Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Slow Reading
Hugh Lloyd-Jones, "Fraenkel, Eduard David Mortier (1888–1970)," Oxford Dictionary of National Biography:
Update from Dr. Christopher Stray:
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He lectured effectively on Catullus, Virgil, and Horace; but he exerted special influence through his famous seminars on Aeschylus's Agamemnon, in which he went through the play in almost as much time as it took Agamemnon to capture Troy.Aeschylus' Agamemnon has 1673 lines; it took Agamemnon ten years to capture Troy.
Update from Dr. Christopher Stray:
Re yr post on Fraenkel, quoting the late Hugh Lloyd-Jones, let me offer you this, from an unpublished text:Related post: Reading Quickly or Slowly.
In his ODNB article on Fraenkel, Hugh Lloyd-Jones repeated what was doubtless a contemporary witticism in remarking that in the seminar, Fraenkel went through the play in almost as much time as it took Agamemnon to capture Troy (Lloyd-Jones 2004). There were eight weekly seminars (Fridays, 5-7pm) for two terms each year, a total of 192 hours. The average speed with which the text was read and discussed was thus just under ten lines per hour.
