View source for Writing on World Literature

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<div class="res-img">[[File:John William Waterhouse - Ulysses and the Sirens (1891).jpg|John William Waterhouse, ''Ulysses and the Sirens'' (1891)]]</div>
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The following are introductions and background to texts I teach regularly in [[:Category:ENGL 2111|ENGL 2111]] and [[:Category:ENGL 2112|ENGL 2112]]. Many links within the essays go to Wikipedia.

==Epic Poetry==
{{see also|Epic Poetry Vocabulary}}
[[File:PeinturesMuséeFabre121 Bénouville Achille.jpg|thumb|450px|Achilles]]
===Background===
* [[Epic Poetry]]
* [[September 4, 1998|The Role of Myth in the Ancient Epics]]
* [[The Epic Hero]]
* [[On the Primary and Secondary Epics]] 
* [[November 15, 1995|What Is an Epic?]]
* [[November 23, 1995|Our Hero]]
* [[The Heroic Ideal]]

===''Gilgamesh''===
* “[[Introduction to Gilgamesh|Introduction to ''Gilgamesh'']]”
* “[[The Humanizing of Enkidu]]”
* “[[Ecological Themes in Gilgamesh|Ecological Themes in ''Gilgamesh'']]”
* “[[Friendship and Two Epics]]”
* “[[The Taming of Nature in Gilgamesh|The Taming of Nature in ''Gilgamesh'']]”
* [[Gilgamesh Study Guide|''Gilgamesh'' Study Guide]]

===Homer===
* “[[April 16, 1997|Vico’s Homer]]”

====''Iliad''====
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* “[[Homer's Iliad|Homer’s ''Iliad'']]”
* “[[Fighting Beyond Fate]]”
* “[[Friendship and Two Epics]]”
* “[[Hector's Choice]]”
* “[[O My Rider]]”
* “[[October 20, 1997|Women in Epics]]”
* [[Iliad Study Guide|''Iliad'' Study Guide]]
{{div col end}}

====''Odyssey''====
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* “[[Homer's Odyssey|Homer’s ''Odyssey'']]”
* “[[Xenia: A Religious Duty|''Xenia'': A Religious Duty]]”
* “[[The Telemachiad]]”
* “[[Odysseus and the Poet]]”
* “[[The Island of the Cyclops]]”
* “[[Odysseus and Circe]]”
* “[[Poor Elpenor]]”
* “[[Journey to the Underworld]]”
* “[[The Lessons of Hell]]”
* “[[The Return of Odysseus]]”
* [[Odyssey Study Guide|''Odyssey'' Study Guide]]
{{div col end}}
[[File:Aeneas Leaving Dido by Giovanni Francesco Romanelli.jpg|400px|thumb]]
===Virgil===
* “[[Virgil's Aeneid|Virgil’s ''Aeneid'']]”
* “[[Aeneas and Dido]]”
* [[Aeneid Study Guide|''Aeneid'' Study Guide]]

===Ovid===
* “[[Ovid's Metamorphoses|Ovid’s ''Metamorphoses'']]”
* “[[Breaking the Girl]]”
* Some annotated poems may be found in [[Poetry]]
* [[Metamorphoses Study Guide|''Metamorphoses'' Study Guide]]

==Tragedy==
[[File:Oedipus-statue.jpg|400px|thumb]]
See [[Tragedy Overview]].

===Sophocles===
* “[[Character v. Fate|Character v. Fate in ''Oedipus Rex'']]”
* [[Oedipus Rex Study Guide|''OR'' Study Guide]]

===Euripides===
* “[[Euripides' Medea|Euripides’ ''Medea'']]”
* [[Medea Study Guide|''Medea'' Study Guide]]

==Sample Exam Questions==
Also see questions under each study guide above.
# ''Gilgamesh'' and the Homeric epics are concerned with periods of expansion: i.e., when peoples are struggling to build their nations, both literally and ideologically. Discuss similarities in these three works in what seems to be necessary in building a strong nation and national identity.
# Discuss and illustrate the theme of hospitality and its importance to the social structure in the ''Odyssey''.
# Discuss the implications of Odysseus as narrator in Book 9-12 of the ''Odyssey''.
# In the ''Poetics'', Aristotle cites ''Oedipus the King'' as exemplifying the best of tragedy. Discuss how ''Oedipus the King'' defines and illustrates what we know as tragedy.
# Many have called Euripides an “iconoclast,” not in a literal sense, but suggesting that his work seems to break the conservative icons of his society; for example: tradition, hierarchy, belief, etc. Examine his iconoclasm citing specific instances from ''Medea''.
# Scholars frequently define an Ovidian concept of love as one that lives “close to the flesh,” suggesting that love in Ovid’s work is really just lust or desire. Discuss the implications of this view on those who love and those who are loved in at least three tales from ''The Metamorphoses''.

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