Whether around the campfire, between the covers of a great book, or in the theater, the desire to tell stories has been a common human impulse for thousands of years. These 48 lectures take you on a journey through time and around the world- from the enormous auditoriums of ancient Greece to a quiet study in the home of a 19th-century New England spinster- to introduce the history of world literature. In this course, you'll sample some of the greatest literary expressions the world has known and experience storytelling in its many forms, including poetry, drama, and narrative. You'll explore: the ancient world, where tribal bards created national myths and founded religious texts out of legends, history, philosophy, and local lore; the countryside and aristocratic courts of India and the Middle East, collecting stories and folklore of magical men, terrifying beasts, alluring women, and conniving tricksters that live on in today's fairy tales and bedtime stories; the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the Enlightenment to trace the evolution of storytelling from the poetic masterpiece of Dante's Inferno to the great drama pioneered by Shakespeare to sophisticated narratives such as Wu Ch'eng-en's Monkey and Voltaire's Candide; and the rise of Realism in the works of Flaubert, Dostoevsky, and Chekhov and the development of experimental modes by Brecht, Beckett, and Borges. Offering concise summaries and thought-provoking interpretations of some of the world's greatest literary masterpieces, this course gives you the tools you need to appreciate these great literary works and understand how authors, playwrights, and poets throughout the centuries have practiced their craft.
The History of World Literature
01: Stories and Storytellers
Humankind has always sought to understand its existence through stories. In this opening lecture, Professor Voth provides a preview of the literary journey to come, and begins to define the relationship between history and literature.
02: The "Epic of Gilgamesh"
In this lecture, we examine one of the world's oldest literary works. This ancient poem combines a heroic story of a legendary king with a spiritual quest about coming to terms with the inevitability of mortality.
03: The Hebrew Bible
Blending literature, history, and theology, the Hebrew Bible (or Tanakh) is perhaps one of the most important books ever written. We explore some of the unique elements of this sacred literary text, including its introduction of the concept of monotheism.
04: Homer's "Iliad"
Through a consideration of Homer's classic poem about the fall of Troy, Professor Voth defines the key elements of the epic and examines how the poem expresses ancient Greek views of heroism and individual honor.
05: Homer's "Odyssey"
Our consideration of the epic continues with the "Odyssey," which follows the 10-year journey of the warrior Odysseus after the end of the Trojan War.
06: Chinese Classical Literature
This lecture features a lyric poem and two prose works that demonstrate how early Chinese literature differed from contemporary works from Mesopotamia, Israel, and Greece.
07: Greek Tragedy
By the 5th century B.C.E., Greek theater had entered a golden age, producing plays that would set a standard of excellence for centuries to come. In this lecture, we explore the three greatest Greek playwrights: Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides.
08: Virgil's "Aeneid"
When Virgil (70–19 B.C.E.) set out to write a national Roman epic poem, he took as his model the classic epics of Ancient Greece. Professor Voth illuminates the ways that Virgil both imitated and adapted the epic to express the values of his own culture.
09: Bhagavad Gita
At seven times the combined length of the "Iliad" and "Odyssey," the "Mahabharata" may be the longest epic poem in the world. In this lecture, we examine one episode of this enormous work, the Bhagavad Gita, which offers a Hindu meditation on the meaning of life.
10: The New Testament
Like the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament can be read as history, literature, and theology. This lecture examines how the various parts of this seminal text reflect the goals of their different authors and the needs of their particular audiences.
11: "Beowulf"
In this lecture, Professor Voth compares the Germanic saga "Beowulf" with the other heroic epics studied in the course thus far. The poem also provides an opportunity to explore the variety of interpretations that can be made about a single literary work.
12: Indian Stories
We move from epic poetry to prose as we explore the rich narrative strategies of Indian stories in three collections: "Jataka (Story of a Birth)," the "Pañcatantra (The Five Books or the Five Strategies)," and the "Kathasaritsagara (Ocean of the Rivers of Story)."
13: T'ang Poetry
China achieved one of its Golden Ages during the T'ang period (618–907 C.E.), which included a rich tradition of poetry. This lecture examines three T'ang poets to illustrate the deeply personal aesthetic of Chinese poetics.
14: Early Japanese Poetry
While Japanese poetry is indebted to Chinese models, it also boasts some unique features. Using several examples, Professor Voth outlines the key features of the Japanese aesthetic, which include irregular verse styles, simplicity, and the theme of transience.
15: "The Tale of Genji"
Written by a Japanese lady-in-waiting during the 11th century CE, "The Tale of Genji" is believed to be the first novel in literary history. This complex tale presents a new kind of hero, for whom taste and sensitivity count for more than prowess on the battlefield.
16: "Inferno," from Dante's "Divine Comedy"
Considered the greatest poem in the Western world, Dante's "Divine Comedy" traces the allegorical journey of a pilgrim from the depths of hell through purgatory and into heaven. We examine key features and interpretations of the first part of Dante's masterwork: "Inferno."
17: Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales"
Borrowing techniques from Boccaccio's "Decameron," Geoffrey Chaucer narrates a variety of tales through a frame story about 30 travelers who tell stories during a pilgrimage to England's Canterbury Cathedral.
18: "1001 Nights"
In this lecture, we again consider the narrative technique of the "frame story;" a work which includes within it many recounted tales. Complex and encyclopedic, "001 Nights" serves as a crossroads where stories from many different cultures meet.
19: Wu Ch'eng-en's "Monkey"
Based in history and enhanced by legend and folklore, "Monkey" tells the story of a Chinese monk on a journey to India, accompanied by fabulous creatures, the most important of which is Monkey, one of the great creations in literature.
20: The "Heptameron"
Based in history and enhanced by legend and folklore, "Monkey" tells the story of a Chinese monk on a journey to India, accompanied by fabulous creatures, the most important of which is Monkey, one of the great creations in literature.
21: Shakespeare
After a brief account of drama in other cultures, Professor Voth considers Shakespeare's place in English drama, focusing on his use of language. A closer look at a famous speech from "Macbeth" serves to illustrate the Bard's mastery of poetic language.
22: Cervantes's "Don Quixote"
While not the first novel in history, "Don Quixote" is one of the first in the Western world and has been by far the most influential. This lecture explores Cervantes' revolutionary use of prose to present a realistic view of life that contrasted to the popular romances of his day.
23: Molière's Plays
This lecture opens with a consideration of the values and dramatic style of the Neoclassical Age (c.1660–1770) in Western literature. A master of theatrical comedy, French playwright Molière used the drama to point out society's foibles.
24: Voltaire's "Candide"
Why does suffering exist? Why are people prey to human cruelty and natural disasters? In "Candide," Voltaire seeks to answer these questions.
25: Cao Xueqin's "The Story of the Stone"
Recounting the story of an aristocratic family in decline, "The Story of the Stone" is simultaneously a Buddhist-Taoist meditation on the illusory nature of existence and a gripping and detailed novel of personal relationships.
26: Goethe's "Faust"
Goethe's Faust is a new version of a story dating back to the 16th century, when the historical Faustus lived. In Goethe's version, "Faust" becomes the ultimate Romantic hero - one who strives to express his own will and experience all life has to offer.
27: Emily Brontë "Wuthering Heights"
Brontë's story about the passionate love between Catherine and Heathcliff is perhaps one of the best loved 19th-century novels. In this lecture, we explore the relationship of the novel to Romanticism and discuss Brontë's use of competing narrative perspectives.
28: Pushkin's "Eugene Onegin"
Alexander Pushkin is usually considered Russia's national poet - the equivalent of Shakespeare in England. In "Eugene Onegin," he employed a complicated poetic form to create a witty novel-in-verse that satirizes Romantic excesses.
29: Flaubert's "Madame Bovary"
An ordinary story about ordinary people told with detachment and objectivity, Flaubert's tale of a bored housewife living in a French provincial town marks a turning point in literature: the rise of Realism.
30: Dostoevsky's "Notes from Underground"
Unappreciated in its own day, "Notes from Underground" serves as an excellent introduction to Dostoevsky's later novels. Through his unnamed narrator, the Russian novelist voiced the desire to rebel against the increasingly mass-produced culture of modern life.
31: Twain's "Huckleberry Finn"
In "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", Mark Twain allowed a vernacular, regional character to tell his own story. In this lecture, we explore Twain's narrative achievement and the societal questions raised by his classic travel tale.
32: Dickinson's Poetry
After a brief consideration of Emily Dickinson's solitary life and writing career, we turn to the techniques that characterize her remarkable poetry: the use of common meter stanza form, unconventional punctuation, and grammatical density.
33: Ibsen and Chekhov-Realist Drama
In this lecture, we examine the works of two very different Realist playwrights. For Ibsen, Realism entailed bringing to the stage contemporary people and social concerns. For Chekhov, it required discarding the standard forms of the "well-made play;" for a more realistic imitation of life.
34: Rabindranath Tagore's Stories and Poems
Absorbing the influence of Realist authors, Tagore adapted this literary style to reflect life in his native India. Through his short stories and poems, he criticized those who exploited the caste system, suppressed women, and benefited from the sufferings of the poor.
35: Higuchi Ichiy "Child's Play"
Although she had no exposure to Western Realism, Ichiyo pioneered a Japanese version of this literary movement in "Child's Play," her novella about children living in and around the pleasure district of Edo (modern-day Tokyo).
36: Proust's <"Remembrance of Things Past"
In this elegiac novel, Proust sought to reject Realism and recreate the novel as an exploration of personal impressions. Influential to later writers, Proust's novel took a revolutionary approach by attempting to capture life as it is experienced.
37: Joyce's "Dubliners"
In a context of experimentation in all of the arts, we consider the contribution of James Joyce's "Dubliners" to the modern short story, focusing on Joyce's device of the epiphany, or revelation.
38: Kafka's "The Metamorphosis"
In this lecture, we consider the bleak, darkly comic work of Franz Kafka. In "The Metamorphosis," a man wakes up to find that he has been transformed into a gigantic insect - an absurd premise that reflects the alienation of modern life.
39: Pirandello's "Six Characters"
This lecture discusses the rebellion against Realism in drama exemplified in the work of Luigi Pirandello. In "Six Characters in Search of an Author," Pirandello created a world in which fictional characters argue that they are more "real" than living human beings.
40: Brecht's "The Good Woman of Setzuan"
Bertolt Brecht continued the rebellion against Realism by using theatrical techniques to create a critical distance between audience and play. An examination of "The Good Woman" demonstrates how Brecht used this technique to critique capitalist society.
41: Anna Akhmatova's "Requiem"
Written in response to Russia's Yezhov Terror of 1937 and 1938, the poem "Requiem" describes a sick society in which the poet must speak for voiceless victims everywhere. Professor Voth explores the aesthetic and historical contexts that helped shape this poem.
42: Kawabata Yasunari's "Snow Country"
Adapting Western techniques to suit Japanese sensibilities, Yasunari created a Modernist work, using such techniques as a disciplined point of view and stream-of-consciousness in his story of a detached man and his love for two women.
43: Faulkner-Two Stories and a Novel
Using the short stories "A Rose for Emily" and "Wash," in addition to the novel "As I Lay Dying," Professor Voth examines the literary achievements of William Faulkner, an author who sought to capture the "whole truth" of life in all its comedic, grotesque, and heroic glory.
44: Naguib Mahfouz's "The Cairo Trilogy"
The Arabs did not really have a novel tradition until the 20th century. In his career, Arab writer Naguib Mahfouz encompassed all of the novelistic traditions, from historical romances to Realist novels to experimental narratives.
45: Achebe's "Things Fall Apart"
Achebe's novel is a reaction against Western novelistic depictions of Africans, exemplified in Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" In this lecture, we examine this tale of a native people, the Igbo, and their heroic but flawed leader Okonkwo.
46: Beckett's Plays
In this lecture, we take up our first Postmodernist writer, Samuel Beckett. His works, including "Endgame, Waiting for Godot," and "Happy Days," illustrate Beckett's view that humankind lives in an absurd world which provides no clear definition of life's meaning.
47: Borges's "Labyrinths"
Our examination of Postmodernism continues with Jorge Luis Borges, whose comic, often magical stories attempt to express the untranslatable gap between reality and the human constructions of logic and language.
48: Rushdie's "Haroun and the Sea of Stories"
The final lecture considers Salman Rushdie's children's book about the importance of stories in our lives, and it closes with William Faulkner's idea that stories are one of the ways in which humans can not only endure, but may even prevail.
Overview Course No. 2300
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