Topics in Comparative Literature: Myth and Modernism

Modernity, once liberated from the mythologies of the past, remains fascinated with and haunted by myth. In this course, we will investigate how modernist poets, thinkers, novelists, and playwrights populated their works with the mythical voices of Orpheus, Oedipus, Dionysus, Phaedra, Ulysses, or Cassandra. What does it mean to create or re-envision myths in light of the modern challenges to the human condition? How do myths transform over time and why do they continue to captivate us? Readings by Nietzsche, Rilke, Freud, Kafka, D'Annunzio, Eliot, Joyce, H.D., Pound, Aragon, Borges, and Soyinka. Background knowledge is not required, but intellectual curiosity is.
Course Attributes: EN H; BU Hum; AS HUM; AS LCD; FA HUM; AR HUM

Topics in Comparative Literature: Myth and Modernism

ENGLISH LITERATURE 385A

Section 01