European and Scandinavian Literature

Man and Woman

Author’s background
Victor-Marie Hugo was a Romantic movement writer. Best known in America as the author of Les
Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. He also produced more than 4,000 drawings.

Literary Background
“Man and Woman” (The L’ Homme et la Femme) was one of Hugo’s poems during the 19th century. He wrote
this for an attempt to unravel the enigma inside us which explores the dualities of life and love, since he was raised and
did embraced the great eternal human question of earthly love and its contradictions witnessed by him during the political
upheaval in France
 The Necklace

Author’s Background
Henri Rene Albert Guy de Maupassant was born on August 5, 1850. He was a Naturalist and Realist French
novelist, writer and poet. He was known to be one of the fathers of modern short story during the 19th century. He was the
first son of Laure Le Poittevin and Gustave de Maupassant who both belong to a prosperous bourgeois family, but got
legally separated. His good scholar indulging in poetry and interest fascinated by the discipline of psychiatry empower his
fiction
Literary Background
“The necklace” is a short story written by Guy and was initially published in 1884 in the French newspaper. It
was known for its finest surprise-denouement. It was one of Maupassant’s short stories that gave him recognition as a
master of the genre. This story features a couple who suffered misery because of an expensive jewelry.
 There is a Gentle Thought

Author’s Background
Dante Alighieri was a major Italian poet, prose, writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher and political thinker of
the Middle ages. He was born in 1265 in Florence, Italy and died at the age of 56 on September 14, 1321. He became
known with his epic poem Commedia (Divine Comedy) Alighieri was called the father of the Italian language
Literary Background
There is a Gentle Thought is one of Dante’s love/ romantic poems written during the Romantic Era of 19 th century.
This poem consisted of 14 lines and features the power of love.