ENGL 361 - The Hero and the Quest
Texts:
Wolfram von Eschenbach, Parzival (trans. Hatto)
Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises
Dashiell Hammett, Red Harvest
Toni Morrison, Beloved
Cynthia Voigt, Homecoming
John Gardner, Grendel
In this course we will explore several versions of the archetypal heroic quest drawn from the medieval and modern periods. Readings will include tales of physical journeys and spiritual journeys, of quests to dispel evil, to attain the mysterious Grail or some other ideal, or to know the self.
Introduction: The Nature of Heroism
Dr. Seuss and John Ciardi (story time)
Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell, The Hero’s Adventure (video)
Le Morte d’Arthur: The Legend of the King (video)
I. The Anglo-Saxon Hero: Combating Chaos
The Chivalric Hero: Redeeming the Waste Land
Beowulf (Seamus Heaney reading his translation, in installments) Parzival
II. Knights in Tarnished Armor: Questing in a Modern
Waste Land
The Sun Also Rises
Red Harvest
Robin Williams in The Fisher King (film)
IV. Travelers Homeward
Beloved
Homecoming
Robert Redford in The Natural (film)
V. Beowulf Revisited
Grendel
Requirements:
regular, prompt attendance and active class participation
completion, on time, of assigned readings (including some handouts that are not listed on this syllabus)
occasional quizzes or short papers on assigned readings
a take-home midterm exam
an interpretive paper, 1000 to 1500 words, on the theme of the heroic quest in a literary work, film, or television show of your choice, due the last day of classes
a final exam
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