Module manager: Katherine Backler
Email: K.Backler@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable
Year running 2026/27
| CLAS3001 | Ancient Comedy |
CLAS2410 Roman Comedy
This module is approved as a discovery module
This module encourages students to acquire an overview of comedy in the ancient world, including detailed study of selected plays from the corpus of extant Greek Old and New Comedy, and the Roman Comedy of Plautus and Terence. Students will explore the various literary-historical, political, religious, philosophical, social and intertextual perspectives which shed light on the plays, and explore what ancient humour entails and how it is reliant on its social and literary contexts. Through the study of primary sources in detail and suitable secondary literature, students will engage with contemporary critical debates surrounding Greek/Roman drama, and important aspects of ancient humour such as sexuality, morality, education, and the role of women in ancient societies. NB in some ancient comedies rape plays a significant role, and will therefore be studied in detail. Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
Students will gain knowledge of selected plays by major Greek and Roman playwrights. Long after it stopped being written, ancient comedy was admired and studied in the ancient world from Cicero to Augustine, and we will take a look at what makes these old plays still relevant today. In the lectures we will explore the various literary-historical, political, religious, philosophical, social and intertextual perspectives which shed light on the plays, and in the seminars we will explore specific passages in detail, employing theories like feminism or reader response to the texts. We will
Explore parallels between Greek/Roman dramatic texts and assess the relationship of the “comedy” genre within the development of literature in the ancient world.
On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
1. Analyse critically representative plays of Greek/Roman comedy appraising their theatrical and formal aspects as well as their historical, cultural, and social contexts
2. Critically examine and discuss representative plays of Greek/Roman comedy in the context of the development of the literary genres
3. Evaluate similarities and differences between Greek/Roman approaches to humour, taking into account the literary-historical, political, religious, social and intertextual perspectives in the respective contexts these plays were written in.
4. Engage with and evaluate critical debates and methods of inquiry in literary studies related to Greek and Roman comedy.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
5. Discuss and interpret various forms of primary evidence setting them against their historical and cultural context.
6. Evaluate different perspectives and ideas and apply them creatively to new primary evidence, using appropriate skills such as close reading or commentary.
7. Communicate effectively information, arguments and analysis.
Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 20 | 1 | 20 |
| Seminar | 6 | 1 | 6 |
| Private study hours | 174 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 26 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
There are ongoing opportunities for formative feedback through participation in seminars. There will be a seminar session dedicated to preparing each of the assessment. Students are also given the opportunity to contact tutors for face-to-face meetings, for example in office hours. Feedback from the first coursework will afford a formal opportunity to monitor student progress.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Essay | 50 |
| Coursework | Written Assignment | 50 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 30/04/2026
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team