Consideration is given to the influence of rhetoric in politics and education. Selected works of the comic playwrights Plautus and Terence. Colloquial Latin, the definition of humor, and the influences of Greek comedy are important topics. Emphasis will be given to the work of one author in matters of style, content, and bias. Selections from the Odes of Horace, the elegies of Propertius, and Ovid's Amores.
Attention is directed to poetry as a vehicle of personal expression and social commentary.
The epic genre as defined by Roman poets. A typical focus is Vergil's Aeneid with some comparative analysis of epics written by Lucretius, Ovid, and Lucan. Consideration is given to the literary expression of the changing mores and perspectives of imperial Roman society. Consideration centers on poetry as an instrument for social criticism and personal invective. An introduction to the fundamental morphology and syntax of ancient Greek.