Classical Mythology in English Literature brings together an enormous range of English versions of three classical myths, allowing students explore for the first time the ways in which they have been reinterpreted and reinvented by writers throughout history. Beginning with a concise introduction to the principle Greco-Roman gods and heroes, the anthology then focuses on three stories: Orpheus, the great musician and his quest to free his wife Eurydice from the underworld Venus and Adonis, the love goddess and the beautiful youth she loved Pygmalion, the master sculptor who fell in love with his creation. Each section begins with the classical sources and ends with contemporary versions, showing how each myth has been used/abused or appropriated since its origins. Authors featured include: Ovid, Virgil, Gower, Spenser, Shakespeare, Bacon, Milton, Rousseau, Wordsworth, William Morris, Elizabeth Barret Browning, Eliot, Auden, Angela Carter, Margaret Atwood and Seamus Heaney.
