Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØ

This list is intended to help you prepare for the Latin Ph.D. preliminary examination. That exam is a test of your competence in Latin and your familiarity with the field of Latin literature, rather than a test on this list. Read as much as you can in preparation, in the knowledge that acquaintance with all of these texts constitutes preparation for a career in Classics.

M.A. students planning to continue to a Ph.D. are strongly encouraged to take a Ph.D.-level exam, even while registered in the M.A. program. An M.A. student who takes the Ph.D. exam and passes it at the Ph.D. level (85% or higher) will, as a result, be qualified for their M.A. (pending satisfactory fulfillment of the other M.A. requirements) and be considered to have passed the Latin Ph.D. preliminary exam, if they continue into the Ph.D. program at this institution. A pass mark of 95% or higher on the Ph.D.-level exam results in a pass with distinction. An M.A. student who passes a Ph.D.-level exam at the M.A. level (75% - 84%) may earn their M.A. on that basis, pending satisfactory fulfillment of the other M.A. requirements, but would be required to re-take the Latin Ph.D. preliminary exam if admitted to the Ph.D. program.

The exam will consist of two sections: A. Translation; B. Passage analysis:

A.ÌýThe translation section will consist of two out of three passages of poetry and two out of three passages of prose to be translated, all to be drawn from the published list. Each poetry passage will be ca. 20-25 lines in length, and the prose passages of 150-200 words

B.ÌýThe analysis section will require exam-takers to discuss one out of two passages of prose and one out of two passages of poetry, all to be drawn from the published list.

Instructions as they appear on the exam paper are given below.

Substitutions to the present list: students may propose substitutions of equivalent difficulty and length pertaining to up to two prose and two verse authors; these substitutions would need to be approved by the graduate director in consultation with the graduate committee.ÌýCopies of all texts and commentaries recommended are available in Norlin and in the Classics library in Eaton Humanities (HUMN 345); please alert the Chair of the Library Committee if you find any missing from either library. Those wishing to build their own Classics libraries (e.g. those planning to pursue a Ph.D.) may wish to consider purchasing personal copies of the texts and commentaries recommended as an investment for the future.

As you read the texts, we recommend reading the introductions to the commentaries listed below, especially those in the Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics series. We also recommend supplementing your reading of the Latin text by background reading in one of the standard literary histories, e.g. G.B. Conte’s Latin Literature: A History, transl. J.B. Solodow, rev. D. Fowler and Glenn Most, Baltimore & Laton (John Hopkins) or the Cambridge History of Classical Literature, Vol. 2. You will find both of these in HUMN 350. No Classics library books should leave their respective rooms! Further advice on secondary reading on individual authors is available from faculty.

Instructions as they appear on the exam:

Ia. Translation: Prose (1 hour). Translate two of the following passages into accurate and idiomatic English.

Ib. Translation: Poetry (1 hour). Translate two of the following passages into accurate and idiomatic English.

II. Select one of the following two passages of poetry in (a) and one of the two passages of prose in (b) and write an analytical essay on each (60 minutes total). If you can, identify the author, work, and location of the passage within the work; the author’s date, historical milieu, and the context of the passage or work within the author’s career; speakers and others referred to directly or indirectly; and places, events, or other important points of reference. Comment on significant themes as well as formal features such as meter or rhythm, dialect, and genre; if possible, identify the performance venue, occasion, or intended readership. Paraphrase is not necessary and should not be used for its own sake, but you may use it to support interpretation of the text.