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A study of selected Greek and Roman tragic plays (in translation) and of aspects of performance and rhetoric.
One of the greatest legacies of Greco-Roman antiquity is its theatre, which has shaped westerndrama for 2,000 years. All over the world today Greek comedies and tragedies continue to be14 performed to packed houses, exploring themes of direct relevance now, while lesser known forms such as the Greek satyr play and Roman comedy continue to influence modern performance, from stand-up routines to TV situation comedies. In this course students examine selected Greek and Roman plays in translation, focusing on aspects of performance, characterization, engagement with contemporaneous issues, and rhetoric. For 2020 the focus will be works on the dramas of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, collectively known as the ‘three great tragedians’, all active in Athens in the fifth century BC. While only a small portion of their overall work has survived, they have nevertheless had an enormous impact on producers of drama from Shakespeare to the world of opera, to the Hollywood film industry and beyond.
The students will become familiar with performance conditions of Greek and Roman theatre both in antiquity and in modern representations of ancient classical drama on stage and in the modern cinema. Close areas of study will be the interpretation of ancient tragedy using the "Poetics" of Aristotle as a template along with the work of modern scholars, concentrating on the interplay between structure, characterization and thematics. Similarly the serious nature of ancient comedy from Aristophanes to Terence will come under scrutiny as an entertaining but critical commentary on both political and social mores. In this course texts, largely in Robin Bond’s translation, will be treated as blueprints for performance. This will be accomplished by a close study both on matters of detail and as complete works. Emphasis will be on the acknowledged masterpieces of ancient theatre such as the "Oresteia" of Aeschylus, the Theban plays of Sophocles and the "Bacchae" and "Trojan Women" of Euripides.
This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attributes specified below:
Critically competent in a core academic discipline of their award
Students know and can critically evaluate and, where applicable, apply this knowledge to topics/issues within their majoring subject.
Employable, innovative and enterprising
Students will develop key skills and attributes sought by employers that can be used in a range of applications.
Globally aware
Students will comprehend the influence of global conditions on their discipline and will be competent in engaging with global and multi-cultural contexts.
Any 15 points at 100 level from CLAS, orany 60 points at 100 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
CLAS321
Any 100-level course in CLAS.
Robin Bond
Domestic fee $777.00
International fee $3,375.00
* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.
For further information see Humanities .