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CLU13442/CLU24442 Latin Epic

Virgil’s Aeneid is one of the most significant works in world literature, and a poem that has given rise to strikingly different interpretations. This module will explore some of these interpretations and encourage discussion of the poem’s genre, characteristic themes, and distinctive style. Through close reading of two books we will analyse the ways in which Virgil engaged with Homeric, Hellenistic and early Latin epic diction and created a deeply original and influential poetic language.
  • Module Organiser:
    • Prof. Anna Chahoud
  • Duration:
    • Semester 2 (Jan - Apr)
  • Contact Hours:
    • 22 (2x1-hr class/week)
  • Weighting:
    • CLU13442: 5 ECTS: CLU24442: 10 ECTS
  • Assessment:
    • CLU13442: 20% continuous assessment (one written assignment) and 80% 2-hr final examination
      CLU24442: 40% continuous assessment (two written assignments) and 60% 2-hr final examination

Required Texts

  • Virgil, Aeneid 4, ed. R. G. Austin (Oxford University Press 1983)
  • Virgil, Aeneid 8, ed. K. W. Grandsen (Cambridge University Press 2012)
  • Virgil, Aeneid, transl. by S. Lombardo (Indianapolis/Cambridge Hackett 2005)

Introductory Reading

  • Alden Smith, R. (2011) Virgil, Blackwell Introductions to the Classical World (Wiley-Blackwell)
  • Gransden, K. W. (2004) Virgil, The Aeneid, 2nd ed. by S. J. Harrison (Cambridge)
  • Hardie, P. R. (1998) Virgil, Greece & Rome New Surveys in the Classics No. 28 (Oxford)
  • Martindale, C. A. (ed.) (1997) The Cambridge Companion to Virgil (Cambridge)
  • Morwood, J. (2007) Virgil, A Poet in Augustan Rome, Greece & Rome Texts & Contexts (Cambridge)
  • Perkell, C. G. (ed.) (1999) Reading Virgil's Aeneid: An Interpretive Guide (Oklahoma Un. Pr.)
  • Ross, D. O. (2007) Virgil’s Aeneid: A Reader’s Guide (Wiley-Blackwell)

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

  • Translate and analyse the text of Virgil’s Aeneid
  • Contextualize the content of the prescribed books within the epic poem as a whole
  • Identify and analyse the characteristics of Virgil’s language and style
  • Analyse and scan Virgil’s hexameter
  • Critically engage with the secondary literature
  • Situate the text in the contexts of its production and reception