Heroes and Legends: The Most Influential Characters of Literature

What makes certain characters successful; Frodo Baggins, the hobbit-hero from "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy; how he runs counter to notions of the traditional hero; how changing cultural values connect to heroism.

The beginning of the world literature; what makes Homer's traveling hero such a powerful figure; the impact of Odysseus on countless road narratives; his surprisingly sly and resourceful character; his many adventures.

The Roman straight arrow; Aeneas's story takes him from the Trojan War to the courtship of Queen Dido and on to the founding of Rome; Virgil helps shape the Roman Empire's sense of self; how old legends provide the inspiration for new tales.

Guinevere's adulterous affair with Lancelot; its effects on cultural values and Western history; Guinevere is an intriguing heroine; her passion, will and complexity still captures people's imagination today.

Chaucer works harder on the Wife of Bath than on any other character in "The Canterbury Tales"; four separate perspectives on one of literature's most memorable female characters; what Chaucer reveals about her and the time she lives in.

Cressida is an archetypal femme fatale, who finds herself in the middle of a love triangle between her true love, Troilus, and the bad boy, Diomedes; Chaucer and Shakespeare's perspective on Cressida; what she does not understand about love.