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Paul University Philippines

HUM101nur - Humanities INTRODUCTION TO WORLD LITERATURE PERIODS
WORLD LITERATURE LESSON OUTLINE
INTRODUCTION Literary Periods
- Literature is from the Latin word “litera” which means • Early periods of literature:
“a letter of the alphabet” and refering to an o Classical
acquaintance with the weitten word. o Medieval
- It is a body of work, either written, oral, or visual o Renaissance
containing imaginative language that realistically • Later periods of literature
portrays thoughts, emotions, and experiences of o The Enlightenment Period
human condition. o The Romantic Period
- It is connected to history. o The Victorian Period
- Literature is artistically used to achieve identifiable o The Modern Period
literry qualities and to convey meaningful messages. o The Postmodern Period
Literature is characterized by beauty of expression
and form and by universalitu of intellectual and ARISTOTLE: “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”
emotional appeal. SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS: “To love is to will the good of the
- The best way to understand human nature fully and other.”
to know a nation completely is to study literature WILLIAM SHAKESPHERE: “All the world’s a stage, and all the
(Garcia, et al, 1993 cited in Gutierrez-Ang 2012) men and women merely players.” (As You Like It, Act II, Scene
- Literature is a faithful production of life .... In a sense VII)
is a product and a commentary of life process.
- Literature illuminates life. EARLY PERIOD OF LITERATURE
1. Classical Period – 1200BCE – 455CE
WORLD LITERATURE • Themes: Mythology, heroism, honor, duty,
- Writing that circulates widely beyond the borders of fate, gods and their influence, exploration of
its country of origin. human nature through archetypes, focus on
- Cosmopolitan Appeal/ Universal Appeal" -it cuts justice and order.
across boundaries. • Style: Grand, epic narratives, formal
- World Literature vs National Literature. language, focus on meter and structure,
- Used to refer to the some total world's national influence of Greek and Roman mythology
literature but it also refers to the circulation of works and philosophy.
into the wider world beyond their country of origin • A golden age for literature and arts.
and often in the past primarily for masterpieces of • Some Significant Literary work in this
western European literature; thus world literature period:
today is increasingly seen in global context. o The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer
- World literature is the cultural heitagd of all humanity. o Works and Days by Hesiod
o Theogony by Hesiod
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE (1827) • Greek writer and philosopher during this
- “Weltliteratur” period:
- He studied the characteristics and features and o Gorgias
interralationships of different literatures. o Aesop
- He studied the tendencies of their development and o Plato
their achievements. o Socrates
- He studied works of famous weiters which presented o Aristotle
different literary phenomena of different historic o Euripides
periods.
2. Medieval Period – 455CE – 1485CE
IMPORTANCE OF WORLD LITERATURE • Themes: Chivalry, Christian faith, courtly
1) It expands our horizon. love, morality, good vs. evil, societal
2) It helps develop new ideas. hierarchy, quests and journeys, religious
3) It gives visaulization from the past. allegory.
4) It is a source of cultural knowledge. • Style: Varied depending on genre (epic,
5) It is an appreciation for other cultures and beliefs. romance, religious text), use of allegory and
symbolism, focus on moral lessons, influence
WHY DO PEOPLE READ LITERATURE? of Christianity and feudalism.
1) Reading for pleasure. • Known as Anglo-Saxon period.
2) Reading for relaxation. • Some Significant Literary work in this
3) Reading to acquire knowledge. period:
4) Reading to confront experience. o The Canterbury Tales
5) Reading for artistic appreciation. o Beowulf
o The Dark Ages and the Bards
o The Dream of the Holy Rood
• Famous Author during this period:
o Geoffrey Chaucer
o Thomas Aquinas
o Martin Luther
o Caedmon
• Significant Literary Genres
o Elegy
o Religious Liturgy
o Narrative Romance
3. Renaissance Period – 1485CE – 1660CE 3. The Vitorian Period (1832 - 1901)
• Themes: Humanism, rediscovery of classical • This period is characterized by a focus on
learning, individualism, exploration of emotions morality, religion, and social reform. It was a
and desires, beauty and its fleeting nature, time of great industrial and economic
questioning of traditional values, rebirth and growth, and many of the works of literature
renewal. from this period are concerned with the
• Style: Emphasis on human potential and challenges and opportunities of modern life.
experience, use of blank verse and sonnets, • The reign of Queen Victoria.
exploration of complex characters and • The literature of this era expressed the fusion
motivations, influence of classical literature and of pure romance to gross realism.
philosophy. • Some significant literary work in this period:
• Considered to be the division between middle o The Pickwick Papers
age and modern era. o How do I Love Yhee
• Some Significant Literary work in this period: o Ulysses
o Romeo snd Juliet • Famous authors during this period:
o When I was Fair and Young o Charles Dicken
o Utopia o Elizabeth Browning
o Yhe Faerie Queen o Alfred Lord Tension
• Famous Author during this period:
o William Shakespeare 4. Whe Modern Period (1914 - 1945)
o Sir Thomas More • This period is characterized by
o Queen Elizabeth I experimentation, fragmentation, and a
o Edmund Spencer rejection of traditional forms. It was a time of
great upheaval, including two world wars,
LATER PERIOD OF LITERATURE and many of the works of literature from this
1. The Enlightenment Period (1660 BCE - 1790) period are concerned with the loss of
• This period is characterized by reason, logic, innocence, the meaning of life, and the
and order. It was a time of great intellectual nature of reality.
and scientific progress, and many of the • Characterized by a self-conscious break with
works of literature from this period are traditional ways of writing, in both poetry
known for their clarity, wit, and satire. and prose fiction.
• Referred to as the age of reason. • Some significant literary work in this period:
• Era of logic. o The Road Not Taken
• Some Significant Literary work in this o And Death Shall Have No Dominion
period: o Insensibilitu
o All for Love • Famous authors during this period:
o The Rake of the Lock o Robert Frost
o Rights of Man o Dylan Thomas
o Eley Written in a Churchyard o Wilfred Owen
• Famous authors during this period:
o John Dryden 5. The Post-Modern Period (1945 onwards)
o Alexander Pope • This period is characterized by a rejection of
o Thomas Paine grand narratives, a focus on subjectivity, and a
o Thomas Gray playful use of language. It is a time of great
• Popular types of literature during this uncertainty and change, and many of the works
period: of literature from this period are concerned with
o Essay the challenges of identity, the nature of truth, and
o Melodrama the possibility of meaning in a postmodern world.
o Letters • Characterized by relliance or narrative techniques
o Fables such as fragmentation, laradox, and the
unreliable narrator.
2. The Romantuic Period (1790 - 1830) • Some significant literary work in this period:
• This period is characterized by emotion, o Infinite Jest
imagination, and individuality. It was a time o The Love Somg of J. Alfred Prufrock
of great social and political upheaval, and o Waiting for Godot
many of the works of literature from this • Famous author during this period:
period are concerned with themes of love, o David Foster Wallace
loss, and revolution. o T. S Eliot
• Great age for novel. o Samuel Beckett
• Emphasize on emotion, imagination, and
individualism.
• Some significant literary work in this period:
o I Wondered Lonely as a Cloud
o Kubla Khan
o Song of Innocence and Experience
o Mathilda
• Famous author during this period:
o William Wordsmith
o Samuel Taylor Coleridge
o William Blake
o Mary ShelleyHjj