Contributing editor
APUS ePress
World Literature Anthology: Through the Renaissance
Volume II William Overton Volume Editor
APUS ePress Production
2011
Contributing editors: Linda Silva William Overton Program Director: Kimberly Jacobs Production editor: Judith Novak Editor-in-chief: Fred Stielow
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Table of Contents
Production Editor Judith Novak Contributing Editors: Linda Silva
William Overton Editor:Fred Stielow
Text Design: Judith Novak Jessica Radlich
Artwork: Victor Montoya
Copyright © 2011 American Public University Electronic press
All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America
This text was compiled in Charles Town WV by APUS ePress
Printed by Lightning Source Inc. La Vergne, TN
Cover Illustration: Victor Montoya, American Public University System Visual Arts
Series contents include excepts of classical literature from around the world through the Renaissance
ISBN 978-1-937381-00-4, 978-1-937381-01-1, 978-1-937381-02-8 Collection ISBN 978-1-937381-03-5
Go to Amazon.com or Barnesandnoble.com for information on purchasing a low-cost print version
ISBN 978-1-937381-00-4
American Public University Electronic Press 111 West Congress Street Charles Town, WV 25414
www.apus.edu
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Literature 201: World Literature Through the Renaissance
Literature 201 Volume II
1
The Odyssey 3
The Iliad 127
The Aeneid 195
299
Doctrine of the Mean 301
The Great Learning 315
Commentary of the philosopher Tsang 316
The Philosophy of Confucius 322
Ramayana 323 Book I 324
Book II 332
Book III 344
Book IV 359
Book V 366
The Mysterious Ramayana 373
Sakuntala 375 Prologue 376
Act I 378
Act II 391
Prelude to Act III 403
Act III 403
Prelude to Act IV 414
Act IV 417
Act V 429
Prelude to Act VI 442
Act VI 446
Act VII 463
The Secrets of Sakuntala 481
Eastern Tales 483 Story of the Prince and the Lions 484
The City of the Demons 494
Sadik Beg 499
The Four Talismans 500
The Adventures of Urad; or, The Fair Wanderer 515
Discovering the Middle East 531
Volume I
Volume II
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Table of Contents
Mwindo 533 Episode I 534
Episode II 536
Episode III 537
Episode IV 538
Episode V 542
Episode VI 543
Uncover the Mysterious Mwindo 546
Nigerian Folk Stories 547 The Tortoise with a Pretty Daughter 548
How a Hunter obtained Money from his Friends 549
The Woman with Two Skins 551
The King’s Magic Drum 555
Ituen and the King’s Wife 559
Of the Pretty Stranger who Killed the King 560
Why the Bat flies by Night 561
The Disobedient Daughter who Married a Skull 562
The King who Married the Cock’s Daughter 563
The Woman, the Ape, and the Child 565
The Fish and the Leopard’s Wife 566
Why the Bat is Ashamed to be seen in the Daytime 566
Why the Worms live Underneath the Ground 568
The Elephant and the Tortoise 569
Why a Hawk kills Chickens 570
Why the Sun and the Moon live in the Sky 571
Why the Flies Bother the Cows 571
Why the Cat kills Rats 572
The Story of the Lightning and the Thunder 572
Why the Cow and the Elephant are bad Friends 573
The Cock who caused a Fight between two Towns 574
The Affair of the Hippopotamus and the Tortoise 575
Why Dead People are Buried 576
Of the Fat Woman who Melted Away 577
Concerning the Leopard, the Squirrel, and the Tortoise 578
Why the Moon Waxes and Wanes 580
The Story of the Leopard, the Tortoise, and the Bush Rat 580
The King and the Ju Ju Tree 582
How the Tortoise overcame the Elephant and the Hippo 585
Of the Pretty Girl and the Seven Jealous Women 586
How the Cannibals drove the People to the Cross River 589
The Lucky Fisherman 590
The Orphan Boy and the Magic Stone 591
The Slave Girl who tried to Kill her Mistress 593
The King and the ‘Nsiat Bird 596
Concerning the Fate of Essido and his Evil Companions 596
Concerning the Hawk and the Owl 599
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Literature 201: World Literature Through the Renaissance
The Story of the Drummer and the Alligators 600
The ‘Nsasak Bird and the Odudu Bird 603
Relating to Folktales from Nigeria 606
608
The Divine Comedy—Inferno 609
King Arthur 665
The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio 683
The Canterbury Tales 721
The Prince 829
Othello 841
Volume III
Introduction : Volume II
Introduction Volume II
In Volume II, we sample the wisdom of ancient China and other far off lands. The writing style is much different from what we encounter in our own culture, but part of the enjoyment of these literatures is to be found in realizing how different these people were from us – and yet how similar.
As we move through these stories, we follow the twisted tales of fidelity and perfidy, and delve into the mythical tales of mysterious India and the gods and goddesses of that land. It is indeed a land distant from our own in time and location, as well as culture. Yet these people display some of the same character traits of people we know in our own time and perhaps even a few traits we see in ourselves. As you read, try to picture them in your mind as living, breathing humans, dealing with forces beyond themselves and teaching their audience (and us as well) some of the basic truths of the human condition.
The tales from Africa, for instance, may seem difficult to follow; one must remember that these tales began as oral traditions and as they were related through generation upon generation, changed and grew with each telling.
When you have completed this volume, you will truly have developed a different perspective on these humans, their lives, their myths, and their wisdom.
WRITTEN 500 B.C.E
