This course explores the phenomenon of classic literary works that have been adapted by writers of a later generation. We will consider a series of questions while studying a group of paired works: how do the remakes make manifest something latent in the classic works? do the classic works anticipate the responses in the remakes? how do these readings affect our notions of literary originality? Ultimately, how do we define a classic and what do such definitions owe to its power to inspire remakes (whether respectful or critical)? The course will also engage with concepts of originality, parody, adaptation, and imitation. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to explore the inter-historical dialogue between these paired works, analyze them in a comparative way, and offer persuasive, interpretive arguments about them in written essays.