Theater in Ancient Rome

Catalog description

This course is designed as a continuation of and companion to CLSC/THTR/ WLIT 319 /419 Greek Tragedy: Plays and Performance in Ancient Athens, although it may be taken without having taken, or before having taken, that course. Students in Theater in Ancient Rome will read a significant number of ancient Roman plays in modern English translation and study non-literary theatrical entertainment of the Roman Republic and Empire, that may include mime and pantomime, gladiatorial shows, political speeches, courtroom drama, and various other spectacles. The dramatic texts that we shall study include the fragments of early Latin drama, selected comedies by Plautus and Terence, and the tragedies of Seneca. We shall also consider Greek and Roman literature that comments on Roman theatrical practices. These works will be read for their literary merits and theatrical possibilities, while at the same time examining them for what they can tell us about Roman civilization. Similarly, when studying the non-literary theatrical works we shall examine historical and theatrical context including archaeological evidence from theaters and amphitheaters and material remains (masks, depictions of actors and gladiators on vases, terra cotta lamps, mosaics, etc.). Finally, while the majority of the course focuses on drama originally written in Latin and theatrical entertainments performed in ancient Rome, the course may include a brief survey of selected post-classical works indebted to the tradition of Roman drama and theater. Authors that may be studied include Hrotsvitha, Marlowe, Shakespeare, Racine, Molière, and the legacy of Roman drama and theater in contemporary stage and cinema such as Sondheim's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Thus a secondary concern will be to consider how and in what ways the legacy of Roman drama and theater has continued to shape the dramatic arts since antiquity. Offered as CLSC 322 , CLSC 422 , THTR 322 , THTR 422 , WLIT 322 , and WLIT 422 . Counts as a CAS Global & Cultural Diversity course.