Fables

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This course explores the rich tradition of animal fables in English, highlighting the lasting influence of the classical animal fables of Aesop and the related tradition of beast literature. The selected texts, which span the medieval period, the early modern period (Renaissance) and the Enlightenment, will introduce students to important literary forms including fable, bestiary, allegory, comedy and satire. Our themes will include the representation and anthropomorphization of animals in literature, the blurring of boundaries between humans and animals, and the limitations of human reason and morality. We will also raise broader literary questions, from querying the author's and reader's roles in endowing texts with symbolic meaning to defining the very purpose of writing and reading literary works.