CLAS 221 - The Epic Voice and Its Echoes

Beginning with the first poems in the Western tradition, this course studies the epic genre in all its distinctiveness and variety. It explores the themes and ideology of epic, ranging from the heroic to the philosophical and didactic, and considers how the poet deals with fundamental questions: the nature of heroism, life and death, individual and community, mortals and immortals, memory, and the power of poetry. It also examines the craft of the epic poet, uniquely situated between orality and writing. Authors studied include Homer, Hesiod, Apollonius, Lucretius, and Vergil.

Credits: 1.00
Corequisite: None
Prerequisites: None
Major/Minor Restrictions: None
Class Restriction: None
Area of Inquiry: Human Thought and Expression
Liberal Arts Practices: Artistic Practice and Interpretation and The Process of Writing
Core Component: None

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