Masterworks of Early 20th Century Literature torrent

About This Course

24 lectures | 28 minutes per lecture
Perhaps this has happened to you: You've picked up a great novel—James Joyce's Ulysses, Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse, or William Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom! You launch in, ready to discover treasures in this great work of 20th-century fiction.

But the novel is not what you expected. The style is unfamiliar, the narrative is fragmented, and there isn't a clear plot. It's like nothing you've ever read before. If you finish it, you find yourself unsatisfied. What did it all mean? Or perhaps you don't finish at all, and find yourself putting it off until "someday."

Maybe you've yet to attempt one of these great novels. You've always wondered what you're missing, but you know these works are famously difficult, and you've hesitated to start without a guide to help you find your way through this rich but complex tradition.

You needn't wait any longer. Now you can explore this remarkable literary movement and gain insights into the secrets behind Modernism with Masterworks of Early 20th-Century Literature. With Professor David Thorburn as your guide, you'll see how Modernist authors created new techniques to reflect an increasingly complex post-Victorian world. This tradition includes some of the greatest authors world has known—Joyce, Faulkner, Conrad, Woolf, Kafka. Their works are some of the most challenging—yet rewarding—you'll ever encounter.

Each lecture is accessible and engaging—even if you're new to these authors. And if you've studied Modernism before, Professor Thorburn's perspectives will make you eager to return. Filled with fascinating facts and insightful readings, Masterworks of Early 20th-Century Literature is more than just an introduction to the great writers of the period. With Professor Thorburn's expert guidance, you'll understand why these authors were great.

Lecture One: Road Map—Modernism and Moral Ambiguity
Lecture Two: How to Read Fiction—Joyce’s “An Encounter”
Lecture Three: Defining Modernism—Monet’s Cathedral
Lecture Four: Defining Modernism—Beyond Impressionism
Lecture Five: The Man Who Would Be King—Imperial Fools
Lecture Six: Heart of Darkness—Europe’s Kurtz
Lecture Seven: Heart of Darkness—The Drama of the Telling
Lecture Eight: The Shadow-Line—Unheroic Heroes
Lecture Nine: The Good Soldier—The Limits of Irony
Lecture Ten: The Good Soldier—Killed by Kindness
Lecture Eleven: Lawrence (and Joyce)—Sex in Modern Fiction
Lecture Twelve: “Horse Dealer’s Daughter”—A Shimmer Within
Lecture Thirteen: The Metamorphosis—Uneasy Dreams
Lecture Fourteen: Dubliners—The Music of the Ordinary
Lecture Fifteen: Ulysses—Joyce’s Homer
Lecture Sixteen: Ulysses—The Incongruity Principle
Lecture Seventeen: To the Lighthouse—Life Stand Still Here
Lecture Eighteen: To the Lighthouse—That Horrid Skull Again
Lecture Nineteen: Isaac Babel—Jew and Cossack
Lecture Twenty: Isaac Babel—Odessa’s Homer
Lecture Twenty-One: Faulkner’s World—Our Frantic Steeplechase
Lecture Twenty-Two: Absalom, Absalom!—The Fragile Thread
Lecture Twenty-Three: Pale Fire—Modern or Postmodern?
Lecture Twenty-Four: The Moral Vision of Modern Fiction