Courses / Module

Toggle Print

THE AENEID & THE STORY OF ROMAN EPIC

Module code: GC309
Credits: 5
Semester: 1
Department: ANCIENT CLASSICS
International:

	Overview
	To guide the student in reading and interpreting the poetic discourse of epic from Virgil’s Aeneid through his epic successors Ovid, Lucan, and Statius. This module investigates the many ways (mythical, poetic, and political) in which the Aeneid can be interpreted as a monument to the Augustan principate. The complex literary texture of this core text for our understanding of the Roman imagination will be studied in detail. The module reveals how Virgil is challenged, reread, and emulated by poets in the later tradition of epic writing at Rome.

Overview

To guide the student in reading and interpreting the poetic discourse of epic from Virgil’s Aeneid through his epic successors Ovid, Lucan, and Statius.

This module investigates the many ways (mythical, poetic, and political) in which the Aeneid can be interpreted as a monument to the Augustan principate. The complex literary texture of this core text for our understanding of the Roman imagination will be studied in detail. The module reveals how Virgil is challenged, reread, and emulated by poets in the later tradition of epic writing at Rome.

	Learning Outcomes
	On successful completion of the module, students should be able to: Recognise mythical and political events in the poems. Select key episodes to illustrate significant themes. Discover what devices make epic poetry epic. Compare the ways later poems interpret the Aeneid. Propose values and ideas common to all the poems. Demonstrate the ability to communicate complex ideas in both oral and written form.

Learning Outcomes

Teaching & Learning methods

Assessment

	Autumn Supplementals/Resits
	Are supplemental/resit registrations permitted? Yes 90-minute written examination. The mark awarded for a coursework essay will be carried forward to the Autumn Examination and applied if it is to the student's advantage. A coursework essay may not be resubmitted (or submitted for the first time) for the Autumn Examination. Note: Continuous assessment marks to be carried forward to August session, if coursework is only partially completed during the regular semester. University scheduled written examination (Autumn): 90 minutes, On-campus

Autumn Supplementals/Resits

Timetable

Courses / Module

THE AENEID & THE STORY OF ROMAN EPIC

Semester 1

Semester 2