LAT 317 Catullus and Horace: Love, Wine and Poetry
In this course we will read the poetry of Catullus (85-54 (?) B.C.E.) and the Odes of Horace (65-8 B.C.E.) to become familiar with various types of lyric poetry such as erotic verse, invitation poems, poems of abuse, hymns, etc. Our ultimate goal is to better appreciate these poets’ engagement with earlier Greek and Latin literature (especially Greek lyric poetry), and more generally the connections among literature, “autobiography,” and society. For Catullus, we will consider his relationships (as revealed in verse) with “Lesbia,” friends such as Caelius, and politicians such as Cicero and Julius Caesar. For Horace, it is of interest that Nietzsche claimed that he never had an artistic delight comparable to his experience of reading a Horatian ode. Through close readings of selected odes we will seek to experience such delight for ourselves and to learn why, as Nietzsche put it, “what is here achieved is in certain languages not even to be hoped for.”
Cross Listed Courses
Cross-listed as CLA 223.
Prerequisite
Two years of college Latin or equivalent