Events/Courses - Event View

We are surrounded by transformations — from the natural passage of the seasons and our lives to the more dramatic metamorphoses portrayed in literature and other arts. This class will read a sampler of those transformations beginning with Greek and Roman mythology, early folk tales, and 19th-century fairy tales, and continuing into 20th-century fiction and more modern pieces. We will discuss the transitions from natural transformations to powerful magical and divine ones and the ways they may reflect each other. We will focus on the causes of metamorphosis as they move from the focus on exterior forces to the 20th-century idea that the changes reflect the nature of the individual or society. We will also discuss poetic and other artistic reflections on the original works.

Most of the earlier material through Kafka’s Metamorphosis is available for free online. Everyone should have access to Greek and Roman mythology and to the other tales as we read. I will provide links to or copies of assorted related poetry and other material. I recommend the Grove Press edition of Eugène Ionesco’s Rhinoceros and Other Plays so we all have the same copy. This is a discussion class, and I hope there will be time for people to discuss paintings, ballet, and movies, and other arts that interest them.

Instructor Ann Nesslage is a graduate of Vassar, with a M.A. in British literature from Bryn Mawr. Ann retired from Choate Rosemary Hall, where she taught different levels of literature including British Studies and world literature. She also created electives in fantasy literature, satire, Early Irish and Welsh literature, and other topics. Ann lives in Bremen, where she enjoys reading and gardening and serves on the Bremen Conservation Commission and the library board. She is also a member of the CSC board and the Curriculum Committee.