Damn, only 68%!

Hi there,

Just got my mark back for TMA3 - only 68%! Damn, now I'm thinking I should have tried harder.... I remember that comment from school.

Anyway, it's not all bad, I was, I have to be honest, secretly expecting worse.... while hoping for better! You get what you deserve I suppose and I spent far too little time on this!

Comments below, remember though, if you found this blog and you are about to write this assignment, don't copy, it's naughty! Besides, why copy a 68%er!

TUTOR'S COMMENTS AND ADVICE TO STUDENT:

Dan,

I actually found it rather difficult to grade this assingment as the grades given don't actually reflect the quality of the work, rather they reflect a tendency to digress from the question asked and to not fully answer the set question. The actual writing is good overall, although be careful with sentence structure at times. Your concluding remarks in essay two are particularly thought-provoking and well written.

You are heading in the right direction with your comments in essay 1, and identify several public functions of the Colosseum, though I'm surprised that you don't mention the size of the Colosseum and how this was connected to public function (necessary to house the lavish spectacles) and symbolic meaning (might and glory of Rome and the Empire). You haven't actually addressed the second part of the question, the symbolic meaning part, which means that you have only answered the first half of the set question. You write quite a bit of descriptive information about the Colosseum in the introduction, which could have been edited or deleted. By doing this you would have had the words at your disposal to consider symbolic meaning.

By the same token, you spend quite a bit of time describing the views of the various writers and making references to society today, which you weren't asked to do, in the second essay (effect of the crowd on people today, for example). Yes, you offer a paragraph near the end of the essay on views towards animals and criminals, but this needed to be discussed more fully and earlier on. And what about Augustine's Christianity. How did this influence his views? Well done, though, for suggesting that some, like Martial, wrote to curry favour with the emperor.

There is so much potential here, Dan, and you write well. You just need to make sure that you stay on track and answer the set question.

Please see my comments throughout the assignment.


TMA 03

Daniel Tarry
Classical Studies

Part One (short answer)

Question
How did the design of the Colosseum relate to its public function and to its symbolic meaning?

Answer in no more than 300 words

You write quite a bit of descriptive information in the first paragraph. It would be a good idea to have a short introduction that tells your reader what the essay will be about: the connection between form, public function and symbolic meaning.
The Colosseum, or Flavian Amphitheatre, was built in Rome by the Emperor Vespasian as a gift to the people of Rome. The first stage of building was completed in 75CE and the inauguration of the vast setting for Rome's gladiatorial combat and public spectacle was held by Titus, in 80CE. The Colosseum was capable of holding 50,000 people and the inaugural games is said to have lasted 100 days with up to 3000 men fighting in a single day and thousands of animals being slaughtered. These huge numbers created problems which the design of the Colosseum had to overcome, and the three main areas of design that allowed the Colosseum to function were visibility, shelter and access. interesting

Every audience member needed to be able to see, not only the 'performers' but also the Emperor who was also a large part of the spectacle.ü The Colosseum had steeply banked sides ensuring that everyone attending could see down into the arena. These were layered, so the audience sat within their social class. The oval shape ensured the Emperor’s box was always visible. Tiered seating helped provide an unobstructed view and reflected hierarchy in Roman society.

Shows often began at midday, so a sunshade was erected to shade the audience from the worst of the weather. The design of this shade is still a matter for discussion and allegedly a team of sailors was garrisoned near to the Colosseum for erecting it. Ok, but you are using up quite a few words describing the sunshade. Try to stick more closely to what the question asks you to discuss.

Access to both the seating and the arena was the greatest design feature of the Colosseum. Numbered arches led to passages and staircases, leading people to their seats. These also kept the very structured Roman society to there own. good to mention this Trap doors in the floor of the arena allowed the animals and fighters to enter centre stage, and the Colosseum had huge gates at either end for entering and exiting the arena, the unlucky leaving via the 'Gate of Death'.
While you have done well with public function, symbolic meaning is more or less absent.

Part Two (essay)

Question
What attitudes towards the Roman games did the ancient writers express? How would you account for the differences and similarities between these writers?

Answer in no more than 900 words

'The Games' represented a major part the lives of all sections of Roman society. This is shown in the many surviving amphitheatres around their empire, the artwork created to promote great champions, patrons, even the shows themselves and in the writings which remain. Famous Roman correspondents, poets, politicians and writers all devoted their time and effort to detailing their thoughts, emotions and experiences of attending these games. This has left us with a rich and varied selection of accounts and opinions about the shows, crowds, participants and feelings. this is interesting and well-written, but you don’t really have the words necessary to include a lot of description or narrative.

Some writers enjoyed the games and loved the spectacle and the event, which some saw as a waste of time and resources. Cicero, a man famed for careful thought, leaves us with examples of both views. In his letters to friends he asks of the Pompey shows, 'what pleasure can it be to a man of refinement when either a powerless man is torn by a very powerful beast, or else a magnificent beast is spitted on a hunting spear?. Source of quotation? He also suggests, however, that it was not always like this, and in his philosophical discussion says that in the days when equals fought in the arena that great strength of mind was shown and lessons were learnt. good

Many writers did not detail the shows themselves but wrote of the patrons, the men who were responsible for not only promoting, but also paying for the shows. good Many of these accounts will have been written for the patron and as such we need to take care not to read too much into their accuracy. good point to make Suetonius wrote of the Emperor Titus that, 'he gave a magnificent and costly gladiatorial show', which is probably true. He also stated that 'he would be second to none of his predecessors in munificence', a statement written to please the emperor maybe? yes, praise of emperor is likely.

Apuleius wrote of one patron that he was 'preparing a public entertainment of a brilliance to match his fortune'. He also said, however, that the magnificence of the show and generosity were subject to 'Envy' as he put it when the bears that had been bought at such a high price were struck down and died. The excerpt comes from The Robbers Tale title in italics and you wonder if there was some glee in this misfortune as the writer struggles to comprehend both the vast sums of money spent and the good fortune to be able to spend it. Interesting thoughts, but they’re not really answering the question.

The writers who did detail the contents of the shows did not spare us any detail, and although today we might find some of the accounts disturbing, it is important to remember that the Romans had a very different attitude to the games.ü Apuleius wrote of an event where a woman had been 'condemned to make an illustrious match with beasts'. Martial wrote of lacerated limbs, dripping gore and a tigress who had 'gained such ferocity' amongst humans that she tore apart a wild lion. it would be a good idea to account for the attitudes you have discussed by mentioning something about Roman attitudes towards animals, crime and criminals.

We read these accounts today in disbelief and shock in many cases but I (Avoid using ‘I’ in essays.) feel we could easily be reading contemporary accounts when we read both Seneca and Saint Augustine. Both show an initial reluctance to attend the games and watch the 'sheer butchery'. Seneca went along to watch and was taken in by the crowds baying for more blood and more death. The crowd seemed caught up in a relentless fascination with the spectacle and was desperate for more. Alypius's story shows in detail how this crowd affects the individual. He was sure he would not watch, would despise the death, but was caught up in the excitement and eventually saved from his depths by God.

Today, as in Roman times, we reach a fever pitch and attain a certain spirituality in the midst of an enormous crowd of likeminded souls and it is easy to see how the Romans got carried away with their games and demanded more. (Oh dear, you have digressed from what the question has asked you to do. You are spending too much time describing the effects of the crowd and not enough describing the various attitudes and accounting for differences in them.) Of course, we might be watching a game of football or attending a political rally whereas the Romans were shouting for more violent death, but we have to understand that their attitudes to life and death vastly differed from our own. Please discuss their attitudes. This is vital to your essay as it forms the second part of the question.

The subjects of the violence, the beasts, the criminals and the Christians were all viewed by the Romans as either outside their society or a major problem to Roman expansion. (tick) Therefore, their deaths were nothing to concern the audience. Criminals were already dead in Roman eyes, and whereas today great beasts are viewed as assets to be cherished, in Roman times they were killers and had to be destroyed to save lives. (tick) The only example that expresses any compassion towards the animals involved was Cicero's account from Pompey when he writes that the crowd showed pity towards the elephants as there was a feeling they had 'something in common with the human race'. Pity, yes but only brought on because they saw something human there, showing that other deaths in the arena did not engender humanity amongst the audience. Well, you are certainly on the right track here. You make some perceptive and relevant comments, but this ‘account for…’ section needs to be discussed much more fully and incorporated into the various views.

Overall, the accounts left to us by the Romans show us that they loved attending the games. The patrons earned a great amount of kudos and good feeling from putting the games on, and in many cases probably used them as a means of hanging on to their power. Whereas today we see barbarism and exploitation, the Romans only saw entertainment, punishment, discipline and reparation in the arena, and the huge crowds, magnificent architecture, creative artistry and written accounts that these events inspired can only show us how important they were in their time. Interesting and well-written conclusion.

Paula James and Janet Huskinson. (2005) An Introduction to Humanities, The Colosseum, Second Edition.
The Open University. An Introduction to Humanities, Illustration Book.
The Open University, A103, Resource Book 1 (2005) - 'Section C, Classics: The Colosseum', Second Edition. pp. 89-121

68%

TMA 03 - Classical Studies

Thankfully I have just submitted my latest TMA. This one was about the Colosseum and I found it a right pain in the ass!

I enjoyed the initial reading and learning about the subject but it coincided with both a week off and an out of place tutorial which seemed to muddy the waters a touch!

It's done now though and although I don't expect the best grade for it we can live in hope! I really didn't give it the time it deserved, spending an hour on part 1 last night and maybe 2 at a push on part 2 this evening! It actually feels like a degree now anyway, with me pushing deadlines to their very end and not giving it my all! Oh yes, I rmemeber those days well!

Anyway, gonna go watch something funny now. No more work due until January so I can leave it until after Christmas now, well maybe the New Year even :)

Cya
xxx