Guest Blogger: Rebecca Fang, Class of 2019
A little bored this summer? Maybe you should read some epics to liven things up!
Homer’s Odyssey shows that epic heroes can have epic flaws that get them in trouble. Then there’s Virgil’s Aeneid, which seems to be a love story but has a surprising ending!
Ovid’s Metamorphoses explains the origins of many things we see in real life, even the presence of spiders! In Dante’s Vita Nuova and Inferno, Dante expresses his love for Beatrice, who eventually leads him to heaven.
Boccaccio’s Decameron includes a comical set of stories and Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra shows the power that Cleopatra can have over Mark Antony.
Milton’s Paradise Lost is an extension of the biblical story of Adam and Eve. You might be surprised; many readers pity Satan after reading this text! All these epics are available at the Johns Hopkins libraries! Follow the links above to get them.
And be sure to check out the video below. Happy reading!