Greek and Roman Drama
Module title | Greek and Roman Drama |
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Module code | CLA1006 |
Academic year | 2019/0 |
Credits | 30 |
Module staff | Dr Nicolo' D'Alconzo (Convenor) |
Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
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Duration: Weeks | 11 | 11 |
Number students taking module (anticipated) | 50 |
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Module description
This module is aimed at anyone who wants to know more about the fascinating theatrical traditions of ancient Athens and Rome. It examines a wide range of plays, both tragic and comic, including works by authors as varied as Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Menander, Aristophanes, Terence and Plautus. All these texts are studied in the medium of English translation, making the module widely accessible. Students will be given an advanced critical introduction to some of the greatest and most influential works in the Western dramatic tradition, and they will be encouraged to think about such matters as the connection between drama and society, the role of ritual and religion, the nature of the tragic and comic genres, and the psychological and emotional impact of drama on its audience.
Module aims - intentions of the module
On the basis of a selection of texts in English translation "Greek and Roman tragedies and comedies from Aeschylus to Seneca" we attempt to come to a general understanding of the origin and development of ancient drama, the importance of types of plot and character, the relationship of drama with society and the emotional effect of tragedy. We study Athenian tragedy of the fifth century BC over a period of some sixty years, paying attention both to the texts of the plays and the way they develop with time and in line with changes in the city. Complementary study of the very different tragedy of Seneca (first century AD) raises issues of text, performance and the cultural setting of drama. We study comedy, considering the place of Greek Old Comedy (for example Aristophanes) in the Athenian democratic city, and ways in which it differed from the New Comedy of the late fourth century (for example Menander). Roman approaches to comedy (plays by Plautus and Terence) are investigated.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Describe and analyse (a) the development of Greek tragedy and comedy in the fifth and fourth centuries BC and (b) Roman comedy and Senecan tragedy
- 2. Read critically individual works within a specific genre
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 3. With guidance, distinguish and assess critically literature in a foreign culture and to place that literature in its cultural context
- 4. Place drama in the context of the theatre
- 5. Comment on some aspects of its theatricality
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 6. Demonstrate some capacity for independent judgement
- 7. Work in a seminar team
- 8. Present work in written form with a coherent argument
Syllabus plan
Indicative syllabus
Term 1:
- Introduction and orientation
- The origin of tragedy and Euripides' Bacchae
- Festival and theatre
- Tragedy and ritual
- Tragedy and politics 6
- Tragedy and gender
- Aeschylus' Persians and the anonymous Prometheus Bound
- Sophocles' Antigone
- Sophocles Electra and Euripides Electra
- Euripides Hippolytus
- Seneca's Phaedra
Term 2:
- Comic authors, plots and themes
- Genre II: what is comedy?
- The ancient sense(s) of humour
- Sex and obscenity
- The politics of comedy
- Comedies of ideas: Clouds and Frogs
- Metatheatre and gender: The Poet and the Women
- The sociology of comedy
- New Comedy: ancient (and modern) soap opera
- New Comedy: character, ethics and human relationships
- Comic myth: Amphitryo
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
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54 | 246 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
Category | Hours of study time | Description |
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Scheduled learning and teaching | 44 | Lecture (22 x 2 hour) |
Scheduled learning and teaching | 10 | Seminars (10 x 1 hour) |
Guided independent study | 246 | Independent Study |
Formative assessment
Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
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Oral contribution to seminar | 1-7 | Verbal feedback |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
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50 | 50 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
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Written assignment | 20 | 800 | 1-6, 8 | Written and oral feedback |
Essay | 30 | 2000 words | 1-6, 8 | Written and oral feedback |
Exam | 50 | 2 hours | 1-6, 8 | Written and oral feedback |
0 |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
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Written assignment | Written assignment | 1-6, 8 | ref/def period |
Essay 1 | Essay 1 | 1-6, 8 | ref/def period |
Exam | Exam | 1-6, 8 | ref/def period |
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
1. Prescribed texts:
Aeschylus, Persians and Prometheus Bound
Sophocles, Antigone and Electra
Euripides, Hippolytus, Electra,and Helen
Seneca, Phaedra; Aristophanes, Lysistrata, Acharnians, Clouds, The Poet and the Women and Frogs
Menander, The Bad-Tempered Man and The Girl from Samos
Terence, The Brothers; Plautus, The Rope and Amphitryo
N.B. Teaching, seminars and examinations will be based on the following prescribed translations: Aeschylus: (Collard Oxford World's Classics); Sophocles: (Kitto, Oxford World's Classics); Euripides: (Morwood, Oxford World's Classics); Seneca: Four Tragedies and Octavia (Watling, Penguin Classics); Aristophanes: Lysistrata and Other Plays (Sommerstein, Penguin), The Wasps and Other Plays (Barrett, Penguin); Menander: The Plays and Fragments (Balme, Oxford World's Classics); Terence: The Comedies (Radice, Penguin); Plautus: The Rope and Other Plays (Watling, Penguin).
2. Selected introductory reading: P.E.Easterling (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Greek Tragedy (Cambridge 1997) M. Wright, Euripides' Escape Tragedies (Oxford, 2005) O. Taplin, Greek Tragedy in Action (London, 1978) R. Rehm, The Greek Tragic Theatre (London, 1992) A. Pickard-Cambridge, The Dramatic Festivals of Athens (ed. 2, Oxford 1968) Aristotle, Poetics, translated by Malcolm Heath (Penguin Classics: Harmondsworth,1996) K. Dover, Aristophanic Comedy (Berkeley 1974) M. Silk, Aristophanes and the Invention of Comedy (Oxford 2000) W.G. Arnott, Menander, Plautus, Terence (Greece and Rome New Surveys in the Classics no 9) N. Zagagi, The Comedy of Menander (London 1994)
Credit value | 30 |
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Module ECTS | 15.00 |
Module pre-requisites | None |
Module co-requisites | None |
NQF level (module) | 6 |
Available as distance learning? | No |
Origin date | 2011 |
Last revision date | 11/03/2015 |