Longman Anthology of World Literature, Volume A, The: The Ancient World (Damrosch World) - Tapa blanda

The world is growing smaller every day.  In today’s increasingly global culture, we all need to become familiar with other traditions, and literature provides an exciting and enjoyable mode of entry into the variety of the world’s cultures. Exciting, but also challenging: works from distant times and places expose us to unfamiliar names, customs, beliefs, and literary forms. The Longman Anthology is designed to open up the horizons of world literature, placing major works within their cultural contexts and fostering connections and conversations between eras as well as regions. Engaging introductions, regional maps, pronunciation guides, and a wealth of illustrations inform and enrich the experience of reading the compelling works included here, opening out a fresh and diverse range of the world’s great literature.

In the second edition of The Longman Anthology:

Major works are included from around the world: Many are given in their entirety, from The Epic of Gilgamesh and Homer’s Odyssey to Dante’s Inferno, Molière’s Tartuffe, Chikamatsu’s Love Suicides at Amijima, and Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. We also include extensive selections from such great works as The Aeneid, The Tale of Genji, The Thousand and One Nights, and Don Quixote.

Perspectives sections group together works around major literary and cultural issues. These sections are now followed by Crosscurrents, which highlight additional connections for you to explore.  Often presented as thought questions, these prompts could provide you with the essay topic for your next paper.

New Translation units willhelp you to understand the key role of translation in the life of world literature. Passages in the original language are accompanied by two or three translations that show how differently translators can choose to convey the original in expressive new ways. You will enjoy finding new meaning in the original work as you trace the ways literature evolves for generations of readers. 

An enhanced Companion Website gives you the opportunity to take practice quizzes, explore an interactive timeline, review literary terms, listen to an audio glossary that provides pronunciations of unfamiliar names, and listen to audio recordings of the passages given in our Translationsections.

Through all these means, The Longman Anthology will support and enrich your experience as you explore the many worlds of world literature.