LT4227 Horace and You

Further information on which modules are specific to your programme.

Module description

Whether he was writing Odes or Epodes, Satires or Epistles, the Augustan poet Horace nearly always addressed himself to a ‘you’ whose role is to hear the poem and to be affected by it in some way, whether it be friend or foe, real or fictional, human or divine, person or thing. But why have an addressee in the first place? What difference does it make for the poet to speak to someone rather than to himself or to no-one? In this module, we will take these questions as the starting point for an exploration of Horace’s poetry across genres. As we get to know Horace through close readings of his endlessly challenging poems, we will encounter bigger issues as well: how does poetry communicate? Can it affect its audience in tangible ways? How is the interlocutor involved in creating meaning? And what part do we latter-day readers have to play in all this?

Intended learning outcomes

• Comment intelligently and critically on Horace’s poetry in various genres with close attention to the Latin, considering form, style, content, and historical context
• Make practical use of literary theories relating to the production of meaning, esp. speech act theory and reader response theory, among others
• Formulate an original research initiative, communicate this initiative effectively and concisely in abstract format, and produce academic writing of a high standard on the basis of this initiative
• Successfully navigate a wide range of modern scholarship on Horace and critically evaluate the progress of Horatian scholarship in modern academia