Humanities 110
Paper Topic # 2
Spring 2005
Length 1500 words
Due Saturday, March 26th,
5 P.M. in your conference leader's Eliot Hall mailbox.
- Seneca and Lucretius both suggest that death
should not be feared and that suicide is, in extreme circumstances, a
reasonable act. But their
reasons for this suggestion are different. Explain the main lines of each of their arguments. What grounds might one give for
finding one argument more persuasive than the other?
- Discuss the Epilogue of Ovid's Metamorphoses, in which he claims "eternity" and "immortality"
for his work, in relation to the theme of change, which pervades the rest
of the poem.
- Throughout the Germania, Tacitus contrasts Roman mores to those of the
Germanic tribes. What is
Tacitus's concept of the civilization that Rome brings to (or imposes
upon) those whom it conquers?
Does Tacitus think that civilization has costs as well as benefits?
- Many readers see the Aeneid as an essay in imperial propaganda. Yet the poem repeatedly presents
us with scenes of love, loss, and grief. How do these scenes affect one's understanding of the
poem's overall purpose and impact?
- In his Introduction to De Rerum Natura, Walter Englert writes: The De Rerum Natura is Lucretius's attempt to make Greek philosophy
relevant to his fellow Romans.
Lucretius says he is presenting the doctrines of Epicurus
faithfully, and as far as we can tell all of the philosophical doctrines
he presents in the poem are those of his master Epicurus, not his
own. What is his own is the
way Lucretius presents Epicurus's idea. (p. xxi) Analyze in detail some of the literary or rhetorical
devices Lucretius uses specifically to make the Greek philosophy of
Epicurus appeal to his Roman audience. What values or characteristics of
his audience is he playing upon?
- Focusing on Tacitus's description of any one of
his major figures, analyze Tacitus's purpose in writing the Annals.
Has he succeeded in "writing without indignation or partisanship"
(p. 32)?
- Vergil's Aeneid and Ovid's Metamorphoses contain many ekphrases, passages
where the poet describes a work of art or craft (e.g.,
Aeneas's shield).
Choose an ekphrastic passage from either of these
poems and analyze the role it
plays in the work as whole. You may want to consider the theories about
ekphrasis presented by Elizabeth Drumm in her lecture
of February 9th, or
Hurwit's
claim that "When a poet (oral or otherwise) describes an imaginary
work
of art at length, it is reasonable to suspect that he may be less
interested in visual art than in alluding to his own
poetic task: he is being
self-reflexive, he is dissembling (p. 46)," or the
belief of some art
historians that ekphrastic passages are among the best
evidence we have for
understanding how Roman viewers would have understood
works of visual art.
- In consultation with your instructor, devise a
topic of your own.