Irish Literature

Catalog description

This course will provide an introduction to modern Irish literature, focusing on the tension between Ireland's violent history and its heroic mythology. This tension leaves its mark not only on the ravaged landscape, but also on the English language, which displays its "foreignness" most strongly in the hands of Irish writers. Readings will span the genres of poetry, drama, fiction, and history, and will include works by Sommerville and Ross, Yeats, George Moore, Joyce, Synge, O'Casey, Beckett, Edna O'Brien, and Brian Friel. See the English Department's website at www.english.upenn.edu for a description of the current offerings.