The Art Institute Online Student Community

World Literature is a required course at The Art Institute Online, so you will more than likely need this information at some point. SparkNotes is a huge resource of literary works and study guides for practically every major book, play, article, essay, etc ever written. The best part is that it is free! I used it when i took World Literature and it helped me out every single week by analysing stories, picking out quotes, summarizing plots, etc. Each week has different stories to read and the majority of them are listed on SparkNotes with tons of information and quotes about the works. Below you will find links to every required reading in World Literature that is available on SparkNotes. Enjoy!

Week 1

• The Epic of Gilgamesh
• Genesis 1-9
• The Odyssey
• Oedipus the King

Week 2

• Augustine, Confessions
• Dante Alighieri - Dante’s Inferno (all Cantos)
• Chaucer, “General Prologue”

Week 3

• Machiavelli, The Prince
• Shakespeare, Hamlet

Week 4

• Swift, Modest Proposal

Week 5

• Blake, Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience
• Whitman, Song of Myself
• Tolstoy, Death of Ivan Ilyich
• Chekhov, Cherry Orchard
• Brecht, Mother Courage and Her Children
• Achebe, Things Fall Apart

Week 6

• Brecht, Mother Courage and Her Children
• Achebe, Things Fall Apart

Don’t limit yourself to World Literature as SparkNotes can be used for any class or assignment that requires reading a popular literary work. SparkNotes is a lifesaver for those assignment that you just don’t want to read have time to read completely!