LATI 3103 X2 Augustan Literature Winter 2016

Dr. Sonia Hewitt Office: BAC 440 Telephone: (902) 681-8931 Email: [email protected] Office Hours: Monday, Wednesday 12:00-2:00; other times by appointment

In this course you will continue to read Latin texts in their original form. We will concentrate on poetry of the Augustan period. Although you will have some experience translating poems by Catullus, this will be your first introduction to scanning meter, translating poetry, and assessing poems as works of Latin literature. We begin with selections from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, a work that is approachable for students learning to read Latin poetry. This poem is set to dactylic hexameter, the same meter employed by Homer and Vergil in their epic poems. We will also read a selection of lyric poems from Horace’s Odes. Lyric poetry, inspired by the poetry of Sappho and later Hellenistic poets, was pioneered in Latin by Catullus as an artistic form with deeply personal expression of feelings. The goal is to continue to build on your knowledge of Classical Latin. You will acquire more vocabulary and review grammar and syntax. At the same time, you must examine the texts as works of literature, learning the context and asking questions about the content. We will discuss the metrical, literary and narrative dimensions of the poems.

Since the learning of foreign languages is based upon repetition and reinforcement, your active participation in the class is required. At this level, you will need to translate, review and correct the passages on a regular basis to reinforce comprehension. The tests will be based on the passages we have covered, and you will be asked to identify specific types of grammar as well as questions about poetic devices and the passage’s value. At any time, feel free to ask for a lesson on aspects of grammar that you would like clarified. Once we have gotten into the rhythm of translating, I will be selecting material from the text and exercise books to review for grammar.

Textbooks: Wheelock’s Latin Reader. Selections from Latin Literature (Collins Reference) 2nd Edition. Catullus and Horace. Selections from their Lyric Poetry (A Longman Latin Reader). Additional works will be available as hand-outs or web-documents.

Requirements: Due Date: Weight Your Grade Attendance and Participation Throughout the term 10% Presentation TBA 10% Test 1 TBA early February 20% Test 2 TBA early March 20% Hand-in assignments Throughout the term 10% Final Exam TBA 30%

 Participation: includes your preparation for each class and willingness to actively engage with the material during lecture time.  Presentation: a 15 minute presentation on a topic you select from material we are translating, or any other poem by an Augustan poet. You will do this in consultation with me, and once you have selected a topic and begun your research, you will discuss the material with me before presenting. This will give you the opportunity to learn more about the study of Augustan poetry, and to share your discoveries with the class. You will need to select 3-4 articles from JSTOR on the relevant poem/myth. You will provide a 1-2 page hand-out to accompany the presentation with bibliography. There is no written essay for this assignment.  Tests and Final: selections from the passages we have translated, with questions about, grammar and syntax, poetic devices and content.  Hand-ins: 1) translations of selected poems not covered by classes (5%). 2) 5 hand-ins of English to Latin sentences on grammar which we will review. Some class time will be set aside for practicing English to Latin translations to reinforce grammar we encounter in the poems. vale! carpe latinam!