ROMAN LITERATURE OF THE REPUBLIC
Spring term, 2012
Ground plan of the course
1. Topics
TOPIC 1: Roman comedy
Texts: Plautus, Pseudolus; Terence, Adelphi
TOPIC 2: Catullus
Text: Catullus, Poems (selections)
TOPIC 3: Lucretius
Text: Lucretius, On the Nature of Things (selections)
TOPIC 4: Cicero
Texts: Cicero, Pro Caelio; De Republica (selections)
TOPIC 5: Roman history writing
Text: Livy, Ab Urbe Condita, book I.
A detailed programme will be given out at the beginning of the Spring term.
2. Lectures and seminars
The first lecture will be introductory, giving an outline of the history of Roman
Literature and the place of these authors within it. After that, there will be two or three
lectures and a seminar on each topic.

The lectures will introduce you to the texts, point out what you should look for
when reading them, and raise some of the issues involved in understanding them
in their historical context. They are mainly for learning ABOUT the material.

For the seminars, the class will be divided into smaller groups. The main aim of
the seminars is to develop your own skills: analysis of texts, discussion of issues,
presentation of essays. The seminars are for learning to DO (and to do better)
the things which you will need to do in order to get good marks on this course.
They are not an optional extra; it is very much in your interests to attend and
participate, and to prepare for the seminars by doing the required reading in
advance.
As in all other courses, you must attend and sign the class register at all the
lectures and all the seminars unless you have notified the Departmental office
that you are absent for a valid reason. Unsatisfactory attendance will be
reported to the Head of Department and may lead to a formal warning.
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3. Written work
You are required to complete one written assignment as part of the course.
There will be a choice of topics, to be announced at the beginning of the Spring term.
The assignment may take the form either of a detailed commentary on a passage of
text, or of a more general essay.
All assignments must be handed in by the departmentally advertised deadline of 16th
March. College rules on late submission apply. Extensions to this deadline will be
granted only for valid reasons in accordance with departmental guidelines.
The written assignments are intended as practice in essay or commentary writing,
both as part of your preparation for the exam and to develop the skills needed for
more advanced courses. Marks awarded for them will show you how well you are
doing, but will not contribute towards your final mark for the course. This means that
you can ‘chance your arm’ more than you would in an assessed essay, and
concentrate on developing skills you may not already possess (such as textual
analysis) rather than just doing what you know how to do already.
We shall make every effort to return marked essays (provided they were handed in
on time) by the end of the Spring term.
Non-submission, or late submission without an extension, will be reported to
the Head of Department and may lead to a formal warning.
4. The exam
The exam is in the main summer exam period in April / May and counts for 100% of
the assessment for the course. You will need to check the exam timetable when it
comes out in March. If you miss the exam owing to illness or other urgent cause, or if
your performance in the exam is affected by extenuating circumstances, you will be
considered for either a resit or an 'allowed' result in line with current College
regulations. Any student who misses the exam without good reason will receive
a mark of zero and fail the course.
The exam will last two hours. You will be asked to attempt three questions (40
minutes each), each on a different topic. One of the questions you attempt must be a
commentary on a passage of text in translation; one must be an essay; the third may
be in either category.
In order to prepare for the exam, it is wiser to choose three out of the five topics and
prepare them thoroughly than to hedge one’s bets by preparing all five topics in a
superficial way.
Towards the end of term there will be a seminar on exam technique, looking at
sample questions from past papers. You will be given advice on preparation for the
exam, choice of questions, time management, and how to deploy your knowledge in
the most effective way.
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5. Translations
All texts are studied in English translation and nothing in the exam will test
knowledge of Latin. However, in studying Latin literature in translation at university
level, it is important to develop an awareness of the issues that may be raised by the
use of translations. To help with this, the course will include a seminar devoted to the
topic of ‘evaluating translations of Roman literature’. We shall look at a number of
rival translations of the same passages and try to see (as far as possible without
looking at the original) what the translators are aiming to do and how well they
succeed.
If you know some Latin already you are encouraged to make use of it. If you are
doing Beginners’ Latin you should know enough by the spring term to be able to
start looking back at the original Latin texts of the works you are studying, and you
are encouraged to do so.
If you are not studying Latin this year but find your curiosity growing about the
Latin originals, you should consider taking advantage of the opportunity to start Latin
in the second year by taking the Intensive Latin course CL2755.
6. Private study
You will need up to 6 hours of private study per week in order to complete the course
successfully. You will need to divide this time among the following kinds of task:
(a) A fairly fast run-through of the texts in advance of the relevant lectures. You will
be able to make a lot more sense of the lecture if you read up the texts beforehand.
But if there isn’t time, don’t worry – you can catch up afterwards.
(b) The lectures will indicate points to look for in the texts. A few minutes should be
spent, ideally not more than 24 hours after each lecture when it is still fresh in your
mind, on going over the ‘things to look for’, and taking a section of text – not
necessarily the one you have just covered – with a view to finding those features in it.
Note that this isn’t about memorising predetermined data about a set text. It’s about
developing your skills of observation so that you can see interesting things for
yourself.
(c) Preparing for the seminars as instructed.
(d) Doing the written assignment as instructed.
(e) Further reading on your chosen topics with a view to preparing for the exam.
A suggested schedule for private study will be given out at the beginning of the
course.
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7. Primary and secondary literature
Throughout the course you should concentrate on the primary material, i.e. the
texts in translation. Credit will be given in the exam for relevant knowledge of the
texts.
Modern scholarship and criticism (‘secondary literature’) will be introduced at
appropriate points during the course. It should be used mainly (a) for reference on
points of fact, (b) to stimulate your flow of ideas about the texts. With 50+ students in
the class and at the most three or four copies of any given book or article available in
the library (in many cases only one), you are not expected to spend time chasing
after secondary literature while teaching is going on. The exceptions are:

Reading for the seminars will sometimes include secondary literature, of which
copies will be made available.

For the essay questions, brief lists of suggested reading will be given out well in
advance. Choose your topic in good time and start early on the reading, so that
you are not caught in a mad rush for books at the last minute. Those who are
attempting the same question may need to arrange among themselves who
borrows which book and when. You are always welcome to use materials that are
not on the reading list, but use them in a critical spirit. Beware in particular of: (a)
Internet resources. These are often of very doubtful quality, and over-use of them
(which may amount to plagiarism) is easily detected. (b) Old books from the 19th
or early 20th century, of which there are lots in the library. They are not always to
be despised, but not always to be trusted either.

For each topic, a list of further reading will be provided which is designed to help
you if you choose to prepare that topic for the exam. You should try to get access
to this material, either here or in another library, during the Easter vacation.
Again, you may need to arrange a borrowing rota among a number of students.

Get into looking-up mode. If you come across something you don’t know or
understand (e.g. an unfamiliar name of a person or place), you should use any
available reference books, or an internet search (here the internet really can be
useful) to find out the answer. The answers to very many factual questions about
the ancient world and our evidence for it are to be found in the Oxford Classical
Dictionary (third edition, ed. S. Hornblower and A. Spawforth, OUP 1996). It is
important also to use reference materials to check the spelling of Latin names or
technical terms, before you use them in writing. Incorrectly spelt names (e.g.
‘Catulus’ or ‘Catallus’ – ugh! – for Catullus) give a very bad impression. Be
careful with computer spell-checks, which can’t usually manage Latin names.
The golden rule is IYDKFO (If you don’t know, find out).
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8. Books to buy (or borrow):
You will need to have copies of all the following texts in translation:
 Plautus, The Pot of Gold and other plays, tr. E. F. Watling, Penguin 1965
 Terence, The Comedies, tr. Betty Radice, Penguin 1976
 Catullus, The Poems, tr. A. G. Lee, Oxford World’s Classics 1990
 Lucretius, On the Nature of the Universe, tr. R. E. Latham, revised with
introduction and notes by J. Godwin, Penguin 1994
 Cicero, Defence Speeches, tr. D. Berry, Oxford World’s Classics 2001
 Cicero, The Republic and The Laws, tr. N. Rudd, with introduction and notes by
N. Rudd and J. Powell, Oxford World’s Classics 1998
 Livy, The Early History of Rome (books 1-5) tr. A. de Selincourt, Penguin 1960
Copies will be ordered from the College Bookshop to arrive by Christmas. There are
some copies available in the College library, but it is best to have your own. It is a
good idea if you can get hold of at least some of the above in advance and start
reading them before the course begins.
One last caution: most translated Latin texts, including the above, have introductions
by the translator or by another scholar. These are often useful, but they are not a
substitute for reading the text itself or for exploring the secondary literature. Each
year one or two exam candidates give the impression of having read only the
introduction and not the text. This is unwise, and will get you little or no credit.
Besides, the texts are more interesting. They have survived for 2,000 years, which is
more than can be said for the introductions …
September 2011