Latin 330rn - Topics in Advanced Readings in Latin Literature- The Roman Novel

Though the genre of the novel is usually identified with the modern era, many argue that its origins lie in works of prose fiction by Greek and Roman authors. This course examines the two such Latin works that survive, the Satyricon of Petronius, arbiter elegantiae in the court of Nero, and the Metamorphoses of Apuleius, a provincial form of what is now Algeria writing in age of the Antonines. Topics will include the genesis and features of the genre; literary precedents and literary allusion; prose style; and how the distinctive cultural background of each work frames the worlds that they conjure. Prerequisite: LAT 214 or equivalent.