Undergraduate Course: Hellenistic Poetry (GREE10012)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The aim of this course is to study Hellenistic Poetry by examining in the original Greek a selection of important works or parts of works from this period. The works selected will change from year to year but will include poems or parts of poems by one or more of the major poets of the period such as Apollonius of Rhodes, Callimachus and Theocritus. Particular attention is paid to literary innovations and the interpretive issues that arise from them. |
| Course description |
During the course, students will read in Greek a range of texts that will include poems and/or passages from one or more of the most important poets of the Hellenistic period, such as Apollonius' Argonautica, the Hymns and other works of Callimachus, and the Idylls of Theocritus. Through close analysis of the poems in their original language, students will study the style and language of the poetry and its interpretation from a variety of perspectives. Students may also be expected to read more poetry of this period in English.
The course will explore the conventions and characteristics of Hellenistic poetry, focusing in particular on literary innovation. It will tackle the interpretative problems raised by Hellenistic literary practices, and modern critical approaches to those problems.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
Students MUST have passed: (
Greek 2A (GREE08007) OR
Greek 2a Ex-Beginners (GREE08009)) AND
Greek 2B (GREE08008)
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Students should have achieved a Pass in Greek 2A (or Greek 2a Ex-Beginners) and in Greek 2B, with an average of 50% or above in the two courses combined. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should usually have at least 3 courses in Classics related subject matter (at least 2 of which should be in Ancient Greek) at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this) for entry to this course. We will only consider University/College level courses but Elementary or Intermediate Greek courses will not count. Students beyond Intermediate level but with less Greek than the prerequisite should consider taking either Greek 2A/2B. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination, a thorough knowledge of the content of the Hellenistic works read;
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination, a good knowledge of the language and style of the works read;
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination, a good understanding of the literary innovations, conventions and characteristics of Hellenistic poetry;
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination, an awareness of the interpretative problems raised by Hellenistic literary practices and modern critical approaches to those problems;
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination, skills in close reading of original texts.
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Reading List
Examples of secondary literature:
Acosta-Hughes, B. (2010) Arion's Lyre. Archaic Lyric into Hellenistic Poetry, Princeton.
Acosta-Hughes, B., Lehnus, L. and Stephens, S. (eds.) (2011) Brill's Companion to Callimachus, Leiden.
Campbell, M. (1981) Echoes and Imitations of Early Epic in Apollonius Rhodius, Leiden.
Clare, R. J. (2002), The Path of the Argo. Language, Imagery and Narrative in the Argonautica of Apollonius Rhodius, Cambridge.
Clauss, J.J. and Cuypers, M. (eds.) (2010) A Companion to Hellenistic Literature, Oxford.
Fantuzzi, M. and Hunter, R. (eds.) (2012) Tradition and Innovation in Hellenistic Poetry, Cambridge.
Fantuzzi, M. and Papanghelis, T. (eds.) (2006) Brill's Companion to Greek and Latin Pastoral, Leiden.
Hunter, R. L. (1993) The Argonautica of Apollonius. Literary Studies, Cambridge.
Klooster, J. (2011) Poetry as window and mirror. Positioning the poet in Hellenistic poetry, Leiden.
Papanghelis, T.D. and Rengakos, A. (eds.) (2008) Brill's Companion to Apollonius Rhodius, Leiden.
Rawles, R. (2019) Callimachus. London. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Special Arrangements |
In order for a student from outwith Classics to be enrolled on this course, contact must be made with a Course Secretary on 50 3580 in order for approval to be obtained.
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| Keywords | Hellenistic Poetry |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Richard Rawles
Tel:
Email: Richard.Rawles@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Jenni Vento
Tel: (0131 6)50 3781
Email: jenni.vento@ed.ac.uk |
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