Paradigm Review Center WORLD LITERATURE (GenEd)

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World literature
World literature is sometimes used to refer to the sum total of the worlds national literatures, but usually it refers to the circulation of works into the wider world beyond their country of origin. Often used in the past primarily for masterpieces of Western European literature, world literature today is increasingly seen in global context. Readers today have access to an unprecedented range of works from around the world in excellent translations, and since the mid-1990s a lively debate has grown up concerning both the aesthetic and the political values and limitations of an emphasis on global processes over national traditions. Greek and Roman Literature A. The Theogony by Hesiod The Theogony (Greek: , Theogona, pronounced [teoona], i.e. "the genealogy or birth of the gods") is a poem by Hesiod (8th 7th century BC) describing the origins and genealogies of the Greek gods, composed circa 700 B.C. It is written in the Epic dialect of Homeric Greek. In the beginning there was only Chaos. Then out of the void appeared Erebus, the unknowable place where death dwells, and Night. All else was empty, silent, endless, darkness. Then somehow Love was born bringing a start of order. Erebus slept with Night and Night laid an egg. Out of the egg Love was born; and Love created Light and Day. Gaea, the Earth, also suddenly appeared The first children of Gaea and Uranus, Mother Earth and Father Heaven, were the Hecatoncheires, monsters with a hundred hands and fifty heads. Next were the three Cyclopes, the wheel-eyed, for they had only one eye the size of a wheel. Then there were the twelve Titans, the elder gods. However, Uranus was a poor father and husband. He hated the Hecatoncheires. He imprisoned them by pushing them into the hidden places of the earth, Gaea's womb. But the Cyclopes and the Titans he let roam on the earth. The imprisonment of her children angered Gaea and she plotted against Uranus. She made a flint sickle and tried to get her children to attack Uranus. All were too afraid except, the youngest Titan, Cronus. Gaea and Cronus set up an ambush of Uranus as he lay with Gaea at night. Cronus grabbed his father and wounded him terribly. From the blood of Uranus came the Giants, and the Erinyes or the Furies, monsters with snakes for hair whose job is to punish sinners. Cronus became the next ruler. He threw the Hecatoncheires and the Cyclopes into hell-prison of Tartarus. He married his sister Rhea, under his rule the Titans had many offspring. He ruled for many ages. However, Gaea and Uranus both had prophesied that he would be overthrown by a son. To avoid this Cronus swallowed each of his children as they were born. Rhea was angry at the treatment of the children and plotted against Cronus. When it came time to give birth to her sixth child, Rhea hid herself in Crete, then she left the child to be raised by nymphs. To conceal her act she wrapped a stone in swaddling cloths and passed it off as the baby to Cronus, who swallowed it. This child was Zeus. He grew into a handsome youth on Crete. Rhea convinced Cronus to accept his son and Zeus was allowed to return to Mount Olympus. As the cupbearer of Cronus, Zeus secretly made his father drink a potion which made him vomit the five earlier childrenHera, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, and Hestia and the stone which was passed off as him. Then came a terrible war between the Titans led by Cronus and the Gods led by Zeus. The Gods almost became defeated when Zeus freed the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires from Tartarus, who fought with their weapons of thunder, lightning, and earthquake. Also, Prometheus, son of the Titan Iapetus, sided with the Gods. Zeus exiled the Titans who had fought against him into Tartarus. Atlas, who was the leader in battle, was singled out for the special punishment of holding the world on his shoulders. However, even after this victory Zeus was not safe. Gaea angry gave birth to a last offspring, Typhon, a firebreathing monster with a hundred heads. But Zeus, now the master of thunder and lightning, defeated Typhon, which was buried under Mount Etna in Italy, a volcano. Finally, the Giants rebelled against Zeus. They went so far as to attempt to invade Mount Olympus, piling mountain upon mountain in an effort to reach the top. But, the gods had grown strong and with the help of Hercules the Giants were subdued or killed. The Iliad (The Trojan War) by Homer The Iliad by Homer (the blind poet), which is probably the greatest epic in the world, tells the story of thew Trojan War. The Iliad is part one of a trilogy: it's sequel is The Odyssey, which tells of the journey of the Greek hero Odysseus back to Ithaca; and part three is The Aeneid (written in Latin by Virgil), which tells of the journey of the

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Trojan hero Aeneas to Italy.

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The Iliad itself covers the seduction of Helen by Paris to the death and cremation of Hector, prince of Troy. The cause of the war--the judgment of Paris--is told in The Trojan Women by Euripedes and the fall of Troy (including the story of the Trojan horse) is told in The Aeneid. Prologue: The Judgment of Paris Zeus, the king of the gods and the god of the sky, and his brother, Poseidon, the god of the sea, both wanted Thetis, a sea nymph. But Prometheus--the Titan who created man and Pandora, the first woman--prophesied that the son of Thetis would be greater than his father. Naturally, neither god wants a child to be greater than them. So they had Thetis marry a mortal king, Peleus, so that her son would be a mere mortal. Eris, the goddess of discord, was not invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. So she threw a golden apple incribed, To the Fairest. All the goddess want the apple but the choice was eventually narrowed down to three: Hera, the queen of the gods; Pallas Athena, the goddess of wisdom; and Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. Zeus wisely did not judge among the three goddesses. Instead, he delegated the task to Paris, a young prince who was then shepherding his father's sheep.He is the son of King Priam of Troy, who banished him because of a prophecy that one day he would be the cause of the destruction of Troy.Each goddess enticed Paris to choose her. Hera promised him power by making him the Lord of Europe and Asia. Athena offered him wisdom. And Aphrodite promised him the most beautiful woman in the world. Paris chose Aphrodite and gave her the golden apple. So he left Mount Ida, abandoning the nymph who he was living with named Oenone, who loved him very much. This is the reason for the Trojan War. The Abduction of Helen The most beautiful woman in the world was Helen, daughter of Leda and Zeus and sister of the Gemini twins, Castor and Pollux. Her beauty was so renown that she had plenty of suitors, coming from powerful families. King Tyndareus, her mother's husband, was afraid to choose among the suitors because it might anger all the others. So he made all the suitors swear that they would support whoever was chosen to be Helen's husband--something that the all the suitors naturally and selfishly wanted. Tyndareus then chose Menelaus to be Helen's husband and made him the king of Sparta. Aphrodite, who was given the golden apple, led Paris to Sparta where he was received well by Menelaus and Helen. However, when Menelaus went to the island of Crete, Paris abducted Helen and took her to Troy. When Menelaus returned and found that his wife was gone, he called upon the greatest chieftains of Greece to help him rescue his wife. Among the chieftains were: Achilles, son of Peleus and Thetis (his mother dipped her into the River Styx to make him invulnerable--except by his heel, where his mother held him); Patroclus, Achilles' cousin [and lover]; Agamemnon, brother of Menelaus and supreme commander of the Greek forces; Odysseus, king of Ithaca, and others like Diomedes and Ajax. Achilles was warned by his mother Thetis that if he went to Troy, he would die there. At Aulis, the ships could not proceed because of the strong winds and tides. A seer named Calchas said that Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, was angry because a sacred hare was killed by one of the Greeks. Agamemnon had to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia so that the Greek armada can proceed to Troy. When the Greek army arrived at Troy, the first person to jump off the ships, Protesilaus, was killed by a Trojan spear. He was greatly honored by the Greek soldiers and by the gods. Hermes allowed him to visit his wife, Laodama. But when he had to return to the underworld, she followed him by killing herself. The Trojan War The thousand ships of the Greek army brought with it thousands of mighty warriors. But the city of Troy itself was very strong too. It was ruled by King Priam and Queen Hecuba. Their son was the champion of Troy: Prince Hector, whose wife was Andromache and their son was named Astyanax. For nine years both sides fought without decisive victory. The gods were also at war because of the Greeks and the Trojans. Poseidon sided with the Greeks because they were seafarers. Hera and Athena also sided with the Greeks. On the side of the Trojans were Aphrodite and her husband Ares, the god of war. Also siding with the Trojans were Apollo, his sister Artemis. Zeus secretly favored the Trojans but could not support them openly because of the wrath of Hera. So have secretly hatched a plan to have Achilles killed to weaken the Greek army.

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During a heated battle between the Greek and Trojan armies, King Menelaus of Greece and Prince Paris of Troy faced each other in champion combat. Menelaus wounded Paris but before he was able to kill him, Paris was carried away by Aphrodite back to Troy. Agamemnon and Achilles had a quarrel between themselves. Before arriving at Troy, the Greeks carried off Chryseis, daughter of a priest of Apollo and was given to Agamemnon as a prize. Phoebus Apollo, the sun god, attacked the Greeks with a rain of arrows of fire. Achilles called a meeting of the chieftains where Calchas the seer revealed that Chryseis must be returned to her father. So they did. In retaliation, Agamemnon sent two of his squires to get Briseis, a maiden who was kept by Achilles as his prize. This greatly depressed Achilles. He refused to go out and fight with the army. As a result, the Greeks suffered great loses from the Trojans. What woke up Achilles was the death of his friend/lover Patroclus, who was killed by Hector. Patroclus was wearing Achilles' armor so the Trojan prince thought it was Achilles. Thetis brought a new armor for her son, made by the god Hephaestus himself. Achilles faced Hector in champion combat and succeeds in killing Hector. Not contented with killing Hector, Achilles stripped him of his armor, hitched his dead body on his chariot, and dragged the body of Hector around Troy. The abuse of Hector's body caused displeasure to the gods (except for Hera, Athena, and Poseidon). Zeus ordered Iris, the messenger of the gods, to go to King Priam to tell him to ask Achilles for the body of his son. Priam loaded a chariot with treasures and was led by Hermes into the Greek camp and into the tent of Achilles himself. Achilles was touched by the plea of the old man and ordered his servants to wash the body of Hector and to return it to his father. Priam took his son home and cremated him on a great pyre. The Trojans mourned for Hector for nine days. Thus ends the Iliad.

The Odyssey by Homer The Odyssey, which is the sequel of The Iliad, was also written by Homer. The Trojan War ends with the destruction of Troy and the victory of the Greek a rmy. The Odyssey actually begins in the middle of things (Latin, in media res) with Odysseus, one of the Greek chieftains, being held hostage on the island of a nymph named Calypso. He is then shipwrecked to the land on the Phaeacians and he tells his all of his adventures from Troy to the present to the court of King Alcinos. The story ends with Odysseus returning to his homeland of Ithaca where he rescues his wife Penelope with the help of their son, Telemachus. The Trojan War was ten years long and the Odyssey another ten years; thus Odysseus had been away for twenty years. The Aeneid (Virgil) The Aeneid is the third part of the trilogy formed by the Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer. It was written by Virgil (Publius Vergilius Maro) when Augustus Caesar took over the Roman world after the assassination of his uncle and adoptive father, Julius Caesar, becoming the first Roman emperor. (Julius was not the first Roman emperor; he was a Roman dictator.) Augustus rule ended the various civil wars and brought forth the Pax Romana (the Roman Peace), the only time that there was peace in the Roman Empire. It was during the reign of Augustus that Jesus was born (Luke 2:1). Virgils purpose of writing the Aeneid is to exalt the new empire and to give it a national hero. It tells the story of Aeneas, son of Venus (Aphrodite), as he was escaping the sack of Troy at the end of the Trojan War. He embarks on a journey similar to that of Odysseus until he arrives in Italy to establish the Roman people. Being written in Latin instead of Greek, the Latin names of the Greek gods and goddess are used.

The Divina Comedia: Inferno The Divina Comedia (English: The Divine Comedy) is a long epic poem in three parts written by Dante Alighieri from c. 1308 to his death in 1321. It is considered the greatest piece of Italian literature and one of the greatest pieces of literature in the world. It is composed of 14,233 lines and divided into three canticas: Inferno (Hell), Purgatorio (Purgatory), and Paradiso (Paradise, or Heaven). It illustrates the concept about the afterlife of the Roman Catholic Church during the Middle Ages. The Divine Comedy is an allegory an extended symbolof the journey of a soul to God. The Comedia narrates the journey of Dante through Hell, Purgatory, and finally Paradise. His guide through Hell and Purgatory is the Roman poet Virgil, the author of the Aeneid. But for his journey through Heaven, Dante is guided by Beatrice, a woman who Dante admired since childhood.

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The first cantica, Inferno, begins with Dante getting lost in a forest (which symbolizes sin) until he was rescued by Virgil (who symbolizes human philosophy). Dante was given a tour of Hell, which is composed of nine concentric circles, each progressively deeper than the last. In each circle, each sin is punished in a form of poetic justice. Inferno, with its various depictions of the punishment of sin, is a symbol of the soul being made aware of the true nature of sin. INFERNO It was on the evening of Maundy Thursday, 1300, when Dante, who was at the time halfway along our lifes path (35 years old, half of the biblical life expectancy of 70 years Psalm 90:10) found himself lost in a dark wood. He was attacked by three beastsa lion, a leopon (a half-leopard half-lion), and a she-wolfwhich he could not evade. He was unable to find the straight (or right) way to salvation until he finds himself falling into a deep place where the sun is silent. Dante was then rescued by Virgil, who claims that he was sent by Beatrice, and guides him into a journey to the underworld. They pass through the gates of Hell which has an inscription: Abandon all hope, all those who enter here. The Circles of Hell Acheron: the ante-room of Hell. Virgil and Dante arrive at Acheron, the ante-room of Hell (though not part of Hell itself). This is the place of the Uncommitted, those who have done neither good nor evil. Among those Dante found there are Pontius Pilate (or Pope Celestine V--the text is ambiguous), and outcasts who did not participate in the rebellion of the angels. They are made to chase a banner (representing self-interest) while being chased by wasps and hornets (representing the sting of conscience) as m aggots and other insects suck their blood and tears. Virgil and Dante then ride on a ferry piloted by Charon, boatman of the dead, to take them into Hell proper. Charon refused to take Dante but Virgil tells Charon, So it is wanted there where power lieswhich means Dante was divinely sent on the journey. Dante hears the wailing of the souls being taken to Hell and the joyful singing of the souls being taken to Purgatory. He was not able to describe the horrors going to Hell because he faints in terror. Virgil reveals that Hell is composed of nine concentric circles where sinners are punished according to their sin. Satan himself is in the lowest and innermost circle, found in the center of the Earth. He also clarifies that those who were able to ask for forgiveness before they die will go to Purgatory; but those who die justifying their evildoings will go to Hell. First Circle (Limbo). The virtuous but unbaptized nonbelievers live in Limbo. They were not sinful but they did not accept Christ. It has a castle with seven gates, symbolizing the Seven Virtues. Virgil himself lives in Limbo. Among the people in the First Circle of Hell are: the Persian mathematician Avicenna; the poets Homer, Horace, Ovid, and Lucan; the mathematician Euclid; the Roman statesman Cicero; the Greek doctor Hippocrates; the Greek philosophers Socrates, Plato, Aristotle; the Arab philosopher Averroes; and the Roman general Julius Caesar. Among the mythological characters there were Hector, Electra, Camilla, Latinus, and Orpheus. Saladin was also in Limbo. As they were going to the next circles, Minos initially stopped the admission of Dante. As the judge of the dead, he would wrap his tail around himself, indicating the circle of Hell to which a soul is condemned. The sinners punished in the Second to Fifth Circles are guilty of passive sins. Second Circle (Lust). In the Second Circle are those overcome by lust. They are punished by the terrible winds of a violent storm, representing the power of lust to lead people astray. In here Dante sees the Babylonian queen Semiramis, Dido of Carthage, Helen of Troy, Achilles, and Paris. There was also a woman named Francesca de Rimini who committed adultery with her husbands brother Paolo Malatesta. The y were killed by her husband, Giovanni (or Gianicotto). Third Circle (Gluttony). Cereberus, the three-headed dog of Hades, guards the gluttonous. They are punished by being forced to lie in a vile slush (composed of burnt grease and fat) that is continually added to by a foul, icy rain. The gluttonous lie there without being aware of their neighbors, because gluttony makes blind to those around them. Fourth Circle (Greed). Two kinds of people are punished in here: the greedy (including many priests, popes, and cardinals) who hoard material possessions, and the squanderers, who foolishly waste money. They are guarded by Pluto, the god of wealth and the underworld (because precious stones and metals come from underground). The two groups are made to push against each other using huge bags filled with money.

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Fifth Circle (Anger/Wrath). Phlegyas takes Virgil and Dante on his skiff across the Styx, the river of the unbreakable oath. The wrathful fight each other on the surface while the sullen lie beneath the water. They reach the lower parts of Hell which are surrounded by a wall of the city of Dis, a city in the underworld. The walls are guarded by the fallen angels. Virgil tries to persuade them to let Dante enter. Dante is then threatened by the three Furies (Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone) and by the snake-headed Medusa. An angel of heaven descends and opens the gate to the lower parts of Hell. (This symbolizes that what Dante is about to encounter are sins that human philosophy cannot understand.) Virgil and Dante enter the lower parts of Hell where sinners who were guilty of active (rather than passive) sins are punished. Sixth Circle (Heresy). The heretics are punished here, including the Epicureans, followers of the Greek philosopher Epicurus who taught: Eat and drink, for tomorrow we diemeaning that people should enjoy life because there is no life after death. They were trapped in flaming tombs which, as one of the Epicureans explained, means that people know that they will go to Hell but they refused to believe it. Thus, nothing can now change their destiny. Seventh Circle (Violence). This is composed of three rings guarded by the bull-headed Minotaur. Centaurs, who have the upper body of a man and the lower body of a horse, shoot arrows at those attempting to escape. The Outer Ring contains those who are violent against people and property. They are immersed in Phlegethon, the river of fire, in a death according to their guilt. Alexander the Great is immersed up to his eyebrows, and the conqueror Attila the Hun is also there. The Middle Ring contains those who commit suicide and the profligates. Those who committed suicide who committed violence against themselvesare transformed into thorny bushes and trees and then fed upon by the Harpies. The profligateswho destroyed their lives because of money and propertyare chased around by ferocious dogs. The Inner Ring contains the blasphemers, who committed violence against God, and those who were violent against nature, including sodomites (men who have sexual relations with other men) and usurers (who lend money with excessive interest). They reside in a desert with flaming sand and fire raining from the sky. To his surprise, Dante finds his respected teacher, Brunetto Latini, here. Eighth Circle (Fraud). To reach the last two circles of Hell, Virgil and Dante rode on the back of Geryon, a winged monster. Geryon is a symbol of fraud: it has the face of a man and the beautiful body of a wyvern (two-legged dragon), but with the paws of a lion and scorpion-like stinging tail. The Eighth Circle is composed of ten malebolges or evil pockets which are ditches of stone with bridges across them. Bolgia 1. Panderers and seducers march in opposite directions, whipped by demons. Just as they seduced people to do what they want, now the demons make them do their bidding. Virgil points out Jason (leader of the Argonauts), who seduced Medea but later abandoning her for Creusa. He also seduced Hypsiple, leaving her pregnant. Bolgia 2. Flatterers are punished by being steeped in human excrement, representing the words by which they exploit people. Bolgia 3. Those being punished here are guilty of simonybuying favors from the Church using money. They are placed head-first into holes in a rock (resembling baptismal fonts) with flames burning their feet. Dante sees several popes there. Also there was Simon Magus, who tried to buy the power of healing from St. Peter (Acts 8:924), after whom the sin was named. Bolgia 4. Those who tried to see the future by forbidden means, like sorcerers, astronomers, and false prophets, were punished by having their heads twisted backwards, so that they cannot see where they are headed. Dante sees the Trojan prophet Tiresias there. Bolgia 5. Corrupt politicians are immersed in boiling tar, which represents their sticky fingers and deeds done in darkness. They are guarded by demons called the Malebranche (evil claws) and led by Malecoda (evil tail).

Bolgia 6. Hypocrites, those who appear holy outside but evil inside, are made to wear cloaks of lead, which represents their falsity and the weight which hinders their spiritual progress. Caiaphas, the high priest who sentences Jesus to death, is crucified to the ground and trampled upon. Bolgia 7. Thieves are guarded by the centaur Cacus, who has a fire-breathing dragon on his shoulder and snakes covering his horse back. Just as they stole other peoples property, so now their own identities are stolen: As they are bitten by snakes, they are turned into distorted animals.

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Bolgia 8. Evil counselors, those who advise other people to commit fraud, are punished within individual flames. Among those there are Ulysses/Odysseus and Diomedes, for their deception using the Trojan horse. Ulysses tells of his final tale (invented by Dante and not included in theOdyssey), where he left his home and family to sail to the ends of the earth, only to have his ship flounder at Mount Purgatory. He also mentions Circe and how she seduced him. Bolgia 9. The sowers of discord are cut apart by demons with swords, just as they divided people against each other. The wounds would heal, only for the demons to cut them again. Dante sees Muhammad, the founder of Islam, there, apparently for separating from Christianity. Bolgia 10. In the final bolgia, the falsifiers, like alchemists, counterfeiters, perjurers, and impostors are given various diseases for being a disease to society. There is Potiphars wife, who accused Joseph son of Jacob of seducing her. The Greek spy Sinon is burning with fever because he tricked the Trojans to take the wooden horse inside their city, which burned to the ground. Ninth Circle (Treachery). The lowest circle is guarded by mythological and biblical giants standing on its walls. These include Nimrod, Ephialthes (a Giant who with his brother Otus tried to invade Mount Olympus), Typhon, and others. The giant Antaeus lowers Virgil and Dante into the Ninth Circle, which is composed of four rounds. Traitors are punished in a lake of ice (not fire) called Cocytus. Round 1. Named Cana after Cain, who murdered his brother Abel. These are traitors who betrayed their own family. They are frozen here up to their chins. Sir Mordred, who rebelled against his father King Arthur, is punished here. Round 2. Named Antenora after Antenor of Troy, who (according to Medieval tradition), betrayed the Trojans to the Greeks. Punished here are those who betrayed their party, city, or nation. Round 3. Named Ptolomea, after Ptolomy, who invited Simon Maccabeus and his sons and then kills them. Punished here are those who betrayed their guests. They lie in ice on their backs with their face exposed. Round 4. Named Judecca, after Judas Iscariot, who betrayed our Lord. Punished here are those who betray their liege lords or benefactors. They lie frozen in ice, trapped in contorted positions. Speaking is completely forbidden there, so Virgil and Dante quickly pass through there and into the center of Hell itself. Conclusion The center of Hell. In the very center of Hell is Satan, who committed personal treachery against God. He is described as a giant with three heads, one red, one black, one pale yellow a perversion of the Holy Trinity. He is trapped waist-deep in ice, wiping the tears off his six eyes, and flapping his wings as if trying to escape. His left and right heads gnaw on the heads of Cassius and Brutus, Roman senators who murdered Julius Caesar. His center head gnaws on the head of Judas Iscariot, and his claws skin his back. Escape from Hell. Virgil and Dante climb on the back of Satan and pass through the center of the Earth. Now gravity pulls them upwards toward the other side of the world. They emerge on Easter Sunday beneath a sky studded with stars. They have reached Mount Purgator y, and their adventures are told in the next part of the Divine Comedy: Purgatorio.

The Divina Comedia - Purgatorio The second part of the Divine Comedy is Purgatorio or Purgatory, the place for the purification of sins. Just as Hell had an Ante-Hell and nine Circles, Purgatory has an Ante-Purgatory and seven levels or Terraces, representing the Seven Deadly Sins. On the summit is the Earthly Paradise. Once more, the Roman poet Virgil serves as Dantes guide in his ascent of Mount Purgatory. In each Terrace, Dante witnesses how souls are purified of each Deadly Sin, which is revealed as the root of sin. In each terrace, there is 1) a prayer, 2) a beatitude, 3) examples of each sins opposed Virtue from the Bible, history, or literature, and 4) illustrations of the sin also from the Bible, history, or literature. The journey of Dante up Mount Purgatory represents the Christian life as a soul gets purified from sin ("The conversion of the soul from the sorrow and misery of sin to the state of grace," he explains in one letter) in order to become worthy to enter Paradiso or Paradise, which is the third part of theComedia. They emerge from Hell on Easter Sunday, which symbolizes death to sin and rebirth into life.

The Divina Comedia - Paradiso The third and final part of the Divina Comedia is Paradiso or Paradise. Dante has traveled down the nine Circles of Hell and up the seven Terraces of Mount Purgatory. His guide thus far was Virgil, who symbolizes human philosophy. On the summit of Mount Purgatory Date finally meets Beatrice, who symbolizes Christian theology, who is his guide through Parasadise. Paradiso is an allegory of the Christian souls ascent to God.

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Dante and Beatrice emerge from the Earthly Paradise on top of Mount Purgatory at noon on the Wednesday of the Easter Octave, Dante having spent three days ascending its seven Terraces. Paradise is composed of nine Spheres plus the Empyrean, the dwelling-place of God Himself. Each Sphere is represents the four Cardinal Virtues of Prudence, Justice, Temperance, and Fortitude and the three Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope, and Love. The planets and other celestial bodies presented here reflect the geocentric (Earth-centered) view proposed by Ptolemy which was accepted during that time. (Our present model of the Solar System is called the Heliocentric or Sun-centered view which was proposed by Nicolas Copernicus and supported by Galileo Galilei.) Asian Literature Chinese literature: The Dao De Jing by Lao Zi The Tao Te Ching, Daodejing, or Dao De Jing (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Dodjng), also simply referred to as the Laozi,[1][2] is a Chinese classic text. According to tradition, it was written around 6th century BC by the sageLaozi (or Lao Tzu, "Old Master"), a record-keeper at the Zhou dynasty court, by whose name the text is known in China. The text's true authorship and date of composition or compilation are still debated,[3] although the oldest excavated text dates back to the late 4th century BC.[1] The text is fundamental to both philosophical and religious Taoism and strongly influenced other schools, such as Legalism,Confucianism and Chinese Buddhism, which when first introduced into China was largely interpreted through the use of Daoist words and concepts. Many Chinese artists, including poets, painters, calligraphers, and even gardeners have used the Daodejing as a source of inspiration. Its influence has also spread widely outside East Asia, and is amongst the most translated works in world literature.[1]

Indian literature: Excerpts from the Ramayana The Ramayana tells about life in India around 1000 BCE and offers models in dharma. The hero, Rama, lived his whole life by the rules of dharma; in fact, that was why Indian consider him heroic. When Rama was a young boy, he was the perfect son. Later he was an ideal husband to his faithful wife, Sita, and a responsible ruler of Aydohya. "Be as Rama," young Indians have been taught for 2,000 years; "Be as Sita." The original Ramayana was a 24,000 couplet-long epic poem attributed to the Sanskrit poet Valmiki. Oral versions of Rama's story circulated for centuries, and the epic was probably first written down sometime around the start of the Common Era. It has since been told, retold, translated and transcreated throughout South and Southeast Asia, and the Ramayana continues to be performed in dance, drama, puppet shows, songs and movies all across Asia. From childhood most Indians learn the characters and incidents of these epics and they furnish the ideals and wisdom of common life. The epics help to bind together the many peoples of India, transcending caste, distance and language. Two all-Indian holidays celebrate events in the Ramayana. Dussehra, a fourteen-day festival in October, commemorates the siege of Lanka and Rama's victory over Ravana, the demon king of Lanka. Divali, the October-November festival of Lights, celebrates Rama and Sita's return home to their kingdom of Ayodhya Prince Rama was the eldest of four sons and was to become king when his father retired from ruling. His stepmother, however, wanted to see her son Bharata, Rama's younger brother, become king. Remembering that the king had once promised to grant her any two wishes she desired, she demanded that Rama be banished and Bharata be crowned. The king had to keep his word to his wife and ordered Rama's banishment. Rama accepted the decree unquestioningly. "I gladly obey father's command," he said to his stepmother. "Why, I would go even if you ordered it." When Sita, Rama's wife, heard Rama was to be banished, she begged to accompany him to his forest retreat. "As shadow to substance, so wife to husband," she reminded Rama. "Is not the wife's dharma to be at her husband's side? Let me walk ahead of you so that I may smooth the path for your feet," she pleaded. Rama agreed, and Rama, Sita and his brother Lakshmana all went to the forest. When Bharata learned what his mother had done, he sought Rama in the forest. "The eldest must rule," he reminded Rama. "Please come back and claim your rightful place as king." Rama refused to go against his father's command, so Bharata took his brother's sandals and said, "I shall place these sandals on the throne as symbols of your authority. I shall rule only as regent in your place, and each day I shall put my offerings at the feet of my Lord. When the fourteen years of banishment are over, I shall joyously return the kingdom to you." Rama was very impressed with Bharata's selflessness. As Bharata left, Rama said to him, "I should have known that you would renounce gladly what most men work lifetimes to learn to give up." Later in the story, Ravana, the evil King of Lanka, (what is probably present-day Sri Lanka) abducted Sita. Rama mustered the aid of a money army, built a causeway across to Lanka, released Sita and brought her safely back to Aydohya. In order to set a good example, however, Rama demanded that Sita prove her purity before he could take her back as his wife. Rama, Sita and Bharata are all examples of persons following their dharma. This lesson focuses on how the Ramayana teaches Indians to perform their dharma. Encourage students to pick out examples of characters in the epic who were faithful to their dharma and those who violated their dharma. Mahatma Gandhi dreamed that one day modern India would become a Ram-rajya.

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American Literature --Edgar Allan Poe Short story: The Cask of Amontillado

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The story's narrator, Montresor, tells the story of the day that he took his revenge on Fortunato, a fellow nobleman, to an unspecified person who knows him very well. Angry over some unspecified insult, he plots to murder his friend during Carnival when the man is drunk, dizzy, and wearing a jester's motley. He baits Fortunato by telling him he has obtained what he believes to be a pipe (about 130 gallons,[1] 492 litres) of a rare vintage ofAmontillado. He claims he wants his friend's expert opinion on the subject. Fortunato goes with Montresor to the wine cellars of the latter's palazzo, where they wander in the catacombs. Montresor offers wine (first Medoc, then De Grave) to Fortunato. Montresor warns Fortunato, who has a bad cough, of the damp, and suggests they go back; Fortunato insists on continuing, claiming that "[he] shall not die of a cough." During their walk, Montresor mentions his family coat of arms: a golden foot in a blue background crushing a snake whose fangs are embedded in the foot's heel, with the motto Nemo me impune lacessit ("No one insults me with impunity"). At one point, Fortunato makes an elaborate, grotesque gesture with an upraised wine bottle. When Montresor appears not to recognize the gesture, Fortunato asks, "You are not of the masons?" Montresor says he is, and when Fortunato, disbelieving, requests a sign, Montresor displays a trowel he had been hiding. When they come to a niche, Montresor tells his victim that the Amontillado is within. Fortunato enters and, drunk and unsuspecting, does not resist as Montresor quickly chains him to the wall. Montresor then declares that, since Fortunato won't go back, he must "positively leave". Montresor walls up the niche, entombing his friend alive. At first, Fortunato, who sobers up faster than Montresor anticipated he would, shakes the chains, trying to escape. Fortunato then screams for help, but Montresor mocks his cries, knowing nobody can hear them. Fortunato laughs weakly and tries to pretend that he is the subject of a joke and that people will be waiting for him (including the Lady Fortunato). As the murderer finishes the topmost row of stones, Fortunato wails, "For the love of God, Montresor!" Montresor replies, "Yes, for the love of God!" He listens for a reply but hears only the jester's bells ringing. Before placing the last stone, he drops a burning torch through the gap. He claims that he feels sick at heart, but dismisses this reaction as an effect of the dampness of the catacombs. In the last few sentences, Montresor reveals that in the 50 years since that night, he has never been caught, and Fortunato's body still hangs from its chains in the niche where he left it. The murderer concludes: In pace requiescat! ("May he rest in peace!"). Poetry: Annabelle Lee "Annabel Lee" is the last complete poem composed by American author Edgar Allan Poe. Like many of Poe's poems, it explores the theme of the death of a beautiful woman.[2] The narrator, who fell in love with Annabel Lee when they were young, has a love for her so strong that even angels are envious. He retains his love for her even after her death. There has been debate over who, if anyone, was the inspiration for "Annabel Lee". Though many women have been suggested, Poe's wife Virginia Eliza Clemm Poe is one of the more credible candidates. Written in 1849, it was not published until shortly after Poe's death that same year. Synopsis The poem's narrator describes his love for Annabel Lee, which began many years ago in a so-called "kingdom by the sea". Though they were young, their love for one another burned with such an intensity that angels became envious. It is for that reason that the narrator believes the seraphim caused her death. Even so, their love is strong enough that it extends beyond the grave and the narrator believes their two souls are still entwined. Every night, he dreams of Annabel Lee and sees the brightness of her eyes in the stars. He admits that every night he lies down by her side in her tomb by the sea. OTHER MASTERPIECES

The Canterbury Tales (Middle English: Tales of Caunterbury) is a collection of over 20 stories written
in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century, during the time of the Hundred Years' War. The tales (mostly written in verse, although some are in prose) are presented as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey from Southwark to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. The prize for this contest is a free meal at the Tabard Inn at Southwark on their return. After a long list of works written earlier in his career, including Troilus and Criseyde, House of Fame, and "Parliament of Fowls", The Canterbury Tales was Chaucer's magnum opus. He uses the tales and the descriptions of its characters to paint an ironic and critical portrait of English society at the time, and particularly of the Church. Structurally, the collection resembles The Decameron, which Chaucer may have read during his first diplomatic mission to Italy in 1372. It is sometimes argued that the greatest contribution that this work made to English literature was in popularising the literary use of the vernacular, English, rather than French or Latin. English had, however, been used as a literary language for centuries before Chaucer's life, and several of Chaucer's contemporaries John Gower, William Langland, and the Pearl Poetalso wrote major literary works in English. It is unclear to what extent Chaucer was responsible for starting a trend rather than simply being part of it.

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While Chaucer clearly states the addressees of many of his poems, the intended audience of The Canterbury Tales is more difficult to determine. Chaucer was a courtier, leading some to believe that he was mainly a court poet who wrote exclusively for nobility.

The Lottery Ticket by Anton Chekhov Ivan Dmitritch is a middle class man who lives with his family. He is well contented as he sits on the sofa reading the paper. His wife is clearing the dishes. She asks her husband to check the lottery numbers. He asks her what is her number. She tells him it is 9499 26. Ivan notices that the first number is indeed 9499. He drops the paper and it falls on his knees. He begins daydreaming about winning the seventy-five thousand. He and his wife both begin daydreaming about what they would do with the money. They spend the next few minutes dreaming about a new house and traveling. Both the husband and wife begin making plans for spending the money. Both the husband and wife are so excited at the thought of winning all the money. They are smiling and dreaming about what they will do with the money. Then Ivan begins thinking about the possibility of his wife traveling without him. He begins thinking about her becoming stingy with the money. He begins to hate the idea of her having all that money. Likewise, the wife begins thinking that her husband will be after all her money. After all, it is her money. She begins to hate him for desiring all her money. Before the couple even knows if they have won, they have already spent the money. Finally, the husband looks to see if the number is 26. It is not. It is 46. The couple did not win. Immediately, the husband and wife begin to come back down to earth Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy Anna Karenina is the tragic story of a married aristocrat/socialite and her affair with the affluent Count Vronsky. The story starts when she arrives in the midst of a family broken up by her brother's unbridled womanizing something that prefigures her own later situation, though she would experience less tolerance by others. A bachelor, Vronsky is eager to marry her if she would agree to leave her husband Karenin, a government official, but she is vulnerable to the pressures of Russian social norms, her own insecurities, and Karenin's indecision. Although Vronsky and Anna go to Italy, where they can be together, they have trouble making friends. Back in Russia, she is shunned, becoming further isolated and anxious, while Vronsky pursues his social life. Despite Vronsky's reassurances, she grows increasingly possessive and paranoid about his imagined infidelity, fearing loss of control. A parallel story within the novel is that of Konstantin Levin, a country landowner who wants to marry Kitty, sister to Dolly and sister-in-law to Anna's brother Oblonsky. Konstantin has to propose twice before Kitty accepts. The novel details Konstantin's difficulties managing his estate, his eventual marriage, and his personal issues, until the birth of his first child. The novel explores a diverse range of topics throughout its approximately thousand pages. Some of these topics include an evaluation of the feudal system that existed in Russia at the time -- politics, not only in the Russian government but also at the level of the individual characters and families, religion, morality, gender and social class. World Literature Quiz for LET 1. F. Scott Fritzgeralds story that is about a boy who was born old and gets younger everyday is titled_______. A. The curious Case of Benjamin Button B. The Great Gatsby C. The Innocent Boy D. Growing Young 2. In Chaucers Canterbury Tales, which tale talks about three friends who killed each other for the chest filled with treasures? A. Pardoners tale B. Knights tale C. Merchants tale D. The Nun Priests tale 3. Rabindranath Tagores poem Innermost One is taken from the collection of devotional songs titled_____. A. Gitanjali B. Shakuntala C. Ramayana D. Mahbharata 4. Loreto Paras Sulits short story that revolves around theme that beauty can be very dangerous is titled___. A. The Harvest B. The Beautiful Stanger C. Desire D. Beautiful Liar 5. Paz Marquez Benitez wrote a story about a love triangle amongst Alfredo, Esperanza and Julia. What is the title of this masterpiece? A. Dead Stars B. Wedding Dance C. Desire D. Tatsulok 6. The film Tatarin is based on the short story by Nick Joaquin titled____. A. Summer Solstice B. May Day Eve C. Three Generations D. Woman with Two Navels

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7. In Paz Latorenas story Desire, the main character has sexy body but a _______. A. Homely face B. Twisted mind C. Scaly skin D. Low I.Q. 8. A. B. C. D. Who is considered to be the father of essay? Michel de Montaigne Francis Bacon William Shakespeare George Eliot

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14. The novel Pride and Prejudice was written by_____. A. Charlotte Bronte B. Jane Austen C. Anne Bradsheet D. Edith Wharton 15. Who wrote the short story A Rose for Emily? A. Emil Dickinson B. William Faulkner C. Virginia Wolf D. Mary Shelley 16. I dont care what they think! Ill show them what flying is! The lines are from what best selling novella? A. A Christmas Carol B. Jonathan Livingston Seagull C. Pride and Prejudice D. Gone with the Wind 17. A. B. C. D. 18. A. B. C. D. 19. A. B. C. D. The pen name of Mary Ann Evans is_______. Emily Watts George Eliot Jane Seymour Anne Bradsheet Who wrote the novel War of the Worlds? John Steinbeck H.G. Wells William Golding George Orwell Joy Luck Club was written by_____. Jane Austen Amy Tan Toni Marrison Oscar Wilde

9. Which work of Leo Tolstoy is about the Napoleonic invasion in Russia? A. War and Peace B. Anna Karenina C. God Sees the truth but Waits D. Father and Sons 10. Who is considered the goddess of Philippine poetry? A. Ophelia Alcantara Dimalanta B. Teresa Subido C. Aida Rivera Ford D. Angela Manalang Gloria 11. Dante Aligheries Divine Comedy, originally titled Comedia, is a trilogy. Which among the three is most widely read? A. Purgatory B. Inferno C. Paradise D. Heaven 12. The reality TV show Big Brother is based on the novel by George Orwell titled____. A. Big Brother B. 1984 C. Brother D. Brother and Sons 13. The film Gone with the Wind is about the American___. A. Revolution B. Civil War C. Cold War D. War of the Roses

20. Which of the following was written by Virginia Wolf? A. Tale of Two Cities B. Mrs. Dalloway C. Sons and Lovers D. House of the Spirits