検索キーワード： 古代・古典・中世の文学

First published in 1711, An Essay on Criticism was one of Pope's earliest major poems. As the title suggests, it is an exploration of what Pope considered to be the essential aspects of good critical writing.

Kurukshetra is a Hindi classic. It gives an extraordinary account of the Kurukshetra war mentioned in the Mahabharata. It describes in vivid details the armed confrontation that took place between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. This bloody war lasted eighteen days. The author's own views on war are showcased in this work. He criticizes war but also admits that it is a necessary evil. It describes the demerits of war and the damage it does to mankind, through the medium of poetry.

I first read Edward Fitzgerald’s celebrated, if controversial, version of Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat when I happened upon it in my father’s extensive library when I was a sophomore at Notre Dame High School. While there is much debate about Omar Khayyam’s philosophical outlook (is his message Sufi-oriented or existentially hedonistic?), there is no doubting its beauty and its profundity of thought.

Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, is a tragedy that has been enjoyed for centuries. This drama is an absolute must for any scholar, student, drama lover, or classical literature fan. Here, you will find the unabridged and complete version of the work.

En aquesta novel·la l’amor s’explora des de tota les seves varietats i matisos, tant físics com psicològics, des de les formes deutores de l’amor cortès fins a les conductes més novedoses i eròtiques. Aquesta és la selecció dels episodis de lectura obligatòria pels alumnes de batxillerat, en adaptació moderna i amb propostes de treball.

Hi ha una manera de definir El misantrop: el món contra mi, i, si convé, jo contra el món. Si algú em porta un sonet que és més dolent que el pebre, en nom de què podria afalagar-lo? Si em jutgen perquè he dit allò que havia de dir, per què hauria de buscar algú que recomanés la meva innocència al tribunal? Que tinc raó és clar: que em jutgin, doncs, i demostrin si són al costat de la veritat o amb l'interès que sembla moure-ho tot en el món dels homes. O amb mi o contra mi, amb la raó o contra la raó.

Plato's dialogue, Critias, recalls the story of Atlantis attempting to conquer Athens. In ancient times, the Earth was divide by the gods - and gods tended the humans in their allotment as shepherds. Atlantis, allotted to Poseidon, becomes corrupt over time, and Zeus must take matters into his own hands.

In the Greek legend, a sculptor, Pygmalion, created a statue of a woman so beautiful that he fell in love with it. Later the goddess Aphrodite responded to his earnest prayers and brought the statue, named Galatea, to life. Shaw's Pygmalion is a fussy unmarried professor of phonetics, Henry Higgins, who claims that he could train an uneducated person off the street to speak so that he or she could pass as a member of the aristocracy. His Galatea is Eliza Doolittle, who sells flowers at Covent Garden and whose father is a dissipated but cunning vagrant.

Molts crítics consideren Èdip rei l'obra mestra de Sòfocles. Èdip és l'heroi tràgic per antonomàsia: l'home just, intel·ligent, pietós envers els déus, que vol conèixer la veritat pel bé del seu poble, costi el que costi; i que no defalleix en l'intent de descobrir-la,malgrat que, a mesura que s'hi apropa, ja intueix que serà la causa de la seva ruïna. La solució diversa amb què Iocasta i Èdip afrontaran el coneixement de la veritat és també el reflex de dues maneres d'encarar les dificultats vitals.

Though best known now for his collection of lively and vivid Parallel Lives from ancient Greece and Rome, Plutarch (c46 CD-120 CE) was, for centuries, more respected for his Moralia, a remarkable and wide-ranging collection of essays and speeches. No fewer than 78 in total, they range over a broad list of topics in which Plutarch observes, dispenses wisdom, admonishes, entertains and informs: covering social issues and politics, manners and religion - in short, life in general.

The Peloponnesian War drags on and on with no end in sight, and the tough-minded Lysistrata has had enough. Men! - always making stupid decisions that affect everyone. Women's opinions are never listened to. Taking matters into her own hands, Lysistrata convenes a meeting of women from warring city-states across Greece and calls for a sex strike. It's a hard sell, but in the end, it is agreed: They will withhold sex until the war is brought to hasty a close.

This play forms part of a tetralogy which focuses on one of Wedekind's obsessive themes: the destructive interplay between primal sexual urges and social convention. Each play revolves around a powerful young female character, who has the power to control and captivate men, but who in turn is destroyed by the exercise of that power. In this play, the dominant female is Fräulein Elfriede von Malchus, an idealistic crusader who visits a brothel operated by the cynical impresario Casti-Piani in order to rescue a young woman who has fallen into his clutches.

The story of the adventures of the mythical hero Gilgamesh is the most considerable literary production that has come down to us from ancient Babylonia. Unfortunately, it was not preserved in complete form. This recording is of the fullest translation which had yet been issued in English when it was first published in 1917.

Inferno follows Dante through hell, with only an roman poet named Virgil to guide him. Dante loses his way in a forest and stumbles across Hell; but Virgil tells him that if he ventures through hell he can reach Heaven where his beloved awaits....

Not many people have influenced the world we live in today in quite the same way as Abraham Lincoln. A visionary, scholar, and gentle soul. Simple qualities we all have within us, but few use these qualities to benefit mankind in quite the same way as Abe did. Centuries after his passing into spirit, we still remember his name, his work, and his legacy and will continue to do so for centuries to come. This short trilogy of verse I feel best capture his essence and the feeling of people who lived with and knew him.

America a Prophecy (1793) is the first book in Blake’s Continental Prophecies - the other two being Europe a Prophecy (1794) and The Song of Los (1795). The poem was engraved on 18 plates with illustrations by Blake, and survives in 14 known copies. Written during a time of great political and social upheaval, Blake uses his own complex invented mythology to explore the human need to resist tyranny. His verse is rich in metaphor, powerful, and apocalyptic in scope.

This audiobook is a collection of Stoic sayings organized to allow daily reference and inspiration. The Stoic advice covered in this volume runs the gambit from personal problems, to interpersonal relationships, to advice on work and productivity, to dealing with the hand of fate.

In a world where social media, online relationships, and relentless self-absorption threaten the very idea of deep and lasting friendships, the search for true friends is more important than ever. In this short book, famous Roman politician and philosopher Cicero offers a compelling guide to finding, keeping, and appreciating friends. With wit and wisdom, Cicero teaches not only how to build friendships but also why they must be a key part of our lives. For, as Cicero says, life without friends is not worth living.

Turiddu Macca, ritornato al suo paese dopo aver fatto il soldato, scopre che la realtà in cui viveva prima non esiste più. Se da un lato può godere dell’ammirazione dei giovani compaesani e sfoggiare con orgoglio la divisa e ciò che essa rappresenta, dall’altro si ritrova sentimentalmente sconfitto. La sua amata infatti sposerà qualcuno più ricco di lui, benché l’attrazione fra i due ex sia tutt’altro che scemata. Riuscirà ora Turiddu a farsi valere nei confronti del rivale?

The Wild Duck (Vilanden) is a tragedy with comic episodes. Ibsen himself characterized the play as a tragicomedy. It depicts ordinary life realistically instead of romantically and sentimentally, a revolutionary concept in Ibsen's time. The play is now generally acknowledged as one of Ibsen's supreme accomplishments.