Punic Glass Head Pendant,
5th-4th c. BCE
 Latin 623 - Roman Comedy for MEd:
Plautus' Poenulus; Terence's Adelphoe
 Wednesday 5:00-8:00 PM 
 McIver 138 
 University of North Carolina  Greensboro 

 John H. Starks, Jr. 


15th Century Manuscript of Terence's Adelphoe
Objectives: Students will gain functional competence in reading Plautus' and Terence comedic language and style. By careful out-of-class preparation, students will learn good procedures for advancing through these dramatic texts. Since Plautus represents some of the earliest Latin literature, his language and grammar often reflect the state of Latin in the days before Cicero, Vergil and other classical Roman writers. Students will gain competence in dramatic reading in Latin, and learn how to use comedy for expanding their classroom approaches to teaching of culture, interactive and active learning, and oral Latin communication. Students will also advance beyond basic translation of Latin drama to a fuller understanding of comedy as literature and conversational language. As students learn about early Roman theatrical technique, they will also be introduced to some scholarly treatments of comedy..

Required Texts:

Starks, J.H., Jr., et al, edd. Latin Laughs: A Production of Plautus' Poenulus.Bolchazy-Carducci, 1997.
Martin, R.H. comm. Terence: Adelphoe. Cambridge, 1976.
I STRONGLY RECOMMEND that before we get to the Adelphoe you get a good dictionary, such as Cassell's hardbound. The reason for this is that the paperbound Latin dictionaries do not give many entries from Plautus and Terence'soften specialized vocabulary and spelling. The hardbound Cassell's gives you citations from Plautus and Terence, which can help you immensely. I also suggest that you make good use of the Perseus linked text I provide below. Finally, learn this term how to use the big Oxford Latin Dictionary and the more affordable Lewis and Short dictionary. They are wonderful resources for working with Plautus and Terence, precisely because they use so many unusual words and forms, and because they are early Latin authors.

Course Requirements and Rules:

Tests: 1 midterm on Plautus, 1 final on Terence. Tests will include seen and sight passages, as well as literary interpretation questions and basic questions on grammatical forms.

Quizzes: Every other class session, there will be a ten-minute timed quiz over the two week's work, usually basic translation of seen passages and basic grammatical identification. Your lowest quiz will be dropped, so make ups will not be allowed.

Oral Reports: All students will read a modern scholarly article on Plautus or Terence and present a less-than-ten minute report on the articles' content at a date TO BE marked on the syllabus. You will also read another comedy of Plautus or Terence in translation and report for 15 minutes on that play's structure, humor and content as compared to the plays we have read together (Handouts will be helpful for explaining your material to other students who have not read this play). 

Class Participation: I will expect your full participation in class and quality preparation. Assignments will include translation, oral Latin, and performance, all as aids to your role as a Latin teacher.

Grade Distribution:

35% - Midterm
35% - Final
10% = Average of Quizzes
10% = Participation/Preparation
5% = Report on article
5% -  Report on another Roman comedy

I must insist on a firm grade scale as follows: 97-100 A+, 93-96 A, 90-92 A-, 87-89 B+, 83-86 B, 80-82 B- (and so forth down to the lowest passing grade
of 60. A+ designation is for class only and is not recognized by the university as a quality point for GPA purposes)
 

Syllabus/Daily Assignments: Numbers listed below are line numbers for the texts of Plautus' Poenulus (Latin Laughs edition) and Terence's Adelphoe.
Lines listed are to be read outside of class for the class session that day. 

Director's Notes for Poenulus

Latin Morphological Tool
A Full Latin text of Poenulus and Adelphoe.
 
Life of Terence from the De Poetis, Phoenician Dress, Basic Intro to Roman Stagecraft, Getty Stage, Skenotheke: Ancient Drama Webguide, Good site on Punic culture,

1-12 Poenulus 1-150
1-19 151-306 Original Prologue
1-26 307-466
2-2 467-613
2-9 614-765
2-16 766-891
2-23 Midterm Exam  Terence Didascalia, Periocha, lines 1-81
Plautus' Commorientes fragment
3-2
 81-196 article on Plautus vs. Terence
3-9 Spring Break
3-16 197-298
3-23 299-434
3-30 435-539
4-6 540-635
4-13 635-762
4-20 763-888
4-27 889-997
5-4
 Reading Day - Catchup Session?
5-11
 Final Exam - 4:30-6:30 PM

Info on Roman Theater and Cultural issues in Poenulus