The Ancient Novel

Catalog description

We are all familiar today with the literary form called the novel: a lengthy fictional narrative in prose. It was ancient Greek and Latin authors, however, who first created this form. Many of these works survive and they always intrigue and delight readers with their highly sophisticated plotting of love affairs, comical depictions of pirates, and teasing explorations of sexuality. We will closely read, in English translation, the major ancient novels and some of their literary predecessors in order to understand the originality of the form and content of the novels. The class concludes with a consideration of the ancient novel's contribution to the development of fiction in the West.