Lesson 1: European Literature

• European Literature - is as diverse as the European languages. European literature is from a common heritage of different countries such as Greece, Rome, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Scandinavia, Norway, and Spain
• Ancient Literature and Medieval Literature (800 BC–1500 AD)
• Literature created in the ancient period (800 BC–500 AD) - was mostly influenced by Greco-Roman culture, which became the basis for the Western literature that we know today. The intellectual and philosophical studies made by the Greeks and the Romans are the foundation of European literature
• The Greeks introduced all major kinds of literature: tragedy, comedy, epic, history, biography, prose narrative, lyric, and satire.
• Oral epics became material for Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey, which expressed the values and imagination of Western humanity and were also used by the Greeks as models for conduct.
• The Greeks called this kleos, which means “renown” or “glory
• Major Greek Writers:

  1. Homer
  2. Aesop
  3. Plato
  4. Socrates
  5. Aristotle
  6. Sophocles
• Major Roman Writers:

  1. Horace
  2. Virgil
  3. Ovid
• Literature during the Medieval Period (500-1500 AD) - This period marked the emergence of three dominant cultures: Christianity, Islam, and the Germanic invaders. The literary forms dominant in this period are hymns, epic poems, elegies, ballads, and narrative poems.
• Beowulf - The hero and main character of this epic poem.
• Wiglaf - The trusty sidekick to Beowulf.
• Danish King Hrothgar - King of the Danes before Beowulf.
• Grendel - Also known as the monster or Beowulf monster.
• Grendel's Mother - Mother of Grendel and a far more powerful monster.
• Renaissance and Enlightenment Period (1300–1800)
• Renaissance Period (1300-1599) - Classical scholars, known as humanists, revived and translated ancient texts. The humanists also used the Greek and Latin classics, along with traditional Christian thought, to teach people about human life.
• The printing press, invented by Johannes Gutenberg in 1440, is the greatest innovation of the Renaissance era, which resulted in a more cost- and time-efficient production of literature.
• Patrons - were people who lavished money and attention on artists who cater to their taste.
• The Age of Enlightenment (1600-1800) - This period was a byproduct of the Renaissance that birthed humanism. Thinking that they could be whatever they wanted to be, people paved the way toward scientific and industrial progress.
• Much Ado About Nothing - This was considered as one of Shakespeare’s best comedies and was probably written between 1598 and 1599. It was first printed as a quarto or a booklet in 1600 and reprinted in 1623 as a part of Shakespeare’s first folio.
• Paradise Lost - This is an epic poem about the Fall of Man, where John Milton, the writer, made Adam, Eve, Satan, and God his characters.
• Gulliver’s Travels - In this novel by Jonathan Swift, Gulliver traveled on four separate voyages and encountered different types of societies each time.
• Romanticism and Realism (1800-1920)
• Romanticism Period (1800-1850) - is a literary movement against the aristocratic culture that started in the late 18th century. Romanticism uplifts the characters from humble backgrounds or the common man and places importance on imagination and emotion.
• Realism Period (late 1800s–early 1900s) - in contrast with romanticism, was the representation of reality. While romanticism beautifies the ugly, realism presents the truth with all its flaws. It greatly focused on the fidelity of facts.
• Debit and Credit - This German novel by Gustav Freytag was translated into almost all of the European languages.
• “The World Is Too Much With Us” - Romanticism is characterized by the appreciation of nature, and this was presented by William Wordsworth in this poem.
• Modernism Period (early 1900s-1965) - began in the early 20th century through roughly 1965. This period was marked by sudden changes in man’s perspective of the world.
• Imagism - refers to the literary movement that focused on clarity and conciseness by using specific images
• Stream of consciousness - a technique in which a character’s thoughts and feelings are written in an uninterrupted flow, for example, foregoing literary devices such as description and dialogue
• An unreliable narrator - is either deliberately deceptive or unintentionally misguided, forcing the reader to question their credibility as a storyteller.
• Postmodernism Period (1965-Present) - Shows a crisis of identity of the human being in ethnicity and sexuality, as well as the struggle for social and cultural acceptance in a hypocritical society
• “In a Station of the Metro” - Ezra Pound’s poem is a perfect example of the use of imagism in poetry.
• Waiting for Godot - This play by Samuel Beckett is about two hobos waiting for Godot by a sickly looking tree.