Ok, guys, you're about to enter into some strange territory. As you've seen so far, there was a radical shift in literature between the 18th and 19th centuries. This week's reading covers two pieces of literature that are very different from what you've seen before in this class. Both "The Bronze Horseman" and "Notes from Underground" are fantastic works. The Russians have a reputation in the West for writing epic, complicated stories, plays, and poems, e.g., Tolstoy's War and Peace. In the West, we also often see the Russians as dark. There are some dark themes here for sure, but consider literature as a product of the culture from which it comes and the times during which it was written. You may find this week's reading dark, but it's engaging and interesting!