Lecture 1

15 August 2011 12:21 PM

Looking at things from the 3rd Century BC - best period. Mainly poetry - most things in rom lit in poetic form. 3rd BC - death of Ovid (A.D. 17) Most of the prose that survives not lit as we understand it. Rom lit is poetry. Today general points about literature - what like, how different, etc. In a way surprising that there is/was thing such as Rom lit - shouldn't take for granted. Because the overwhelmingly powerful cultural force in ancient med world, certainly during time looking at, was Greek language, Greek culture certainly true that most of the elites, upper classes - very small numbers in ancient world, tiny percentage. Those lit elites around med would almost all know Greek lit - Greek was like English today in the areas of ex-Brit empire. Was the very powerful dominant cultural and international language. People suprised that Romans wanted to write in own language (Latin) Most med elites would be biulingual: mother tongue and Greek. Was the most pwerful language. Know dozens and dozens of lang from around med at that time, but almost none of them have survived in writing Concerned with tiny area Latium - Latin language of that tiny area. What remarkable is that that little lang managed to develop self as world lang - lit and cultural, could rival Greek. A lot of that due to mil and eco power. Imposed itself as a language of communication - cultural and economic and lit language. Features of Rom lit:
Influence of Greece, and of Greek culture = always enormously strong in

Roman lit. Very powerfully influenced by Greek lit. In that instance lit only one among many cultural practices that are influenced by Greece. Look at terminology of cooking - all Greek even in Latin, etc. Means that lat lit always has a double character - face two ways: always lookign back to Greek past as well as keeping in mind rom present = Grecoroman culture Rom lit is always intertextual - texts always based on other texts. So influence of Greece very Nb Translation/Translatio - comes directly from translatio, latin word. Trans across, latio - to carry. Carrying across, from one lang to another. The notion of Translatio is always important in Rom lit - will see Rom lit begins with translation, first Rom lit texts more or less direct translations from the Greeks. Always NB. But NB thing to bear in mind - tends to be freer and looser than what we would think. For the Roms translatio more creative adaptation, a version - thus can be very free.

Genre - very Nb. Genre means a type or a form of lit. Quite strict rules, norms and conventions meant to follow, for the Romans. NB for the Romans - example an epic: will have certain strong conventions and rules that must be followed, both in style and in content - how write and what write. Epic will be a poem, won't be written in prose. Long, thousands of lines. Will be written in a specific type of metre - hexameter - six beat lines. Style must be serious and lofty - high poetic language. Content around myth, etc. Very rarely some later epics took contemporary history as a subject, but early mythical history more usual. Epic characters - gods, heroes, kings, rulers, etc. Epic. Very strong expectations. Bit of an argument about satire - claimed to be something uniquely Roman, but still used main poetic forms used by earlier poets. Romans often used form of Greek genre and put Roman content in it. Rules about style and form observed, but content will be different, Italian, so not the same as the Greek. Sometimes the Romans even make genres that reflect on genres itself. Quite fond of eexploring the boundaries of genre. How far can push, etc. Romans were very conscious of the difficulty of writing in Latin of these earlier Greek genres - so showed great pride when first tried out writing in Latin, first to conquer particular genre for Roman literature - quite like lit lang, of conquest and domination: conquered the genre. Rom lit genres: 1. Comedy 2. Didactic 3. Lyric (including elegy) 4. Pastoral 5. Epic Rhetoric: Another very NB influence on Roman lit. Why so NB - basically means the art pof clear effective communication through the spoken word, thus art of being able to speak clearly and persuasively. NB - think of ways communicate now: large audience now, politicians or whoever will use mass media. But mass media mostly inventions of the last one or two centuries. How to influence large audience - have to do it, many of whom can't read and write - through the spoken word. Thus rhetoric enormously important in the ancient world. Absolute must for anyone who went into public life. Formed basis of the higher education in ancient world A lot of ancient lit have very clear structure - must make self clear, otherwise failed. Kind of clarity of structure and expression is a strong influence from rhetoric onto written poetry. A lot of ancient writing tends to function as if audience in mind. Thus often has an addressee - particular indiv, to whom the poet is addressed. Will often find a named addressee in the poem. The poem will be

directed to that person, to persuade and put across a case. Feel to it - make something clear, make a case, as an orator or speaker might. Very seldom addressed to general public or assumed general reader. Above some of the persistent features of roman literature. In the past particularly 19th C when Romanticism in fashion - tended to assume that primary quality of lit should be originality, should spring from heart, be new and original and unique. So Roman lit dismissed as secondhand, derivative. Say Greeks great originators. Simply not true though. Rom lit is unique in different ways from Greek lit it's genres not invented by the Romans, but what do with them distinctively and uniquely Roman. Where see it most clearly way historical reality enters - rom lit much more conscious of history and reality. Much of Greek art/lit is generalised and idealised, aimed at genreal abstract quality - Roman lit much more tied to here and now, and to history, to historical reality - NB subject. Greek art not really expressing individuality, more ideas. Brow furrowed = thinking man, not individual quirk. Roman sculpture very distinctly individual - lines and wrinkles: not abstract idea of old age or thought, but the individual lines and flaws. Very specific, historical, concrete individual. Significant diff between Greek and Roman approach. Mechanics of writing in ancient world: Everything got of rom lit has come down through handwritten manuscript. What was written down as lit was written on papyrus rolls. Ancient books. Narrow columns. Means an ancient book couldn't contain a great deal - a poem like the Odyssey fitted onto 24 ancient rolls. Divided to fit on papyrus roll. Whole work would be kept in a kind of bucket. Of course book had a lot of inconveniences. Also very fragile. NB texts might only exist in ten or twelve copies - great works gone. Many important authors simply gone. Only have tiny fraction of their works. Start to begin to get the codex (modern type book) only long after Christ. Nobody made a living as an author in the ancient world. Not something to make a living off. Meant were dependent - either had to be rich, inherited money of some sort, etc. To have the leisure to write. Or if relatively poor, needed a patron - a man (always as far as could tell) to subsidise to enable to write. And at the beginning of Rom lit wirting very lowly regarded - lower class activity, educated slaves. Not something a gentleman would think of doing. Only gradually something elite would try. Not highly regarded in terms of elite values in Rome.

By the alter third century BC - end of 200s BC - Rome controlled most of the italian peninsula - about to expand hugely through the med world, with this kind of military and growing political power of Rome - growing confidence of the elites at Rome: self-consciousness: want to create own culture and lit. All elites would've written and spoken in greek, but wante dto create something that was their own = growing military strength of Rome that lit began to grow.

Lecture 2

For JMS application: 500 word essay should show clear thinking, writing ability and argumentative skills Writing is thinking put down
16 August 2011 02:16 PM

Livius Andronicus - starts about 240 BC. Beginning of written Roman literature. Rich oral trad of lit in rom, but written lit begins at this poins. Don't know much, some of chars and typical features of rom lit can see in work. Was a Greek, brought as a slave. Wrote plays in latin - author of Dramas on Greek myth themes. Romans took over Greek mythology mostly wholesale. NB though, Began Roman lit with translation of Homer's Odyssey - famous Latin version, famous in the Rom world. Only a few little scraps of this remain. Fragments - someone quoted a text but the text self is lost, but quotation survived - how many work. From frags can see not a literal translator - adpated the text for a Roman Lati speaking readership. E.g. The beginng "Tell me muse..." but Andro uses "Camena" - native Italian deity, prophetess, inspiration. So for his audience uses somehting more familiar. Later freed and took on the name of his owner - normal procedure: became Livius Salinator. All we know about him. Roman comedy: Plautus - c.255 - 184 BC) 21 plays survive - only fraction of his work, but gives good idea. Maybe a slave, not too sure, some fictional evidence. Terence (c. 186 - 159 BC) Later comic playwright. 6 survive. Certainly a slave, but a freedman

Together represent Roman comedy. Overall large numbers of similarities. Represent Roman comedy. Generally classed together as part of the "new comedy" - 4th and 3rd C BC Menander Wasn't called new by the Romans, but periodised by scholars now. Greek new comedy belongs to the centuries just before Terence and P. Know a number of names of Greek writers. Menander NB - by far the most famous of the Greek authors. Remarkably people loved quoting, fragments. Then about 60 years ago a whole play was found. Remarkable discovery. Quite large chunks of other plays as well. Roman comedies: The Latin new comedy, kind of plays P and T - all translations of Greek new comedy, but translatio. Soemtiems would take two hole plays and fuse into one new play. So clearly worked freely. Heavily influenced by the Greek Settings - almost always set in Athens, occasionally somewhere else. Names - entirely Greek. If look at handout - Calidorus. Also for female characters. Etc. Characters: old man > father of young-man-in-love / courtesan (the beloved) / miserly pimp / clever slace / boastful soldier = same as those of Greek new comedy. Typical characters. Young man typical central character Calidorus very typical. Then have the young woman, usually a courtesan woman independent, in own house, but dependent on others. Greedy/miserly pimp who controls the courtesan sometimes. Clever slave - slave normally belonging to the old man who works together with the young amn to outwit the master (dumb young man in love's father). Boastful swaggering soldier boasting about military and sexual contests. Often rival of young man in love, almost always defeated. Plots - typical plot of new comedy, Greek and Roman. Typically it centres around the young man in love getting the girl. Always there are huge obstacles int he way - difficulties, always. Typical RomCom difficulties. Soemtiems the courtesan - wasn't something that a freeborn woman should be doing, would carry legal stigmas - always slave or ex-slave then. Always an obstacle to the young man in love, but then turns out after all to be the young daughter of a wealthy freeman. Stage conventions - some of the conventions strange - used masks. All the typical characters would have typical kind of mask. Immediately recognisable. Theatre of strong conventions. Immediately identified types of character dealing with. Action always takes place out of doors. In ancient Roman comedy setting always out in street in front of Roman houses. Three doors belonging to the characters - in the houses. Have exit to left and right then. If went to the right, going to the town centre - what the actual theatre was like in Athens. If went to the left, going to the harbour. Conditions of performance: Greeks from early stage had permanent theatre - every town of importance had theatre. There for performance of drama. Very different in Roman world at this time - no permanent theatres - platform put up, actors come.

Audience seems to have just stood around and come and gone. Much more difficult for the writers of Roman comedy to keep audience's attention. Plays tended to be put on once or twice a year, religious festival or maybe funeral of rich person. Diffs between Plautus and Terence: Plautus: Generally more lively and creative of the two - full of life and vigor. Quite careless about construction of plot, would bring on random character to make jokes. Not fussed about precision in contruction of plot, focuses much more on gripping aud's attention in the moment. Has a number of vivid means - lots of jokes in Plautus, belly-laughs, loves puns. Has lots of songs in his comedies - probably more like modern musical than what would think of as an ordinary stage comedy. In play in handout more than half of action sung - grabbed audience's attention Uses devices of heavy alliteration Crude sexual humour, more bawdy than Terence - more explicitly sexual. Adds little roman references in his play - current legal or political scandals/practices, etc. Obviously weren't in the Greek original. Characters largely caricatures - over the top of young man in love, etc. Not very depe, etc. Not very different from play to play. Nb part of Plautus's drama - hugely expands the role of the clever slave - becomes NB. In play like the Pseudolus - Pseudolus name of the clever slave and of the comedy - dominates the action, almost right through. Several long soliloquies. Lots of slapstick humour, threats of violence toward the slave. Things Romans found funny. Terence: Much more restrained than Plautus - much more lanoline. Much closer to the spirit of Greek new comedy and Menander - restrained. Humane, no belly laughs. Much quieter. Very carefully put together, cosntructed. Humour much quieter Got memorable indiv characters in play - chars not interchangeable. Still sterotypes, but have depths to their character that don't find in Plautus. Pseudolus: Scene typical street in Athens. Quite often the Roman comic playwrights put a prologue at the beginning of play - soemtimes big. But here the prologue is absolute minimum. Probably because prologues set out plot More dramatic way of going about it. Part of Plautus's wish to grabe attention immediately. So Pseudolus clever slave starts off speaking - good translation because preserves a number of features. Notice s - alliteration. Overdone. Then go on to 'm' sounds. Notice the young man talking to - message: to young man carrying letter in the form of wax tablets. Probably origins of modern books: wooden squares with layer of wax for writing.

Calidorus: young man in love - notice the names. Pseudolus, Calidorus Pseu - lying, false. Dolus - trick or cunning Thus something like tricktsetr Cali - beautiful lovely, etc. Thus beautiful gift. Pseu: notice role gives to himself - "Won't you let me in on it then... Councillor" - usual role of the slave, clever, quick witted in contrast to the young man in love. Will find out now basis of the - "titanic torments..." etc. But before get a lot of jokes. Sometimes repetition jokes. Same word repeated. Here Pseu makes jokes about girl's bad handwriting. Polox - Greek oath - difficult to translate oaths, etc. Sybil - not a personal name - a prophetess in the Greek world - horoscope type thing. So Pseu says no one can understand. Then Cali gets sentimental, slave hard headed, practical - Plautus likes contrast between characters. Action spans whole series of jokes before get back to the plot. Greek name of woman - means little Phoenix - typical slave name. Immediately know won't get help form Cali, too feeble - will be Pseu who helps. Cali typically penniless, cna't do anything. Sensual bit - "Now the familiar days... Ternece: Shows vividly what it was like - third time trying to stage his play.

Lecture 3
17 August 2011 03:08 PM

The Girl from Andros: Again here will see many of the typical elements of Roman comedy. Dathos - typical name for many slaves, etc. Very typical name to have. Speaking here - immediately can see playing typical role of the clever slave: talks to himself. Mentions typical character - old man. Plot - young man in love with girl from Andros - courtesan, and father wants him to marry freeborn woman. But problem is he got girl pregnant. Typical obstacle.

"Look out and look shapr" - must be more quick witted, typical characteristic. Young master helpless and hopeless in love. Pamphilus - totally in love is menaing of name = typical also. Young man in love. Pack of to the mill - constant in Roman comedy: reflects difference in the real Roman world between town slaves and agricultural slaves who had a much worse lot. Circumstances much worse. Threat always to be sent to country, worked to death. Dark background to these threats. Thing never actually happened, but threat was there. Girl from Andros having a baby - another obstacle. Talks about their crazy plans, concocting a story that turns out to be true. "That the mother of the girl from Andros is Athenian born" - really a citizen. If this true, no obstacle to marrying Pamphilus. The door of Glycerium opened - ium ending diminutive: little something. Little sweetie. Here comign out and the slave slip in. Many standard features. Lucretius (98 -c to 55BC
On the Nature of Things in 6 books Hexameter metre - metre of epics. Immediately signals that this is high,

serious poetry. Poem, in hexameter. On a par away with epic. But the poem On the Nature of Things belongs to the didactic genre: aims to teach you something, poem of instruction. Goes well back into ancient Greek word. Didactic poem: took form, enfuses with tremendous emotion - immensely powerful and vivid poem on the nature of things Epicurus (340-270 BC), Epicureanism: tries to expound, set out philosophy - covers much more than modern phil - science, theology, physics, etc. Sets out to expound the phil of Epicurus Ataraxia = undisturbedness - tranquil, nirvana-like state. Live as he lived, in garden. Everything else flows from it. Convinced major sources of pain not physical pain (which passes), thought the worst and most significant sources were actual mental pains which came from fear and beliefs - arising from superstition, false beliefs about the make-up of the universe, gods, death, etc. Wanted to explain in ways that would free from fear Materialist philosophy - atoms and void (space) - explains everything in terms of material. Only two things exist - atoms and the void. Atom = something uncuttable - something as small as possible, can't be split. Hooked atoms will connect with the appropriate shape, etc. So just have atoms and combinations and the space in which they exist. Everything explained in these terms. Matter - moon, stars, rather, etc. Believes that atoms and space infinite, infinite number of worlds. All living things explained in atomic terms as well - souls also made up of very fine, mobile atoms which dissolved once died. Believed that the gods too have atomic forms. Crucial point about gods is that gods live in a state of permanent ataraxia - have absolutely nothing to do with our world or human life. Thus remove fear because could explain everything. No need to fear death,

nothing bad happens afterward, no punishment, etc. Gods don't affect lightning flashes purely physical. Memmius Epicureanism: moral philosophy - human good and human happiness. Simple principle, pleasure is good, pain is bad. This live to try and maximise pleasure. Not exactly hedonism - didn't focus on sexual pleasure and politics and fame because involved too much pain. Surest way to attain pleasure was to live a simple life, reduce your needs. Things easiest to attain, that don't bring pleasure. Becomes a prophet of simplicity rather than hedonism Again have a translatio = adapt and present phil of Epicurus for latin readers. Epicurus suspicious of poetry, so curious. Poem has an addressee - man by name of Memmius: prominent but corrupt pol of Lucretius's day. Peg on which he hangs his address. Argumentative tone. Uses very powerful imagery, developed similes and comparisons. Get powerful imagery and relentless argument, hammers away. Very oddly - nowehere in poem is Epicurus' name used - closes comes is "a man of Greece" - quite odd, peculiar thing. Maybe reverence. Presents this figure (Epi) as a godlike figure, greater than any supposed god, like Jupiter, etc. Epi actually genuinely benefited humanity through his philosophy. Text - pg. 5: In opening lines sets out with main problems, what his poem sets out to solve. Personifies superstition - grim features, etc. Doesn't believe in superstition as a goddess because of his phil. But because writing poetry often uses names of gods, etc. Only stand for things, like love, water, etc. Mustn't think gods actually exist. Superstition identified as a major enemy - "crushed to the earth by superstition" Have up and down throughout - poor humanity grovelling in the mud, etc. Unafraid - could explain everything away. Conventional religious beliefs about the gods couldn't scare him. Rather quickened his manhood Superstition lies crushed at feet - uses religious language. Raised us up to teh sky, etc. From beginning, not just physics for physics sake, always has moral purpose - to free from fear and pain of false belief. Next passage, als from book 1: Shows Lucretius's style more than content. Don't knwo whether independently wealthy or whether needed Memmius as patron, may have been the case.
Use of analogy/comparison

Book 3: physical, material nature of soul and mind Carthaginian Wars "medical" view of love-passion Two Greek views of early humanity: Decline from golden age Gradual progress from primitive state

Atoms - can't see but can see effect, as wind. Very powerful observation of the destructive power of hurricane. Romans more interested in visible, concrete world around - very Lucretian and Roman: vivid actual detail from visible world. Emotional argument, not scientific - things can't fully observe but that have effects in the observable world. Pg 6: Book 3 - thought soul and mind distinct things. Tries to give explanations of all these things. Again the explanation not just for its own sake, not just to explain psychology, has its own purpose. Very powerful imagery and language. Carthaginian wars - mainly in thirds and second C BC - whole world reeled in shock. Whole world breaks up, won't mean anything to us. Lucretius insists that human personality is soul and body together. When body dies, soul dies. Very insistent on idea that we're compound things.

Lecture 4
18 August 2011 04:06 PM

Complete interdependency of body and soul. Item four on pg. 6: What get here is Luc's diatribe against passionate love - strongly attacks the notion of giving away to erotic frenzy - passionate, sexual attraction. Fits with the elite roman view of love - marriage mainly a matter of politics and political alliance. Have sex for passion with prostitutes, and have sex with wife for children. Etc. Permanent love relationship quite strange to them/ Luc expressing Roman elite idea about it. Go see prostitute and get rid of passionate love. Treats as a kind of sickness or frenzy. Sort of medicalised this idea. Melancholy/madness of any other kind. Uses medical terminology. Will see that the love poets in next generation will take very different view. Uses Venus to represent love, just a poetical way of speaking. "Turn your mind elsewhere... Notice terminology - festering sore, frenzy

Passage illustrative of Roman attitude - contrasts to later love poetry. Pg. 7 - Book 5 Gives us his anthropology - remarkable in many ways. Doens't come from observation, but an imaginative reconstruction of the life of early primitivity. Two main views of how human life changed. Decline of the Golden Age - more religious, notion that human beings created by gods, lived close to them, etc. Then steadily declines, gets worse Then have gradual progress from primitive state. Beginning in the fifth C BC get something closer to modern idea - that life at beginning was simple, brutal, difficult. Food hard to find, gradually developed culture from primitive beginnings. Luc expounds second view. "The human beings who... Physically better, stronger, more robust Contrasts their condition with the later condition of humans. No agriculture (plough) or plant. No cultivation. Continues with notion of gathering existence. Luc doesn't believe in existence of nymphs, but uses them for running water places knew there was water. Knew to find water. Insists in last paragraph - had no technology. Coming of fire, they argue, was crucial. Beginnings of technology. Don't have clothes - lived in thickets (no tech to build shelters) Quite imaginative reconstruction. Obviously Greeks and Romans could see other people who still lived hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Catullus (84 - 54 BC) Younger contemporary of Luc. Lyric poet (song, associated with lyre) - one of greatest poets of the Roman world. Called lyric because poetry sung to accompaniment of stringed instrument. All that came down to us is the words Catullus, by this time poetry mainly written, even Lyric - but in the tradition of song. And like all Latin forms comes from the Greek - very rich tradition of Greek lyric poetry. Shape or form of a lyric - can be very different according to the music. Also true of written lyric poetry. Either very long or very short. Can be composed in verses or stanzas. Etc. Catullus's poetry conventionally grouped together 1 - 60 polymetrics - all rhythmic poems composed in various metres. 60 - 68 'longer poems' - not really delaing with them

69 - 116 Epigrams - Nb for us. These poems all have the same shape - made up of a hexameter, a six-beat line followed by a pentameter - together make up a "elegiac couplet" So any epigram always has an even number of line. Very shortest epigram has two lines. Sometimes can go up to twenty lines, not more than that. Little that know about Cat - pretty much just what we can discover from his writing. Don't know much for sure about his life Died quite young, about 50 Life and Love Poetry: Came from Verone, in Cisalpine Gaul (area settled by Celts - on Italian side of the alps) - hadn't yet been incorporated in Rome. Quite independent area. Outside system imposed by Rome. At some stage went south to Rome - most famous Roman poets were not born in Rome, but went to cultural capital. First example of poet that can be sure was an elite - was clearly a man of independent means. Mixes on terms of familiarity with the elite - Julius Caesar, Cicero - not very forgiving, could say what wanted thus. Catullus best known as a love poet - "Lesbia" most probably Clodia, wife of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer. Poetic name because it's an affair. Almost certainly she was a married woman. About ten years older than Cat - other lovers besides him Cicero vilifies Clodia in a speech. Cat's love poetry reflects the motion of love - ecstasy, anger, betrayal, etc. Part of a group of poets collectively known as Neoterics - newfangled poets Seemed to have formed group of which Cat most important rep - only poet whose work survived very well. Formed a close knot circle who read and commented on each others' poetry. Claim to be Followers of Greek Alexandrian/Hellenistic poets (Hellenistic period, 300 - 30 BC) - Alexandria great cultural capital of the world in this period. Passionate followers of that style of Greek poetry. And that kind of pose comes very Nb for next generation. They also claim to be following Alexandrian principles, laid down by Greek poets during period. Most famous of Greek Alexandrian poets Callimachus - very NB, influential (304 240 BC) Followers of Callimachus. Alexandrian/Callimachean influences: Rejection of longer fenres (epic, tragedy), a big book is a big evil - becomes theoretical pronouncement. Denounced poetry people would've loved at that time.

Small-scale poems - by contrast concentrate on small scale pomes - short lyrics, the epigram. Thousands of epigrams from that period. In a way a kind of model witty, well crafted, makes point briefly and cleverly. Technical perfection (nugae, ludere) - but although small, they must be technically perfect. So the poet should spend almost as much time polishing gem poets as the epic poet would spend. Must be perfect in language, metre, style. Kind of paradox - deliberate contradiction. Cat calls "nugae" - something insignifcant and trivial, and uses the verb "ludere" - to play. Writing poetry as a kind of game, but contradiction - on one hand sayiong poems insignificant things, but reality that take work of poetry very seriously - work hard on technique of poetry. Tone: personal, tender, erotic - like that of the Alexandrian poets - not high seriousness, must be personal above all, give personality. Interested in erotic in all shapes and forms. Doctrina (learned, scholarly) - poetry menat to be read by educated people, should show off learning end education in poetry - readers expected to have the knowledge to be able to appreciate your poems. Cal himself scholar, worked in great library in Alexandria, wrote huge amounts often on obscure subjects. Was a scholar and a poet - so all obscure scholarship also found its way into his poetry. Although new poetry quite accessible. Cat - revolutionary: love poetry does constitute a kind of revolution in the ancient world. What's revolutionary is that he takes his relationship incredibly seriously. Contrast to Luc. Takes his love for one particular specific woman incredibly serious, makes good deal of poetry about it. That kind of attitude, of wiritng poetry will be passed down to next generation take love very seriously. Cat's case doesn't mean have no other love objects. Boy from time to time, other women. But his main focus on Lesbia. Pg. 8: Pretty = lepidus - kind of buzzword for these poets. Charm about them. Cornelius Nepos, historian 'simple verses' - nugae Poem one seems to be designed to stand at the beginning of the collection - Nb intro giving sense of poetic sensibility, what thinks is important, etc. Rhyme in the translation, but ancient poetry doesn't rhyme at all - what the translator has added. Short poem, shows many of the characteristics of Alexandrian poetry. First line - calls book of poems a pamphlet - someting thin, small, relatively insignificant. Not a weighty book of poems but pretty pamphlet. "Polished new with pumice stone?" - like a file. "Deluxe additions" - good additions of poetry, lush and filed to be smooth - delux, good quality book would be made smooth.

So saying both literarlly it's polished, but also carefully crafted, written and composed. Addressee of poem - honour to be addressed upfront, shows collection in a sense dedicated to that person. Dunno why chose him though. Didn't need the money. Maybe just a friend/someone important. Cornelius Nepos - some of his work still survives. Notice again the self-deprecated tone: "never unprepared to deem my simple verses" Get a kind of ironic contrast between Cat and Cornelius - produced massive work. Cat composer of "pretty poems". Cornelius produced history of man. On the face of it Cat saying he's the greatest writer, but clearly have a kind of irony if think about "big book = big evil" hard not to think Cat ironic Learned and laborious man - effort, laboured. In the end again depricating "indifferent" - "... Writer's day" Clearly expects it to win him fame - poetry will be read after his death.

Lecture 5
22 August 2011 12:20 PM

Pg. 11:

Poem above poem 51, one by one of the great female poets: Sappho of Lesbos (1st half of the 6th C BC) Long before Cat. Cat 51 - version/translatio of Sappho's poem. Version of a Greek poem - luckily have the original as well. Sappho poem: Can see it's in stanzas, four line verses. Kind of verse very extensively used by Sappho in her poetry, so became known as the Sapphic stanza Fortunately translation keeps original metre. Sappho woman who loved other women So this poem is a poem that talks about presumably a "him" - "him I hold... In heaven": presumably the husband of the woman in love with. Envious, thinks he's the luckiest, etc. Poem starts with comparison - holds the man as happy as god in heaven: simile. Then poem sets out the intense physical symptoms of passion: heart trembling, senses fail, can't speak, can't see, hear, etc. Then Cat:

Same rhythm. The him of Sappho's poem becomes Cat himself. He says "he" obviously thinking about himself. Ups the ante - actually changed to a god, intensification, hyperbole. Takes starting point, but a number of differences - Cat cuts down on the number of stanzas delaing with physical symptoms. Compresses into two stanzas rather than three. Uses a name, no names on Sappho - uses Lesbia. Can see why chose name Lesbia - in this poem alluding to Sappho, who is from Lesbos. Lesbia - woman from Lesbos. Then problem of the last stanza - not acutally attached to the poem in the ancient manuscripts; very unusual meter for Cat. Have a little Sapphic stanza out of place. Not a translation of Sappho, general reflection. Addresses himself and reflects on the destructiveness of this love. Uses commonplace idea of Hellenistic moral phil - too much luxury and leisure destroys political empires, etc. So too much thinking of her, time spent with is destroying him. Many scholars accepted the idea that this was the first poem addressed to Lesbia. More of less a translation - could be sent as a feeler, not much to lose with it. Quite a plausible idea that might have been one of the first poems of the affair. Go back to pg. 9: Cat's other poem in collection written in Sapphic stanzas. Only two Cat uses this particular meter. Poem 51 - clearly a love poem. This one is a poem of contemptuous dismissal end of affair. Ancient reader would recognise meter and form. Clearly marks the end of the affair whereas other marked beginning. Lesbia not mentioned, just "his girl" - can't use her name. Addresses two old friends. Formally addressed to them but meant for her ears - can't even address her directly. Preserves meter of Sapphic stanza. In first half of peom does characteristic thing - movements of journey, broadens out vision or scope of the peom. Geo references to the world, broadens scope. Universal quality. Places mentioned don't really matter except for fact that at the far edges of the known world. "You, my two old friends,... Outermost British" For the Romans British most savage debased things on the earth. Julius Caesar crossed channel in 55BC - Nb date for Cat - date of death estimated at 54 BC. Then come back to starting point of the poem "you whom I know willing... By the ploughshare" So just a message - wild exaggeration "hundreds of lovers"

Get long developed comparison which is somethign characteristic of epic, which compares cat as delicate flower on the edge of meadow, Lesbia plough - kills flower. Interesting, does this other places in poetry. Cat poem 5: Pg. 8 "Kisses poem" - one of a pair of poems (5 and 7) - famous. Classic statement of the theme that life is short, must love and enjoy self as much as we can - often used. Combines with idea of youth against age - youthful pepople like himself and Lesbia as opposed to grey haired elders of Rome. Hierarchical and puritanical society. Saying something like this is going against wisdom, what elders would advise, but doesn't care. The point of the metaphor - we're like the sun: goes up, reahces zenith and then declines. Death for us is final - makes his urging Lesbia to live and love now all the more urgent "give me kisses, a thousand and then... Line 3 - smallest roman coin, won't get a cent for old people. Introduces commercial bookkeeping metaphor. Picks up again at the end of the poem language from Roman bookkeeping. Thrown into confsion, can't tell the number of kisses thrown between them. Evil eye - notion that if succesful, attracts envy, and evil eye might notice and put a spell on your success. Cat successful in love. Spells need a lot of detail - often had to do with love Cat 32: Pg. 10 Shows affair not exclusive. Don't know the person it's addressed to - probably meant to embarrass and demean her. Good example of these kind of poems to name the indivs - poems of attack, and insult. Next poem milder example. 39: Addressed to a named indiv, clearly not complimentary. If socially powerful enough to insult and attack someoen in writing can't do much. Spaniard - one of Lesbia's lovers. Ignatius. Also possibly another poet; gives two reasons to attack, rival lover and rival poet. Structure of the poem - Cat has care, notion of polish, careful even in fairly insignificant poem like this, in structure and shaping of the poem. "Because Ignatius has white teeth... Get repetition of smiles again and again - always smiles inappropriately.

... In good taste' - not a moral objection but one of taste: distasteful, inelegant, no taste or wit: cardinal sin for Cat and poetic circle. Then Ignatius becomes directly the addressee in the next 8 lines. Transpadane - River po, big river in Northern Italy - goes a bit further. Cat came from Verona, around that area. "As it is, you are a Spaniard... To have swallowed" Punch of the poem. Not just dreadful smile but what's made your teeth Pg. 12: Cat's epigrams Range of topics similar to polymetrics but tone different - love, attack, etc. Tone more sombre, more sad/reflective in general. Certainly among the love epigrams have an endless going over the affair with Lesbia, trying to understand, work out, what was like, where went wrong. NB - in epigrams cat gropes for new language in order to understand his love of Lesbia - needs new kind of language to understand. In one poem language of familial love - more than just intense passion and love. Goes beyond the physical. Also uses language of political alliance of the elite. Language of political alliance among the Roman elite: Language about friendship - amacitia: but had specific sense for Roman pol elite; kind of mafia friendship. Comes with obligations and strings. Not nromal friendship. Amacitia thus means bonds of loyalty between the elite - support politically, expect return, etc. Sometimes almost foedus - treaty/pact. Once have formed, fides: must be loyal, faithful. Have to support, etc. Would be extremely wrogn and dangerous to disregard. 85: Shortest possible form of epigram. Very famous epigram. Tries to understand how he can have contradictory feelings toward Lesbia. Kind of cry of anguish, but also attempt to understand how can feel these opposed feelings. Running theme in some of his poems. 87: Notice poem starts out as just a kind of general address to nobody in particular general reflection on the relationship. "contract"/"faithfulness" - language of political alliance.

Suddenly switches to addressing Lesbia directly. Very unusual for ancient love poems to use this kind of language, seems to be the best he can come up with to explain 92: Kind of distinction - lost liking but still love. Physical attraction still there. 101: About Cat's brother who died near site of Ancient Troy. 109: Tries to invoke greatest of the gods to witness this. "sacred friendship" - amacitia. Pact

Lecture 6
23 August 2011 02:15 PM

Augustan Period: Now at the end of the republic Historical context: NB for the Augustan poets. Julius Caesar first absolute ruler - wanted to establish himself for life. Assassinated by people who didn't want Rome dominated by one person. Then get conflict between Republicans (Brutus and Cassius) and the followers of Caesar (Octavian and Marc Antony) - saw selves as Caesar's heirs. Octavian - adopted son of JC. Later becomes Augustus - assumes this name. Battle of Philippi - conflict reaches culmination. Octavian and Anthony victorious. Essentially the end of the old republic - becomes imperial system, beginnings of the Roman empire As see for reading Virgil - pastoral poetry - NB for that, after 42 BC Octavian and Anthony have vast numbers of soldiers that need to be rewarded for part - reward them with land, leads to widespread land confiscations in Italy = reflected in Virgil's poetry. Parallels with own history End of the republic: Octavian remained in rome, controlled Italy and western part. Conflict gradually grew between the two. Anthony started liaison with Cleopatra. In the end comes to a head in the battle of Actium - late 31 BC. Anthony and Cleopatra defeated, Octavian sole ruler of the Roman world, whole of the future empire.

Nb for period. Octavian was trying to avoid the mistakes of julius Caesar who declared self absolute ruler. So Oct much more cautious and careful, made a pretense of restoring the old republic, forms of the old republic. Instead of calling himself dictator - emergency absolute ruler - JC declared dictator for life. Oct accepted ponly title of Augustus = revered, important one. Fairly neutral kind of title. What he is known as from then on. Rules til his death in AD 14 Carefully managed his appearance - appeared as priest, soldier - not in a very warlike attitude, has a cupid - reminding that claimed his ancestry went back to son of Venus. Augustus and the poets: Maecenas - NB figure in organising the lit at that time. Subtle pressure coming from the top to glorify Augustus. Virgil and Horace willing to propagate Augustus. Values: Service to the State - try to draw back veterans, through politics, admin, service in the army valuable and praiseworthy Strong emphasis on family values, importance of marriage and having children. Among the Roman elite and even below have considerable depopulation of Italy because of the Civil War. Many young men died. Encouraging marriage to build up. Augustus tried to force marriage through legislation. Represents self as priestly garb - bettered Rome traditionally and culturally. Virgil, Eclogues (42 - 38) Most famous Roman poem - became school text, works come down in entirety. Have reasonable biographical sources for Virgil. Ancient sources say when young, at time of writing Eclogues, was an Epicurean. Epicurean - can see from poetry close to the "new poets", to Cat and his circles. Same interest in small scale, highly polished and carefully crafted poems. Wrote ten poems in pastoral genre - Eclogues. New genre for Roman lit - all the evidence suggests that Virgil was the first to write in the genre. Pastoral: Very stylised, lit genre - strong conventions to it. Pastoral - characters are herdsmen, shepherds, etc. Concentrates on their enclosed world of flocks and pastures, centred in rural areas, outside urban world. Have Greek model - Theocritus - Alexandrian poet. Also wrote this kind of poetry - Idylls (little pictures, images of pastoral life)

Virgil's title means something like extracts - Eclogues: extracts from rural, pastoral like. Many of the eclogues set in Greek speaking places like Sicily - Greek colony. Also get the fact that the form of the Eclogues also overtakes Theo. Sometimes one of his pastoral poems would have a dramatic form - two chars speaking, as though in a play. Have dramatic form, sometimes narrative form where poet tells us the story abotu something happening in the countryside. Soemtimes mixture: narrative setting of the scene, drama when speaking. Dramatic form of the pastoral poem. That's in Theo, Virgil imitates. Soemthing that's new in Virgil - distinct contribution to the history of pastoral poetry: Virgil sets soem of his Eclogues in Arcadia - real place in Greek world, but for Virgil pastoral paradise, place in the imagination. Nothign like that in Theo. Becomes enormously influential - poastoral poetry a logn history in Euro poetry - Arcadia comes up again and again as the setting for pastoral poetry. What about: Small incidents in the lives of the shepherds, but that's just background. Most focus on love - unhappy love lives of the shepherds. Yearning usually remains unfulfilled. Mainly unhappy loves often form the subject. Rustic signing and music - Sing songs in Rivalry against one another. Become metaphor for poetry - in songs often say something about podetry, nature of poet's art, scope of poetry, limits and boundaries, what is the place of poetry in a violent world. Sometimes Virgil introduces un[pastoral elements in the Ecs. Soemtimes get references to nearby towns, war, things that disturb the pastorla world - dresses up in pastoral imagery though. In Eclogues creates a kind of imaginative world - seemlessly combined Greek and Italian reality. Often vague about exactly where the shpeherds are. Outlines often indistinct - deliberate on Virgil's part. Ew and distinctively Roman element Virgil allows to come in is refs to contemporary history and lit. Something distinctively Roman - want context. Virgil allows contemporary history to break into world Eclogue 1: Purely in dramatic form, no narrative intor. Have contrast between Meliboeus and Tityrus. 1. Reflects misery of the land confiscations 2. Reflects gratitude towards political authorities to those whose lands were spared. Tityrus allowed to keep his land, very grateful. The other shepherd driven off his land 3. Situation of the poet and poetry in a world torn apart by poetry. Names are all Greek. Tityrus playing on slim reed pipe - notice

Image for poetry and poetic activity. Tityrus allowed to sing his sogns and have fun. Reed, woodnymph, spread of sheltering beech - details of countryside. Contrast immediately at beginning - you do that, while I... Amaryllis - typical beloved woman's name. Tityrus' response - two people preoccupied by their own situations, speak past each other. A god - left mysterious - turns out later god is Octavian, allowed to keep lands. "Always be a god to me" - already in this poem Octavian being celebrated already. Lambs were what shepherds had to sacrifice. Suggestion in pastoral terms that Oct made possible for some people to be happy, but Virgil doesn't shjut out the other side of the picture either. Mel - "I don't begrudge... Everywhere" Again contrast between luck. Fortune expressed in pastoral rural terms images of sterility and death put in pastoral terms. At the end of the speech Mel comes pback - "but tell me about that god... Is he" Tit replies strangely - not person but city Very stirking intro. Can see Virgil takign pains to cloak intrusive elements -compares large with small. Rome carries head above. Then appears that Tit is actually an ex slave - theo doesn't generally talk about the social status of his chars, but Virgil historical person. So alreayd in first Eclogue, Virgil showing not just insignificant thing, allows history to come in, reality to come in. Pg. 15: Last of the eclogues - tribute to a man called Gallus - almost exact contemporary - very succesful military figure and a poet at the same time. He was the first fo teh love-elegists. What Virgil does is to in a way play with genre - experimenting with the limits of genre - including a love poem, Gallus, brings figure into the pastoral world, world of the shepherds - bold experience of presenting two different genres in one. Image of blending setting up idea of using two types of poetry/genregetting incorporation of a a love poet and his poetry - echoing. Daphnis pastoral god dying of love - from Theo Persuade not to let self die. So Vrigil casts Daphnis in this role. Naiads - spirit of the stream.

Mountains in Arcadia - put Gallus dying of love in Arcadia. Gallus is a sophisticate urban love poet, here dumped down among the sheep. Meant to be a bit funny. Dear Ms Meaton I am currently working on a story for my JMS 2 assignment on how St Mary's chapel is used by religious student societies. It would be helpful if you could answer the following questions: 1) When was it decided that societies and users of the Chapel should be charged? 2) Why was this decided? 3) What is the process to apply for use of the Chapel? 4) Who maintains the Chapel? 5) What is the Chapel generally used for? 6) Has the decision to charge for its use influenced how many organizations or societies use the Chapel? Thank you

Lecture 7
24 August 2011 03:10 PM

Pg. 15:

Kind of Virgil playing with the ideas of genre. Eclogue 10: "You have lost your sense... Typical theme - rival for the mistress's affection, her unfaithfulness. Gallus himself was a soldier - lit cvontrast in reality. Line 26, "Pan came... God of the pastoral world, of flocks and shepherds and sheep. Words NB - syas to Gallus all is no good because love is all powerful Uses pastoral imagery to incorporate idea into pastoral world Soemthing that G acknowledges at the very end of the peome, not put in extract: says "Love conquers all" - not to be overcome by any kind of weeping, etc. Last lines of extract - at this point able to reliase pastoral people as the supreme artists/poets. Virgil - the Aeneid: Next poem - the Georgics, writing through 30s BC - poem about agrivculture, farming, crops, etc. And Virgil in that poem allows the contemporary world to

come even closer in his poetry - deals with devastating effects of the civil wars on agriculture and the italian countryside. Embraces Augustan values talking about earlier. Fully in tune. Actually addresses Augustus directly, hails as the saviour of Italy, brought civil war to an end. Movement of Virgil's toward engagemnt with the history, civ etc. Of Rome = all that culminates in his great work, the Aeneid. When died the poem wasn't quite finished, small details that look as though would've been revised. Ordered that poem was to be burned, but Augustus demanded that it shouldn't. Throughout the 30s/20s BC Exercising pressure for an epic that would celebrate Octavian/Aug and his place in Roman history - see that reflected in contemporaries - kept refusing. What aug wanted was the kidn fo epic that already had, celebrating the exploits of indivs - wanted a historical epic that would glorify him and Rome. In the end does supply epic he had demanded, but not what Aug had in mind. Went back beyond historical epic to the mythological epic - like Iliad. Made a kind of Latin/Roman odyssey. Strongly reflects both poems. Trying to stake a claim as the greatest writing of Latin in a particular genre - setting self up as Roman Homer. Deals with rempote Roman past - when Troy falls, Aeneas sets out from fallen troy, first half tells how wandered around med until finds Italy - creates a settlement that will later lead to Rome. Aeneas is much earlier than rome, but he creates the settlement that will lead to Rome. In first half Virgil reflecting the Odyssey. Crucial difference though - Odyssey looking for familiar, while Aeneas setting out for place unfamiliar - mythical place. Act of faith, doesn't even know its name yet. Typical way of how Virgil uses Homer but transforms. By the middle of Aeneid reaches Italy, second half reflects Iliad - has to fight to establish himself in Italy. The whole narrative pattern clearly reflects the narrative pattern of Homer's Iliad The Aeneid: Nb theme - cpontrast between Pietas (loyalty and dutifulness) - very powerful moral religious concept for Romans, sense of duty toward family, state, gods, etc. In way that constructs Aeneas's character = man of pietas. Vs. Furor - madness, frenzy, lack of restraint, etc - the forces that are opposed to Aeneas - Juno one such figure. Wild outburst of anger and rage. Reflecting ancient attitudes - most of the figures in the Aeneid are female figures of unrestrained passion, not always treated unsympathetically. Get several "flash-forward", where from the time of Aeneas given prophecies or striong hints or direct laying out of the future, including the future of Rome.

Another way - the panoramas often culminate in the time of Augustus - so he gets glorified in the epid after all. See panoramas etc. Another way history introduced in the poem - Aeneas seen as sort of founder figure - represented as a sort of crucial figure who would give rise directly to the founding of Rome. Compared to Romulus, the initial founder of Rome, but also to Augustus. Depicted as a kind of prototype of Augustus. Clearly meant to remind the reader of Augustus, embodies Augustan values. Complex way in which Vrigil makes this also an important historical epic. Extracts to Aeneid: In very first words Virgil saying quite a bit about the poem. Tells about war and the hero "I tell about war and the hero... A man = the Odyssey - the first word of the Odyssey Wars, etc = the Iliad. Hinting at combination of Iliad and Odyssey Ref to fate/destiny - very NB theme of the poem Jsut as homer says about Od - suffered greatly on land and sea, like Aeneas Pietas also sounded ealry in the poem. "there was a town opposite Italy... Carthage... Favourite dwelling" - patroness of Carthage - would be heavily involved in war in third and second BC - Virgil again anticipating/introducing history. She had heard that fate allowed Destiny spinners - fate. So intro to the poem concludes with the notion of the Romans, clearly as NB a part of the poem as the hero. Second passage: Virgil just as Homer does, plunges into middle of the action - Aeneid reflects the structure of the story. Get a lot of things happening, then get a retrospective story, narrative by Aeneas of how left Troy, etc. At beginning find right at the coast of Italy, driven to Carthage - huge storm hits. Get first developed simile of the poem - fixed convention of the genre. Good example of the way Virgil changes the tradition - comapre human actions to something in nature usually. Virgil reverses process here - compares the action of the natural world to somethign in the human world. Stands order of comparison on its head. Shows action of the pome is symbolic in a way - when shown natural phenom should know it has a human menaing - full of symbolism. The menaing of the storm: shown in simile - forces of furor: madness and order calmed by quality of pietas

"Just as so often happens... Speech" - crash of the sea has died down. Natural world compared to pietas. Storm calmed by human figure. Aeneas travels through the med in first half of the book. Falls in love with queen of Carthage - Dido - almost deflected from destiny, but eventually he goes off and eventually reaches Italy. Happens at the end of book 5 - book 6 find in Italy. Book 6: We get something parallel to book 11 of the Odyssey - Od goes down to the underworld . Famous part of the odyssey where sees great heroes of the past. Similarly in book 6 Aeneas goes down to the underworld. Puts parallel to one of the greatest Greek heroes. Only grerat heroes come back alive So even going into the underworld is pietas act - seeking parents. Aeneas's father talks to him at length, describes the nature of the universe. Strange bit of theology - Virgil represents that in the underworld have Elysian fields. The souls of heroes yet to be born already exists in the underworld - gives chance to parade the future great men of Rome - culminates in Augustus. History worked into the poem - Caesar is there. Shows layers of history and myth - myth was that Saturn, father of the father of the gods. Had at some stage come to earth and ruled - the golden age - have a line from Saturn to Aeneas to Augustus who would revive the spirit of the golden age. Augustus must surely been pleased by the attribute of power. But Virgil always a bit ambiguous - never just what seems. Have a passage like what find in odyssey - talks about Gates of horn and gates of ivory. Says goes through gates of ivory - false dreams So causes doubt. Book 6: Passage contrasts the Greeks and the Romans - "let others" - the greeks. Greeks will be greater artists, great speakers, mathematicians, invention astronomy = the Greek sphere But for the Romans: the government is your medium, etc. Shows that for Virgil Rome is more than city, kind of ideal for civ and life. Perfectly well aware Rome didn't always live up to, but projects Rome in the Aeneid as a type of ideal to look up to. Passage 6: End of the poem - where the forces of furor represented by Juno are finally defeated - concedes the game is up. End of Juno's anger, announces that the Trojan element would eb incorporated with the Roman element = Latin race Jupiter speaking at the beginning.

"Jove's sister you are indeed... Juno characterised by furor and anger. Kind of concession - Juno will win something. By this time siding with Italians against the Trojans. Italians keep native tongue - trojans no longer speak language brought from Troy. Add rites and usage of the Trojans to the Italians - all one tongue. Godliness - pietas. Romans will be even more pious than the models of piety, the gods themselves. Passage concludes with Rome and the Romance. Juno will get respect after all.

Lecture 8
25 August 2011 04:05 PM

LOVE ELEGY:

Short time period. First flourishes with Gallus - Propertius, Ovid. Very little of Gallus survived, bulk comes from that period - 30 - 10 BC. All of them in a sense following on from Cat and the love poetry - talks in love poetry about one particular woman - elegists follow the same pattern - direct poems to particular named mistress. Certain conventions developed in their poetry. Conventional subject matter, themes and motifds. In form - uses elegiac couplets. Ovid's first poem form becomes significant. Every elegy has an even number of lines - two-line couplets. Mistresses: Gallus - Lycoris Propertius - Cynthia Ovid - Corinna For most of the beloved women of Roman love poetry - ancient sources tell us that the real names of women lay behind literary names. Significantly for Ovid not told of any real name lying behind Corinna - much more of a fictional figure. Themes of elegy: Talked about augustan values: tried to promote from 30 BC onward. Next 40 years or so, values of agriculture, family life, etc. Horace also reflects those Augustan values, whereas the elegists adopt kind of passive resistance - not a pol movement, but much more reluctatn and at times downright hostile in respect of Augustan values. Formulate a kind of alternative program - the normal respectable young roman of their class would be expected to go into army, serve state, have a career -

propose a kind of alternative career: nequitia = worthlessness: life of idleness, love, wine, poetry. Not respectable careers for the Roman gentlemen. Two favourite metaphors: Talk about ebing the slave of their mistress - NB in Roman soc where distinction between freeman and a slave NB, disgraceful to call self a slave = powerful metaphor. Also metaphor of warfare of love - won't take part and fight in the army, but dedicate selves to different kind of warfare which is conquering their mistress. Language is extensively used - "taking up arms", etc. Conventional contrasts of the Elegy Figure of elegiac lover: constructed in opposition to the conventional Roman man: sensitive, loves peace, in that role contrasted with the man of action Engage in the warfare of love Poor, humble, private person as opposed to the wealthy and powerful and public politician and succesful military official. Close connection between War and Wealth - anyone wealthy has obtained their wealth through fighting, war, conquest. Typically this kind of warmonger who is rich who can tempt the poor poet's mistress. Can't afford the gifts his lover wants, all he can offer is his poetry, make his mistress famous. Pg. 24: First poem of first book of prop's elegy's Cynthia - very first word: right up front sets up as his concern. About the first eight lines describe the nature of the relationship with him - miserable, unhappy. "Cynthia began my grief.. Who're chaste" - love as suffering, subjection - typical of love elegy. Cpourse of love seldom runs smooth. Filled with pain, infidelity. Notic how uses language - passage of Lucretius talks about love as disease, madness: conventional ancient ideas, powerful love emotion - what prop is picking up on here. In line seven "My year old madness does not cool" Then uses mythological example: lieks to use to compare experience to gods and myths, mythological past. Atalanta woman, Melanion - loves her, pursues, successful, notic in Arcadia. Tullus - in a sense the person to whom the book is dedicated, mentioned in first poem, honourable place. He was successful, Prop expects that through all his suffering he should be as well, but NO! Tullus as the addressee of first part of poem, rest consist as a series of appeals to different addressees with appeals to help save from this disastrous love. First one witches - fairly tong and cheek: if claim great power, help cure of love.

Then line 27 appeals to his friends - "And you my friends..." - talks about love as something like a disease that needs medical intervention "Find some drastic cure... Quarter me" - surgical intervention. Last eight lines addressed to happy lovers, contrasted with prop's case - "Love is gall to me" - again a medical idea. Another two lines on: shun this distemper. So have quite a powerful image of his love, as something disastrous, disease ridden, can't free self of. Worst case that represented with. Look at second poem for selves. Pg. 26 - one of the rare poems where Prop actually has spent a night with Cynthia - wonderful for him. "Oh luck indeed... About as sensual as Prop gets. Successful encounter with Cynthia - go on to second section below dotted line. This is an extraordinarily strong rejection of Augustan values: one of the most powerful passages in all the work of the elegists. Basically the opposition to Augustan values - decisively rejects the idea of soldiers in favour of love: kind of saying make love not war. Lines 40: "If all men covetous of a life... All like me, lots of drinking, wouldn't have any warfare if everyone lives like he does. Comes quite close to mentioning the battle of actium - closely represented in Augustus's propaganda - decisively defeats people there. Central part of Aug's ideology. For prop to mention it here in dismissive way, quite strong and risky. Romans would not have to die in Actium, as they did. Referring directly to the civil wars - quite controversial. Aug's tried to represent his wars as being made against foreign enemies. By contrast - "For this, posterity may... Notion of life has not harmed the gods, implying war etc has harmed the gods. Last poem is book three - at this point Prop dismisses Cynthia - ends affair, a bit like Cat poem 11. Prop says he's woken up, his madness is over, breaking decisively. But she does come back later anyway. Ovid: Different form the other love elegists - so far as we know wrote only love elegy, while Ovid wrote many different kinds of poems. At beginning of career wrote love elegy. Lived in 43 BC - AD 17 Love poetry belogns to his early career, over by 10 BC.

Strongly literary quality to Ovid's Amores - elegies composed in three books called the Amores - "loves" Strongly lit in tone, whereas the earlier love elegists taken mainly seriously in love passison, can also be witty and ironic, etc. But always talking about something real, while Ovid deliberately makes something literary of love elegy. Ovid uses situations and themes from earlier love elegy, just takes them over wholesale and plays with them. So not the nature of his passiona s he describes it that are original, but what is original is a very distinctive Ovidian tone: flippant, witty, gfunny. Sparkling, very brilliant tone. Very fond of paradox, liked standign ordinary idea on its head. Can pick up a passage or a verse and immediately see it's by Ovid. Starts off - pretends that he'd been trying to write an epic- not seriously meant. "my epic was under construction... Meter matching theme" - have to use a certain form/meter in the epic theme. Hexameter meter of the epic. "calmly removed one of its feet" - cupid taken out one of the feet from the six beat line and turned it into five beat line, thus pentameter - elegiac couplet. Says cupid not a god of poetry. Shows that thoroughly trained in rhetoric: makes a point and proves it, uses mythology in his arguments. Mythological examples to prove. Then at line 17 - ovid goes back to situation - "Page one... " Pentameter thought to be a softer rhythm more suited to love elegy. Literary game - syas not even in love, how can write love poetry. Can see immediately it's literary play So Cupid sorts out - "In reply the god... No Ovid is in love - earlier part of the poem shows just how seriously meant to take that. To hell with epic, etc. Hendecametric - line with eleven: elegiac couplet. Myrtle belongs to Venus, the goddess of love. In the first poem Ovid to begin with not even in love, forced to write elegy, but still no object of this love, just general state. In the second poem - continues the theme, if contrast with passion of cat and Prop - Ovid starting off second poem "What's wrong with me... Torturing me" Not even sure if he is in love - detached and ironic and playful tone. Rational cool attention Launches again into series of examples about nature - of resistance being futile, proves to him that he must accept that he is in love. "the god of love hits... Submissive slaves" = slavery of love elegists are very fond of. Finally accepts that he's in love - "And I submit cupid... War's over" - notion of the warfare of love. War is over, suing for peace and pardon.

What follows is the idea of a triumph - very for any right-thinking roman military person would eb the culmination of career, to be granted triumph greatest honour state could give. Conquering general rode in a chariot through Rome. Takes solemn Roman notion and plays with - allegory where cupid is conquering hero and young men and women prisoners/slaves - conquests of cupid. Agrees to be one of them. Still hasn't met any object of his love, finally in poem three addresses self as a woman, but doesn't name her yet. Actually got the mistress then. Poem 3: Full of conventional, typical elegiac themes - swearing fidelity to his mistress, but don't really believe him. Conventional pleas he makes in first part of poem. Conventional idea of slavery, slave for life. What follows after line six - line seven down to fourteen. Poet talks about his modest circumstances - typical of the elegiac lover. "I can't claim noble ancestry... Yours forever Allies - who he has on his side - jingling assertion of his qualities afterward. Line 17 - 18 - wishes he could live/die beside her. Poet imagining his own death, now mistress sorry once he died, weeps now that he's gone = will get again and again. Then also what the elegist can promise: can't give money but fame conventional idea. Then mentions famous heroines made famous through verse If go back and look at mythological examples: all adulterous affairs of Jupiter. That fact, the nature of the mythological examples kind of undermines Ovid's protestations that he would be faithful and hers only. Egs tell a different story. Poem 5: Lying there, they make love, etc. Basically shows that when actually does talk about love straightforward physical transaction - depth and complexity to it. Pg. 30/31 Ovid quite fond of paired elegies - two which clearly respond to each other, clearly shaped by ovid's training in rhetoric and the law - first argues one case then turns on head and argues the other. 2.7: Ovid protesting to his mistress - a lot of legal language. Line 17 - find the charge, the facts. "So that's the latest count against me... Accused of having an affair with her hairdresser - what freeborn man would sleep with a slave - shows strict distinction. Swears an oath at the end - by Venus/Cupids bow.

2.8 Addressed at the hairdresser. Clearly Corinna's suspicions are well founded, argues exactly the opposite of the previous ones - recapitulates argument, "but there are good precedents in mythology" Implies it was her fault - she blushed, etc. Asks god to disregard the false oath. Uses argument that should sleep with him again. Ovidian paradox - if stupid enough to refuse will tell mistress.

Lecture 10
04 October 2011 02:17 PM

Alexandria:

Important port city between east and west Producer of papyrus Centre of art, cutlure and scholarship Other: Antioch Pergamon (pergamentum, parchemin, parchment) Cities often named after Alexander's associates (mother, firends, dogs, etc) Often just added a Greek layer over the already existing local things Alexandria most NB city - strategic situation, became prominent city of commerce because of strateigc situation. Also very quickly Ptolemy made it a very Nb centre of culture and learning. Very NB centre for the export of Papyrus to the rest of the world. Because had library papyrus prices shot through the rough, so other places needed to make a plan. So in Pergamon had to use parchment, animal skin word derived from the name Pergamon. Library of Alexandria: Already established by the Ptolemies before Alexander's death. Became the largest of the ancient world, don't know how many copies of books, speculate around a million - place of the "cure of the soul" = fact that ancient phils considered their science as a contender for medical reasons for curing the soul of the people. Common medical science cured the body, phil cured the soul. Applied to learning in general. Very prominent librarians of Alexandria - tried to collect all the learning of the world, all sorts of strategies - imported all the old classics from Athens, made copies, sent copies back and kept the originals. Focused very strongly on the homeric poems - during the time established that various versions differed quite substantially, so tried to reconcile versions, and tried to establish a true version = from that textual criticism bron.

Even confiscated books when people came into port of Alexandria and just brought them to the libraqry. For this reason became a centre of learning and the librarians became the most learned people of the anicent world - had hosts of scholars in Alexandria. Visiting scholars and research fellows from all over the world though - all the scholars sponsored by the Royal house of Egypt. But when Julius Caesar set fire to ships in the harbour also urnt down the library immediately tried to re-establish the library. The Christian pope Byzantium also caused destruction and then later burned down completely. Hellenistic lit in general had a lot of lit available still to us. There were plenty of Hell tragic writers, but have nothing left of any of them ionly proper drama is from Menander: seen as the successor of Aristophenes. Rows of historians, but ones we have available is Diodorus and Polybius. Era of the birth of the ancient novel - come from firstC AD - started to write stories in prose. Birth of stories as we know them in the modern novel. Also in phil these phils of the era were astoundingly productive - some wrote almost hundreds of books. Not many left but know of them. Science as well. Head librarians: Considered the most learned persons of the time - don't need to know all of them. Aristophanes Aristarchus - astronomer Most prominent poets of the hellenistic era: Callimachus - most prominent poet of era Theocritus Apollonius - pupil of Callimachus Schoalr poets because evident that did research on their topics and their scholarship is reflected Theocritus: Apparantly came from the island of Siciliy - from Syracuse. Considered the founder of pastoral poetry - followed in tradition by Vrigil. Idylls - small picture: so just a little take on a very narrow situation - exploiting that situation in artistic terms.

Theocritus chose the metre of his poem - old epic metre of the hexameter: Greek poetry categorised by its metre. Stands in opposition in terms of content to the old epic poems - used elevated language, reflected heroic code, spoke of noble exploits of the heroes of old - the ideology: so married this elevated into idylls. Song of the Cyclops. Idyll nr 11 of Theocritus deals with Polythemus, song of the cyclops. Mythological figures know from the Odyssey - traditionally seen as children of the titans, but also fathered by sea-god Poseidon. Polythemus depicted as very uncivilised and inhospitable. Wouldn't let Odysseus and his men go, would rather devour them before they could escape from his cave. Also known for hideous appearance. He is sort of an ambiguous figure in the sense that he's not really taken seriously, on the verge of being a comic figure. Also depicted as very dangerous - his vengeance is what causes crap for Odysseus. Fairly ambiguous - on the one hand funny but on the other hand shouldn't be underestimated Falling in love with the sea-nymphs Galatea - impossibility of the love, the onesided love of Poly is the core/the ironic aspect of the poem. Another version was available - extended by Ovid, in that she got a lover by the name of Acis and they were caught in the act by Poly, who then trapped him under a rock and he was turned into a river. In Paris in the Luxembourg gardens have famous statue of Galatea and Acis Polythemus bearing over them. The poem itself: One featuer of the hellneistic poems was that they were very conscious of the fact that they stood in a grande tradition of literature - used that lit in a reflective sense: weren't immersed into the old tradition, had distance between them employed the old stories and old myths in novel ways. So what Theo does in this peom is that he frames the myth himself to doctor friend Nicias - equates love or desire to a disease, then proposes that to sing about love is the only proper remedy for this particular disease. Refrain in "There's no drug Nicias to cure... Love most" In the final lines he reflects again on the song itself - Poly realised love is crazy, should move on. So very cleverly framed poem Poly is presented as living upon the island of Sicily, on the slopes of Mt Etna dominates whole of landscape, depicted as being still a young man - in traditional Greek lit time when Boys were at most beautiful - ironic because know that cyclops is not beautiful - flowering of the cyclops. Goes ont o describe love, etc.

At first he's helpless in the grip of the disease - doens't know what to do. Then goes on to present the song he sees as a cure. The song itself: Theo was considered the founder of pastoral poetry - throughout whole poem can see allusions to a pastoral setting, of med world: all sorts of animals, typical plants of the area, etc. Realistic about his looks, but also have something to offer. Panpipes associated with pastoral poetry. Also problem that he's on land and she's a sea-nymph. Tensioon between idyllic picture of teh land and the depiction of the sea as a dangerous naasty place. "singed to the quick by you" - ironic reference, think of Odysseus stabbing him in the eye At the end of poem coming to his senses - "Cyclops, Cyclops have you lost your mind?" Nice little idyll Final notes; Uses traditional material - wasn't the inventor of this particular myth, probably comes from poet of the fourth C. Exploits the artistic possibility of the matreial by weaving it into a fame and presenting it as a cure to a disease. Exploits the sens eof being a comic figure, takes to extreme. Theo creates a tragi-comic situation, leaning toward the comic - can't see nasty personality. But despite being comic not too silly - can empathise witht he univesality of the topic of unanswered love and the way it is employed by the artist. Very good example of Hellenistic poetry in representing poets as learned poets who delve into past and exploit it to bring fourth potentional of their own material.