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One or two plays of Sophocles will be read in Greek, from among OEDIPUS,TYRANNOS, ANTIGONE, and PHILOCTETES, with particular attention paid to questions of style, the role of drama in its Athenian civic context, and connections between the plays and other aspects of fifth-century culture. The PHILOCTETES, in which Neoptolemus and Odysseus try to get Philoctetes to help the Greeks take Troy, even though they had abandoned him on an island years before, involves a number of issues of concern both to 5th-century Greek society and to our own: "sophistic" or new-fangled vs. old-fashioned education, democratic vs. aristocratic values, persuasion vs. r good, the value of friendship, and the question of how a young person makes choices, defines his/her character and different parts of the play; one or more scenes of play-acting within the drama; and a first, false ending, followed by a second, radically different one involving a DEUS EX MACHINA. Besides careful reading of the Greek text of the PHILOCTETES, the class will feature secondary readings on tragedy, on the PHILOCTETES, and on aspects of Greek cuture relevant to the play, and also reading of other Sophoclean plays in English, and further brief readings in Greek texts about Odysseus, Achilles, Neoptolem us, and the issues raised by the play.
Unless preregistered students attend the first class meeting or communicate directly with the instructor prior to the first class, they will be dropped from the class list. NOTE: Students must still submit a completed Drop/Add form to the Registrar's Office.
COURSE FORMAT: Seminar
Level: UGRD Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA CLAS Grading Mode: Student Option
Prerequisites: NONE
Last Updated on MAR-26-2001
Copyright Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459