https://www.definitions.

net/definition/world+literature

World literature

World literature is sometimes used to refer to the sum total of the world’s national literatures, but
usually it refers to the circulation of works into the wider world beyond their country of origin.
Often used in the past primarily for masterpieces of Western European literature, world literature
today is increasingly seen in global context. Readers today have access to an unprecedented
range of works from around the world in excellent translations, and since the mid-1990s a lively
debate has grown up concerning both the aesthetic and the political values and limitations of an
emphasis on global processes over national traditions.

https://ozzz.org/world-literature/

What is world literature?

World literature is the totality of all national literatures. The formation of literature in different
countries happened not at the same time, which is connected with the emergence of writing and
artistic creativity.

Each nation`s literature has its own artistic and national features. World literature is very
important for the studying, still the literature of one country develops together with other
national literatures. They enrich each other borrowing certain literary elements. There are a lot of
scientific works on world literature, which explain the peculiarities of this phenomenon. As a
concept, world literature emerged only in the 19th century when the literary connections of
different countries had spread and strengthened.

The term “world literature” was introduced by Jogann Wolfgang von Goethe. He used the word
“Weltliteratur” in 1827. Goethe studied the characteristic features and interrelationships of
different national literatures, the tendencies of their development and their achievements. He
studied the works of famous writers which presented different literary phenomena of different
historic periods.

He claimed that literature shouldn`t be restrained by national boundaries. In 1894 the world saw
the first book about world literature – “The history of world literature”. The world literature
emerged because of the development of global economic and cultural relations. This global
literary process was also caused by the rapid development of national literatures. In the history of
world literature we define several stages of its development such as the literature of Bronze Age,
Classical literature, Early Medieval literature, Medieval Literature, Early Modern and Modern
literature.

World literature is the cultural heritage of all humanity. It is essential to study world literature as
it helps us understand the life of different people from all over the world, forms our world-
outlook and acquaints us with the masterpieces of literature.

Is it difficult to write in world literature?

Those students who study world literature can be definitely asked to accomplish different
academic writing assignments. Academic writing in world literature helps teachers develop
students` critical thinking and it is also a wonderful method of assessment. It can be not an easy
task as there are a lot of writing conventions which are not easy to follow. Moreover, reading a
lot of literature, some students can still lack in important writing skills.

In case you are in a difficult situation and you don`t know what to do with your academic paper
on world literature you can get the professional help contacting the custom writing service. The
professional authors who specialize in the literature will definitely help you get rid of your
writing complexities and make your work high quality and perfect.

Lesson Transcript

Instructor: Jason Lineberger, J. (2019). Defining World Literature. Retrieved from

https://study.com/academy/lesson/world-literature-major-authors-works.html

Jason has 20 years of education experience including 14 years of teaching college literature.

World literature is writing that goes beyond borders to touch readers worldwide. This lesson will
define world literature and give five examples of books that have had a lasting influence.

Defining World Literature

Before we get into the major authors and works of world literature, we have to figure out what
that term, 'world literature', even means. The first world literature course I taught in the mid-90s
defined it as 'major literary works that were translated into English'. As if the English-speaking
countries weren't part of the world!

I'd like to propose a better definition because there has to be a difference between a great book
from Nigeria and a masterpiece of world literature like Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart.
The first example might better be called 'national literature'. It's popular within a nation, but it
doesn't make waves beyond the borders of Nigeria. Achebe's novel not only has relevance to
Nigerians, but it has also stirred thought across the globe. That's world literature, writing that
circulates widely beyond the borders of its country of origin.

The Nobel Institute polled writers around the world to create a list of the top 100 essential
selections of world literature. Many of the books on the list are ones of historical or religious
significance, as those are some of the most likely to spread beyond the borders of a country.
Others have shaped the course of literature. For instance, even though Shakespeare wrote Hamlet
around 500 years ago, modern movie and television writers can't stay away from this tried-and-
true story of murder and betrayal. The same is true for the Greek classic Oedipus, a play about a
man and his failed attempts to break away from fate.

To give you a taste for the great, influential works of world literature, here are five books that
have had a huge impact beyond their country's borders.

Don Quixote

Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes. This Spanish book from the early 1600s may be the
greatest book ever written. When the writers from around the world were polled for the book list,
Don Quixote got more votes than any other choice. The title character goes on a series of
adventures that include fat doses of romance, comedy, and conflict. In fact, for a book that's over
400 years old, it has a complexity and a range of issues that still speak to modern readers. This
text deals with gender issues, morality, the class divide, and what it means to be a hero. That
sounds like a list of contemporary topics! The fact that this book deals with so many important
themes is one reason it has grown beyond the borders of Spain.

The Odyssey
The next book on our short list is The Odyssey by Homer. The Odyssey isn't actually a work of
prose; it's an epic poem, one really long narrative poem about a hero. This one dates all the way
back to the 8th century B.C.E. and it's not only a great adventure story, it's part of the first one
ever written down.

When thinking of the canon, the body of literature that is generally considered to be great, there
are a few ways a book can get accepted as part of that selective group. In the case of Don
Quixote, one reason it's in the canon of world literature is that it deals with so many timeless
themes.

Another reason for something to make it into the canon is historical significance. The Odyssey
certainly has that. But it also pushes readers to consider the nature of humanity, divinity, beauty,
pride, and it even takes a deep look at manners. The third reason for a book to make it to the
canon is exceptional writing and The Odyssey cleans

eNotessearch

Search for any book or any question

Search

HOMEWORK HELP > LITERATURE

Importance Of Studying Literature

Why is the study of literature important? What skills do students learn through reading literature?

Why is the study of literature important? What skills do students learn through reading literature?
What is gained from reading literature and evaluating it?

print Print document PDF list Cite

Quick Answer

https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/why-study-literature-important-what-skills-do-408329
When we study literature, our horizons are broadened, because we can learn about and come to
understand people who are different from us. Conversely, we might discover characters or poems
that we really identify with—it can be really exciting and validating to discover that your exact
thoughts and feelings have also been experienced by someone else. Because of these effects,
literature encourages us to be sensitive to the whole spectrum of human experience and to
consider this when making decisions in our day-to-day lives. Academically, studying literature
also helps us to refine our own writing skills and expand our vocabularies.

rowseNotessearch

Search for any book or any question

Search

HOMEWORK HELP > LITERATURE

Importance Of Studying Literature

Why is the study of literature important? What skills do students learn through reading literature?

Why is the study of literature important? What skills do students learn through reading literature?
What is gained from reading literature and evaluating it?

print Print document PDF list Cite

Quick Answer

When we study literature, our horizons are broadened, because we can learn about and come to
understand people who are different from us. Conversely, we might discover characters or poems
that we really identify with—it can be really exciting and validating to discover that your exact
thoughts and feelings have also been experienced by someone else. Because of these effects,
literature encourages us to be sensitive to the whole spectrum of human experience and to
consider this when making decisions in our day-to-day lives. Academically, studying literature
also helps us to refine our own writing skills and expand our vocabularies.
Expert Answers info

William Delaney eNotes educator

| Certified Educator

The study of literature has a civilizing effect on people. There is an extreme danger of education
being used primarily to turn out engineers, lawyers, doctors, accountants, business men and
business women and other professionals who are lacking in human feelings and who have been
described as educated barbarians. The great Leo Tolstoy wrote a sadly neglected book titled
What is Art in which he explained, among other things, the importance of all art to human
society. Here is a critical excerpt which might induce some readers to look for the book itself.
(See reference link below.)

As, thanks to man's capacity to express thoughts by words, every man may know all that has
been done for him in the realms of thought by all humanity before his day, and can in the
present, thanks to this capacity to understand the thoughts of others, become a sharer in their
activity and can himself hand on to his contemporaries and descendants the thoughts he has
assimilated from others, as well as those which have arisen within himself; so, thanks to man's
capacity to be infected with the feelings of others by means of art, all that is being lived through
by his contemporaries is accessible to him, as well as the feelings experienced by men thousands
of years ago, and he has also the possibility of transmitting his own feelings to others.

If people lacked this capacity to receive the thoughts conceived by the men who preceded them
and to pass on to others their own thoughts, men would be like wild beasts, or like Kaspar
Hauser.

And if men lacked this other capacity of being infected by art, people might be almost more
savage still, and, above all, more separated from, and more hostile to, one another.

And therefore the activity of art is a most important one, as important as the activity of speech
itself and as generally diffused.
A lot of what is offered as art in our modern world is what Tolstoy called "counterfeit art." It is
totally insincere and produced mainly for money. Some of the characteristics of counterfeit art
are imitation, and striking and unusual effects. In popular music it can be seen that amplified
noise and screaming are substitutes for genuine feeling. Much modern painting looks like
nothing more than blatant hoaxes.

Exposure to genuine art in school could conceivably help students to discriminate between real
and counterfeit art, includinig real and counterfeit creative literature. If young people do not get
such exposure in school--where are they going to get it when they leave school?

https://www.reference.com/art-literature/importance-world-literature-4eab59804b6f7230

What Is the Importance of World Literature?

World literature is a way of communicating and preserving important details of culture,

traditions and attitudes. Literature is comprised of language, and language is a form of
communication.

The act of writing is also an act of communication. Language is not fixed. Its meaning changes
based on how members of respective cultures interpret it, and this meaning also shifts over time.
World literature is a way of collecting those ideas in a way that reflects a specific group of
people at a certain time in history.

Since literature is reflective of predominant political and philosophical principles of the time in
which it is written, world literature is also a historical reflection of the evolution of world culture.
It is a snapshot of a region within a given time. This knowledge is not only used by societies to
improve their dialogues with each other but also to understand the struggles and priorities of
those who are different and how those struggles affect others.

World literature is sometimes presented as a statement of demands or as a critique of a society.

In such cases, authors attempt to call for change by reaching widespread numbers of people and
by using language to persuade them to join a cause.

World literature is a way of communicating and preserving important details of culture,

traditions and attitudes. Literature is comprised of language, and language is a form of
communication.
The act of writing is also an act of communication. Language is not fixed. Its meaning changes
based on how members of respective cultures interpret it, and this meaning also shifts over time.
World literature is a way of collecting those ideas in a way that reflects a specific group of
people at a certain time in history.

Since literature is reflective of predominant political and philosophical principles of the time in
which it is written, world literature is also a historical reflection of the evolution of world culture.
It is a snapshot of a region within a given time. This knowledge is not only used by societies to
improve their dialogues with each other but also to understand the struggles and priorities of
those who are different and how those struggles affect others.

World literature is sometimes presented as a statement of demands or as a critique of a society.

In such cases, authors attempt to call for change by reaching widespread numbers of people and
by using language to persuade them to join a cause.