CLS 445 ROMAN SATIRE

Syllabus

Spring 2003

Course Description:
In this course you will explore the genre in verse and prose that the Romans claimed as wholly theirs. You will read, translate, and analyze the satires of gentle Horace and savage Juvenal, the biting wit of Martial’s satiric epigrams, Seneca’s clever mock-divination of the Emperor Claudius, the Apocolocyntosis, the comic Cena Trimalchionis, a famous episode in the satiric novel by Petronius, who mirrors the manners and morals of the lower strata of Roman society in the early empire.

Course Objectives and Anticipated Outcomes: at the conclusion of this course, students will be able to demonstrate:

1. Mastery of the foundational vocabulary, grammar, and syntax of Latin
2. Ability to read, understand, and translate unadapted Latin prose and verse passages by different authors, with appropriate assistance
3. Understanding of how Latin differs from the forms, grammar, and syntax of English, leading to an increased understanding of how both languages function
4. Knowledge of the literary form, function, methods, and themes of the genre of Roman satire
5. Familiarity with the history, literature, cultural values, and social attitudes of the late Roman Republic and the early Empire
6. Facility in accessing and using on-line classical resources for research

Materials of Instruction:

Print Course Texts:
Horace, Satire 1.9: The Boor, ed. Margaret A. Brucia, Madeleine M. Henry. Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc.
Juvenal, Satires I, III, X, ed. N. Rudd, E. Courtney. Bristol Classical Press.
Petronius, The Millionaire’s Dinner Party, ed. M. Balme. Oxford University Press
College-level Latin dictionary
College-level Latin grammar

On-Line Texts and Images:
Horace’s Sermones, with commentary

Petronius, The Millionaire’s Dinner Party: vocabulary and grammar

Juvenal, Satire 3: The Savage City

Juvenal 6: lecture on women

Notes on Roman Satire

Student Site on Satire from Randolph-Macon College

Fellini's Satyricon

Petronian Society Ancient Novel Newsletter

Notes on Petronius’ Satyricon

Latin Library: Texts

Horace, Sermones

Juvenal, Saturae

Martial, Epigrammata

Petronius, Satyricon

Seneca, Apocolocyntosis

Perseus: Lewis and Short dictionary, Allen & Greenough grammar, and Horace’s Satyrarum libri with commentary and vocabulary

VRoma: images, interactive historic sites (e.g., houses, Circus Maximus, Roman Forum, Colosseum), resources on Roman civilization and culture

Other Materials:

Select Bibliography : Satire, Ennius, Lucilius, Horace, Persius, Petronius, Seneca, Martial, Juvenal

B. McManus' Roman history and culture, 1st century BCE - 2nd century CE, which contains, e.g., Government, Slavery, Clothing, The Roman House, Leisure and Entertainment: Theater, Roman Baths and Bathing, Chariot Racing, Gladiatorial Games

Horace’s Villa

Gateway to Classical Websites

Timeline of Roman History

De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors

Platner’s Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome

Smith’s Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities

Videos, slides, maps, texts, and guides to the readings

[Course management system for on-line syllabus, student conferencing, document posting and reading, project presentation, shared relevant links]

Methods of Instruction:

Class time will be used primarily for--

• reading aloud, translation, scansion, and analysis of Latin texts
• discussions about the nature, function, content, authors of satire
• regular quizzes on grammar

Out-of-class independent translation assignments and research projects

Special sessions for computer workshops, videos, student project presentations

Course Requirements and Assessment Methods: Students are expected to--

• be present regularly for each of the twice weekly 75 min. class meetings, with additional meetings for tutoring where necessary (Outcomes 1, 2)
• participate fully in class recitation and activities, such as discussion, reading, translating, scansion, analysis of assigned and sight Latin passages, quizzes (all Outcomes)
• complete thoroughly and submit on time all assignments, including daily translations, word searches, and on-line postings and discussions (all Outcomes)
• submit in writing and make a presentation of two research projects (Outcomes 1, 2, 4, 5, 6)
• submit and present Project 2 as a final exam which will consist of: translation and metrical scansion of an assigned section of Juvenal's Satire 3; presentation of visual, explanatory, and text hyperlinks to 10-12 approved Latin terms (see instructions below); reading of Latin prose/poetry aloud; response to grammar questions on your assigned section of Juvenal's Satire 3 (Outcomes 1, 2, 4, 5).

Independent Projects: detailed instructions will follow

1. Reading in English and Latin of an additional satire of Horace (Book II. 5, 7, 8); translation into accurate colloquial English; research using commentaries and current monographs; presentation to the class (see schedule below, February 4-25, for detailed instructions).
2. Translation of and research on an assigned passage of Juvenal's Satire 3, using dictionaries of antiquities, the Internet, commentaries, recent scholarship. Preparation of web pages to be hyperlinked to the Juvenal 3 project at the VRoma site. See instructions below.

Grading: Students will be graded on the quality of their completion of the requirements listed above as follows:

50 % --participation, recitation, daily assignments, quizzes*

20 % --independent research project 1

30 % --final research project 2

*students who exceed the maximum number of un-excused absences (4 in a 75 minute class) will find their grade negatively affected in this category.

Course Policies: attendance is required, as is appropriate class behavior; students are expected to meet deadlines: un-excused late assignments will not be accepted; make-ups will be arranged for students who have medical or other serious excuses; students are expected to report an illness through proper channels; those found cheating or plagiarizing will earn an F for the course. At the beginning of the course, students with documented special needs are expected to inform the instructor of accommodations or services needed for successful academic participation.

Topical Outline of Course Content:

While Quintilian claims satura quidem tota nostra est (Institutio Oratoria X.1.93), Livy ( Ab Urbe Condita 7. 2.4-10) names early Etruscan musical performance satura, Horace (Saturae I.4.1-5, I.10.16) and Persius (Satirae 1.123-4) cite satire's debt to Athenian Old Comedy, and Greek literary and philosophical influences on Roman satire are evident. The Oxford Classical Dictionary, 2nd edition, describes Roman satire as “so free and personal that its character changed with each satirist.... a piece of verse, or prose mingled with verse, intended both to entertain, and to improve society by exposing to derision and hatred the follies, vices, and crimes of men. Among its salient characteristics are spontaneity (real or apparent), topicality, ironic wit, coarse humour, colloquial language, frequent intrusions of the author’s personality or persona, and incessant variations of tone and style.” Beginning with definitions of the word satura, we will explore the genre, themes, style, and personae of Roman satire chronologically, by reading the following works in Latin or English:

Sermones I.1, 5, 6, 9, 10; II.1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 of Quintus Horatius Flaccus (65-8 BCE). Thematically appropriate fragments from the satires of Horace’s predecessors, Quintus Ennius (239-169 BCE), whom he calls the auctor of satire (1.10.66), and Gaius Lucilius (d. 102 BCE), whom he terms its inventor (1.10.48), will be read here.

Apocolocyntosis of Lucius Annaeus Seneca (circa 4 BCE-65 CE): selections

Satirae of Aulus Persius Flaccus (34-62 CE): selections

Satyricon of Titus (?) Petronius Arbiter (1st century CE): Cena Trimalchionis (ch. 27-79) and Widow of Ephesus (ch. 111-113)

Epigrammata of Marcus Valerius Martialis (c. 40-104 CE): selections

Saturae 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 14 of Decimus Iunius Iuvenalis (born between 50-65, died circa 130 CE)

Course Schedule

Class meets Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:30-11 in MC 241
Spring Break: March 10-16

January 28: Introduction to the course content and review of the syllabus

January 30: Read the complete introduction to the class text Horace 1.9: The Boor. Translate lines 1 through 21. Scan 5 lines of dactylic hexameter each: 1-5 Cara, 6-10 Kim, 11-15 Jennifer. Identify grammatical questions.

February 4: Translate the remainder of Horace 1.9: The Boor, attending to the commentary notes and reviewing glossary definitions.
Begin Project 1: read your satire in English: Horace, Sermones II.5: Legacy Hunting (Cara), II.7: Only the Wise are Free (Jennifer), II.8: The Dinner Party (Kim), preparing a presentation to the class consisting of a written outline of your satire for distribution, a comparison of the topics and treatment of your satire with 1.9, your observations about your satire and its fit in the genre.

February 6: Scan and translate Horace 1.5: The Journey to Brundisium, lines 1-15, using the on-line text and commentary, and Bennett & Rolfe's xeroxed commentary.

February 11: Scan and translate Horace 1.5: The Journey to Brundisium, lines 16-60, consulting the commentaries. Visit the Via Appia on the VRoma site, where you can view its paving stones and learn more about its builder, Appius Claudius Caecus. For further details of Horace's journey, click here.
Project 1: research your project satire by reading about it in Niall Rudd, The Satires, and consulting the commentary to the Latin text in either C.E. Bennett and J. C. Rolfe's edition of Horace's satires or A. Palmer's.

February 13: Scan and translate Horace 1.5: The Journey to Brundisium, lines 61-90, consulting the commentaries.
Project 1: do a library bibliographic search for articles on your satire; prepare a bibliography.

February 18: Scan and translateHorace 1.6: Autobiography, lines 1-45, using either or both the Bennett & Rolfe commentary (xerox distributed) or/and the on-line commentary.
Project 1: Submit your bibliography of articles from 1985 to the present on your satire; submit a translation in your own words of your satire.

February 20: Scan and translate Horace 1.6: Autobiography, lines 46-100, using either or both the Bennett & Rolfe commentary (in xerox) or/and the on-line commentary, the remainder to be translated at sight.

February 25: Scan and translate Horace 1.1: Program Satire, lines 1-55, using either or both the Bennett & Rolfe commentary (in xerox) or/and the on-line commentary.
Project 1: Submit an introduction for your satire that explains its content, style, tone, language use, and that compares it to the Horace satires we have read (Book I.5, 6, 9).

February 27: Scan and translate Horace 1.1: Program Satire, lines 56-100, using either or both the Bennett & Rolfe commentary (in xerox) or/and the on-line commentary, the remainder to be translated at sight.

March 4: Scan and translate Horace 2.6: Country Life and City Life, lines 1-50, using either or both the Bennett & Rolfe commentary (in xerox) or/and the on-line commentary.
Go on line to explore Horace’s Villa and be prepared to discuss with the class what you found. Check your email for the on-line monument assignment in Platner's Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome.

March 6: Scan and translate Horace 2.6: Country Life and City Life, lines 77-117, using either or both the Bennett & Rolfe commentary (in xerox) or/and the on-line commentary. You may find Alexander Pope's translation of this satire into English, in rhymed heroic couplets, both fascinating and daunting.

March 8-16: Spring Break

March 18: Read Horace Satires I.10 and II.1 in English, both of which deal with the form and practitioners of satire, as well as materials distributed on the development of satire in Rome.
Review all the satires we have read thus far and come prepared to discuss the character of Horatian satire and the genre of Roman satire.

March 20: Review the Balme edition and translate Petronius, Cena Trimalchionis, Chapter 1

March 25: translate Petronius, Cena Trimalchionis, Chapters 2-3

March 27: translate Petronius, Cena Trimalchionis, Chapter 4

April 1: translate Petronius, Cena Trimalchionis, Chapter 5

April 3: translate Petronius, Cena Trimalchionis, Chapter 6

April 8: translate Petronius, Cena Trimalchionis, Chapter 7; Ch. 8 at sight

April 10: translate Petronius, Cena Trimalchionis, Chapter 9; Ch 10 at sight

April 15: translate Petronius, Cena Trimalchionis, Chapter 11; "Matrona of Ephesus" at sight

April 17: Translate and scan Satire 3, lines 1-40, using your text commentary and a dictionary.

April 22: Begin Project II:
Read Niall Rudd's translation of the whole of Satire 3 in English.
Using the commentary to your text and a dictionary, carefully translate and scan your assigned portion of Satire 3 as follows:

Class translation of Juvenal's Satire 3, lines 40 - 47 at sight.

April 24: Continue Project II:
Read Gilbert Highet's essay on Satire 3: "Babylon," in Juvenal The Satirist, and John Ferguson's commentary essay to Satire 3 in Juvenal: The Satires.
Go to the Juvenal, Satire 3 site: explore the site navigation buttons, read each of the text hot links, browse the Gifford translation, paying particular attention to your assigned section.

April 29: Continue Project II:
Identify and make a list of at least 15 material/cultural elements in your section which could be profitably illustrated for the reader via map or image, text, and Internet link.
Research your list on the Internet (see electronic sites listed above in Resources), in Harper's Dictionary of Antiquities and the Oxford Classical Dictionary (in my office), and in commentaries to Juvenal. Consult the most recent commentary to Juvenal's Satire 3 (your lines only) by S. Braund (library reserve), and at least one other major commentary (Courtney is available in my office; Duff and Mayor are on reserve in the library; Ferguson is my own but may be used on request).

April 30: Individual consultations on Project II research and translations in person and via email.
Day-long excursion to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology; to St. Joseph's University for a lecture by Dr. B. McManus, "From Legend to Life: Women in Roman Politics."

May 1: Continue Project II:
Read at least two other translations of your assigned lines from among the following translations of Satire 3: Penguin (Peter Green), Indiana Press (Rolph Humphries), Loeb, Bolchazy-Carducci (Dominik & Wehrle), John Dryden.
Meet with me individually for consultation on your translation, your list of hot links, your materials of illustration, and your questions.
Revise your translation to meet the following goals, which will need to be balanced carefully: originality, faithfulness to the Latin text, reflection of the spirit and style of the original, elegance of language, and use of contemporary English.
Class translation of Juvenal's Satire 3, lines 47-80 and 315-322 at sight, and of passages chosen by the students for sharing.

May 6: Read the editor's introduction to the text. Translate and scan Juvenal's Satire 1, lines 1-63; class sight translation

May 8: Translate and scan Juvenal's Satire 10, lines 1-54; class sight translation and summative discussion on Roman satire.

Tuesday, May 13, 9:30 am: Final Exam

1. Submission of Project II
Distribute in hard copy to the class, as well as a floppy or an email attachment to me --

• your accurate translation of your assigned passage, the result of your independent work with the text and consultation of at least three published translations and commentaries (see goals listed above). Be sure to underline the single word of your translation that will be linked to your web illustration.
• on a separate page for each, your 10-12 approved hot links, the result of your independent research in both print and internet resources and your consultation of at least three major commentaries. Each hot link should offer three elements: a visual illustration, a full and clear explication of the word, and a reference to another Latin text.
• your bibliography of resources, both print and internet

2. Presentation of Project 2:

• Reading aloud metrically of 5 lines in Latin from your passage
• Reading aloud your translation of one section of your passage (10 line maximum)
• Response to grammatical questions on your passage