LATIN LITERATURE (UNIT B)
Learning outcomes of the course unit
Methodological, literary and linguistic skills required for reading and analysis of Latin writers in the original language.
Prerequisites
Written proficiency entry exam consisting of a written translation of a classic Latin author.
Course contents summary
Course title: Innocence and guilt in Seneca's Phaedra. Identifying and unraveling a key philosophical question and literary topos
Unit A: this part of the course will cover the literary background of Latin tragedy and, in particular, that of Seneca.
Unit B: readings from the Phaedra
Recommended readings
A textbook on the history of Latin literature
Compulsory part and independent reading:
A. Traina, G. Bernardi Perini, Propedeutica al latino universitario, Bologna 1998
Cicero, De senectute (any edition)
Seneca, Epist. 90 (any edition)
Vergilius, Aen. IV (any edition)
One of the following essays:
A. Ghiselli, Il passer di Lesbia e altri saggi catulliani, Bologna 2005
A. Traina, Lo stile drammatico del filosofo Seneca, Bologna 1987
A. La Penna, Fra teatro poesia e politica romana, Torino 1979
B. Zucchelli, Il poeta Cassio Parmense e Parma romana, Parma 2003
Specialised readings:
readings assigned during lectures
Teaching methods
Classroom lectures and exercises plus weekly tutorials.
The exam consists of an oral exam of course syllabus topics (the preliminary written proficiency exam must be passed first in order to gain access to the oral exam).
