From Plato to Post-Modernism: Understanding the Essence of Literature and the Role of the Author

Any lover of Shakespeare, or of the Romantic poets, can concede that poetry is pleasurable. But is it good for us, and can it teach us anything? To answer these questions, this course engages an enormous range of material. You'll follow the strands of this "conversation" between philosophy and the literary arts down the millennia, profiting from in-depth analyses of works by Plato, Aristotle, Horace, Sir Philip Sidney, Dryden, Pope, Wordsworth, Shelley, Coleridge, Matthew Arnold, T. S. Eliot, Northrop Frye, Foucault, Derrida, and more. You'll concentrate on critical reflections about poetry—the oldest of the literary arts, and also come away with lessons on how to understand literature, and all of the arts, more generally. More importantly, you'll be prepared to join in these critical conversations yourself.