Since the dawn of language, humankind has exchanged stories, either though storytellers around a hearth or through scribes tirelessly copying various texts. This literature allows modern audience a window through which we can peer into the distant past. It provides vital clues for the interpretation of history, language, and culture. It is through literature that one may compare and gain a greater understanding of other civilizations.

This anthology comprises of three comprehensive collections that provide samples of literature from around the world and across the ages, ranging from some of oldest tales that have survived into modernity to works from the 1650s. These texts provide an opportunity for readers to engage in extensive analysis of the works themselves and the societies that influenced and were influenced by them.

Laura J. Getty, Ph.D., is a professor of English at the University of North Georgia. She received her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature at The Pennsylvania State University, and her areas of specialization are medieval literature, world literature, and mythology. Dr. Getty was the Editor-in-Chief of Compact Anthology of World Literature Parts 1, 2, and 3 and a contributing editor for British Literature I: From the Middle Ages to Neoclassicism and the Eighteenth Century, both with the UNG Press.

Visit World Literature I: Beginnings to 1650 – Download to download a free digital copy.