European Literature

PART 1: DEVELOPMENT OF
EUROPEAN LITERATURE
 Europe

 conventionally one of the seven continents of the

world. Although referred to as a continent, Europe is
actually just the western fifth of the Eurasian
landmass, which is made up primarily of Asia.
 The name Europe is perhaps 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.
Countries in Europe
Development of European
Literature

ANCIENT GREEK LITERATURE

 Ancient Greek Literature

 Mythology- stories about Gods and Goddesses

have been collected by volume
 To Greeks and even Roman believed that all their activities of life
were supervised by them
 Gods and Goddesses were liked men in their everyday existence
but they had supernatural powers 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.
 12 Olympian Gods and Goddesses

 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’s 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
 12 Olympian Gods and Goddesses

 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’s Messenger
 Ares- The God of War, son of Zeus and Hera
 Hephaestus- God of fire, Blacksmith of the gods
 Hestia- Zeus’s sister, Goddess of Hearth, Guardian of
the home
 Literature in Greek

 Lyric poetry
 It was originally sung by individuals or a chorus accompanied
by the instrument called the lyre.
 Develop in a more republican form of government when each
individual could express one’s personal aims and wishes, and
all the depths of human emotions were unlocked by the
inspiration of the poets
 Literature in Greek

 Greek Drama
 Great literary innovations in drama were produced in Athens
in the 5th century BC.
 They based their plays on myths that presented moral issues,
especially the danger of hubris (arrogant overconfidence).
Their plots often involved fierce conflicts in families or
dangerous interactions between gods and humans.
 Comedies also were performed in these competitions. These
plays displayed remarkable freedom of speech in criticizing
public policy and making fun of politicians. Their plots could
be fantastic, for example having a character fly up on a dung
beetle to ask the gods for peace. Their language featured jokes,
puns, and obscenities.
Development of European
Literature

DARK AGES & MIDDLE AGES/MEDIEVAL

LITERATURE
 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 which, 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. A hero
remains an individual although he rises above the average human
stature; but a hero becomes an epic hero when he represents
something greater than himself- a nation, a race, a faith.
 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
 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 abstractation; two main
themes of religious moralities are the struggle
between good and evil powers for man’s soul and
journey or pilgrimage of life.
Development of European
Literature

1 9 TH C E N T U R Y : A G E O F R E A L I S M ,
NATURALISM AND SYMBOLISM
 Realism

 An attempt to describe human behavior and

surroundings or to represent figures and objects
exactly as they act or appear in life.
 Concerned with the faithful representation of life,
which frequently lacks form, the realists tended to
downplay plot in favor of character and to
concentrate on middle-class life and preoccupations,
avoiding larger, more dramatic issues.
 Naturalism

 Theory that literary composition should be based on

an objective, empirical presentation of human
beings. It differs from realism in adding an amoral
attitude to the objective presentation of life.
 Naturalistic writers regard human behavior as
controlled by instinct, emotion, or social and
economic conditions, and reject free will, adopting
instead, in large measure, the biological determinism
of Charles Darwin and the economic determinism of
Karl Marx.
 Symbolism

 An aesthetic movement that encouraged writers to

express their ideas, feelings, and values by means
of symbols or suggestions rather than by direct
statements.
Age of Realism, Naturalism and Symbolism

 Literature become more concerned with political and

social ideas
 Only Russia were able to produced a worthy
literature in the 19th century
 The period from 1820 to 1883 was often referred as the Golden
Age of Russian Literature
 Great writers of realistic friction (Leo Tolstoy, Nikolai Gogol,
and Ivan Turgenev) bought something new to world literature:
a candid realism combined with extreme sensitiveness,
awareness of the pangs of human heart and aspiration towards
highest ideals”
Development of European
Literature

2 0 TH C E N T U R Y : C O N T E M P O R A R Y
LITERATURE
 Introduction

 Rapid advance in science and technology, two destructive

world war and even more disastrous upheavals have
given people in the 20th century times of uncertainty
 Most 20th century writers have done away with lengthy
description. Their work display symbolism which means
that the real meaning of a story is contained not in the
literal comprehension but in what the plot and the
characters stand for.
 Poetry

 Poets in this period want to show life honestly and truthfully.

They are concerned not only in the relation between
humankind and the environment, but also with the motives
and inner conflict of the individual.
 Despite in the emphasis on realism, romantic elements have
persisted
 In the early part of the century the use of symbols was an
important characteristics of poetry, as a search for reality
behind the happening in the everyday world as perceived
through the sense ( poetry becomes suggestive)
 Also it breaks away the traditional way of writing poetry
 Non-fiction

 Most European writers of the contemporary period are not

concerned with amusing or entertaining the readers, rather
they are more concerned in convincing or instructing, so that,
writers interpret facts to the readers.
 Surrealism artistic and literary movement that explored and
celebrated the realm of dreams and the unconscious mind
through the creation of visual art, poetry, and motion pictures
 AN IMPORTANT characteristics of major non-fiction works of
the period was an “increasing sense of crisis and urgency,
doubts as to the faith in psychological stability of the
individual personality, and the deep questioning of all
philosophical or religious solutions to human problems”
 Fiction

 Works of fiction writers reflected an interest in the

unconscious and the irrationality
 As the century progress, the printed words is seems to be
displaced by a visual and aural electronic culture.
 Traditional form of writing tends to dissolve into one another.
 Drama

 First half of the 20th century, writers focused on the common

person’s struggle to gain equality and social justice. Thus, many
plays of social protest were produced
 Second half of 20th century, there are trend toward questioning the
purpose and meaning of existence itself.
 Two favourite themes of the play today
 Loveliness of individuals and their inability to express their
deepest emotion
 Search for a direction which will give individuals the dignity and
self-respect they need
 Playwrights of the period write about the dilemmas of humankind
in tones sometimes bitter, sometimes mocking and sarcastic,
sometimes angry.