Modules
Greek and Roman Drama (CLA1006)
Staff | Dr Chiara Meccariello - Convenor |
---|---|
Credit Value | 30 |
ECTS Value | 15.00 |
NQF Level | 6 |
Pre-requisites | None |
Co-requisites | None |
Duration of Module | Term 1: 11 weeks; Term 2: 11 weeks; |
Module aims
- To come to a general understanding of the origin and development of ancient drama, the importance of types of plot and character, the relationship of drama with society and the emotional effect of tragedy.
- To explore Athenian tragedy of the fifth century BC over a period of some sixty years, paying attention both to the texts of the plays and the way they develop with time and in line with changes in the city.
- To complement the study of Athenian tragedy with the very different tragedy of Seneca (first century AD), which raises issues of text, performance and the cultural setting of drama.
- To explore comedy, considering the place of Greek Old Comedy (for example Aristophanes) in the Athenian democratic city, and ways in which it differed from the New Comedy of the late fourth century (for example Menander).
- To investigate Roman approaches to comedy through the plays of Plautus and Terence.
ILO: Module-specific skills
- 1. Describe and demonstrate a basic understanding of (a) the development of Greek tragedy and comedy in the fifth and fourth centuries BC and (b) Roman comedy and Senecan tragedy
- 2. Read critically individual works of Greek and Roman Drama
- 3. Place ancient drama in the context of theatre and comment on some aspects of its theatricality
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
- 4. Analyse and evaluate ancient texts in relation to their socio-cultural context
- 5. Identify and engage effectively with relevant theoretical approaches to ancient texts
ILO: Personal and key skills
- 6. Demonstrate capacity for independent judgement
- 7. Work in a seminar team and discuss issues in a peer group
- 8. Present work in written form with a coherent argument
Syllabus plan
While the content may vary from year to year, it is expected that it will cover the following topics:
TERM 1: TRAGEDY
- Athenian dramatic festivals
- Music, dancing, costume, masks, props
- Religion and ritual
- Politics and ideology
- Rhetoric, language and style
- Myth and intertextuality
- Lost plays of Greek tragedy
- Tragedy and philosophy
- Roman theatre: continuity and change
TERM 2: COMEDY
- Approaches to comedy and humour
- Comic politics
- Fantasy and utopia
- From ‘old’ to ‘new’ comedy
- The rivals of Aristophanes and Menander
- Characters, masks and ethics
- From Greek to Roman comedy
- Comic sex
- Comic closure and approaches to plot
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
---|---|---|
54 | 246 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
Category | Hours of study time | Description |
---|---|---|
Scheduled learning and teaching | 44 | Lecture (22 x 2 hour) |
Scheduled learning and teaching | 10 | Seminars (10 x 1 hour) |
Guided independent study | 246 | Independent Study |
Formative assessment
Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
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Oral contribution to seminar | Ongoing | 1-7 | Verbal feedback |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
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60 | 40 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
---|---|---|---|---|
Term 1 commentary exercise | 30 | 1500 words | 1-6, 8 | Written and oral feedback |
Term 2 commentary exercise | 30 | 1500 words | 1-6, 8 | Written and oral feedback |
Term 3 examination (essay-based) | 40 | 2 hours | 1-6, 8 | Written and oral feedback |
0 | ||||
0 | ||||
0 |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
---|---|---|---|
Commentary exercise 1 | Commentary exercise | 1-6, 8 | Referral/deferral period |
Commentary exercise 2 | Commentary exercise | 1-6, 8 | Referral/deferral period |
Exam | Exam | 1-6, 8 | Referral/deferral period |
Re-assessment notes
Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.
Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
(a) Prescribed texts:
- Aeschylus, Persians
- Sophocles, Antigone
- Euripides, Helen
- Seneca, Phaedra
- Aristophanes, Birds
- Menander, Samia
- Plautus, Menaechmi
- Terence, Eunuch
(b) Prescribed editions of the texts above:
- Greek Plays: 16 Plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides (ed. M. Lefkowitz and J. Romm: Modern Library Classics, Ballantine Books, New York, 2016).
- Seneca: Four Tragedies and Octavia (tr. E.F. Watling, Penguin Classics, London, 2005).
- Classical Comedy (ed. E. Segal, Penguin Classics, London, 2006).
(c) Selected introductory/background reading:
- J. Gregory (ed.), A Companion to Greek Tragedy (Oxford/Malden, 2005).
- E. Csapo and W.J. Slater, The Context of Ancient Drama (Ann Arbor, 1995).
- P.E. Easterling (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Greek Tragedy (Cambridge, 1997).
- M. Revermann (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Greek Comedy (Cambridge, 2014).
- T.J. Moore, Roman Theatre (Cambridge, 2012).
- M. Dinter (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Roman Comedy (Cambridge, 2020).
- J. Robson, Aristophanes: An Introduction (London, 2009).
- D. Rosenbloom, Aeschylus: Persians (London, 2007).
- D. Cairns, Sophocles: Antigone (London, 2016).
- S. Mills, Euripides: Hippolytus (London, 2002).
- R. Mayer, Seneca: Phaedra (London, 2002).
- M.E. Wright, Menander: Samia (London, 2021).
Module has an active ELE page?
Yes
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
ELE - https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=11781
Available as distance learning?
No
Origin date
2011
Last revision date
15/02/2021
Key words search
Classics, Greek, Roman, Drama, Tragedy, Comedy, Theatre