MODULE OUTLINE
Modern Liberal Arts
University of Winchester
Semester 1 2015
LA 1005 Ancient ‘Canonic’ Tragedy
Wednesday/9-11.30/MB 3
Derek Bunyard
Module Learning Outcomes
Demonstrate engagement with texts and ideas relevant to ancient myths and tragedies in and beyond the
Western canon
Demonstrate reflection on experiences and the wider contexts in which they take place
Communicate experiences of texts and ideas as appropriate
Show knowledge and understanding of specialist terminology
Demonstrate requisite research skills in gathering, summarizing and presenting evidence including proficiency
in referencing and academic conventions
Introduction
The subject matter of this module is a study of ancient tragedy as a means to co-ordinate
various ideas about the nature of culture and human experience. There are two dimensions
of study: depth, in terms of the development of a sophisticated understanding of tragedy
and culture, and progression, in terms of the semiotic and philosophic analysis of tragic
performance in Romano/Greek culture. The following plays and texts are the primary
literary resources for this study:For the classical background assumed by all of these texts, Hesiod’s Theogeny and Homer’s
Iliad and Odyssey should be consulted (and later on, Virgil’s Aeneid). For the dramatists
themselves, the study sequence is Aeschylus – Seven against Thebes; Sophocles – Oedipus
Rex and Antigone; Euripedes – The Bachae; and a link play through to Shakespeare and the
second year module on tragedy – Seneca – Trojan Women. (This is best taken further by
reference to Shakespeare’s Macbeth.)
The principal classical theory text is Aristotle – Poetics. Aristotle’s Rhetoric also touches
upon the dramatic under the heading of ‘style’. Tragedy, considered as a form of rhetoric,
can be further examined through the Roman authors, Cicero, Horace, and Quintilian.
(Although we do not have a corresponding Aristotelian text on comedy, Aristophanes’ play,
The Clouds, is one source of insight, and another from the Roman world would be Petronius’
Satyricon - Tremalchio’s dinner being notoriously featured in Fellini’s film, The Satyricon.)
Various secondary texts will also be featured each week, but for a general overview of the
tragic as such – one that is relevant for each of the three modules in this series – Terry
Eagleton’s Sweet Violence is highly recommended (Eagleton, T. (2003) Sweet Violence: the
idea of the tragic Oxford: Blackwell). Also of lasting relevance to your work on this degree is
Neitzsche’s famous essay, Nietzsche, F. (1995) The Birth of Tragedy New York: Dover. (This
may be supplemented for this course with Hall, E. (2004) Dionysus Since 69: Greek tragedy
at the dawn of the third millennium Oxford: Oxford University Press. Inevitably there will be
conversations about fate, determinism, and subjectivity, and so Basterra, G. (2004) The
Seductions of Fate: tragic subjectivity, ethics, politics Macmillan: Palgrave may help.
For other general introductions to the semiotic and philosophic dimensions of this study,
see:Bauman, Z. (1999) Culture as Praxis London: Sage
Beistegui, M. de & Sparks, S. eds. (1999) Philosophy and Tragedy London: Routledge
Bowlby, R. (2009) Freudian Mythologies: Greek tragedy and modern identities Oxford:
Oxford University Press
Dollimore, J. (2001) Death, Desire, and Loss in Western Culture London: Routledge
Sommerstein, A. H. (2002) Greek Drama and Dramatists London: Routledge
White, N. (2002) Individual and Conflict in Greek Ethics Oxford: Clarendon
Wiles, D. (2000) Greek Theatre Performance: an introduction Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press
Weekly pattern of lectures:1. Lecture: Introduction – what is the tragic?
Themes: Greek tragedy within its own culture, and in subsequent Western culture.
Additional reading:
Anton, P. (1995) The Greek World London: Routledge
Bauman, Z. (1999) Culture as Praxis London: Sage
Easterling, P. E. (1997) The Cambridge Companion to Greek Tragedy Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press
Jones, P. & Sidwell, K. (eds) (1997) World of Rome: introduction to Roman culture
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Silk, M. S. (1996) Tragedy and the Tragic: Greek theatre and beyond Oxford:
Clarendon Press
Sommerstein, A. H. (2002) Greek Drama and Dramatists London: Routledge
2. Lecture: the Greek Theatre
Themes: early stage sets, presentations, and actors
Reading:Selections from Aeschylus – Seven against Thebes; Aristotle: Poetics
Additional reading:
Green, J. (1996) Theatre in Ancient Greek Society London: Routledge
Hall, E. (1989) Inventing the Barbarian: Greek self-definition through tragedy Oxford:
Clarendon Press
McLeish, K. (2003) A Guide to Greek Theatre and Drama London: Methuen
Rush, R. (1992) Greek Tragic Theatre London: Routledge
Wiles, D. (2000) Greek Theatre Performance: an introduction Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press
3. Aristotle – Student presentation: his account in the Poetics
Lecture: the analysis of tragedy
Themes: the history of poetry, and the basics of plot and narrative.
Reading:Selection from Eagleton’s Sweet Violence
Additional reading:
Walton, J. M. & McDonald, M. (2007) The Cambridge Companion to Greek and
Roman Theatre Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Wiles, D. (1997) Tragedy in Athens: performance space and theatrical meaning
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
4. Lecture: Aristotle’s perfect illustration
Themes: on classifying the components of dramatic texts
Reading:Selections from Sophocles – Oedipus Rex
Additional reading:
Harris, W. V. (2001) Restraining Rage: the ideology of anger control in classical
antiquity Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press
Hiltunen, A. (2000) Aristotle in Hollywood: the anatomy of successful storytelling
Bristol: Intellect Books
5. Aristotle – Student presentation: the cultural significance of the best kinds of plot.
Lecture: How tragedy works
Themes: psychological and cultural spaces
Reading:Selections from Aristotle’s Rhetoric and from Barthes, R. (1994) The Semiotic
Challenge Berkeley: University of California Press
Additional reading:
Harris, W. V. (2001) Restraining Rage: the ideology of anger control in classical
antiquity Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press
Stanford, W. B. (1983) Greek Tragedy and the Emotions: an introductory study
London: Routledge & Kegan Page
6. Lecture: women’s place – dying for the old world order
Themes: gendered histories, and histories of gender.
Reading:Selections from Sophocles – Antigone.
Additional reading:
Enterline, L. (2000) The Rhetoric of the Body from Ovid to Shakespeare Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press
Foley, H. P. (2001) Female Acts in Greek Tragedy Princeton, NJ,
Robert, W. (2010) Trials: of Antigone and Jesus New York: Fordham University Press
Rouse, W. H. D. ed. (1961) ‘Shakespeare’s Ovid’: being Arthur Golding’s translation of
the Metamorphosis London: Centaur
Taylor, A. B. (2000) Shakespeare’s Ovid: the Metamorphosis in the plays and poems
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
7. Sophocles – Antigone – Student presentation: the gendered individual, Lecture: the
private individual and the state.
Themes: Homeric nobility and Platonic worth
Readings:Selections from Homer’s Iliad and Plato’s Phaedo
Additional reading:
Bevir, M. (2010) The State as Cultural Practice Oxford: Oxford University Press
Segal, E. ed. (1983) Oxford Readings in Greek Tragedy Oxford: Oxford University
Press
White, N. (2002) Individual and Conflict in Greek Ethics Oxford: Clarendon
8. Lecture: Singing to the Gods
Themes: the changing nature of the chorus, and depicting the gods.
Reading:Selections from Euripedes – The Bachae
Additional reading:
Gaskell, I., Conway, D. & Kemel, S. (1998) Nietzsche, Philosophy and the Arts
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Ley, G. (2006) The Theatricality of Greek Tragedy: playing space and chorus Chicago:
University of Chicago Press
Nietzsche, F. (1995) The Birth of Tragedy New York: Dover
9. Euripedes – The Bachae- Student presentation:
Lecture: the Dionysian principle in culture.
Themes: cultural metaphor and figuration, cultural principles
Reading:Selections from Nietzsche, F. (1995) The Birth of Tragedy New York: Dover
Additional reading:
Hall, E. (2004) Dionysus Since 69: Greek tragedy at the dawn of the third millennium
Oxford: Oxford University Press
Bowlby, R. (2009) Freudian Mythologies: Greek tragedy and modern identities
Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. Lecture: After the Greeks
Theme: Roman Entertainment
Reading:Selections from Seneca – Trojan Women and Eagleton’s Sweet Violence
Additional reading:
Hughes, T. (1969 Seneca’s Oedipus London: Faber & Faber
Seth, B. (2000) The Argument of the Action: essays on Greek poetry and philosophy
Chicago: University of Chicago Press
Staley, G. A. (2009) Seneca and the Idea of Tragedy Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. Seneca – Student presentation: the significance of representations of violence in
culture.
Lecture: Other times, other places
Theme: selected contemporary versions of Greek tragedy, why and where?
Reading:Selections from Anouilh’s Antigone, Cocteau’s The Infernal Machine and Gide’s
Oedipus
Additional reading:
Nuttall, A. D. (1996) Why Does Tragedy Give Pleasure? Oxford: Clarendon Press
McDonald, M. (2003) The Living Art of Greek Tragedy Bloomington: Indiana
University Press
Oberhelm, S. & Pedrick, V. (2006) The Soul of Tragedy: essays on Athenian drama
Chicago: University of Chicago Press
12. Lecture: The Senecan heritage
Themes Elizabethan court and theatre (illustrations taken from Webster, Marlowe,
and Shakespeare’s Macbeth)
Reading:Selections from Shakespeare’s Macbeth
Additional reading:
Helms, L. (1997) Seneca by Candlelight and Other Stories of Renaissance Drama
Philadelphia: Pennsylvania University Press
McDonald, M. (2003) The Living Art of Greek Tragedy Bloomington: Indiana
University Press
Miola, R. (1992) Shakespeare and Classical Tragedy: the influence of Seneca Oxford:
Clarendon Press
Staley, G. (2009) Seneca and the Idea of Tragedy Oxford: Oxford University Press
Assessment
Assessment 1: (50%)
…. (1750-2000 words; deadline: (Wednesday, week 5) given to
Catherine in the Office by 3.30pm).
Assignment 1: Explain Aristotle’s concept of technê in relation to tragedy, making it clear
why he considers that it cannot be an episteme. Is this distinction still useful for
contemporary forms of representation?
Assessment 2: (50%)
…..
(1750-2000 words; deadline (Wednesday week 12) given to
Catherine in the Office by 3.30pm).
Assignment 2: Examine ways in which the following account of tragic agency agrees, or
disagrees, with contemporary understandings of social life and personal responsibility.
‘Tragedy is not an imitation of persons, but of actions and of life. Well-being
and ill-being reside in action, and the goal of life is an activity, not a quality;
people possess certain qualities in accordance with their character, but they
achieve well-being or its opposite on the basis of how they fare.’ Aristotle:
Poetics; Bekker 1450a.
Use Harvard Referencing
We attempt always to return work within 3 working weeks (15 days working days).
MODERN LIBERAL ARTS MARK SCHEME
We want you to be very clear about how we will mark your work and that means you must know with each
assessment what you are expected to do. We hope that this does not mean you will feel that you have to write
to a formula. We are trying to build in considerable freedom to your assessments; but as the term ‘liberal arts’
conveys, in every freedom there is a discipline, and in every discipline there is a freedom; together, we hope,
they constitute the struggle of learning.
There are (often but not always) two types of essays in MLA: the first assessment title in a module will most
often be set by the tutor and will be restricted to texts explored in the first weeks. The second assessment title
can be tutor-led, or chosen from a list of titles, or can be negotiated individually; this varies according to the
tutor and the module. This assignment can explore wider issues, employ wider reading, or explore a single
issue in depth. Students will bear some responsibility for the references consulted in the second essay,
increasing through years 1, 2 and 3.
Tutor-set assessments (disciplina)
Student/tutor-set assessments (libertas)
1st module essay
2nd module essay
Marks for
 depth of understanding specialist
terminology
 depth of understanding of set texts
 depth of understanding of ideas/concepts
 evidence by quotation
 answering the question
 correct referencing
 word limit
Marks for
 depth of understanding of texts
 depth of understanding and application of
ideas/concepts
 evidence-based critical arguments
 depth/breadth of reading (depending on
the question)
 answering your own question
 correct referencing
 word limit
Note the difference between essays 1 and 2: the first one is marked only on your understanding of texts; the
second one is marked on understanding, on your own reading, and your emerging critical voice. Be careful
here; being critical does not mean just giving your opinions. It means making a case based on evidence from
your reading, using ideas and concepts from texts. It does not mean you have to fight for one side of an
argument or another… ambivalence will be treated with great respect. But for every essay, remember this: if
we (and you) get the title right, then by answering the question you will be doing exactly what is required.
Over years 1, 2 and 3 the levels of your work are raised by using increasingly challenging texts, ideas, concepts
and writers, and by the way you are able to employ ideas, concepts and writers from other modules across the
degree in increasingly sophisticated ways.
For all essays, then
Depending on the question you will need to
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
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Demonstrate reflection on module material and the wider contexts from across the degree which
might impact upon it
Communicate experiences of texts and ideas as appropriate
Show knowledge and understanding of specialist terminology

Demonstrate requisite research skills in gathering, summarizing and presenting evidence including
proficiency in referencing and academic conventions.
For essay 1
Depending on the question you will need to





Show careful reading of primary sources
Show a knowledge of theoretical perspectives and/or works
Show an understanding of abstract concepts and ideas within theoretical perspectives
Show an ability to work with theorists and their concepts in various forms of assessment as
appropriate
Show evidence of engagement with texts and ideas concerned with issues raised in the module.
For essay 2
Depending on the question you will need to




Show an ability to employ theorists critically in relation to issues
Show an ability to use concepts as critical tools in discussing issues and questions as appropriate
Show an ability to employ theoretical perspectives as critical tools
Therein, to develop a critical voice informed and deepened by appropriate use of theory as
critique.
 Sustain a critical relationship to ideas related to the module
It is often hard to explain in generic terms how any particular essay could have been improved. But, cautiously,
we can say the following:
In general,
a 3rd (40-49%) may have ignored the question, may have not given much evidence of reading, may have clumsy
sentence structure, but will still have made a bona fide attempt at the work.
a 2.2 (50-59%) will have provided evidence of reading, quotations where appropriate, clear sentence structure,
attended to the question or title, but not related the material in ways which synthesise more developed and
complex thinking.
a 2.1 (60-69%) will have evidence of reading through effective selection of quotation, being able to make
specific points, and to relate material together to make broader and/or deeper and more complex
observations. At the higher end, it may have been able to relate material from across modules, or across the
degree as a whole, to synthesise separate ideas and issues into more holistic comments, ideas and problems.
The questions addressed will be getting ever more difficult and important, including those that are asked
without being answered.
a 1st (70-100%) will make a little go a long way. Quotations may carry implications beyond their precise
content; sentences will be clear but able to refine complex ideas succinctly; most importantly, it will be able to
combine the microcosm of its subject matter with the macrocosm of its place in the wider context, and these
contexts will be drawn form the overall, experience of the degree, growing obviously from years 1 to 3. No
inaccuracies of grammar or sentence construction, and no referencing mistakes are expected here. The voice
of the essay will be in control of difficult material throughout. Above all the questions asked and addressed will
be compelling in their difficulty and import.
Module Evaluations (previous year)
The module was generally well received. Negative comments emphasised the ambiguities
of the Poetics and the need for reflective interpretation in order to grasp the tragic
dimension within these plays. There was a request for televised performances to be made
available.
Catalogue summary
The subject matter of this module is the mythic and tragic as developed in the narratives, poems, and art of
earlier civilisations. There are three dimensions of content selection: the first is breadth – as far as is consistent
with the other criteria, examples will be sourced so as to include non-Western accounts, rather than the more
usual ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman samples. The second criterion is depth, and here the module
attempts to introduce a progression on the basis of the myths/tales engagement with a philosophical notion of
the tragic. The third criterion looks to presenting a diversity of media forms so that some estimate can be
made on the nature and form of the rhetorical contexts within which these accounts were enacted.