CAHE20252
Survive and Thrive: Parties, Politics and Poetry in Horace
20
Semester 2
Undergraduate
Level 2
Maria-Ruth Morello
Unit coordinator
1
FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' Middle part of Bachelors '
European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 10.0
<p>This course initially explores Horace’s iambic Epodes and the lyric Odes 1-3. The poet served with Brutus’ republican army on the losing side at Philippi (42 B.C.) and many of his wartime Epodes articulate the persona of a despairing witness of continuing civil wars. His subsequent collection of Odes can be read as the work of a republican survivor who now seeks happiness, success and the good life in a new post-war world. These lyric poems cover a huge range of topics, including grief and the burdens of painful memories – all the things one might associate with survivor poetry – but also love, the weather, parties and the passing of time. Horace recalls and reworks a 600 year old tradition for his contemporary world, and we shall read some of his Greek lyric predecessors such as Sappho, Alcaeus and Pindar to see this process in action. Finally, we will read his Carmen Saeculare, the first Latin hymn for which we have evidence of performance. Commissioned by Augustus in 17 B.C for a new state festival, it is a song of hope and confidence, celebrating the blessings of the new Golden Age in the new regime.<br /><br />Topics will include: friendship and the community of republican survivors; wartime poetry before Actium; patronage and praise; the poetic persona; philosophical lyric; the lyric lover; performance, ‘occasion’ and ritual; mental health; songs and singers; parties and the relaxed lyric life.</p><p> </p>
<p style="text-align:justify">This course initially explores Horace’s iambic Epodes and the lyric Odes 1-3. The poet served with Brutus’ republican army on the losing side at Philippi (42 B.C.) and many of his wartime Epodes articulate the persona of a despairing witness of continuing civil wars. His subsequent collection of Odes can be read as the work of a republican survivor who now seeks happiness, success and the good life in a new post-war world. These lyric poems cover a huge range of topics, including grief and the burdens of painful memories – all the things one might associate with survivor poetry – but also love, the weather, parties and the passing of time. Horace recalls and reworks a 600 year old tradition for his contemporary world, and we shall read some of his Greek lyric predecessors such as Sappho, Alcaeus and Pindar to see this process in action. Finally, we will read his Carmen Saeculare, the first Latin hymn for which we have evidence of performance. Commissioned by Augustus in 17 B.C for a new state festival, it is a song of hope and confidence, celebrating the blessings of the new Golden Age in the new regime.</p><p>Topics will include: friendship and the community of republican survivors; wartime poetry before Actium; patronage and praise; the poetic persona; philosophical lyric; the lyric lover; performance, ‘occasion’ and ritual; mental health; songs and singers; parties and the relaxed lyric life.</p>
<ul> <li> To engage in a thorough and careful reading of a selection of Horace’s <em>Epodes, Odes</em> 1-3, and<em> Carmen Saeculare</em> to lead to knowledge of, and critical thought about, Horace’s lyric and iambic poetry.</li> <li> To explore the intertextual background to the set text, particularly Horace’s engagement with other Augustan poets (Roman Love Elegy) and earlier proponents of lyric poetry (Catullus; in addition to a familiarity with Greek lyric) and the iambic tradition.</li> <li> To analyse generic and thematic features of the set texts, especially engaging with the issue of lyric performance in the <em>Odes</em>.</li> <li> To gain a thorough understanding of the works’ engagement with the socio-political and philosophical context.</li></ul>
<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span style="line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">By the end of this course students will have/be able to: </span></span></span></span></p><ul> <li style="text-align: justify;">identify and describe key characteristics of the ancient lyric and iambic verse genres, with special reference to Horace’s Odes, Epodes and Carmen Saeculare</li> <li>accurately situate Horace’s work against the socio-cultural background of the Augustan period</li> <li>analyse and interpret Horace’s engagement with Greek and Roman predecessors</li> <li>show awareness of theoretical concepts relating to intertextuality and allusion</li> <li>LINGUISTS will read a smaller volume of text overall, but will be expected (in addition to the above) to be able to translate and explain short passages of Latin text accurately</li></ul>
<p> </p><div class="PSEDITBOX" style="width: 100%; height: expression('50px'); min-height: 50px; margin: 0px; padding: 1px; vertical-align: top;"><p>By the end of this course students will have/be able to:</p><ul> <li>Develop analytical ‘close readings’ of primary texts</li> <li>Critique and analyse key pieces of relevant scholarship</li> <li>Comparatively evaluate a range of scholarly interpretations</li> <li>LINGUISTS will be able (in addition to the above) to demonstrate awareness of ambiguities and nuances in Horace’s language</li></ul></div>
<p>By the end of this course students will have/be able to:</p><ul> <li style="text-align:justify">Articulate ideas clearly in both short/informal (discussion board posts) and long-format written work (essays and portfolio)</li> <li>Construct a well-ordered and cogent written argument</li> <li>Contribute constructively to group discussions and online discussion boards</li> <li>Give short, informal presentations in f2f seminars, or record and upload short audio/video presentations for peer use</li></ul>
<p>By the end of this course students will have/be able to:</p><ul> <li>locate and retrieve relevant information from primary sources;</li> <li>Organise and structure a clear and logically developed argument</li> <li>present ideas and arguments in a professional manner with appropriate reference to sources and modern published scholarship;</li> <li>use e-resources appropriately;</li> <li>engage in constructive discussion of complex ideas.</li></ul>
Other
The course involves a large number of important employment skills, most notably an ability to analyse and examine a large amount of often difficult information, an ability to see both sides of an argument, the ability to synthesise an argument in a cogent form, the ability to retrieve information from complex sources and present it in a compelling and cogent fashion.
0
Other
100%
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td>Participation in weekly activities and discussion </td> <td>10%</td> </tr> </tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td>Portfolio of summative tasks </td> <td>60%</td> </tr> </tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td>Essay </td> <td>30%</td> </tr> </tbody></table><p> </p>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:662px;" width="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="width:321px;"><p>Feedback method</p></td> <td style="width:340px;"><p>Formative or Summative</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width:321px;"><p>Detailed written feedback on coursework and regular engagement with students on discussion boards</p></td> <td style="width:340px;"><p>Formative and summative</p></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="width:321px;"><p>Additional oral feedback offered in consultation hour</p></td> <td style="width:340px;"><p> </p></td> </tr> </tbody></table><p> </p>
Y
<p>Davis, G. (2010) <em>A Companion to Horace</em>. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.</p><p>Harrison, S. J. (ed.) (2007<em>a</em>) <em>A Cambridge Companion to Horace</em>. Cambridge. (online)</p><p>Oliensis, E. (1998) <em>Horace and the Rhetoric of Authority</em>. Cambridge.</p><p>Porter, D. H. (1987) <em>Horace’s Poetic Journey: A Reading of Odes 1-3</em>. Princeton.</p><p>Watson, L. (2003) <em>A</em> <em>Commentary on Horace’s Epodes</em>. Oxford.</p><p>Woodman, T. and Feeney, D. (2002) <em>Traditions and Contexts in the Poetry of Horace</em>. Cambridge.</p><p> </p>
Lectures
33
0
167