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HONORS 350 (HU)
To Laugh or To Cry? Comedy, Tragedy, and the End of Civilization
Dr. W. Tyson Hausdoerffer, Honors College Lecturer
Course Description
What’s a playwright to do when his society seems bent on its own destruction? Is there
anything he can do with his art to change reckless attitudes or to halt ruinous policies? Should he
provide his fellow citizens with a critical perspective on their folly or offer them a temporary
escape and relief from it? Or can great drama accomplish both—can it effectively combine
political critique and emotional relief? Finally, which dramatic genre—comedy or tragedy—is
better suited to the attempt?
We will tackle these questions by focusing on the case of Greek drama at the end of the
fifth-century BCE, for this was a time when the dramatic arts flourished even as the city in which
they thrived, Athens, was in the process of destroying itself through its long war with Sparta. In
the first part of the semester, we will consider how the tragedian Euripides and the comedian
Aristophanes drew upon their respective genres to respond to two controversial events: the
Athenians’ annihilation of Melos and their invasion of Sicily. In the second part of the semester,
we will look at how all three major playwrights of the day—Sophocles, Euripides, and
Aristophanes—dealt with the imminent collapse of Athens at the very end of the Peloponnesian
War. In both parts of the course, we will also pay attention to the dramatic quality of ancient
historical writing—in their efforts to make sense of recent historical events, how were
Thucydides and Xenophon influenced by Athenian drama (and vice versa)?
Course Requirements
The coursework will consist of a journal with eight 1-2 page entries on our readings (30%
of the overall grade), two 5-6 page essays (40%), two brief presentations (10%), and, of course,
attendance and participation (20%). In addition, students will be required to turn in an outline
and a preliminary draft of both essays.
Required Texts
Euripides. Bacchae and Other Plays: Iphigenia among the Taurians; Bacchae; Iphigenia at
Aulis;Rhesus. Oxford UP. ISBN-10: 9780199540525
Euripides. Euripides II: The Cyclops and Heracles, Iphigenia in Tauris, Helen.
U Chicago Press. ISBN-10: 0226307816
Diskin Clay. Euripides’ Trojan Women. Focus Publishing. ISBN-10: 1-58510-111-7
Ruby Blondell. Sophocles: Oedipus at Colonus. Focus Publishing. ISBN-10: 1-58510-065-X
Henderson, Jeffrey. Aristophanes’ Frogs. Focus Publishing. ISBN-10: 158510308X
Henderson, Jeffrey. Aristophanes’ Birds. Focus Publishing. ISBN-10: 0941051870
Henderson, Jeffrey. Three Plays by Aristophanes: Staging Women. Routledge. ISBN-10:
0415907446
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