Course Catalogue

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This course studies two Greek tragedies in the original language. One strand of the course looks at the language, metre, form and technique of these plays, and a second sets them in the wider context of Greek tragedy and explores critical approaches to this evolving genre. It encourages students to develop their own interpretative stance in dialogue with both theoretical perspectives and critical practice.

7x1hr lectures, 17x1hr seminars over 10 weeks as scheduled on MyCampus. This is one of the Honours options is Greek and may not run every year. The options that are running this session are available on MyCampus.

Available to all students fulfilling requirements for Honours entry into Classics, and by arrangement to visiting students or students of other Honours programmes who qualify under the University's 25% regulation.

CLASSIC4025

None

Exam (2-hour exam) - 60%

Essay (2000 words) - 40%

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. Where, exceptionally, reassessment on Honours courses is required to satisfy professional/accreditation requirements, only the overall course grade achieved at the first attempt will contribute to the Honours classification. For non-Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

This course aims to:

■ study two Greek tragedies in the original Greek, set against the broader tradition of fifth-century Greek tragedy

■ engage in the interpretation of texts using critical strategies drawn from different traditions, and both ancient and modern

■ develop a distinctive and personal critical position in relation to Greek Tragedy

By the end of this course students will be able to:

• translate Greek tragedy accurately and fluently into English

• identify the formal characteristics of Greek tragedy as text and performance

• relate the texts to their social, cultural and political context

• evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of interpretations derived from different critical traditions

•reflect on their own critical stance in relation to Greek tragedy in the light of ancient and modern theories

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.