Over the course of history, as the need has arisen for new ways to talk about the world experienced around us and in us, humankind has relied on the power of language to creatively go where no language has gone before, as evidenced in our literature, and the discourses of science, religion and politics.   The great works of poets, novelists, dramatists, e.g. Robert Frost, Cormac McCarthy, J.B. Priestley, draw on the same resources of language available to us all, but thanks to their creative crafting, their works have achieved recognition as being examples of verbal art.  Scientific theorizing would not be possible except by means of the meaning-making power in language to turn our common-sense view of experience as dynamic happenings into a metaphorical world of static things which can be observed, investigated and explained.  Religious language has the potential to inspire, whether through sermons, hymns, prayers or other sacred texts.  Political discourse has led humankind to and away from the brink of war. This course dissects examples of poetry and plays, as well as scientific, religious and political discourse to discover what is going on in the language of art, invention and inspiration.