AP/HUMA 1115 9.00

Transformation Of Ancient Literature

Many great writers have reused the literature of the past in order to create new works of art. In order to understand the works of Shakespeare, Milton, Racine, Montaigne, Sartre, and Shaw, among others, we need to know how they refashioned and transformed the works of classical authors, such as Aeschylus Sophocles, Euripides, Seneca, and Plutarch. This course examines works of literature from ancient Greece and Rome and modern adaptations of those works. Particular attention will be paid to changes linked to differences in religion, politics, and social structure. Topics may include Comedy, Tragedy, Satire, Essays, and Fables. Works may include Sophocles' Antigone and Anouilh's Antigone: Plautus' Amphitryo and Giradoux's Amphitryon; Aeschylus' Agamemnon and James M. Cain's The Postman Always Rings Twice; Sophocles' Oedipus the King and Robert Heinlein's Double Star. There will also be some attention to the use of classical themes in visual art. Because this is a Foundations course, there will also be attention to the development of critical skills and writing.