Understanding Literature and Life: Drama, Poetry and Narrative

By: Arnold Weinstein, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Arnold Weinstein

Length: 32 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

The major texts of Western culture are a gateway to wisdom that can widen your views on self and society in enduring ways. The extraordinary body of literature given us by writers from antiquity to the present day, as Professor Weinstein notes, "is potent stuff, serving not only as transcription of history but also as a verbal Pandora's box, capable of shedding light on those transactions which remain in the dark for many of us: love, death, fear, desire. We are talking about more than artful language; we are talking about the life of the past and the life of the world."

It is truly a monumental legacy. And now you can examine its most important works - whether drama, poetry, or narrative - in this series of 64 penetrating lectures that reveal astonishing common ground. You'll see how this award-winning teacher uses several different analytical perspectives, including Feminism, Marxism, Freudianism, Deconstruction, Postmodernism, and New Historicism, to give us fresh insight into persisting human themes like rites of passage; the "fit" or "misfit" between self and society; the creation of an identity; and the play, weight, and presence of the past in understanding our present.

You learn how drama makes visible the conflicts and wars of culture in ways other forms cannot manage. How poetry can go to the heart of human existence with a purity and power akin to surgery, bidding us to challenge and change the way we usually do business. And how narrative can tell life stories in ways that enable a possession of that life that is hardly imaginable any other way.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©1995 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)1995 The Great Courses

Great and Zooming with info

This first part of these lectures is amazing. The delivery is astoundingly good. Did here and stood firm principles of psychoanalysis as well as literary analysis or great.

A masterful presentation on a great set of subjects con Literature

This set of lectures is wonderfully conceived , developed and delivered .... it is a important experience for one to have ... one gains insight and opportunity for introspection on so many levels .. regarding written language and narrative

Highly recommended!

The excellent narration makes this work highly relatable even if you’re not a drama or literature buff. Professor Weinstein the works reviewed in this series to life with his humour and wisdoms; which has the effect of making you feel like part of an audience watching a live performance of the plays being described. Quite the journey!

Yes

Couldn't reccomend this more! This course deepened my pleasure of familiar texts and tempted me to approach some unfamiar works.

Too Much Throat-Clearing, Etc.

The information was fantastic. But I finally had to quit at Dickens, and may not learn about the rest of the novels. The reason? As another reviewer (and maybe more than one) said, Dr. Weinstein's throat clearing, coughing, and other noises were very distracting. You'd think someone might have noticed this early on (I mean, it is 32 hours plus) and done something about it. Too bad Robert Greenburg couldn't have done these; he is so entertaining.

Excellent Course

My daughter (Brown 1990) fondly remembers taking Dr Weinstein course. I found it equally rewarding. I hardily recommend it.

English Teacher You Wish you Had

As absorbing as reading the text with all the cultural and literary context. Amazing.

So informative

I completely enjoyed these lectures. I felt I was in a real classroom and studying for my finals. I fully recommend this.

Useful information with one complaint

First and foremost, let me say that I enjoyed this course a lot. I now find myself getting more enjoyment out of novels and poetry since I'm looking at them with a sharper pair of literary eyes, so to speak. The professor does a good job of pointing out the powerful moments in literature, what makes them work, and what makes us love them. I would recommend this course to anyone who has ever felt like they consume literature but don't "get it" in the fullest sense.

That said, I think he spends way too much time on feminist and sexual analysis.

If extraterrestrials used this course to learn about human literature, they would come away with the impression that the only thing women write about is how hard it is being a woman! That's a perfectly legitimate topic and worth exploring, but my gripe is that he rarely discusses any other "lens" through which to view women's literary works. Women can and do write on the whole spectrum of themes that men do - why focus on just one? And every single cylindrical or elongated object does not necessarily represent a penis. Sometimes it does, but not 100 percent of the time.

Again, let me reiterate that this was an enjoyable and informative course. Despite my critiques about the overemphasis on feminist/sexual themes, it was a very worthwhile listen. It's just that I may seek out another course or two to learn more about some other perspectives.

Insight and true joy for literature

Fantastic course. True insight into some specific poems, plays and novels. Professor is on a mission to inform us about what art can bring to our lives. He succeeds.