Welcome to introduction to Western Literature, a year-long course which will introduce you to the great works of Antiquity and the Middle Ages in the Mediterranean and Western Europe (in English). This is the second half of the course, which will introduce you to the development of literary forms, from ancient Greek tragedy and comedy to Dante’s Divine Comedy, passing through Latin prose and medieval epics. The core of the survey will be organized around the defining ancient and medieval aesthetics and understanding the major themes of the various time periods at hand; basically, to demonstrate how, from the great epic traditions of the ancient world, Western Literature developed numerous literary forms.

The course will start in ancient Athenian festival culture, where we will read Aeschylus (Prometheus Unbound) and then Sophocles (Antigone), before moving to Aristophanes’ sarcastic comedies (the Frogs). We will then move to ancient Rome, and study Roman theater, with works of Plautus (The Haunted House) and discover situational comedy. Selections from Ovid’s Metamorphoses are next, before moving to Roman prose with selections from The Golden Ass by Apuleius. We will then discuss Christian literature, starting with the New Testament (Gospels/Letters of Paul), and then moving forward with the legends of the Holy Grail with Percival and the Tale of the Grail of Chrétien de Troyes before finishing with selections from the Inferno by Dante.