NOTICE: This is an older course recorded with Adobe Connect and/or Vimeo recordings. We are currently working to replace the recordings with new Zoom recordings. Please don't hesitate to email us at homeschoolconnections@gmail.
How to get the most out of Mythology in Literature with Kevin O'Brien:
- Watch each Recorded class session.
- Complete all quizzes and assignments. Parents can grade any essay questions, or they may purchase Instructor Access for Kevin O'Brien to grade the essay questions.
- The reading for each week can be found in that week's module.
- Repeat until all classes are completed.
- Once the course is completed to the parent's satisfaction, there is a Certificate of Completion at the end to be filled in for your records. Homeschool Connections does not provide record keeping.
Total Classes: 13
Prerequisite: None
Suggested Grade Level: 9th to 10th grade
Suggested Credit: 1 full semester Literature or English
Instructor: Kevin O’Brien
Instructor Email: kevin@classeswithkevin.
Course Description: What is myth and how does it relate to storytelling in general and to our Catholic Faith in particular? How have the great myths of the world’s cultures been adapted into novels and plays? What are the essential elements of myth that speak to the human condition? Using J.R.R. Tolkien’s insights into mythology as an interpretive guide, we will examine these and other questions, focusing on the connection between mythology and great literature.
Course Outline:
- Overview: Selections from Tolkien’s “On Fairy Stories” - a Guide to Understanding Myth
- Mythology and Religion: Mythology in Ancient Greek Drama
- Mythology and Religion: Divine Use of Myth in the Gospels - Parables and Signs
- Mythology of Transformation: From Ovid to Dante - Pagan and Christian notions of Transformation.
- Mythology of Transformation: Shakespeare’s use of Myth in A Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Mythology of Transformation in Modern Works - Various Selections
- Mythology of Love: Cupid and Psyche
- Mythology of Love: C. S. Lewis Til We Have Faces
- Mythology of Selfishness: Narcissus through the Ages
- Mythology of Power and Creation: Pygmalion from the Greeks to Shaw
- Mythology of Humility and Redemption: King Arthur - Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
- Mythology of Humility and Redemption: Selections from Chaucer through Modern Times
- Review
- Til We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis;
- Other materials provided as PDFs by the instructor.
Homework: Reading assignments, several tests, mid-term paper, final paper. Expect about four hours of prep (on average) for each class per week.
- Teacher: Kevin OBrien