University of Algiers 02 Course: Literature

Faculty of Foreign Languages Teacher in charge: Dr Z.Yousfi

Department of English Groups: 06 (2nd year)

Academic year: 2020/2021

INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE

Literature. Introduction to Literature- 2nd year English Group 06 - Dr. Z. YOUSFI

 What is Literature?

A simple simplistic definition would be: anything that’s written!

However, the term has mostly been associated with what is known as the canon
i.e. the major well acclaimed literary works.
Many elements should be present in a literary work to be considered as part of the literary
canon; such elements vary from stylistic to thematic ones.
What is certain is that literature is needful, interesting, and fun!
…
You will be convinced, eventually.

Literature. Introduction to Literature- 2nd year English Group 06 - Dr. Z. YOUSFI

 The Pre Romantic Literary Eras
Heroes and legends:
Tales of Gods and Men
From Europe to other lands
Literature. Introduction to Literature- 2nd year English Group 06 - Dr. Z. YOUSFI
Stories were orally transmitted and passed down.
The writing was mostly dedicated for historical,
mythical, spiritual and religious accounts.
The first form of literature is the Epic which is a long
narrative poem of legends; heroes and warriors and
their battles to protect people from evil forces and
enemies. Epic poems usually combine mythology and
historical adventures which seem to reflect a specific
culture in a memorable way and inform people about
the origins of a specific civilisation.
The Epic continued to thrive over time:
 The Greek Epic the Odyssey by Homer:
it establishes Greece as a great power.
 The Latin Epic Aeneid by Virgil:
it establishes Rome as a great power.
 The first complete Anglo-Saxon Epic
Beowulf by an unknown poet (Old
English Literature)
Norse Mythology had its fair share of Epic poems
such as Vǫluspá i.e. the Poetic Edda.
In the rest of Europe, nobility was entertained by
poets who revisited/told Greek and Roman myths,
narrated stories of the battles with the Moors, and the
adventures of British legends like King Arthur and
the Legends surrounding the Holy Grail.
In the East (Asia) during what is known to be the
Golden Age of Islamic Culture, the Epic Narrative
Tales of One Thousand and One Nights i.e. The
3
Arabian Nights were acclaimed for their capacity to
entertain.
Greek Drama Drama became a tradition for storytelling in Ancient
Greece. Eventually Drama developed a new art form
that brought the story to life; the art form is Theatre.
 Theatre does to Drama what Cinema does
to Novels, for Theatre translates Drama on
stage just like Cinema adapts novels on
screen.
Drama is a work intended to be acted out on stage (a
play) before an audience. We distinguish two main
genres:
 Tragedy: a play in which events move
towards a catastrophic conclusion. The
hero experiences terrible suffering and has
always a tragic flaw leading to his
downfall.
 Comedy: is a play that aims to make
people laugh and entertain them by
dealing with mundane elements of life.
They unlike tragedies, comedies use
happy endings.
Drama grew more sophisticated with time and theatre
became an integral part of different cultures.
The era was marked by the decline of the Roman
Empire (The Dark Ages)

Renaissance Renaissance is a cultural movement that spread

across Europe from Italy in the 14th century (1301-
1400).
Three of the era’s famous works are the Divine
Comedy by Italian poet Dante Alighieri, The
Decameron by Italian writer Giovanni Boccaccio, and 4
The Canterbury Tales by English poet Geoffrey
Chaucer (Middle English Literature).

Literature. Introduction to Literature- 2nd year English Group 06 - Dr. Z. YOUSFI

 It was marked by a change/a break from the medieval
attitudes to a more humanist approach and
perspective.
Humanism is an intellectual movement that revived
classical Greek and Roman philosophies focusing
more on the human rather than the divine agency i.e.
religion/church
This revival and rebirth of classical thought i.e. Greek
and Roman philosophies did not prevent innovation.
The Renaissance dominated the Elizabethan era
(Britain during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 15th-17th
century).
The dominant literary forms during the Elizabethan
Era were Poetry and Drama.
Elizabethan Poetry is known for its famous poet
Edmund Spenser who wrote:
 The Shepherd’s Calendar 1579: a Pastoral
poem (this poetic genre revolves around the
lives of shepherds).
 The Faerie Queen 1590: a poem that glorified
Queen Elizabeth.
Elizabethan Drama gave birth to English Literature
greatest names and leading figures:
 Christopher Marlowe: The Jew of Malta
 William Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet, The
Merchant of Venice, Twelfth night, Hamlet
The Renaissance succeeded to restore the position of
the church, and Rome was in power once again!

Neoclassicism It is a movement that derived from classics/classical

cultures i.e. Roman and Greek cultures and 5
philosophies.
 Neo is a prefix that refers to the modern

Literature. Introduction to Literature- 2nd year English Group 06 - Dr. Z. YOUSFI

 version of something.
 Classicism refers to classics.
 Therefore, unlike the Renaissance which
translates to rebirth of something that existed
and it is back to life again as it was before,
Neoclassicism is the new version of those
classics, they are not just reborn they are
altered while preserving some of their
traditional and original aspects.
Neoclassicism dominated the English literature from
the 17th to 18th century.
This period of time is divided into three major parts,
each part is known for its literary leading figure:
 The Restoration Era (1660-1700):
John Milton Paradise Lost 1667 which deals
with Adam and Eve and the temptation of
Satan. It depicts the universe through both
Heaven and Hell.
 The Augustan Era (1700-1750):
Alexander Pope The Dunciad 1728 (Pope
was known for his Satire a literary form that
uses elements such as irony and sarcasm and
wit to mock, expose and attack human failings
usually to inspire change)
 The Johnson Era (1750-1798):
Samuel Johnson an English essayist and
writer who influenced the English language
through his Dictionary of the English
Language 1755.
Some of the major characteristics of Neoclassicism
are: 6
 Thanks to the Renaissance! The church
restored its power which is why Neoclassicism

Literature. Introduction to Literature- 2nd year English Group 06 - Dr. Z. YOUSFI

 emerged in a context where religion is very
important, and viewed man as a weak easily
tempted (Paradise Lost supports this idea)
 The previous Shakespearian imagination was
replaced by religiously oriented writings, and
essays.

Enlightenment: In the 18th century science prevailed, and reason took

The Age of Reason over!

People started questioning the Church and its ways.
To Think is to Question, to Question is to be
Enlightened (Always remember that!)
The church lost its hegemony since its thirst for power
unravelled its unholy purposes.
As a result people became more spiritual than
religious.
The Enlightenment prioritised the mind and the use of
reason which fuelled optimism for better times since
science promises a better life.
The Enlightenment fostered scientific advances
which paved the way for the Industrial Revolution.
One of the relevant outcomes of the Industrialisation
is:
 Even though printing emerged in the 14th
century, it witnessed a greater progress with
industrialisation and the invention of the paper
machine, thus publishing books could finally
match the popular demand which resulted in a
well-read population that can produce ideas.

Printing Books Readership Literacy

7
Progress Ideas Thinkers
Prose became a dominant form.

Literature. Introduction to Literature- 2nd year English Group 06 - Dr. Z. YOUSFI

 The Era witnessed the birth of the English Novel via
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (a fictionalised
autobiographical account )
Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels marked the era
as well (a satirical novel with an autobiographical
tone).
The French Revolution in 1789 marked the End of
The Age of Reason and the Beginning of a new
era…a new movement … the Romantic Era.

Activity:
Using what you know so far about literature, choose one pre-romantic literary era and write a
8 lines long paragraph in which you explain what makes it interesting or important according
to you.
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N.B. Avoid Plagiarism. Use your own words, style and ideas (you have plenty! And they
need to be expressed, heard, and read!)
Plagiarism is NOT ALLOWED. It will result in serious penalties.
8
Presentations & Papers (homework, test, and exam) won’t be corrected or accepted if
any sign of plagiarism is detected.

Literature. Introduction to Literature- 2nd year English Group 06 - Dr. Z. YOUSFI