Topic 7: Literature — drama and poetry

In this topic students study any two dramas or poets or a combination of both poetry and drama from the following:

• Chinese poetry
  • Tang Dynasty poetry, including works by Li Bo, Wang Wei, Du Fu
• Greek drama
  • Sophocles: Antigone, Oedipus
  • Euripides: Bacchae, Hippolytus, Medea
  • Aristophanes: The Frogs, Lysistrata, The Clouds, The Birds
• Indian drama
  • Shudraka, Little Clay Cart
• Roman poetry
  • Juvenal: Sixteen Satires
  • Catullus: suggested poems may include 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 23, 34, 35, 39, 49, 61, 65, 70, 73, 83, 84, 85, 93, 101, 107, and 109
• Roman drama
  • Plautus: The Ghost, The Rope, Amphitryon.

In studying drama and poetry, students analyse textual features to develop an understanding of the conventions of drama and/or poetry. They analyse stylistic features, including imagery, figurative language, contrast, symbolism, personification, allegory, and irony. Students consider the choices made by the writers, which may include the exploration of nature, gender, power, relationships, and other themes within or between texts. Texts and/or authors may be studied individually or comparatively. Students complete readings from a literary and/or historical perspective, considering the origins of the texts, the purpose of the writer, how the texts were understood and received at the time they were written, and how this differs from contemporary readings.