CLAS2971: Comedy and Tragedy, Laughter and Sorrow

• CLAS1601 or ENGL1011 or ENGL1031

• None

• None

• To study the history of ancient Greek theatre (in its socio-historical context) and its poetic depictions of laughter and sorrow in parallel, and to gain knowledge of a selection of literary works where both play a prominent role using literary critical and comparative approaches.
• To develop skills in critical thinking in order to analyse how laughter and sorrow shape the generic features of Greek comedy and tragedy, and inform their ancient reception.
• To gain knowledge of key debates in scholarship and learn how to evaluate these effectively.

• The lectures explore the history of Greek theatre, from its origins to its further development and examine Greek laughter and sorrow with an emphasis on specific topics/themes staged and discussed in classical tragedy and comedy and their ancient reception (e.g. supplication, war, literary criticism, politics, Athens vs. Thebes, female suffering/agency).
• Seminars provide a forum for closer analysis of different works and an opportunity to discuss and evaluate the relevant scholarship.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• Detailed knowledge of the history of Greek theatre and of a selection of Greek works depicting laughter and sorrow and focusing on a specific topic, and an understanding of generic differences between comedy and tragedy.
• An understanding of contemporary debates in the study of the origins/development of Greek theatre and its representations of laughter and sorrow.

Subject-specific Skills:

• An ability to engage critically with the representation of laughter and sorrow and to develop a comparative approach to the study of Greek comedy and tragedy and their ancient reception.
• An ability to evaluate, differentiate and synthesise the arguments from scholarship used in the interpretation of Greek drama and other ancient works.

Key Skills:

• An ability to analyse a wide range of primary sources and to evaluate the arguments of contemporary scholarship; a capacity to produce clear, well-structured arguments in written form and to develop independent interpretations of the texts; development of oral presentation skills in seminars.

• Lectures will provide detailed analysis of Greek theatre and its plays. Seminars will provide opportunities to engage with sources and texts and interpretative issues through various activities undertaken in a discursive context.
• A formative essay will enable detailed engagement with the specified plays; a summative essay will develop the skills so far acquired by engaging critically with the plays studied. Seminars will provide feedback during this process.
• The examination will assess students familiarity with Greek theatre and its plays covered in the lectures and their ability to illuminate details of those sources and texts; and will test the general sophistication of their analysis.

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