EUROPEAN LITERATURE

CLASSICAL GREEK
 Greek literature, body of writings in the Greek language, with a continuous history extending
from the 1st millennium BC to the present day.
 Ancient Greek Literature only a relatively small proportion survives.

HISTORY
The history of ancient Greek literature may be divided into three periods:
 Archaic (to the end of the 6th century BC)
Archaic period, to the end of the 6th century BC The Greeks created poetry their poetry was
intended to be sung or recited myth—part legend, based sometimes on the dim memory of
historical events; part folktale; and part religious speculation.
 speculation.
The several types of Greek lyric poetry originated in the Archaic period among the poets of the Aegean
Islands and of Ionia on the coast of Asia Minor.
Archilochus (Greek Author) employs the forms of elegy at the beginning of the 6th century
Alcaeus and Sappho composing in the Aeolic dialect of Lesbos.
Alcaic and Sapphic
Greek Mythology
Greek Drama

 Classical (5th and 4th centuries BC); and

 Hellenistic and Greco-Roman (3rd century BC onward).
CLASSICAL ROMAN PERIOD
•Different types writing includes speeches for politics, satire was a common form. •What is satire •What
are the two types of satire during the roman period •Example of satire that emerged during this period
•Who are the founders of satire?
Other forms of classical roman literature that evolved during this period
DARK AGES AND MIDDLE AGES (476-100)
 The Roman Empire formally legalized Christianity
 Visual arts prospered during Middles ages-
 The Middle Ages was an age of epics
Oldest of European epic in the English epic "BEAWULF" the European countries produced a number of
epic but only four stand out as major epics
 From Germany "The Nibelungenlied
 From France "The Song of Roland
 From Spain "El Cid"
 And From Italy "The Divine Comedy"
RENAISSANCE PERIOD
 Renaissance was extremely important as it laid the foundation for the age of exploration and
eventual European Global Domination.
Some of the most famous artistic works that were produced during the renaissance

❖The Mona Lisa

❖The Last Supper

❖Statue of David

❖The Birth of Venus

 ❖The Creation of Adam
Leonardo da Vinci Michael Angelo
Who started renaissance? Why did the renaissance begin?

THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT

 The Age of Enlightenment or Reason is a time period in Western philosophy where reason and
individuality were the center. –
 The Age of Enlightenment was also influenced by the Renaissance and the Reformation.
 The Age of Enlightenment happened in most of Europe, but the focal point of the essential age
would be in France and England.
🔰In England 1651 Thomas Hobbes published his most famous book Leviathan.
🔰John Locke, another English philosopher, favored Constitutional
🔰 Baron de Montesquieu completely disagreed with the English philosophers. He believed that
the Government should be divided into three separate branches. France and England were not the
only countries to participate in this revolution. Italy, Spain, Poland, and Russia had their fair
share of Enlightenment
THE ROMANTIC AGE
 The history of Roman literature begins around the 3rd century BC. It reached its "Golden Age"
during the rule of Augustus and the early part of the Roman Empire. The Romans wrote a lot of
poetry and history. They also wrote letters and made a lot of formal speeches.
What language did they use?
Latin was the main language used for writing during Ancient Rome.
 Greek was also a popular language because it was used by so many people in the eastern portion
of the Roman empire.
What did the Romans write on?
Important documents were written on papyrus scrolls (made from the papyrus plant in Egypt) or on
parchment (pages made from animal skin). They wrote with a metal pin that they dipped in ink.
 For more temporary day-to-day writing they used a wax tablet or thin pieces of wood. Poetry The
Poet Virgil by Unknown Perhaps the most famous type of Roman literature is poetry.

The three most famous Roman poets are Virgil, Horace, and Ovid.
• Virgil (70 BC to 19 BC) - Virgil is known for writing the epic poem the Aeneid.
• Horace (65 BC 8 BC) - Horace is known for a collection of lyric poems called the Odes.
• Ovid (43 BC to 17 AD) - Ovid's most famous work was the epic Metamorphoses
THE AGE OF REALISM, NATURALISM, AND SYMBOLISM
CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE
What is contemporary literature?
 Is the modern period of literature which is started around 1950 after world war II The literature of
contemporary period not only refers to a quality style of writing but also to poetry and prose,
which includes works of fiction such as: Novels, Novellas, Essays, and Dramatic works.
 The literary era defines a time period but it also describes a particular style and quality of writing.
Characteristics

❑Reality-based stories

❑Believable story-line, sometimes portraying a harsher reality or degradation of society.

❑Current, modern setting

Well-defined, realistic, highly developed and strong characters
❑Well-structured “more character driven than plot driven”

Genres of contemporary literature

 Genres of the period and topics that were written about in literature were largely influenced by
the historical events which were taking place at the current line.
 Genres of this time included novels, slam poetry. Flash fiction, short stories, slam poetry, plays,
memoirs, and autobiographies were
Book to movie adaptation
Because the contemporary era also deals with current time and increasingly popular trend in media today
is book-to-movie-adaptations.

LITERATURE AROUND EUROPE

Italian literature -the body of written work produced in the Italian language that had its beginnings in
the 13th century. -It was predominantly practical in nature and produced by writers trained in
ecclesiastical schools.
The influence of France -French prose and verse romances were popular in Italy from the 12th century to
the 14th century.
French lit
-the body of written works in the French language produced within the geographic and political
boundaries of France. France language was one of the five major Romance language.
Scandinavian literature also called Nordic literature, -Scandinavian literature traditionally consists of
works in modern Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Danish, and Faroese, all members of the North
Germanic group of languages.
British literature
• British literature refers to literature associated with the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Channel
Islands. This includes literatures from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Written in English
language
Best Italian literature
• the leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
• the Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio
• The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
Best French literature
• Madame Bovary
• Bel-Ami
• Tartuffe
• The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
British literature
• British literature refers to literature associated with the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Channel
Islands. This includes literatures from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. • Written in
English language
Best Scandinavian literature
 The girl who played the dragon tattoo by Stieg Larsson
 Pippi goes on board by Astrid Lindgren
 The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Anderson
 The Poetic Edda by Snorrie Sturluson
 The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Best british literature
•Beowulf
•Romeo and Juliet
•Macbeth
•Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone
•Dracula