OCW
The dark origins of Disney fairy tales
An evil stepmother demands a maiden’s lungs and liver; a girl is ripped from a wolf’s stomach; and sisters mutilate their feet to squeeze into a gold slipper. During the early 1800s, brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm gathered these unflinchingly gory details from stories circulating around what..
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Edgar Allan Poe's story of the Red Death
Looking to avoid the plague devastating his country, Prince Prospero summons a thousand nobles from his court and sequesters them in his abbey. Months into their seclusion, the Prince throws a lavish masquerade ball held in seven colored rooms. But amidst the revelry, a mysterious shrouded figure ap..
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War, love, and betrayal: The epic tale of the “Legend of the Condor Heroes”
In the 1950s, citizens flocked to newsstands to pick up the latest edition of a story set hundreds of years in the past — a multigenerational tale of adventure and war, romance and intrigue, brotherhood and betrayal. Jin Yong’s epic
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Why was this kung fu masterpiece banned?
In the 1950s, citizens flocked to newsstands to pick up the latest edition of a story set hundreds of years in the past — a multigenerational tale of adventure and war, romance and intrigue, brotherhood and betrayal. Jin Yong’s epic
TED
Beowulf's three bloodiest battles
An epic written in Old English, “Beowulf” is known for its haunting monsters, dream-like language, and paranoid perspective, where violent threats are always waiting on the fringes of society. The action follows Beowulf, a prince of Geats, who travels to aid a kingdom in freeing itself from a mo..
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The epic Nordic legend of the monster slayer
An epic written in Old English, “Beowulf” is known for its haunting monsters, dream-like language, and paranoid perspective, where violent threats are always waiting on the fringes of society. The action follows Beowulf, a prince of Geats, who travels to aid a kingdom in freeing itself from a mo..
TED
