A survey of literature through the ages that has dealt with plagues.
Tag Archives: Virgil
Post of the Year: Plagues in Literature
Apocalyptic Fire Ravages the Nation
For literary equivalents of the west coast fires, look to “The Aeneid” and to Vasily Grossman’s “Life and Fate.”
In a Dark Time, Beowulf Was My Virgil
If Dante had his Virgil, I have Beowulf. Both poets helped up negotiate dark times.
Better Living through Virgil
When lost in deep depression, Dante turns to his favorite author, Virgil, to help him out.
Black Lives Matter Changes the Canon
Black Lives Matter is getting some professors to rethink works they had previously defended
In Aeneid, It’s the Wives Who Riot
The riots in the wake of George Floyd’s death recall for me the wives rioting in the Aeneid–another neglected and long-suffering group who are fed up.
Virgil on Trump’s Rage Tweeting
Trump’s ability to disseminate conspiracy theories through social media has a counterpart in Virgil’s goddess Rumor in the “Aeneid.”
A Literary Survey of What Plagues Mean
A survey of how literary authors have grappled for meaning in times of pestilence bolsters our own search. I look at Sophocles, Virgil, Defoe, Porter, Camus, King, Mandel, Atwood, and Erdrich.
Homer, Virgil & Dante Visit the Afterlife
In my Representative Masterpieces course, I conclude with Dante’s “Inferno,” where we see sinners creating their own hells.