Literature · Classics · Epic Poetry

Nick Rosado
teaches the great epic poets.

Homer, Virgil, Dante, and Milton — four poets, four poems, one year. Small-group online courses built with the depth and attention these works deserve.

Homer portrait
Homer
Dante portrait
Dante
Virgil artwork
Virgil
Milton artwork
Milton

Four poets. Four poems.
One year.

2026 Year-Round Program
Achilles statue Course Built
Homer
The Iliad

Injustice, glory, grief and the price of life. The oldest epic in the Western tradition — read not as ancient history, but as the first western tragedy.

Available Now · $375 · 12 classes Translation · E.V. Rieu
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Aeneid artwork Now Enrolling
Virgil
The Aeneid

Rome's founding epic — a meditation on duty, love and the price of empire through Aeneas, a hero who pursued greatness and paid for it.

Q4 2026 · Now Enrolling Translation · Robert Fitzgerald
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Dante artwork Course Built
Dante
The Divine Comedy

A journey through Hell and Purgatory. Inferno and Purgatorio fully built and taught — for readers who seek a true grasp of Dante.

Available Now · $375 · 11 classes Translation · John C. Ciardi
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Paradise Lost artwork In Development
Milton
Paradise Lost

The most ambitious poem in the English language. Satan, free will, the Fall and what it means to be human. We close the year with Milton.

Q2 2027 · In Development
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Upcoming · September, 2026

Virgil's
Aeneid

Translated by Robert Fitzgerald · Instructor: Nick Rosado

The Aeneid is not a poem about the Roman empire. It is a poem fundamentally about greatness and what it requires — captured in grief, triumph, and in the choices that cannot be unmade.

Each week: a pre-recorded lecture to prepare and unpack the reading; a live, one-hour session to discuss. All sessions are recorded. Asynchronous enrollment is available.

Duration2½+ months
FormatWeekly Live + Async
Sessions11 Classes
Price$375
  • 11 weekly live sessions, one hour each
  • Pre-recorded lectures for every Book, split into pre-reading and post-reading sections
  • Required text: Aeneid, translated by Robert Fitzgerald
  • ~2–3 hours of total weekly commitment (lecture + reading + session)
  • All sessions recorded and shared via private link with passcode
  • Full asynchronous option available
Each pre-recorded lecture has two parts. Before you read the text, you listen to the introduction — essential context, background and what to look for. After you read the text, you return for the integrations section, which draws on copious research and connects the Book to broader themes.

Recommended order: Introduction → Read the Book → Integrations.
  • Weekly line selection: Each student chooses one line or passage — one they love, hate or have a question about — and shares it during class with a brief explanation at to why the student chose the excerpt.
  • Plot summary: One student each week writes a summary for the assigned Book, shared at the start of discussion.
Each Book gets the same three-part structure: (1) student's short plot summary, (2) instructor's one-to-two thematic focus points from the lecture, (3) all students' line selections and open discussion. After class, students have open access to the instructor for further questions.


During Class: Introduction to the epic poetry tradition, Virgil's biography and historical context, the Roman political context and key philosophical concepts in the Aeneid.
Each subsequent class covers one (sometimes two) Books of the Aeneid (Books 1–12 across 10 sessions). Pre-class work includes the pre-recorded lecture and reading assignment. During class: student summaries, instructor's thematic focus, and group line discussion.

"I sing of warfare —
and a man at war."

Virgil · Aeneid · Book I · Opening Line
Ready to Enroll?

Reserve your
place in
The Aeneid

Each course is $375. All enrollment is handled personally by Nick. To reserve your place — or to be notified when the next course opens — reach out directly.

$375
Per Course · Aeneid Q4 2026
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Get in Touch

Email Nick directly

To enroll or ask questions, email Unshelledcoast@gmail.com and indicate your preferred payment method.

Include your name, any questions about the course, and whether you prefer live or asynchronous enrollment.

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