Latin 333, Fall 2015

Handout No. 1
UNC-Chapel Hill
Lyric Poetry
Instructor: Sharon L. James

Latin

Office: 303 Murphey Hall

E-mail: sljames@unc.edu
Office Hours: Tues./Thurs. 2-3; also by appt.
Course Description
This course will study the Latin lyric poetry of Catullus and Horace,
focusing on their wide range of topics and their backgrounds, both
historical and literary. Both poets lived in times of enormous cultural,
social, and political change, from the violent end of the Roman Republic
through the transitional Principate to the beginning of the Roman Empire.
Their poetry tells us a great deal about those times. We will also consider
their antecedents in Greek lyric, through translations of Sappho, Alcaeus,
Archilochus, Mimnermus, and others, to see how Horace and Catullus
adapted Greek meters and themes to Roman and Italian life. The themes
we will particularly examine include: poetry itself; friends and friendship;
social life; sex; love; marriage; politics; invective; mock invective;
patronage; and the Italian landscape. As we shall see, often several of these
themes are twined together in a single poemmany of my category
assignments are virtually arbitrary.
We have quite a lot of Latin to read, though we wont be able to
translate it all in class. Our procedure will be to deal with any translation
problems, then to look at a particular poem or two, and discuss what we
have read for class. This is an advanced literature course, so you will be expected not only to keep up with the reading but to be prepared to analyze
and discuss it. There will be a technical componentnamely, some study of
meteralong with a moderate amount of secondary reading, to assist with
understanding Catullus and Horace.
Requirements: weekly reading assignments; two short papers (5-6
pages); one longer paper (10-12 pages); two class presentations (described
below); a midterm; and a final exam. The first short paper will be a formal
analysis of a passage from Catullus, and the second may be either a short
interpretive essay or another formal analysis. We will do in-class training
on formal analysis. The final paper will be a sustained interpretation; all the
papers will be accomplished in consultation with me. The presentations will
be both creative and intellectual: (1) a Catullan-style invective and (2) a
translation project on Horace, involving both research into historical
translations and your own independent versions. Complete and full
instructions will be given separately. Attendance and class participation are
absolutely required. If you have any concerns about Latin, please see me
quam primum, so we can work them out. I am always available to help
please feel free to email me with questions about problems in Latin.

Tentative Schedule

Grading
Midterm
20%
Final
25%
Reports
10%
Short Papers
20%
Final Paper
15%
Attendance and Participation
10%

Tentative Schedule
Week Dates
Due Dates
1

Topics

In-Class Assignment

Tu
8/18
Th
8/20
Tu
8/25
Th
8/27
Tu
9/1
Th
9/3
Tu
9/8
Th
9/10

Introducti
on
Poetry

Introduction to Class
Catullus, Poetry: 14, 22, 35, 36,
50, 95

Social
Life,
Politics

Catullus 9, 12, 23, 30, 73, 77, 96

Catullus 10, 13, 16; (politics) 29,
93, 103

Tu
9/15
Th
9/17
Tu
9/22
Th
9/24

Tu
9/29
Th
10/1
8 Tu
10/6
Th
10/8
9 Tu
10/13
Th
10/15
10 Tu
10/20
Th
10/22

Mock &
Real
Invective

Catullus 25, 44, 47, 53, 55, 56, 57

Catullus 40-43, 54, 84, 88-91, 94

Invective;
Love &
Sex

39, 69, 71, 74, 78, 80, 105, 112,

114-16
Catullus 6, 7, 32, 35, 45, 76, 85,
100, 110-11

Love, Sex,
Marriage

Catullus 62, 72, 75, 76, 85, 107

Catullus (Juv.) 15, 21, 24; 99;
(Lesbia) 2-3, 5

Lesbia;
Horace

Catullus 7-8, 11, 51, 58, 79, 83,

86, 104, 107
Horace, Poetry: 2.20, 3.30, 4.3,
4.8

Friends,
Social
Life

Horace 1.6, 1.24, 1.26, 2.7

Horace 1.20, 1.27, 4.11

Politics;
Philosoph
y

Horace 1.2, 1.37, 2.1

Horace 2.2, 2.3, 2.10, 2.16, 3.16

Midterm;
Fall
Break

Midterm
Fall Break

Death

Catullus 65, 101; Horace 1.11,

2.13
Horace 1.28, 2.14, 4.7

Paper #1 (Mon.
22nd)

Tentative Schedule
11 Tu
10/27
Th
10/29
12 Tu
11/3
Th
11/4
13 Tu
11/10
Th
11/12
14 Tu
11/17
Th
11/19
15 Tu
11/24
Th
11/26
16 Tu
12/2
Tu
12/8

Italian
Land;
Poverty

Catullus 31; Horace 1.7, 1.9, 3.13 Paper # 2 (Mon.

Horace 2.15, 2.18, 3.18
26th)

The
Roman
Odes

Horace 3.1-2
Horace 3-4

Roman
Odes
Politics

Horace 3.5-6
Horace 3,14, 4.6

Love and
Sex

Aging;
Women
Final
Class

Horace 1.13, 1.19, 3.7, 3.9, 3.10,

4.1
Catullus 32; Horace 1.16, 23;
3.20, 26
Horace 1.25, 3.15, 4.10, 4.13
Horace 1.5, 2.5, 2.8, 2.12
Final Discussion of Latin Lyric
Poetry
Final Exam, noon

Note: schedule is subject to change with notice.

Final Paper TBA