Ancient Greek Literary Criticism

Catalog description

In this seminar, we will read ancient Greek texts that explore the nature of poetry and/or rhetoric, including readings from Plato, Aristotle, Demetrius and Ps-Longinus. We will also look at poetic texts that comment on poetry and poetic production (including Hesiod’s encounter with the Muses), and consider comic or satiric parody as a form of “criticism” (including the contest of Euripides and Aeschylus in “Frogs”). We will also consider ancient “lives” of literary figures like Homer or Aesop as offering a form of literary analysis, and we will also look at ancient scholia to examine ancient practices of close reading. We will look at a few Roman sources but the primary focus will be on the Greek tradition. We will trace longstanding ancient debates, such as the relative importance of pleasure versus instruction and whether poetry/ rhetoric is inherently deceptive. We will also discuss whether there was such a thing as “criticism” or “literary theory” in antiquity. Classical Studies students will be expected to read from the texts in the original, but graduate students from other disciplines, such as English or Comparative Literature, are also welcome to participate and can read the sources in translation – contact the instructor if you have any questions.