[The following is an upper-level undergraduate course taught by John Paul Russo, Professor of Classics and English, Chair, Dept. of Classics, University of Miami]
CLA 315/ENG 315 Prof. John Paul Russo
The Classical Epic Tradition: from Homer to Milton
We cover the rise and development of the Western epic tradition from Homer’s Odyssey (8th century BC) and Virgil’s Aeneid (19 BC) in the classical world, through the Anglo-Saxon Beowulf (ca. 900-1000) and Dante’s Divine Comedy (1320) in the Middle Ages, and ending with John Milton’s Paradise Lost (1667) in the midst of the Scientific Revolution. Across an extraordinary time span of two millennia, we seek originality, universality, monumentality, revision, historical context, and continuity among differences.
The epic has been described as a poem that says a little something about almost everything: Homer has passages on farming as well as warfare; the Beowulf poet is nostalgic for an heroic age that is past; Dante and Milton explore the nature of sin and redemption. Our focus falls on how epic poets create a form and structure for their visionary aspirations, how Homer and Virgil characterize their heroes and heroines both within and against a social and cultural background, and how they isolate them by their virtues, vices, and deeds to establish them as heroic models. When we turn to later epic, we note the increasing inwardness of the characters, where pagan, Christian, and other religious elements are made to support (or challenge) one other and result in subtle disharmonies. In all periods we consider the social and political foundations of the poems.
One can compare the course to a group of travelers on a journey among high mountains, some of the supreme achievements of Western literature. At this altitude one might suffer occasional masterpiece fatigue. And, unfortunately, there is too little time to investigate the valleys below. But one passage could light our way. The Renaissance political philosopher Machiavelli wrote from exile in 1513: “In the evening, I return to my house, and go into my study. At the door I take off the clothes I have worn all day, mud spotted and dirty, and put on regal and courtly garments. Thus appropriately clothed, I enter into the ancient courts of ancient men, where, being lovingly received, I feed on that food which alone is mine, and which I was born for. I am not ashamed to speak with them and to ask the reasons for their actions, and they courteously answer me. For four hours I feel no boredom and forget every worry; I do not fear poverty, and death does not terrify me.” Machiavelli is telling us to read for the “humanity” of books,–for the purpose of enlarging one’s mental and moral nature, of looking upon the world with broader understanding and sympathy. No one has said it better.
Learning outcomes
Close reading and analysis of epic poetry, as well as skill in expository writing and logical argument are two major emphases of this course. As a result of taking it, the student will be better able to think analytically and write critically about the Greek and Roman epic and its successors in later literature. One will understand at more depth the difference between a summary and an analysis. The student will also gain an awareness of the place of this literary tradition within world literature as a whole.
Assignments
You may use any translations with which you are comfortable. I recommend a modern, idiomatic translation. I will be using the following translations in lectures and discussions, all available in the Richter Library, at the bookstore or via Abelinks or Amazon, in inexpensive second-hand copies (Milton’s Paradise Lost can be downloaded from the Internet Archive, among other sites):
Homer, The Odyssey, trans. Albert Cook (Norton)
The Aeneid of Virgil, trans. Allen Mandelbaum (Bantam) or C. Day Lewis.
Beowulf, trans. R.M. Liuzza (Broadview Press)
Dante, The Divine Comedy: Inferno, trans. Mark Musa (Penguin) (excerpts from the Purgatorio and Paradiso will be handed out.
John Milton, Paradise Lost (Signet)
Collaboration policy; the University Honor Code
Discussion of scholarship and sharing of ideas are essential for successful academic work. At the same time you must ensure that any written work that you submit for evaluation is the result of your own research and writing, and that it reflects your own approach to the topic. You must also adhere to standard citation practices and provide full citation for any books, articles, websites, generative AI (permitted as a preparatory step), etc. If you paraphrase a source, acknowledge it by supplying a citation. You do not need to use quotation marks when referring to what the instructor or student has said in class. That is considered the common knowledge of the course, for which you have paid tuition.
Writing assignments, tests, and grading; writing credit “W”
Class participation 10 %
3 pp. essay on the Odyssey: 15% Topics to be given out. Due Feb.21
Midterm test: 20% Mar. 3
7 pp. term paper, with revisions: 25% Topics to be given out. Due TBD in early to mid April
Final exam 30%
This course is writing-intensive (W). To receive the W credit, the student must engage in a process of composition that includes one revision of the term paper. As part of the process, the student revises the second essay in light of the comments it receives from the instructor.
Office hours Department of Classics, Ashe 523C, TBD and by appt. email: jprusso@miami.edu
Selected Secondary Reading, Optional
Charles Rowan Beye, Ancient Epic Poetry ; C.M. Bowra, Heroic Poetry; Douglas Bush, Paradise Lost In Our Time; H. Munro Chadwick, The Heroic Age; William M. Dixon, English Epic and Heroic Poetry; Cedric Whitman, Homer and the Homeric Tradition; Richard J. DuRocher, Milton among the Romans; ; Ronald R. MacDonald, The Burial-Places of Memory: Epic Underworlds in Vergil, Dante, and Milton; Catherine Gimelli Martin, The Ruins of Allegory; Christopher Ricks, Milton’s Grand Style; Peter Toohey, Reading Epic: An Introduction to the Ancient Narratives; Renee R. Trilling, The Aesthetics of Nostalgia: Historical Representation in Old English Verse.
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