Literature Inspires Us -- Songs Inspired by Literature

Some lines in literature just jump out at you, capturing your imagination and sticking in your head... But, have you ever listened really carefully to your favorite songs? You'd probably be amazed by the number of popular songs that were/are inspired by literature.

Why not use music to help inspire reading, as Robert Burke suggests in his FIQL.com column? He explains how the Iron Maiden song inspired him to read Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Maybe--just maybe... By listening to the songs inspired by literature, we can come to a better/deeper appreciation for those original inspirational lines in literature. The motto for Artists for Literacy is: "Songs inpired by literature lead to lives inspired by literature." Perhaps that says it all...

• Songs Inspired by Literature: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2

Discover some of the classics that have inspired literature!

• Rime of the Ancient Mariner - Samuel Taylor Coleridge
• The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Enoch Arden - Lord Alfred Tennyson
• Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
• My Antonia - Willa Cather
• Ulysses - James Joyce
• Odyssey - Homer

Read more about how literature inspires music.