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Mr. Ganiban
212 Twilight
443-5888
ganiban@panther.middlebury.edu
Under construction
A. Overview
This seminar will examine the tradition of Latin epic poetry from
its beginnings to the first century AD. We will explore its obsession
with evil, its fascination with familial and civil war, its critique
of the gods, and its potential as a medium for propaganda and
political criticism. In addition, we will be concerned with why
the Latin epic tradition developed as it did, and how poets reacted
to Vergil's great work The Aeneid in their attempts to
achieve poetic originality. We will concentrate on four Roman
epics: Vergil's Aeneid, Lucan's Pharsalia (a.k.a.
The Civil War), Valerius Flaccus' Argonautica (a.k.a.
Jason and the Golden Fleece), and Statius' Thebaid.
In addition, we will examine some of the major critical literature
about them.
B. Books
Available for purchase at the College Store:
Vergil's Aeneid
Lucan's Pharsalia
Apollonius' Jason and the Golden Fleece
Valerius Flaccus Argonautica
Statius' Thebaid
Boyle (ed.), Roman Epic
These will be the main texts for the seminar. We will only be
reading half of Apollonius, though you will find its introductory
material and glossary of names and places in the back very helpful
when reading Valerius Flaccus, who also wrote on Jason and the
Argonauts. I will put all of these books on reserve in Starr Library.
C. Papers
There will be a total of three papers due on the following dates:
March 24 (by 4 pm), April 18 (by 4 pm), and May 16 (by 4 pm).
The purpose of these is to deepen our understanding of each author's
style and relationship to previous writers in the epic tradition.
The first two papers should be roughly 5 pages long, while the
final paper should be 8-10 pages. A list of suggested topics will
be distributed as we get closer to the dates. Other topics can
be done upon consultation with the instructor.
In addition, we will do brief writing responses (1-2 pages) to
the week's readings due in class on Tuesdays. They can be general
impressions, thoughts about a particular point of interest, or
a response to a question suggested by the instructor. These are
not papers but reflections on the readings. More information
on these as the dates approach.
D. Presentations
Each student will present several pieces of assigned secondary
literature to the class throughout the semester. These informal
presentations can be done alone or in pairs. The purpose is
to explain the author's main points, discuss their validity, and
(most importantly) suggest how they can affect our interpretation
of the poem in question (particularly with respect to the day's/week's
readings). If you are presenting on the day a response paper is
due, your response can be a written version of part of your presentation,
so that it does not have to be extra work.
E. Grading
Attendance, presentations and participation: 40%
Papers: 60%
F. Schedule of Assignments
The following is a schedule of readings, both primary and secondary.
Changes can be made, especially in the second half of the semester,
to take into account our needs and interests as they develop.
Week 1: Beginnings of the Roman Epic Tradition
2/11: Introduction
2/13: Beginnings of Roman Epic
Goldberg, "Saturnian Epic: Livius and Naevius," in Boyle
(1993): 19-35
Dominik, "From Greece to Rome: Ennius' Annales,"
in Boyle (1993): 37-56
Catullus poem 64 (handout)
Week 2: Vergil
2/18: Aeneid 1-2
Johnson Darkness Visible, 23-48 (esp. 32-48)
2/20: Aeneid 2-3
Rudd, "Dido's Culpa ['Guilt']," in Harrison (1990):
145-166
Week 3: Vergil
2/25: Aeneid 4-6
Boyle
2/27: Aeneid 7-8
Feeney, Gods in Epic
Week 4: Vergil
3/4: Aeneid 9-10
Parry, "The Two Voices of Virgil's Aeneid"
3/6: Aeneid 11-12
Putnam, "The Hesitation of Aeneas," in Putnam (1995):
152-166 vs. Otis (1964): 370-382
Week 5: Lucan's Pharsalia (or Civil War)
3/11: Pharsalia 1-2
Masters, Poetry and Civil War, 1-10; Ahl, "Form Empowered:
Lucan's Pharsalia" in Boyle (1993): 125-140.
3/13: Pharsalia 3-4
Feeney, The Gods in Epic, 270-281
3/14: Paper 1 due (12 noon)
Week 6: Lucan's Pharsalia (or Civil War)
3/18: Pharsalia 5-6
O'Higgins, "Lucan as Vates ['seer/poet']," 208-226
3/20: Pharsalia 7-8
Quint, Epic and Empire, 131-157
Week 7: Lucan's Pharsalia (or Civil War)
3/25: Pharsalia 9-10
Johnson, Momentary Monsters, 35-66
3/27: Lucan wrap-up
3/28: Paper 2 due (4 pm)
Spring Break!
Week 8: Jason and the Golden Fleece (Argonautica)
4/8: Apollonius, pp. 34, 8-25
Valerius 1-2
4/10: Valerius 3-4
Malamud and McGuire, "Flavian Variant: Myth. Valerius' Argonautica,"
pp. 192- 217
Week 9: Valerius'Jason and the Golden Fleece (Argonautica)
4/15: Valerius 5-6
Apollonius, pp. 66-76
4/17: Valerius 7-8
Feeney, The Gods in Epic, pp. 314-337
Week 10: Statius' Thebaid
4/22: Statius 1-2
Hill, "Statius' Thebaid: A Glimmer of Light in a Sea
of Darkness," pp. 98-117
4/24: Statius 3, 4 (selection), 5 (pp. 54-80, 90-131)
Henderson, "Form Remade/ Statiu's Thebaid," pp.
162-189
Week 11: Statius' Thebaid
4/28: Paper 3 due (4 pm)
4/29: Statius 7-8
Feeney, The Gods in Epic, pp. 337-364
5/1: Statius 9-10
G. Williams, "Statius and Vergil: Defensive Imitation,"
pp. 207-224
Week 12: Statius' Thebaid
5/6: Statius 11-12
Feeney, The Gods in Epic, pp. 365-391
5/8: Reflections on the Roman Epic Tradition
Paper 4 due by 5/16 (4 pm)
G. Select Bibliography
We will be reading selections from most of these works as part
of our weekly assignments:
Ahl, F. (1976) Lucan: An Introduction. Cornell.
Boyle, A. (1993) Roman Epic. Routledge
Cairnes, F. (1989) Virgil's Augustan Epic. Cambridge.
Conte, G. (1986, trans.) The Rhetoric of Imitation: Genre and
Poetic Memory in Virgil and Other Latin Poets. Cornell.
Feeney, D. (1991) The Gods in Epic. Oxford.
Griffin, J. (1986) Virgil. Oxford.
Hardie, P. (1986) Virgil's Aeneid: Cosmos and Imperium.
Oxford.
Hardie, P. (1993) The Epic Successors of Virgil: A study in
the dynamics of a tradition. Cambridge.
Harrison, S.J. (1990) Oxford Readings in Vergil's Aeneid.
Oxford.
Heinze, R. (1928, 3rd edition ; 1993, trans.)Virgil's Epic
Technique. California.
Johnson, W.R.(1976) Darkness Visible. California.
Johnson, W.R. (1987) Momentary Monsters: Lucan and his Heroes.
Cornell.
Masters, J. (1992) Poetry and Civil War in Lucan's Bellum Civile.
Cambridge.
O'Hara, J. (1990) Death and the Optimistic Prophecy in Vergil's
Aeneid. Princeton.
Otis, B. (1964) Virgil: A Study in Civilized Poetry. Oxford.
Pöschl, V. (1962, trans.) The Art of Vergil: Image and
Symbol in the Aeneid (trans. Seligson). Michigan.
Putnam, M. (1965) The Art of the Aeneid. Harvard.
Putnam, M. (1995) Virgil's Aeneid: Interpretation and Influence.
Chapel Hill.
Quint, D. (1993) Epic and Empire. Princeton.
Toohey, P. (1992) Reading Epic: An Introduction to the Ancient
Narratives. Routledge.
Vessey, D. (1973) Statius and the Thebaid. Cambridge.
H. Office Hours
If you have any questions, please feel free to stop by my office
or call. Office hours are tentatively set for Mondays 1:00-2:30
pm and Fridays 9:00-10:30 am, though individual appointments can
also be arranged. My phone number is 443-5888. You can also reach
me by e-mail: ganiban@panther.middlebury.edu. And check out my
homepage for links to Classical sites that may be of interest:
http://www.middlebury.edu/~ganiban
