Greek Tragedy and Its Afterlife WH-KON-GreekTr
Topics discussed will cover (while not being limited to):
- the religious and political context of tragic performance
- the poetics of Aeschylean drama
- the Sophoclean hero
- Euripidean tragedy, its conservatism and its innovativeness
- Roman appropriation of Greek tragedy
- Seneca and the reworking of Euripidean themes
- tragedy and Dante
- early modern theory and practice
- the non-cscholarly wit of Shakespeare
- Racine's attempts at Classicism
- operatic reflexes
- the Promethean hero
- the improvements of Hoffmanstahl and others
- the modern Antigone
- Passolini's/ Kakoyannis exploration of the ancient
(in Polish) Grupa przedmiotów ogólnouczenianych
Subject level
Learning outcome code/codes
Type of subject
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
Average understanding of tragic genre in its diachronic aspect. Understanding of classical tragedy as a political and religious phenomenon. Understanding of the elasticity of the genre. Awareness of the normativeness of Aristotelian vision. Understanding of the phenomenon of Classical tradition
Assessment criteria
Oral exam consisting of two separate questions concerning:
a) ancient phenomenon
b) modern survival/evolution
Very good: uses examples outside of canon. Shows independence of thought and critical approach. Formulates his/her argument in faultless English.
Good: uses canonical examples, showing good command of English and decent awareness of phenomena discussed.
Sufficient: capable of using examples discussed during class, formulates argument in understandable and syntactically correct English.
Practical placement
Not applicable
Bibliography
Loeb Classical Library editions of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides
Loeb Classical Library edition of Seneca
Loeb Classical Library translation of Aristotle's Poetics
Dante's La commedia (any English translation or the Italian text)
Villa I Tatti edition of Humanist Tragedies (Cambridge Ma. 2010)
F. Robortello's Explicationes
W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus
E. von Hoffmanstahl Electra (any translation)
P.B. Shelley Prometheus unbound
J. Anouilh Antigone (any translation)
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: