Schedules A-B

Aims and objectives

1. To develop students’ knowledge, abilities and skills in reading Greek and Latin to a point where they can tackle independently and with confidence authors of whom they have prior experience.
2. To enhance students’ understanding of the structure and functioning of the Greek and Latin languages.
3. To further students’ command of Greek and Latin vocabulary.
4. To develop students’ familiarity with a range of different kinds of Greek and Latin.
5. To give students an experience of particular texts and authors that will better equip them for tackling Schedule C-E papers.

Scope and structure of the examination papers 2023–24

Paper A1. Passages for translation from Greek authors will normally be taken by candidates who had A-Level (or equivalent) Greek before entry to the University.

Paper A2. Alternative passages for translation from Greek authors (Option A) will normally be taken by candidates who had not taken at least a G.C.S.E (or equivalent) in Greek before entry to the University.

Paper A3. Alternative passages for translation from Greek authors (Option B) will normally be taken by candidates who had G.C.S.E (or equivalent) but not A-Level (or equivalent) Greek before entry to the University.

Paper B1. Passages for translation from Latin authors will normally be taken by candidates who had A-Level (or equivalent) Latin before entry to the University.

Paper B2. Alternative passages for translation from Latin authors (Option A) will normally be taken by candidates who had not taken at least a G.C.S.E (or equivalent) in Latin before entry to the University.

Paper B3. Alternative passages for translation from Latin authors (Option B) will normally be taken by candidates who had G.C.S.E (or equivalent) but not A-Level (or equivalent) Latin before entry to the University.

Each paper, to be assessed as a 3-hour in-person examination, will be divided into three sections: A, B and C. Section A will consist of one passage of prose, previously unseen, for translation into English. Section B will consist of one passage of verse, previously unseen, for translation into English. Section C will consist of two previously unseen passages, one of prose, one of verse, of which candidates must translate one of their choice into English. All sections carry equal weight.

In exceptional circumstances, on proposal of the relevant Director of Studies, the Language Teaching Committee may decide to recommend to the Education Committee that a candidate be allowed to take a paper different from the one which they would normally be entitled to.

Courses for ALL candidates

If you did not manage to attend these courses in your Part IA year, now is the time to go to:

The first two lectures will explain the general principles of Greek accentuation; the latter two will take the form of practical classes. Handouts will be provided.

A detailed survey of all the main Greek and Latin metres. After the principles of prosody and scansion have been set out, these metres will be examined roughly in ascending order of difficulty or unfamiliarity. Earlier lectures will begin with the dactylic hexameter and elegiacs, passing through the iambic trimeter and Roman comic metres, and ending with more complex lyric metres in Greek and Latin. Copies of passages discussed, and optional practice passages, will be provided. The earlier lectures, in particular, are recommended for undergraduates. Graduate students are also invited to attend throughout, who may find the later lectures, which will acquaint them with the less familiar metres, particularly beneficial.

All scholarly reading and writing about literature is ‘theoretical’, in the sense that it rests upon ideas about what literature is, what it is for, and what it means. The aims of this course are three-fold: firstly, to allow students to understand better what are the hidden assumptions that underpin the way that they have been brought up to read; secondly, to help them understand the range of alternative options available; and thirdly, to give them practical tips to allow them to expand their literary-critical toolkits. The lectures will be accessible — no prior knowledge is assumed — and will benefit any student with any interest in reading ancient literature either as literature or in historical terms. The lectures will cover the more established areas of theory, including narratology, deconstruction and feminism, and also newer fields like ecocriticism and new materialism. A good place for the curious to start is Jonathan Culler’s accessible Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford, 2011).