30395 - Latin metrics (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student knows in depth the characteristics of the Latin prosody and the main meters. (S)he has acquired the methodological skills to recognize and read these meters. (S)he is able to apply his knowledge to a metric-stylistic analysis of Latin texts.

Course contents

The course will provide an introduction to the main Latin meters, focusing on the versification of Horace's Odes and Seneca's tragedies: in particular, Horace's so-called Parade Odes (lib. I, 1-9), and some sections of Seneca's Thyestes and Troades will be examined.
Also required is the metrical reading and italian translation from Latin of Horace's Satires 1 and 10, which will be only partially examined in class.

Readings/Bibliography

Prosody and metres: is required the study of S. Boldrini, La prosodia e la metrica dei Romani, Roma, Carocci, 2017 (1992 1a ed.).

Latin Texts: a) Horaces: for the Latin text, refer to F. Klingner's edition: Q. Horatius Flaccus, Opera, Berlin-New York, De Gruyter, 2008 (= 1959 3a ed.), with two appendices, devoted to Conspectus metrorum and Metrica et prosodiaca (available online with Unibo institutional credentials); for a commentary to the Odes, refer to R.G.M. Nisbet-M. Hubbard, A Commentary on Horace: Odes Book 1, Oxford, UP, 1970 (available online), and to R. Mayer, Horace. Odes, Cambridge, UP, 2012; for a commentary to Horace's Satire 1 e 10, are recommended Orazio, Satire, introduzione, traduzione e commento a cura di Lorenzo De Vecchi, Roma, Carocci, 2013 or Horace, Satires, Book I, ed. by E. Gowers, Cambridge, UP, 2012; b) Seneca: for the Latin text, refer to the editions by J.G. Fitch, Seneca, Tragedies, 2 voll., Cambridge (MA) - London, Harvard UP, 2018 (available online), and by O. Zwierlein, L. Annaei Senecae. Tragoediae, Oxford, UP, 1986 (available online); for a commentary, the following are recommended: A.J. Boyle, Oxford, UP 2017 (Thyestes, available online) and E. Fantham, Princeton, UP, 1982 (Troades, available online).

Essays: is required to read two essays chosen from the following: G. Baldo, Forme di allusività finale nelle Paradeoden di Orazio, Paideia 2019, 997-1014; L. Ceccarelli, Note sull’esametro di Ovidio: Metamorfosi e opere in distici, in E. di Lorenzo (a c. di), L’esametro greco e latino. Analisi, problemi e prospettive, Napoli, Guida, 2004, 85-111; L. Ceccarelli, La realizzazione dell’ultimo elemento dell’esametro latino, Vichiana 51, 2014, 27-65; F. Cupaiuolo, Osservazioni e divagazioni sull'esametro dell'Epistola ai Pisoni di Orazio, Bollettino di Studi Latini 27/2, 1997, 407-420; A. Traina, La voce dell’inconscio (Sen. Thy. 920-969), in La lyra e la libra, Bologna, Patron, 2003, 191-206); A. Traina, Seneca lirico, in La lyra e la libra, Bologna, Patron, 2003, 137-161.

Teaching methods

During the course there will be moments of frontal teaching, alternating with moments carried out in seminar mode, with the involvement of students in the reading and analysis of the texts.

Assessment methods

Prerequisite for the exam is a sound knowledge of Latin phonetics (accent, syllables) and morphosyntax.

The exam consists of an interview, and includes a verification of the ability to:
- read metrically the texts in the syllabus
- illustrate the characteristics of the meters examined in class and provided in the syllabus (a specific list will be given at the end of the course)
- translate and analyze the Latin texts indicated in the syllabus (identifying their grammatical structure)
- critically discuss the essays listed in the syllabus, and also relate them to the Latin texts.

Grading will adhere to the following:
failing grades: lack of metrical-prosodic knowledge and inability to read metrically the Latin texts and/or lack of basic linguistic knowledge and inability to produce a correct translation and interpretation of the Latin texts.
passing grades: metrical reading mostly correct; knowledge of Latin metres and/or of Latin language at an intermediate level; translation and literary interpretation of the texts are mostly correct, but inaccurate and lacking in autonomy. Good ability to discuss the essays listed in the syllabus.
excellent grades: metrical reading mostly correct; knowledge of Latin metres and/or of Latin language at an upper-mid level; translation and interpretation of the texts are not only correct, but carried out with autonomy and precision. Excellent ability to discuss the essays given in the syllabus.

Teaching tools

The teaching activity will be supported by teaching materials that will be made available online during the course.

Office hours

See the website of Francesco Citti