WORLD LITERATURE LITERACY

ENGL 308
Professor: Doc Anne Carillo

Coursework 1
Review and discuss the History of World Literature. Write a summary paper.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Name : RONSABLE, LEONIEL LAIS

Submission Date: January 15, 2022(Saturday: 5:40 P.M.)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Summary on History of World Literature

German writer and statesman Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was the first to use the word “world
literature” a translation of the German word Weltliteratur. He used this term to suggest the capacity of
literature to transcend national and linguistic boundaries. When he used this term, he was referring to texts
from different nation. It has already the concept of world literature meaning literacy pieces from all over
the world, however, weltliteratur, is limited because it is only focused on specific writings particularly
Sanskrit, Islamic writing, and Serbian epic poetry translation.

Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels(1848) used world literature in their book entitled “Communist
Manifesto.” It was in that book the world literature was first used by these two writers. This time, “world
literature is no longer limited to specific writings. It has now become an inclusive term which means
literary pieces from all over the world that share one common denominator—cosmopolitan appeal.
Cosmopolitan appeal is the same with universal appeal .It cuts across boundaries of time, of creed, of
culture, of gender, and of space. When these writers used the “world literature,” they were now referring it
to any writings of any nation from all over the world that possess universal appeal.

And even today, when we used the term “world literature,” that is exactly what we mean—It

is not only a collection of everything, this literature shared the cosmopolitan appeal.