The Western Literary Canon in Context

This lecture introduces you to the various issues involved in the formation of the Western literary canon through an exploration of how the Bible exemplifies what it means for a book to be "Western," "literary," and "canonic."

Continue exploring the Bible's development—including its organization, authorship, styles, and arrangement—and discover how the Jewish and Christian scriptures helped define the future of literature.

Almost 5,000 years old, the story of Gilgamesh is one of the earliest literary epics in the Western canon. Investigate its dramatic origins and learn about the critical influence of ancient Eastern tales on the formation of Western literature.

In this lecture, interpret Homer's Odyssey as a depiction of Greek life and culture during the 8th century B.C. and see the crafty Odysseus as the grandfather of the Western literary hero—one who reflects the consciousness of an entire civilization.

How did Athenian tragedy help develop Athenian democracy? Delve into the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides and see how tragedy forged and strengthened the connections between literature and national identity.

History books as we know them today began with Herodotus and Thucydides. In their respective Histories and Peloponnesian War, these first historians addressed the political and cultural relationship between East and West that you find refracted throughout the evolution of the Western literary canon.

Many Greek writers interpreted the trial of Socrates in 399 B.C., but Plato's The Apology of Socrates offers the most accurate depiction of the event. Approach this canonic text as a philosophical courtroom drama with significant parallels to Greek tragedy.

In his Poetics, Aristotle pondered how one could understand poetry and use it to serve the greater good. Explore his views on representation (mimesis) and narrative logic, which proved influential in determining whether future works merited inclusion in the literary canon.

Commissioned by Emperor Augustus, Virgil's Aeneid glorified the Roman Empire by presenting its origin through epic poetry. Draw connections Commissioned by Emperor Augustus, Virgil's Aeneid glorified the Roman Empire by presenting its origin through epic poetry. Draw connections between this work and Homer's earlier Greek epics and begin to recognize the process of literary appropriation that occurs throughout the Western literary canon.between this work and Homer's earlier Greek epics and begin to recognize the process of literary appropriation that occurs throughout the Western literary canon.

Continuing the discussion of literary appropriation, this lecture looks at how Ovid's Metamorphoses "answered" Virgil's Aeneid and how Ovid's introduction of erotic love into the Western canon reverberates through subsequent canonic works.

Confessions, through its analysis of Christian scriptures, paved the way for the manner in which many of us interpret literature today. Take a look at the background of St. Augustine and his canonic autobiography and learn how crucial textual analysis is to understanding the Western literary canon.

Is it possible for a work to fall out of the Western literary canon? Here, come to understand why Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy, though no longer considered canonical, nevertheless introduced a profound thematic influence on subsequent canonic texts.

The epic poem Beowulf (the sole manuscript of which was almost lost in a 1731 fire) has become a cornerstone of the Western literary canon—a role cemented by its numerous translations and cinematic adaptations. In this lecture, learn to appreciate the poem's rich history—one as epic as its narrative scope.

Find out how Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, with its message of chivalric virtue and its intricate composition, passes the "canonic test." This lecture unpacks each of the poem's parts and presents unique insights into the political climate in which it and other Arthurian legends developed.

A veritable encyclopedia of its literary ancestors, the Divine Comedy quickly became the model of the canonic text when it emerged in the early 14th century. Analyze the poem's role in its surrounding Christian culture and discover why Dante's epic is the single greatest literary masterpiece in the Western canon.

Although inspired by earlier canonic writers such as Ovid and Boethius, Boccaccio spent much of his literary career competing with the Florentine poets Dante and Petrarch. Investigate this rivalry as revealed through Boccaccio's Decameron, the comedic stories of which are precursors to the novella.

Chaucer's signature collection of medieval tales expanded on Boccaccio's Decameron and became a compendium of medieval genres, from classical epics to sermon stories. See how the diversity of The Canterbury Tales helped establish a national English identity—and thus a national English literature.

The invention of the printing press brought the canon of ancient texts to a wider readership. In this lecture, you explore how Sir Thomas More availed himself of this new technology when, influenced by the many works before him, he wrote Utopia and created the genre of utopian literature.

For all its veneer of Renaissance culture, the triple-revenge tragedy Hamlet is rooted in Viking culture. Discover how the genius of Shakespeare was carried on the waves of England's growing naval power, which helped the Western literary canon go global. If Shakespeare is considered the central figure of the Western canon, then Hamlet is one of his most important literary achievements. In the first of two lectures devoted to the Bard, chart the development of Hamlet and the role of Shakespeare's work in the Elizabethan world.

With British imperialism well underway, Shakespeare's The Tempest tackled many of the critical issues that arose from the exploration and colonization of the New World. Here, investigate these multifaceted issues and come to appreciate the powerful role of literature in the European imperialist mission.

The modern novel was born with Don Quixote, a work shunned by the 17th-century literary establishment for its instant popularity. Survey the history of the chivalric romance and discover how critical Don Quixote was to subsequent novels that fell both inside and outside the Western literary canon.

Another key point in the maturation of the Western canon was John Milton's Paradise Lost, which injected classical and medieval themes with the revolutionary spirit of the author's age. Here, view Milton's epic as reflective of the death of one era and the birth of another—specifically through its innovative characterization of Satan.

Out of more than 2,000 works, Voltaire's Candide stands as an improbable masterpiece in the Western literary canon. After looking at the author's long career, discover how Candide both assimilates and mocks earlier entries in the literary canon.

The Western canon's eventual embrace of Jane Austen marked the entrance of one of the first female writers into what had been a male-dominated catalog. Learn how the immense popularity of Pride and Prejudice and other novels helped Austen pave the way for future female canonic authors.

Inspired by medieval myth, Goethe's Faust is an epic two-part drama about a man who sells his soul to the Devil for infinite human experience. In exploring both parts, you probe the relationship between canonic works and the dreams of nationalism they hope to influence.

Moby-Dick is a vast, multicultural novel in the American tradition. Underneath the novel's themes of commercialism and globalization, however, you find particular religious and sexual themes that conflicted with the cultural establishment of Melville's time.

Although beloved by other novelists, The Charterhouse of Parma holds a slippery position in the Western literary canon with its potboiler subject matter and its cult status. Nevertheless, discover Stendhal's work to be an example of a political novel that accurately reflects the era in which it was written.

What and where is happiness? It takes hundreds of characters and a wealth of events for Leo Tolstoy to answer this question in War and Peace. Learn what makes this political novel a debatable member of the Western canon and another reflection of the porous boundaries between East and West.

Enter the modern era and its crisis of values with a look at Ulysses. James Joyce's experimental styles and frank subject matter marked the Western literary canon's foray into difficult new territory and made the novel an infamous—but no less important—member of its ranks.

Continue examining Modernism in the Western literary canon by looking at The Magic Mountain, a novel emblematic of the literary call to address the dilemmas of Europe after World War I. In Thomas Mann's case, the prominent dilemma is the physical and psychological institutionalization of the individual and of society.

One of Virginia Woolf's most beloved works, Mrs. Dalloway confronts the fractured psyches of Londoners as they go about a day in their lives. Grasp how this novel, like many of its predecessors, reflects the emotional shell shock of a nation emerging from the trauma of war.

Modern poetry usually lies on the fringes of the Western literary canon, but the major poems of T. S. Eliot are important markers of its evolution. Here, untangle the complexities of works like "The Waste Land" and see how they illustrate the weight of the past on canonic writers.

Does the Great American Novel exist? Discover how Faulkner's classic work, The Sound and the Fury, fuses Southern writing into the Western literary canon and challenges the possibility of a single, unified American literary tradition.

As the Western literary canon moved through the 20th century, it incorporated more minority subjects and themes into its ranks. Learn why Death Comes for the Archbishop, which explores the diversity of New Mexico, is a telling example of the Western canon's own continued diversification.

J. R. R. Tolkien's blockbuster The Lord of the Rings trilogy has dominated contemporary culture—but does it merit canonic status? Explore the development of this series (with its roots in English myths and legends) and discover how this fantasy epic qualifies for membership in the Western literary canon.

Ever a work in progress, the Western literary canon continues to expand its boundaries and incorporate works by transnational authors. Chief among these are Salman Rushdie and Michael Ondaatje, whose respective novels Midnight's Children and The English Patient are the subjects of this culminating lecture.