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Works That Are Crucial for Understanding Western Literature

These works are heavily referenced in Western Literature. Being familiar with them will unlock many literary allusions, symbols, and punchlines.
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Gilgamesh (Anonymus)
Gilgamesh
1
Anonymus
Iliad (Homer)
Iliad
2
Homer
Odyssey (Homer)
Odyssey
3
Homer
Ovid's Metamorphoses
Ovid's Metamorphoses
4
Genesis
Genesis
5
Exodus
Exodus
6
Matthew
Matthew
7
Luke
Luke
8
John
John
9
Beowulf (Tr. Seamus Heaney)
Beowulf
10
Tr. Seamus Heaney
Poetic Edda
Poetic Edda
11
The Prose Edda (Sturlulson)
The Prose Edda
12
Sturlulson
Everyman (Anonymous C. 1500)
Everyman
13
Anonymous C. 1500
Canterbury Tales (Geoffrey Chaucer)
Canterbury Tales
14
Geoffrey Chaucer
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Simon Armitage (Translator))
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
15
Simon Armitage (Translator)
Faerie Queene (Edmund Spenser)
Faerie Queene
16
Edmund Spenser
Othello (William Shakespeare)
Othello
17
William Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet (William Shakespeare)
Romeo and Juliet
18
William Shakespeare
King Lear (William Shakespeare)
King Lear
19
William Shakespeare
Hamlet (William Shakespeare)
Hamlet
20
William Shakespeare
Shakespeare's Sonnets (William Shakespeare)
Shakespeare's Sonnets
21
William Shakespeare
Paradise Lost (John Milton)
Paradise Lost
22
John Milton
Divine Comedy (Dante Alighieri)
Divine Comedy
23
Dante Alighieri
Le Morte D'Arthur (Thomas Malory)
Le Morte D'Arthur
24
Thomas Malory
Grimm's Fairy Tales (The Brothers Grimm)
Grimm's Fairy Tales
25
The Brothers Grimm
Perrault's Fairy Tales (Charles Perrault)
Perrault's Fairy Tales
26
Charles Perrault
Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tales (Hans Christian Anderson)
Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tales
27
Hans Christian Anderson
The Nursery Rhymes of England (James Orchard Halliwell (-Phillipps))
The Nursery Rhymes of England
28
James Orchard Halliwell (-Phillipps)
Don Quixote (Miguel De Cervantes)
Don Quixote
29
Miguel De Cervantes
Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)
Frankenstein
30
Mary Shelley
Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë)
Jane Eyre
31
Charlotte Brontë
A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Tales (Barnes & Noble)
A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Tales
32
Barnes & Noble
A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)
A Tale of Two Cities
33
Charles Dickens
Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll)
Alice in Wonderland
34
Lewis Carroll
Dracula (1897)
Dracula
35
1897
Moby Dick (Herman Melville)
Moby Dick
36
Herman Melville
Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain)
Huckleberry Finn
37
Mark Twain
The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
The Great Gatsby
38
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Lord of the Rings Trilogy (Jrr Tolkein)
Lord of the Rings Trilogy
39
Jrr Tolkein
Bullfinch's Mythology (Bullfinch, Thomas)
Bullfinch's Mythology
40
Bullfinch, Thomas
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