FRENCH LITERATURE

 Considered one of the greatest literatures of all time.

 Pierre Corneille – wrote “The Cid” (a conflict between Duty and Passion).
 Victor Hugo – the representative of the romantic credo, evocated medieval Parisian life, seen in his
work “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”; famous for his play “Les Miserables”
 Honore de Balzac – introduced Realism in the latter part of the century through his work “Human
Comedy”.

ITALIAN LITERATURE
 It is characterized by fidelity to tradition, respect for style, and concern for political and social queries.
 Dante Alighieri – wrote the “Divine Comedy” (considered the greatest poem of the middle ages)
 Petrarch – wrote sonnets (Petrarchan sonnets); wrote “Canzonierre” (the song book)
 Giovanni Boccaccio – wrote “Decameron”; the Italian counterpart of Geoffrey Chaucer
 Nicolo Machiavelli – author of “The Prince’ which was a unique political work that examined the real
from the ideal.

GERMAN LITERATURE
 Nibelungenlied – was considered the greatest German epic
 Gotthold Lessing – wrote “Minna Von Barnhelm” (the best German comedy)

RUSSIAN LITERATURE
 Leo Tolstoy – wrote “Anna Karenina” and “War and Peace”
 Anton Chekhov – Russia’s greatest dramatist; works include : “Uncle Vanya”, “The Three Sisters”, and
the “Cherry Orchard”

JAPANESE LITERATURE
 Famous for the “Tale of Genji” (considered as the first true novel in the world).
 Noh Drama – a restrained theatrical presentation with lyrical, poetic text recited by masked actors.
 “Kojiki” – (record of Ancient Matters) is known as the earliest surviving work in Japan.
 “Man’yoshu” – is a collection of 10,000 leaves with 4,500 poems in several forms.
 “Kana” – a syllabic writing system that suited the Japanese.

AMERICAN LITERATURE
 William Godfrey – wrote the first play “Prince of Parthia”
 William Cullen Bryant – wrote “Thanatopsis”
 Edgar Allan Poe – wrote the “Annabel Lee”
 Mark Twain – wrote “Tom Sawyer”

ENGLISH LITERATURE
 Geoffrey Chaucer – wrote the Canterbury Tales
 Christopher Marlowe – composed “Tamburlaine the Great” (a poetic historical melodrama); he also
wrote “Doctor Fausto”
 William Shakespeare – he wrote “Julius Caesar”, “Romeo and Juliet”, “The Merchant of Venice”,
“Macbeth”
 Thomas Gray – wrote “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard”