Not offered 2007-2008
CLLA 402 Roman Letters
This course will explore the ancient Roman epistolary tradition. Through selections from the three major surviving collections of letters by Cicero, Pliny, and Seneca, as well as modern
critical approaches to the genre, we will investigate the formal and stylistic conventions and
innovations of Roman personal, political, and philosophical letter writing. We will also consider the problem of distinguishing real correspondence from literary fabrication, as well as
issues related to self-presentation, friendship, and the role of letters in Roman public and
private life. Finally, we will turn to the poetic appropriation of this tradition in Ovid's Heroides, a collection of fictional letters from mythological heroines.
Format: discussion/recitation. Evaluation will be based on class participation, a midterm
exam, a short paper, and a final exam.
Prerequisites: Latin 302 or permission of instructor. Enrollment limit: 15 (expected:10).
WILCOX