Epigram, Elegy, and Lyric

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

This course explores the genre(s) of Hellenistic literary epigram through the lens of the multiple other literary forms with which it engaged. Students will examine the multiple ways in which Hellenistic writers transformed the conventions of (subliterary) anonymous inscribed sepulchral and dedicatory epigrams into a canvas for vibrant experimentation with genre, voice, and perspective; in so doing, these poets created a form of poetry whose successors remain popular into modernity. Students will also read widely poems from a variety of other genres, especially lyric and elegy. Particular attention will be paid to the way in which Hellenistic poets engaged with these earlier forms to create meaning.