WESTERN LITERARY CANON IN CONTEXT

The canon consists of the works considered to be the best in the Western literary tradition—from the Mesopotamian EPIC OF GILGAMESH to works of the present day. In 36 half-hour lectures, Professor Bowers discusses how the canon was formed, expanded, and altered over time—plus who made the canon what it is and how. The professor analyzes only those canonical works he feels are the most influential, the best of their period, or most representative of his theories. His views seem heavily influenced by the German scholar Erich Auerbach and British author-scholar J.R.R. Tolkien, both of whom he sites liberally. Bowers's oral style is slightly pedantic but listenable. He has an annoying mannerism of delivering clauses in a sentence as though ticking off items in a list. Y.R. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2009]