21st Century Literature Reviewer

EUROPEAN LITERATURE

 Conventionally one of the seven continents of the world. Europe is actually just
the western fifth of the Eurasian landmass, which is made up primarily of Asia.
 Europe is derived from that of Europa, the daughter of Phoenix in Greek
mythology, or possibly from Ereb, a Phoenician word for “sunset”.
 Europe has long been a center of great cultural and economic achievement.

DEVELOPMENT OF EUROPEAN LITERATURE (TIMELINE)

ANCIENT GREEK LITERATURE

 Four historical Periods of Ancient Greek

 Classical (900 to 323 BC) – birth of original works. Main literary types were
developed to express the needs and ideals of the communities of which the
writer was a member.
 Hellenistic (323 BC to 146 BC) – cosmopolitan period, literature was developed
and written for the entertainment or scientific instruction of a small educated
group.
 Greco-Roman (146 BC to 395 AD) – Roman conquered Greece and ruled it for
600 years. Writers turned to the classical past to create a stylish renaissance
letter. Pagan literature gave way to Christian literature.
 Byzantine Period (395 to 1453 AD) – period when Constantine I rebuilt
Byzantism and renamed it Constantinople. It became the center of Orthodox
Christianity; the religious poetry became the most prominent literature.

MYTHOLOGY – stories about Gods and Goddesses have been collected by volume.
Gods and Goddesses were like men in their everyday existence but
they had a supernatural power and were immortal.
GREEK MYTHOLOGY – set of diverse traditional tales told by the ancient Greeks
about the exploits of gods and heroes and their relations with ordinary
mortals.

MT. OLYMPUS – home of Gods. Built by Hephaestus. The entrance was through the
gate of clouds, protected by the goddesses known as the Seasons.

Zeus – Lord of the sky, the rain God and the Cloud-gatherer.

Hera – protector of marriage and married women.

Poseidon – ruler of the sea, Zeus’ brother.

Hades – third brother of Zeus, ruler of the dead.

Pallas Athena – daughter of Zeus alone, the Goddess of the City, protector of civilized
life, of handicrafts and agriculture.

Phoebus Apollo – God of truth and God of light.

Artemis – Apollo’s twin sister, lady of wild things, huntsman-in-chief to the gods.

Aphrodite – Goddess of lone and beauty, laughter-loving Gods.

Hermes – Zeus’ messenger.

Ares – the god of War, son of Zeus and Hera.

Hephaestus – God of fire, blacksmith of the gods.

Hestia – Zeus’ sister, the Goddess of Hearth, Guardian of the home.

ANCIENT ROMAN LITERATURE

 A great metropolis with a million or more inhabitants, magnificent buildings and

comfortable roads.
 There is predominance of satire in Roman Literature. Its purpose is to attack evils
in the society of Rome. It flourished in Rome when social conditions were poor and
Roman morals were low.
 The literature of the period praised the glories of Rome and Italians countryside.
(Aeneid – serves to glorify the state)
 The greatest virtue in the Roman republic was obedience to call of duty. For
Romans, business was foremost and the mission to be accomplished had no room
for pleasure and delight.

DARK AGES & MIDDLE AGES / MEDIEVAL LITERATURE

 As the Western Roman Empire became weakened the ills within it, barbaric tribes
swarmed into it. This long year after the end of the western Roman Empire – from
476 to 100 referred to the Dark Age.

Period of Gloom – was followed by the period middle ages, which extended from the
5th to 15th century.

 Represents the gradual but steady and laborious progress of civilization.

 Church was rising into power and authority.

EPIC – the literature of civilized Europe is believed to have begun with the epic
literature of the middle age.

 Epics are part of the oral literature and later was written down.
 Epic is inseparable from the idea of grandeur, it is inferred purely as an individual
can be the proper subject of an epic.
 They also reflect the life of and civilization of a heroic age and reveal the
influence of Christianity.

Four Major Epics in Europe:

 German – Nibelungenlied
 France – Song of Roland
 Spain – El Cid
 Italy – Divine Comedy

ROMANCE – written in prose or in poetry, which presents a remote or imaginative

incident rather than ordinary, realistic experience. The word romance was
 originally used to refer to medieval tales of deeds and love of noble knights and
ladies.

Characteristics of Romance

 Embodies the ideal of chivalry  Convey a sense of the supernatural

 Set in a remote time and place  Presents a hero engaged in pure
 Emphasize rank & social distinction adventure
 Include love as a major plot element

 Feature spontaneous, unmotivated fighting

DRAMA DURING THIS PERIOD

 Mystery Play – any biblical plays performed (usually in groups or cycles) during
the medieval period.
 Morality Play – type of medieval drama in which the characters are personified
abstraction; two main themes of religious moralities are the struggle between
good and evil powers for man’s soul and journey or pilgrimage of life.

RENAISSANCE LITEATURE

 Renaissance marked the rebirth of the human spirit. Rebirth made possible all
the great achievements of modern man – the great discoveries beyond the seas,
the new science, and the great modern literature and art.
 Major philosophical movement of renaissance was humanism which advocates
an emphasis on a group of subjects known as the humanities – languages,
literature, mathematics, history and ethics instead of the traditional scholastic
pursuit which emphasized logic, natural philosophy (science) and metaphysics.

HUMANISM - attitude that emphasize the dignity and worth of the individual. A basic
premise of humanism is that people are rational beings who possess within
themselves the capacity for truth and goodness.

The Renaissance revival of Greek and Roman studies emphasized that value of the
classics for their own sake, rather than for their relevance to Christianity.
ITALIAN HERITAGE

 Central feature was the fundamental individualism which was a direct result of the
perceived anarchy of the 13th century.
 Formerly Latin was the language preferred by writers and scholars. However, some
writer (Petrarch and Dante) choose Italian for their greatest work, thus establishing
Italian language.

FRENCH HERITAGE

Literature in France is divided into three period:

 Age of Erasmus (1500-1534) – Erasmus was a tireless editor of the texts and a
translator of voluminous writing of the church Fathers.
 Age of Rabelais (1534-1560) - Rabelais began his career as monk but soon
became a physician. His religious belief not too different from Erasmus.
Encyclopedic mind reflect enthusiasm for the new humanistic learning.
 Age of Nationalism (1560-1598) – nationalistic age of French Renaissance
literature came about because the religion unity that had characterized Western and
central Europe in the middle age vanished as Christianity was divided into Catholics
and Protestant.

Another way by which scholars divide Renaissance literature of France through its
dominant characteristics:

 First 55 years – intellectual humanism

 Remaining 50 – aesthetic humanism

Humanism to them, as burning passion for material things and for new learning together
with a love of antiquity and a rejection of superfluous dogma.