CLLA 403(F) The Invention of Love: Catullus and the Roma Elegists
This course will explore the development of Latin love poetry in the first century
BCE. Beginning with Catullus, we will examine the influence of Greek lyric
poetry on the evolution of the genre as well as Roman attitudes toward love
exhibited in other literature of the Late Republic. We will then turn to the full
development of the elegiac form in the love poems of Propertius, Tibullus, and
Sulpicia. Finally, we will explore the transformation of the genre in Ovid's
Amores. The goal throughout is to investigate the conventions, innovations, and
problems of expressing personal desire and longing amid the social and political
upheaval of the transition from Republic to Principate.
Format: recitation/discussion. Evaluation will be based on class participation, a
midterm exam, a final paper, and a final exam.
Prerequisites: Latin 202 or permission of the instructor. Enrollment limit: 12
(expected: 10-12). Preference given to Classics majors.