of week 11 (October 19^th). Pick one of the following questions:

 

1. “Propertius’ Cynthia reflects nothing of Roman woman.” Do you agree? In your answer make close reference to at least two poems we have studied.

 

2. “Ovid’s Heroides 1, Penelope to Ulysses, has little poetic value because it depends so heavily on its ‘source text’, Homer’s Odyssey.” Do you agree? Justify your case with evidence from the text.

 

3. “Heroides 10, Ariadne to Theseus, is unmistakably Ovidian in its tone, treatment of theme, stylistic devices and vocabulary.” Discuss, with close reference to the poem.

 

4. “Sappho’s letter to Phaon is inferior to others in the Heroides collection because it does not engage with a mythological model.” Discuss the poetic merits (or lack thereof) of this epistle.

 

 

5. “Sulpicia’s poems clearly reflect a woman author’s perspective.” Do you agree? Discuss with reference to the conventions of Latin love elegy.

 

6. “Latin elegy provided a platform for meaningful critique of Roman politics and society.” Do you agree? Support your case with reference to at least three poems we have studied this semester.

 

FINAL EXAM

 

There is a final exam for this course, worth 30% (2 hours). Any material covered in the course may be examined. Further details will be provided in class.

 

 

 

LATE PENALTIES AND EXTENSION POLICY FOR ESSAYS

If you are experiencing extenuating circumstances that prevent you from submitting your essay on time (e.g. illness, accident, death in the family, unexpected carer’s responsibilities, etc), please contact the course co-ordinator (Dr Lewis) to seek an extension. Documentation is generally required (e.g. medical certificate, letter from counsellor, death notice, eviction notice, etc).

Late submission of the essay without an extension approved by the course co-ordinator will result in a late penalty of 2% per day.

ACADEMIC HONESTY AND PLAGIARISM

The University of Auckland has strong policies on academic honesty that cover the dangers or plagiarizing (whether intentionally or unintentionally). There are serious consequences for using another person’s work without due acknowledgement. Information can be found here: https://cdn.auckland.ac.nz/assets/cs/future-undergraduates/studyoptions/documents/22-Academic-Honesty-and-Special-Circumstances.pdf and the policies are here: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/about/teaching-learning/academic-integrity/tl-uni-regs-statutes-guidelines.html. It is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with The University of Auckland’s policies, and to complete the “Academic Integrity”.

 

 

 

SEMINARS – QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

 

• Heroides – authenticity (Sappho’s letter to Phaon: Ovid or “Ovid”?)

Not all critics agree that all of Ovid’s Heroides were indeed written by Ovid himself. The fifteenth letter, Sappho to Phaon, has been considered suspect. The presenter will explain: What is so unique about this letter? What are the arguments for and against Ovidian authorship? Does the authenticity of Ovid’s identity as author matter for our interpretation of the poem?

Questions for class discussion:

• Based on your knowledge of Heroides 1 and 2, does it seem likely that Ovid wrote Heroides 15?
• Does it matter? How important is the writer’s identity to your reading of Heroides 15?
• How Sapphic is Ovid’s Sappho?

SET READING

Fulkerson, Laurel. "The Heroides: Female Elegy?" In A Companion to Ovid, edited by P. E. Knox. Malden MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. 78-89.

 

• Heroides – intertextuality ([How] do the poems work?)

The Heroides are openly intertextual, drawing from specific literary models and situating themselves in a literary system. In this course, however, we have read three Heroides without detailed prior knowledge of their models. The presenter will consider: What are the aesthetic and literary merits of the Heroides that we have read? What variations are there between the three poems that we have read, given that all the Heroides tell a relatively similar story using the same device (a woman writing to an absent man)? How does the repetition (or the variation within repetition) shape your reading of these poems? To what extent is readers' appreciation of the Heroides dependent on knowledge of the intertextual models?

Question for class discussion:

• What do you think are the aesthetic and literary merits (or problems) of the Heroides?
• How important is it to know the intertextual models?

SET READING

Smith, R. Alden. “Fantasy, Myth, and Love Letters: Text and Tale in Ovid’s Heroides.” In Oxford Readings in Classical Studies. Ovid. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. 217-237.

 

• Heroides – female voices?

The discipline of “women’s studies”, created in the 1970s, was grounded in studying women’s writing. However, it is difficult to employ this methodology (gynocriticism - the study of women’s writing) when researching ancient Rome, since the vast majority of our sources were written by men. How then, are we to track female voices in antiquity? In the Heroides Ovid takes on the guise of various women, depicting emotions and situations. The presenter will explore: What might a real “Roman female voice” (or voices) have sounded like? What sentiments might it have expressed, what values might it have espoused? To what extent is a male poet work’s useful when considering the reality, representation, and/or construction of female experience in ancient Rome? Do the Heroides express a Roman female voice (or female voices)? Justify your position.

Questions for class discussion:

• How close does Ovid get to actual women’s experiences?
• Do you think that the Heroides express a Roman female voice (or female voices)?
• Does it seem that this was one of his aims, or is this rather a modern retrojection of our own interests?

 

• Sulpicia – authenticity and gender

Commentators only started to think that the third/fourth book of Tibullus’ elegies had actually been written in part by a woman in the eighteenth century. There has been substantial debate since about whether Sulpicia was indeed the author of these poems. The presenter will: outline the publication history of Sulpicia’s poems; explain the arguments for and against Sulpicia’s authorship, for the poems 4.2-4.12 (also numbered 3.7-18); discuss the factors that have influenced the critical reception of these poems.

Questions for class discussion:

• Do you think Sulpicia wrote the poems (and if so, which ones)? Explain your reasons.
• Does the authenticity of Sulpicia’s female identity affect your interpretation of the poems?

SET READING

Keith, Alison. "Critical Trends in Interpreting Sulpicia." The Classical World 100, no. 1 (2006): 3-10.

Parker, Holt N. "Catullus and the "Amicus Catulli": The Text of a Learned Talk." The Classical World 100, no. 1 (2006): 17-29.

 

• Latin love elegy – ideology and politics

The Heroides of Ovid and the love elegies of Sulpicia and Propertius foreground amor, yet they were written in an age of conservative moral (social and sexual) reform. Each text takes a different approach: the Heroides place love in a wholly mythical context; Sulpicia reveals a surprisingly liberated women’s view on amor (or does she?); Propertius emphasises love while actively commenting on his inability to write works worthy of Augustus’ political and military accomplishments. The presenter will explore: Do these poems actually contravene Augustus’ moral reform (the lex Julia and Lex papia poppaea of 18BC and 9AD respectively)? How dangerous was writing such elegies? How do the different poems here deal with (or refuse to deal with) Augustus’ social programme?

Questions for class discussion:

• Do you think that the poems we have read were subversive in their time? If so, how?
• How do the different poems here deal with (or refuse to deal with) Augustus’ social programme?

SET READING

Davis, Peter J. Ovid and Augustus: a Political Reading of Ovid's Erotic Poems.  London: Duckworth, 2006. Especially Ch 4.

 

 

DRAFT CLASS SCHEDULE

Week	Poet	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday
1	Propertius	Introductions	Propertius 1.1	Propertius 1.1 / 1.7
2		1.7	1.16	1.21 and 1.22
3		2.7	3.11	3.11
4		4.7.1-30 Passage analysis slot	4.7.31-60 Passage analysis slot	4.7.60-end Passage analysis slot
5	Ovid	Heroides 1 (Penelope to Ulysses)	Heroides 1 Passage analysis slot	Heroides 1 Passage analysis slot
6		Heroides 1 Passage analysis slot	Heroides 10 (Ariadne to Theseus) Passage analysis slot	Heroides 10 Passage analysis slot
MID-SEMESTER BREAK NO CLASSES
7	Ovid (and pseudo-Ovid?)	Heroides 10 Passage analysis slot	Heroides 10 Passage analysis slot	Heroides 10 Passage analysis slot
8		Seminar 1. Heroides Intertextuality	Seminar 2. Heroides Female Voices	Heroides 15 (Sappho to Phaon) Passage analysis slot
9		Heroides 15 Passage analysis slot	Heroides 15 Passage analysis slot	Heroides 15 Passage analysis slot
10		Heroides 15 Passage analysis slot	Seminar 3. Heroides Authenticity	Seminar 4. Latin love elegy and politics
11	Sulpicia (and pseudo-Sulpicia?)	Sulpicia	Sulpicia	Sulpicia
12		Sulpicia	Sulpicia	Seminar 5. Sulpicia – Authenticity, history, and gender

 

Note: We will study the poems of Sulpicia (or “Sulpicia”) – numbers 4.2-4.12 in Tibullus’ corpus (also confusingly sometimes numbered 3.8-18. We will study them sequentially.