Syllabus for LATN 400 (01): Senior Latin: Plautus 2012-2013 John Porter, instructor Term 1 Time: TBD Room: TBD

Nature and Purpose of the Course

Weeks 1-6: close reading of Plautus' Asinaria, with particular attention to the peculiarities of Plautus' forms and syntax, and some attention to the more straightforward spoken meters. These sessions will be led by the instructor and will provide a basic grounding in the reading of Plautine comedy. A vocabulary and grammatical commentary will be provided to assist students in coming to terms with Plautus' Latin.

Weeks 7-13: close reading of Plautus' Aulularia. Some class sessions will be led by members of the class. Each student will be required to compose a grammatical commentary on an assigned section (or sections) of the text, with supporting references to Allen and Greenough, Woodcock, and other relevant sources. Those students who wish will be able to contribute their work toward an on-line grammatical commentary on the play.

Required Texts

• Plautus: Asinaria
• Latin text: PHI Latin Texts
• J.H. Gray's Cambridge school edition (1894):   [pdf]   [other formats]
• Paul Nixon's 1916 Loeb edition
• Interactive Latin text (Perseus)
• Plautus: Aulularia
• Latin text: PHI Latin Texts
• W. Wagner's Cambridge school edition (1876):   [pdf]   [other formats]
• Paul Nixon's 1916 Loeb edition
• Interactive Latin text (Perseus)
• To be purchased:
  • J.B. Greenough, J.H. Allen, et al. Allen and Greenough's New Latin Grammar. Mineola, 2006. ISBN: 978-0486448060.
  • E.C. Woodcock. A New Latin Syntax. Basingstoke, 2009. ISBN: 978-0862920425.

Recommended Texts

• Wolfgang de Melo, ed. and tr. Plautus I: Amphitryon, The Comedy of Asses, The Pot of Gold, The Two Bacchises, The Captives. Cambridge and London, 2011.   [PA6569 .M45 2011 v.1]
• John Henderson, tr. and comm. Plautus: Asinaria. The One about the Asses. Madison, 2006.   [PA6568 .A7 2006]
• G. Lawall and B.N. Quinn, eds. and comms. The Aulularia of Plautus. Amherst, 1983.   [PA6568 .A8 1983]
• W. Wagner, ed. and comm. T. Macci Plauti Aulularia. New York, 1979. (Orig. Cambridge, 1876.)   [PA6568 .A8T 1979]
• W.M. Lindsay. Syntax of Plautus. Oxford, 1907. [PA6605 .L7]   [pdf and other formats]   [On-line edition (Perseus)]
• Wolfgang David Cirilo de Melo. The Early Latin Verb System: Archaic Forms in Plautus, Terence, and Beyond. Oxford and New York, 2007.

Student Assignments

Emphasis will be placed on the precise translation, with grammatical analysis, of the prepared texts, but examinations will include a significant amount of Latin to be translated at sight. Dictionaries and grammars may be permitted in the case of sight passages, but all translations of prepared passages in an examination setting will be done without the use of any external aids.

In the second half of the term, each student will be assigned approximately 100-200 lines of Aulularia in all. The student will be expected to lead the in-class translation and analysis of those lines and to produce a grammatical commentary, with supporting references to Allen and Greenough, Woodcock, and other relevant sources.

Evaluation

In addition to weekly reading assignments, there will be a midterm examination and a final examination required this term. Each examination will consist of some combination of:

1. translation of material read in class, with grammatical commentary
2. sight translation

Marks will be assigned according to the following scheme:

• In-Class Performance: 20%
• Midterm Examination (TBD): 20%
• Grammatical Commentary (TBD): 20%
• Final Examination (TBD): 40%

Important Notice

Attendance is mandatory: no student with 5 or more unexcused absences will receive a mark of higher than 49% for the course.

Late work will not be accepted.

Unless specific written instructions are provided to the contrary, no outside resources will be permitted in any course examinations.

Useful Resources on the WWW

A Brief Introduction to the Language of Plautus (Haverford)

A quite useful introductory overview of some of the peculiarities of Plautus' Latin.

Perseus Reference Works

Access to lexica, grammars, a morphological parser, texts, and commentaries.

Allen and Greenough's New Latin Grammar

On-line edition at Perseus

Pdf version at Textkit

Words: Downloadable Latin-English Dictionary

[on-line version]

Textkit: Greek & Latin Learning Tools

An invaluable collection of downloadable Greek and Latin grammars, readers, and other aids, including such classics as Goodwin's Greek Grammar, Smyth's Greek Grammar, Allen & Greenough's New Latin Grammar, North & Hillard's Greek Prose Composition, and North & Hillard's Latin Prose Composition.

LATN 112/113 Resource Sheets (in pdf format)

http://homepage.usask.ca/~jrp638/latin/RLsheets/

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