Studies in Poetry: "What's the Use of Beauty?"

River view of Carthage being built.

A scenic river view of Carthage as it is being built, overseen by Dido, its queen. (Image courtesy of WebMuseum [J.M.W. Turner's "Dido building Carthage, or The Rise of the Carthaginian Empire," 1815, oil on canvas; National Gallery, London])

Instructor(s)

MIT Course Number

21L.704

As Taught In

Fall 2005

Level

Undergraduate

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Course Description

Course Features

Course Description

This course explores variations on the proposition that an adequate recognition of beauty could, however indirectly, make you a more humane person. Readings extend widely across literary and non-literary genres, including lyric poetry and the novel, philosophical prose and essays.

Other Versions

Related Content

Noel Jackson. 21L.704 Studies in Poetry: "What's the Use of Beauty?". Fall 2005. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare, https://ocw.mit.edu. License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA.


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