Ancient literature, selected problems I: Poetry and society I: Tragedy in the Classical Age

fakultatywne

Course aims:

To inform on the main poetic texts that characterise the Greek Classical Age (i.e. not only tragedy, but also, e.g., comedy); to inspire reflection on the relationship between mythology and poetic innovation (e.g., the case of Euripides Medea); to illustrate how literary genres develop, and how they relate to each other (the so-called intertextuality); to assess critically the reception of some main works of Greek Archaic literature by modern authors; to read and to learn how to interpret a Greek tragedy as art.

Basic understanding of literary technical terms. Elementary knowledge of European literary history.

Interactive lecture, problem-based lecture, discussions, text-based work, case study work, problem-based learning, sound and/or video demonstration, creative methods, group work, close reading, using commentaries and making sense of textbooks.

5

Course learning content:

- reading and interpreting Greek texts in translation,

- evaluating the difficulties in understanding,

- articulating own ideas in an academic and professional way,

- how did classical Athens become the model of all European urban societies to come?; or is this a myth invented by naïve Philhellenists and enthusiastic scholars?,

- how did tragedy develop – why is there no chorus nowadays (pace T.S. Eliot), why do we have silent dialogue (as in Chekhov), why do we watch plays that openly play with nothing else than other plays?; what has become of realism – or were the ancient tragedies never ever real plays?,

- what role did mythology play?; how was it understood?; do we have nowadays something comparable to it?; has it gone completely?; do we no longer believe in any great narrative, as postmodernists claimed already long ago?.

Reading list:

Aeschylus, "Agamemnon".

Sophocles, "King Oedipus".

Euripides, "Medea".

On successful completion of this course, a student will be able to:

- conceive and write an essay on a literary text,

- understand better the characteristics of Greek poetry,

- acknowledge the impact of Classics,

- differentiate between types of intertextual relations,

- critically evaluating various methodological perspectives applied to analyzing texts,

- getting extensive factual knowledge in the field covered.

Grade system:

very good (bdb; 5,0): very good familiarity with the problems and methodologies discussed in the lecture; very good understanding and ability to interpret the facts from a number of perspectives.

good plus (+db; 4,5): as above, except for minor deficiencies and inaccuracies.

good (db; 4,0): good familiarity with the problems and methodologies discussed in the lecture; understanding and ability to interpret the facts from a number of perspectives.

satisfactory plus (+dst; 3,5): satisfactory familiarity with the problems and methodologies discussed in the lecture; average understanding and ability to interpret the facts from a number of perspectives.

satisfactory (dst; 3,0): basic familiarity with the problems and methodologies discussed in the lecture; shallow understanding and ability to interpret the facts from a number of perspectives.

unsatisfactory (ndst; 2,0): unsatisfactory familiarity with the problems and methodologies discussed in the lecture; no understanding or ability to interpret the facts from a number of perspectives.