Europe and European Literature

Unlocking of Difficulties
Sonnet - A sonnet is a one-stanza, 14-line poem, written in iambic pentameter. The sonnet,
which derived from the Italian word sonetto, meaning “a little sound or song," is "a popular
classical form that has compelled poets for centuries."

Introduction
Advancement in Technology has always been the hallmark of the 21st century. It has
made a big impact on people especially on lifestyle. One of the many things technology has
benefited us is through having information and communication easier and convenient. In our
present generation, people especially the youth, is so obsessed in using gadgets.
That is why, it is undeniable to say, that the use of gadgets in this modern age has become
a way of life. It is needed in everyday lifestyle and helps us a lot in making things easier and
faster. As we become addicted in this devices, we sometimes forget to live in the moment and
just focus on things that are virtual. The poem that you will be reading is a poem written by Irish
writer Eavan Boland.

Learn about it!

European Literature, also called Western Literature, refers to literature in the Indo-European
languages including Latin, Greek, the Romance languages, and Russian. It is considered as the
largest body of literature in the world.
European literature refers to the literature of Europe. European literature includes literature in
many languages; among the most important of the modern written works are those in English,
Spanish, French, Dutch, Polish, Ukrainian, German, Italian, Modern Greek, Czech, Russian,
Bosnian, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish and Irish.

Important classical and medieval traditions are those in Latin, Old and Middle English, Ancient
Greek, Old Norse, Medieval French and Medieval Italian.

In colloquial speech, European literature is often used as a synonym for Western literature.

European literature is a part of world literature.

Western literature, also known as European literature, is the literature written in the
context of Western culture in the languages of Europe, as well as several geographically
or historically related languages such as Basque and Hungarian, and is shaped by the
periods in which they were conceived, with each period
An Outline History of English Literature
Here is a detailed outline of the History of English Literature from its beginning from the
Classical Period to the Post-Modern Age:
Major Periods Highlights
The Classical Period Homeric or Heroic Period (1200-800 BCE)
(1200 BCE-455 BCE) Classical Greek Period (800-200 BCE)
Classical Roman Period (200 BCE-455 BCE)
Patristic Period (c.70 CE-455 CE)
The Medieval Period The Old English (Anglo-Saxon) Period
(455 CE-1485 CE) (423-1066 CE)
The Middle English Period (c.1066-1450 CE)
The Renaissance and Reformation Early Tudor Period (1485-1558)
(1485-1660 CE) Elizabethan Period (1558-1603)
Jacobean Period(1603-1625)
Caroline Age (1625-1649)
Commonwealth Period/
Puritan Interregnum(1649-1660)
The Enlightenment (Neoclassical) Period Restoration Period (1660-1700)
(1660-1790 CE) The Augustan Age (1700-1750)
The Age of Johnson (1750-1790)
The Romantic Period Romantic poets & Gothic writings
(1790-1830 CE)
The Victorian Period and the 19th Century Sentimental Novels & Intellectual
(1832-1901 CE) Movements
like Aestheticism and the Decadence.
The Modern Period Modernist Writers, Realism, etc.
(1914-1945 CE)
The Postmodern Period (1945 – onward) Metafiction, Multiculturalism, Magic Poetry,
etc.

The Divisions of European Literature

Old English Literature(Medieval Period): 5th-14th Century

The history of English Literature starts with the Germanic tradition of Anglo-Saxon
settlers which were around 5th to 11th century AD and the first long narrative poems in the
history of English Literature were Beowulf and Widsith. These two were highly narrative poems
of this early period of the history of English Literature. Beowulf is be considered as the first
English Epic poem and some of the other famous works produced during the Old English
Literature include, Genesis, Exodus, The Wanderer, Wife’s lament, Husband’s message, The
battle of Maldon etc. Earlier, to understand the temperament of readers, writers would make use
of alteration rather than a rhyming scheme. Moreover, some of the famous writers of old English
literature were Cynewulf and Caedmon.

Middle English Period (Medieval English Literature): 14th

to 15th Century
Also referred to as the Later Middle English Literary Period, the Medieval English Literature
comprises of a diverse range of works as the population of England during this time was literate
and a considerable portion was also bilingual and trilingual. Geoffrey Chaucer is amongst the
highly regarded poets within the period of 1342 to 1400 and was renowned for his courtly love
poetry including the famous “Canterbury Tales” though it was left incomplete; “The House of
Fame”, and ‘The Book of the Duchess’. He became one of the core political servants in
Britains’s court. William Langland’s famous religious works including “Piers Plowman” also
deserves a crucial mention as it represents another popular genre of this period of English
Literature which was secular and religious prose.
During the era of Medieval English Literature, the most esteemed works also include morality
plays, miracle plays and interludes. ‘Everyman’ was a noted Morality play of the time and
Miracle plays were taken from the Bible and were frequently performed in churches.

Renaissance Literature
The term Renaissance (rebirth or revival) is given to the historical period in Europe that
succeeded the Middle Ages. This period marked the reawakening of a new spirit of intellectual
and artistic inquiry, which was the dominant feature of this political, religious, and philosophical
phenomenon, was essentially a revival of the spirit of ancient Greece and Rome.

In literature this meant a new interest in and analysis of the great classical writers. Scholars
searched for and translated lost ancient texts, whose dissemination was much helped by
developments in printing in Europe from about 1450. Written short stories, novella and tales
were born in this period.

Elizabethan Age a.k.a. The Golden Age of English

Literature: 16th Century to Early 17th Century)
Bringing a distinctive paradigm shift in the history of English Literature, the Elizabethan Age
represents the brilliant century of all the periods and is also known as the Golden Age. Sir
Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard (Earl of Surrey) has a massive contribution to this age.
Thomas introduced Sonnets to Great Britain and the Earl of Surrey brought the use of blank
verse which was later utilised by celebrated Elizabethan writers like Shakespeare, Christopher
Marlow, John Milton, to name a few. ‘Tottel’s Miscellany’ is considered as the first printed book
amongst the different poetry works of this period.
The Golden Age in the history of English Literature brought a gallery of authors of genius and
literary masterpieces. It was a dynamic age filled with intellectual and religious revolutions and
upheavals. As the new humanism surged, there were many significant works like Sir Thomas
Hoby’s Castiglione and Sir Thomas North’s Plutarch. Edmund Spenser is another prolific names
in Golden age who is also known as the poet’s poet. His famous poem in 1579, ‘The
Shapaheardes Calander’ under 89 sonnets got highly popular. Sir Philip Sidney’s ‘Archadia’,
‘Michel Drayton’, ‘Sir Walter Raleigh’, ‘Ben Johnson’ are some of the important names in the
medieval English literature. There was a famous group in the Golden age which was known as
the ‘University Wits.’ This group would include noted alumni writers from the University of
Cambridge and University of Oxford. John Lyly, Christopher Marlow, Thomas Nashe, George
Peele were some of the celebrated names under this group.
John Donne also played a greater role in metaphysical poetry and beautiful sonnets of the
Elizabethan age. Sir Francis Bacon popularized the scientific method of analysis and wrote many
intellectual and analytical essays in this period. Moreover, Literary Dramas have a crucial role to
play in making this age Golden. The first comedy play under this age was ‘Ralph Roister
Doister’ by Nicholas Udall. From ‘Hamlet’, ‘King Lear’, ‘Othello’ and ‘Julius Ceasar’ to ‘A
Midsummer Night’s Dream’, ‘As You Like It’ and ‘Romeo and Juliet’, William Shakespeare
contributed many historical dramas and tragedies as well as romantic plays and comedies to the
Golden Age. Notable writers of the Elizabethan era also include John Milton, John Webster,
Thomas Kyd, George Peele, Ben Jonson, amongst others.

Restoration Age (17th-18th Century)

Another revolutionary change in the history of English literature was brought forward by
the Restoration Age which immensely reflected the political conflict of the late 17th century.
John Dryden emerged as one of the prominent literary figures of this age. He wrote a famous
heroic poem, ‘Astra Radix’ and was also known for ‘Mac Flecknoe’. To attack his
contemporaries, he wrote mock poems and wrote ‘essay on criticism’ Oliver Goldsmith’s The
traveller and the deserted village was highly popular in this era. Another prominent writer for
the Restoration Literature was John Milton, a well-known controversialist who wrote the famous
Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes. Thomas Gray, William Blake, Robert
Burns are unavoidable names whose literary work has been highly acclaimed. The eminent
philosopher of this era was John Locke who wrote many essays like ‘The Essay Concerning
Human Understanding’ and most of his works delved deeper into the unravelling the workings of
the civil society as well as debate and explorations on the human intelligence.

The 18th Century English Literature

Concluding the Restoration period of the history of English Literature, the 18th century
witnessed the publication of political literature as well as the advent of novels. Robert Harley,
Daniel Defoe and Jonathan Swift were amongst the major political writers of this era. During
the mid 18th and late 18th century, novels were introduced in the world. Daniel Defoe
experimented with the prose narrative and wrote a novel called ‘Robinson Crusoe’. He was one
of the esteemed and prominent writers to introduce novel writing to the literary world. In prose
writing, Richard Steel and Jonathan Swift are also some of the popular names in prose writing as
they were renowned for their satirical style of writing.
The Romantic Period: From 19th Century
The Romantic age of the history of English literature experimented with the earlier forms
of poetry and brought many interesting genres of prose fiction. The key feature of the poetry of
this period was the emphasis laid on individual thought and personal feeling. William Blake,
William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge were the brilliant poetry geniuses of this era
as they curated glorious works rooted in nature, love, romance as well as contemporary thought.
The later Romantics were Shelley, Keats and Byron who carried on the legacy in the 20th
century. The novels of this era were written as a form of entertainment to the now literate public
and were a stern commentary on many prominent events such as the French Revolution. The
Gothic novel is an important invention in prose fiction and some of its prominent writers were
Horace Walpole, Matthew Lewis, Ann Radcliffe and Mary Shelley. On the other hand, Jane
Austen stood by the conservation form of prose fiction through popular romantic novels like
Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Persuasion, Northanger Abbey, to name a few.

20th Century Literature

After the end of the victorian age, the modern history of English literature began with the
beginning of the 20th century. Rudyard Kipling is considered as one of the greatest writers in
this century. He was born in India and then moved to Lahore and was a supporter of
colonization. His main works include Kim, Life’s handicap, apart from the significant book ‘the
Jungle Book’. Some prominent contributions to the 20th-century literature were EM Foster’s ‘A
Passage to India’, H.G Wells, The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, First Man on the Moon’
etc.
D.H Lawrance has the greatest contribution to this century. James Joyce, Virginia Woolf,
George Orwell, William Golding, John Galsworthy, George Bernard Shaw, Harold Pinter, T.S
Elliot are some of the prolific names which were popular for their 20th-century dramas. In poetry
literature of the 20th century, William Butler Yeats, T.S Eliot, W.H Auden, Thomas Hardy, G.M
Hopkins, Dylan Thomas, are some of the resounding names of poetry landscape in this era of the
history of English literature. Some of the prolific war poets include Rupert Brooke, Siegfried
Sassoon & Wilfred Owen.

Representative Text and Authors from other

European Countries
Country Author Text
England Lord Alfred Tennyson Charge the Light Brigade
J.K. Rowling Harry Potter
John Bunyan Pilgrim’s Progress
William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet
Geoffrey Chaucer Book of the Dutches
France Alexander Dumas The Count of Monte Cristo
 Ezza Agha Malak Qu’as-tu fait de tes mōmes,
Papa ?
Victor Marie Hugo Les Misèrables
Michael Praust In Search of Lost Time
Voltaire The Maids of Orleans
Guy de Maupassat Bel - Ami
Greece Homer Iliad and Odyssey
Sophocles Electra
Odysseas Alepoudellis The Elegies of Oxopetra
Aeschylus Oresteia
Rome Publius Vergilius Maro Aenied
(Virgil)
Dante Alighieri (Dante) Divine Comedy
Ovid Metamorphosis
Andrea Bajani Ogni Promessa (2010)
Alessandro Baricco Senza sangu,; Without Blood,
2002
Russia Count Lev Nikolayevich The Death of Ivan Ilyich
Tolstoy (Leo Tolstoy)
Lyudmila Evgenyevna The People of our Tsar, 2005
Ulitskaya
Vladimir Vladimirovich The War and the World
Mayakovsky (1917)
Sweden Väinö Linna The Unknown Soldier, 1954
Eyvind Johnson The Days of His Grace,1960

Atlantis—A Lost Sonnet

Eavan Boland/ Ireland

How on earth did it happen, I used to wonder

that a whole city—arches, pillars, colonnades,
not to mention vehicles and animals—had all
one fine day gone under?

I mean, I said to myself, the world was small then.

Surely a great city must have been missed?
I miss our old city —
white pepper, white pudding, you and I meeting
under fanlights and low skies to go home in it. Maybe
what really happened is

this: the old fable-makers searched hard for a word

to convey that what is gone is gone forever and
never found it. And so, in the best traditions of
where we come from, they gave their sorrow a name
and drowned it.

Poem Analysis
In the first stanza, the narrator begins the poem by asking herself how an entire city could just
disappear. How could an entire city, animals, cars, and buildings, just melt into the ocean--never
to be seen again?
In the second stanza, the narrator again, asks how a whole city could suddenly disappear. She
reminded herself that way back when, the world seemed "smaller", so surely a huge city
disappearing would be a big deal! The narrator then flashes back to her old city where she grew
up.
In the third stanza, the speaker thinks back to her hometown, with the amazing food and
boardwalks, and having friends to go home to. Then the narrator makes a guess about really
happened to Atlantis.
In the fourth stanza, the narrator tells herself that it would be impossible for an entire city to be
lost. Then she guesses that maybe, Atlantis is just a symbol that people made up to describe the
feeling of losing something, and never getting it back.
In the fifth and final stanza, the narrator convinces herself that Atlantis is just a metaphor, used
to give emotions a name and a reason-not an actual city.

Summary
European Literature refers to literatures in the Indo-European languages. It is considered as the
largest body of literature in the world.
Quiz!
1. Which period of European literature came first?
- The first historical period of English Literature is the Old English Period or The Anglo-Saxon
Period (450-1066).
2. Who is the Author of the Harry Potter?
- J.K. Rowling
3.
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10.