Literary Villains Revisited

This course is a Spring 2010 Division I Independent Study created by Amy Katuska and supervised by Bob Meagher and Ellie Siegel with the help of Justine Haus.

Course Description
This independent study will have two parts: (1) the critical study of a sampling of world literature with central unsympathetic villains; and (2) the writing of a short piece of creative fiction told from the perspective of its villain who becomes sympathetic to the reader in the telling. Readings will include: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum and Wicked by Gregory Maguire, Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf and John Gardner’s Grendel, and Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, also by Maguire, and Cinderella Tales from Around the World by Ila Lane Gross. Special attention will be paid to Persian literature and culture with the reading of parts of a translation of the Persian epic poem Shahnameh and the writing of a short story from the perspective of the villain of a particular story from the poem. EXP, MCP

Syllabus
Week 1: Read and summarize the "The Demon-King Zahhak" from Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings by Abolqasem Ferdowsi, translated by Dick Davis; read Cinderella by Cynthia Rylant; read Cinderella by Barbara McClintock; read Cinderella Tales by Ila Lane Gross

Week 2: Start Confessions of an Ugly Stepsiste r by Gregory Maguire

Week 3: Finish Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister ; start Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney

Week 4: Read Beowulf

Week 5: Finish Beowulf

Week 6: Start Grendel by John Gardner

Week 7: Finish Grendel

Week 8: Write draft of analysis of characteristics of stories written from the villain’s side

Week 9: Re-read “The Story of Kaveh the Blacksmith and Zahhak the Arab”; write draft of story from Zahhak’s viewpoint

Week 10: Analysis edit #1; story draft edit #1

Week 11: Story draft edit #2

Week 12: Analysis edit #2; story draft edit #3

Week 13:Final edit of analysis and story