THE HEROES OF GREAT LITERATURE
Today, the greatest literary works of Western Civilization are often cancelled or suppressed. However, these books need to be read and understood in order to communicate important truths about ourselves and the world around us. In this class, you will journey through great works of literature as you explore virtue and vice in the development of the concept of the “hero”.
Principles classes from Christendom College help you uphold your Catholic beliefs and see the world through the light of Truth.
CLASS CONTENT:
5 Lectures | 2.4 Hours
- The Classical Hero
- The Knight
- The Lover
- The Anti-hero
- The Hobbit
Literary heroes embody the highest ideals of cultures through examples of lived virtues. Heroes found in literature can both teach us what virtue is and enable us to track the development of Western culture. From Homer to the Hobbit, this class will help you discover how the heroes we experience in literature have evolved and how they reflect the values of the cultures of yesterday and today.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:
- The glory and limitations of the Achilles and how Virgil critiques and refines the Homeric hero.
- How the character of the knight developed and endured into the modern world.
- The Enlightenment’s rejection of Christianity and the advent of the “anti-hero.”
- Tolkien’s creation of a new kind of hero allowed him to advance traditional ideas about the hero in a secularized and skeptical modern age.
MEET YOUR NEW PROFESSOR
DR. BEN REINHARD
Dr. Reinhard is an Assistant Professor of English Language and Literature at Christendom College, where he teaches courses in classical and medieval literature. His current research interests include Anglo-Saxon manuscripts, medieval saints’ lives, and modern translations of Old English poetry.
INTERESTED IN MORE CLASSES LIKE THIS?
At Christendom College, we want to help you learn the Truth, live the Faith, and thrive as a Catholic. Browse other great classes below!
