EUROPEAN

EUROPE
• The name Europe is derived from the name Europa, which is the
name of a goddess in Greek mythology
• birthplace of Western civilization
• Parthenon in Athens and the Coliseum in Rome most
famous examples of architecture
 EUROPEAN LITERATURE
• The history of European literature and of each of its standard
periods can be illuminated by comparative consideration of the
different literary languages within Europe and of the relationship of
European literature to world literature.
• European literature includes literature in many languages; among
the most important of the modern written works are those in
English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Polish, German, Italian,
Modern Greek, Czech, Russian, Bosnian and works by the
Scandinavians and Irish.
• Important classical and medieval traditions are those in Latin, Ancient
Greek, Old Norse, Medieval French and the Italian Tuscan dialect of the
renaissance.
• The global history of literature from the ancient Near East to the present
can be divided into five mains, overlapping stages. European literature
emerges from world literature before the birth of Europe—during
antiquity, whose classical languages are the heirs to the complex heritage
of the Old World.
• Consists of the Periods: Renaissance- 1485- 1680, Enlightenment- 1650-
1800, Romanticism- 1798- 1870, Realism- 1820- 1920, Victorian period-
1837- 1901, Modernism- 1910-1965, and Post- modernism- 1965-present.
 PERIODS
OF
EUROPEAN LITERATURE
RENAISSANCE
(1485-1680)
• “Renaissance” is a French word which means “rebirth”.
• used to refer to the rebirth of learning caused by the
discovery of hundreds of Greek and Latin manuscripts which had
been lost during the Middle Ages.

• The thinkers of this period, also called “humanist”, believed

that man should be the subject of study and not God
• Johannes Gutenberg created the printing press in 1440,
allowing for mass production of pamphlets and novels. This gave
people an increased opportunity to read publications of various
authors like Petrarch and Boccaccio.
• Authors of literature focused on the central topics of
humanism, classicism and secularism.
 Humanism: People were intrigued by the idea of
human power. Humanistic works focused on human
traits and abilities.
 Classicism: Authors drew on antiquity, were
inspired by the works of the philosophers in ancient
Greece and Rome.
 Secularism: Dealt with issues of politics and
personal concern outside of the realm of religion.
MIGUEL DE CERVANTES(1547-1616)
• His work Don Quixote, published in
1605, is a late-Renaissance work
that is also credited with shaping
much of what is now the modern
Spanish language; in that sense,
Cervantes must be regarded as an
equal to Shakespeare in terms of
cultural influence.
• Spanish novelist, playwright, poet
and the most important and
celebrated figure in Spanish
literature.
 Don Quixote
• This novel has been translated, in full or
in part, into more than 60 languages.
Don Quixote is considered by literary
historians to be one of the most
important books of all time, and it is
often cited as the first modern novel.
The character of Quixote became
an archetype, and the word quixotic,
used to mean the impractical pursuit of
idealistic goals, entered common usage.
• Novels ranging from Dostoyevsky’s The
Idiot to Rushdie’s "The Moor’s Last
Sigh" are explicitly influenced by "Don
Quixote,”.
 NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI (1469-1527)
• Machiavelli was a 16th century Florentine
philosopher known primarily for his political
ideas. His two most famous philosophical
books, The Prince and the Discourses on
Livy, were published after his death. He is
the founder of modern political science, thus
he was known as the father of modern
political science.
• Machiavelli also wrote the treatise On the
Art of War (1521), among others, and
several poems and plays, including 1524's
satirical The Mandrake.
THE PRINCE (1513)

• Offered advice to rulers as to

what they must do to achieve
their aims and secure their
power. The meaning of Prince in
the title does not mean
someone who inherits land and
is a decedent to a king. In
Machiavelli’s perspective a prince
was a man of the citizens.
GIOVANNI BOCCACCIO
• Italian poet and scholar, best
remembered as the author of
the earthy tales in
the Decameron. With Petrarch
he laid the foundations for
the humanism of
the Renaissance and
raised vernacular literature to
the level and status of the
classics of antiquity.
THE DECAMERON
• a collection of 100 stories told by
ten storytellers who have fled to
the outskirts of Florence to
escape the black plague over ten
nights. The various tales of love
in The Decameron range from the
erotic to the tragic. Tales of wit,
practical jokes, and life lessons
contribute to the mosaic. it is
considered a masterpiece of
classical early Italian prose.
FRANCESCO PETRARCH
• Italian scholar, poet, and humanist whose
poems addressed to Laura, an idealized
beloved, contributed to
the Renaissance flowering of lyric poetry.
He was a devoted classical scholar who is
considered the "Father of Humanism," a
philosophy that helped spark the
Renaissance.
• Petrarch's writing includes well-known
odes to Laura, his idealized love. His
writing was also used to shape the modern
Italian language.
CANZONIERE

• a collection of 366 lyric poems, were written over a period of about 40

years. They describe Petrarch's intense love for Laura, whom he first met in
Avignon in 1327, and her effect on him after she died in 1348.
JOHN MILTON(1608-1674)
• English poet, pamphleteer, and historian,
considered the most significant English
author after William Shakespeare.
• Milton is best known for Paradise Lost,
widely regarded as the greatest epic
poem in English.
• Milton, who made some poor political
decisions in his life and who wrote many of
his best-known works after going
completely blind, composed "Paradise
Lost" in blank verse, one of the earliest
and most influential uses of the technique.
"PARADISE LOST"
– The fable or story of the epic is taken
from the Bible; it is the simple and
common story of the fall of Adam and Eve
from the grace of God due to their
disobedience of Him.
• He also told a traditional religious-themed
story (the fall of man) in a startlingly
personal way, casting the story of Adam
and Eve as a realistic domestic story, and
giving all the characters — even God and
Satan — clear and unique personalities.
These innovations may seem obvious
today — but that in itself is a testament to
Milton’s influence.
DANTE ALIGHIERI

• Dante’s greatest work, "The Divine Comedy," which still gets name-checked by
a variety of modern-day works such as Dan Brown’s "Inferno"; in fact, any time
you refer to a “circle of hell” you are referencing Dante’s vision of Satan’s
kingdom.
"THE DIVINE COMEDY"
• is a poem that follows Dante himself
as he travels through hell, purgatory,
and heaven. It’s extremely complex
in its structure and references, and
quite beautiful in its language even in
translation. While concerned with
many theological and religious
themes, it shows its Renaissance
trappings in the many ways Dante
critiques and comments on
contemporary Florentine politics,
society, and culture
ENLIGHTENMENT
(1650-1800)
• The Enlightenment, also known as the Age of
Reason, was a philosophical movement that took
place primarily in Europe and, later, in North
America, during the late 17th and early 18th
century. Its participants thought they were
illuminating human intellect and culture after the
"dark" Middle Ages.
• Characteristics of the Enlightenment include:
reason
liberty
scientific method
•Enlightenment philosophy was
skeptical of religion — especially the
powerful Catholic Church —
monarchies and hereditary aristocracy.
Enlightenment philosophy was
influential in ushering in the French
and American revolutions and
constitutions.
ENLIGHTENMENT CONCEPTS

• Reason
Enlightenment philosophers believed that rational thought
could lead to human improvement and was the most
legitimate mode of thinking. They saw the ability to reason
as the most significant and valuable human capacity,
according to PBS.
• Skepticism
Rather than being content with blind faith, Enlightenment
thinkers wanted proof that something was true.
• Religious tolerance
though skeptical of religious institutions, many
Enlightenment thinkers believed that people should be
free to worship as they wished.

• Liberty
The Enlightenment tolerance of religion is related to
the movement's emphasis on personal liberty. This
concept holds that God and/or nature gave all humans
basic rights and humans should be free to act without
oppressive restriction.
• Progress
The centuries before the Enlightenment were characterized by rapid
changes, from the discoveries of the Scientific Revolution to the
exploration of the world and the advancement in art technique during the
Renaissance.
Empiricism vs. Rationalism
• Empiricism
is associated with British Enlightenment philosophers, including John Locke,
George Berkeley and Hume. Empiricists argued that all human knowledge
comes through the senses and sensory experiences.
• Rationalists
who lived primarily in continental Europe, argued that senses were
untrustworthy and knowledge came from the mind, through conceiving of
or intuiting ideas, according to Loyola University New Orleans.
JOHN COMENIUS (1592-1670)
• Was a Czech intellectual who
espoused universal education
and practical instruction.
• He advocated for lifelong
learning and the development
of logical thinking as opposed
to memorization by rote. He
wanted education to be given
to women and impoverished
children.
THE DUTCHMAN HUGO GROTIUS (1583-
1645)

• Was a prodigious intellectual who laid the foundation for international law based on
the concept of natural law. He was one of the pioneers in putting forth the idea of a
society of states governed not by force and warfare but by laws and mutual
agreement to enforce those laws.
THOMAS HOBBES (1588-1679) AND JOHN
LOCKE (1632-1704)
• Englishmen who were
influential in the
Enlightenment.
• Hobbes championed
absolutism for the sovereign
but he believed in the right
of the individual and the
equality of all men.
• Locke promoted the
opposite type of
government, which was a
representative government.
BARON DE MONTESQUIEU (1689-1755)

• The French Philosophes (philosophers) took the Enlightenment to

new heights. Or known as Charles-Louis de Secondat developed the
work of John Locke and espoused the concept of the separation of
power by creating divisions in government.
FRANÇOIS-MARIE AROUET (1694-1778)
• Better known as Voltaire, was a
prolific writer who used satire
an d criticism to incite social and
political change. He wrote
attacks on the Catholic Church
and exposed injustices. He
promoted the concepts of
freedom of religion, freedom of
expression and the separation of
church and state. His writings
were popular and reached many
readers.
JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU (1712-1778)

• wrote the book "The Social Contract," in which he championed for a form of
government based on small, direct democracy, which openly signifies the will of the
population.
DENIS DIDEROT (1713-1784)
• He embarked on a mammoth
project to create the
"Encyclopedia, or a Systemic
Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts,
and Crafts." Many writers
contributed to the 35-volume
work, which as edited by Diderot
and Jean le Rond d'Alembert. The
"Encyclopedia" would incorporate
all of the world's knowledge and
spread it to other countries all
over the world.
DAVID HUME (1711-1776)
• was a Scottish philosopher who
gained fame as an essayist,
according to the Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy. He
was a highly influential
empiricist who argued that
humans were a bundle of
sensations with no true selves
(this is called the Bundle
Theory) and that ethics were
based on emotion rather than
moral principles.
IMMANUEL KANT (1724-1804)

• was a German philosopher central to the Enlightenment. He synthesized rationalism

and empiricism through his theories about human autonomy and set the stage for later
philosophical movements, according to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
ADAM SMITH (1723-1790)

• a close friend of Hume, was a Scottish philosopher and economist most famous for his
theory of the "invisible hand of the market," according to the Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy. His book "The Wealth of Nations" laid the foundation for free market
economics.
ISAAC NEWTON (1642-1727)

• was an English mathematician and physicist who laid the foundation for classical
mechanics and calculus. Newton developed the laws of motion and universal gravitation,
which led to improvements in understanding the Copernican heliocentric universe,
according to the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences
THOMAS JEFFERSON (1743-1826)

• an American Founding Father, was heavily influenced by Enlightenment philosophy and

spent several years in France. He wrote the Declaration of Independence, which
stressed Enlightenment ideas such as liberty, fundamental human rights and equality
(though not for slaves), according to the Thomas Jefferson Foundation.
ROMANTICISM
(1798-1870)
• Romanticism is an intellectual orientation characterizing many works of
literature, music, painting, architecture, criticism and historical work from
the late 1700s into the mid-1800s. It is a rejection of the premises of
reason, calm, order, rationality and general / abstract thought that
epitomized the neoclassicism (or Age of Reason) of the 1700s.
Romanticism, consequently, values subjectivity, individuality, irrationality,
the Imagination, the personal, the emotional, the visionary, the
spontaneous and the transcendental.
• One of the central features of romanticism is importance of self-
expression and individual feeling. Romantic poetry is one of the heart
and the emotions, exploring the ‘truth of the imagination' rather than
scientific truth. The ‘I' voice is central; it is the poet's perceptions and
feelings that matter.
WILLIAM BLAKE (1757-1827)

• a visionary poet who was also an artist and engraver, with a particular interest in
childhood and a strong hatred of mechanical reason and industrialization;(The
Ancient of Days, Nebuchadnezzar, Newton).
ROBERT BURNS (1759-1796)

• who worked as a ploughman and farm labourer but who had received a good
education and was interested in early Scots ballads and folk-song;(Auld Lang
Syne,A Red,Red Rose,Tam o’ Shanter, no pics)
WALTER SCOTT (1771-1832)

• another Scot, who developed his interest in old tales of the Border and early
European poetry into a career as poet and novelist. (The Lay of the Last
Minstrel,Waverley, Ivanhoe no pics)
THE LAKE POETS

William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

• who came from the Lake District and was the leading poet of the group,
whose work was especially associated with the centrality of the self and
the love of nature;(Simon Lee, Lucy Gray, The Excursion)
 Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)
• was Wordsworth's closest colleague and collaborator, a powerful intellectual whose
work was often influenced by contemporary ideas about science and philosophy;
(The Eolian Harp, Frost at Midnight, Fears in Solitude)
 Robert Southey (1774-1843)
• a prolific writer of poetry and prose who settled in the Lake District and
became Poet Laureate in 1813; his work was later mocked by Byron;(Joan of
Arc, Madoc, The Fall of Robspierre).
 Charles Lamb (1775-1834)
• was a poet but is best-known for his essays and literary criticism; a Londoner, he
was especially close to Coleridge; (Tales from Shakespeare, Essays of Elia, The
Adventures of Ulysses).
 Thomas de Quincey (1785-1859)
• the youngest member of the group, best known as an essayist and critic, who
wrote a series of memories of the Lake Poets. (Lake Reminiscences, On The
Knocking at the Gate in Macbeth, Confessions of an English Opium-Eater).
ROMANTIC POETS

George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824)

• (Hours of Idleness, Prometheus, The Prophecy of Dante)
 Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)
• was one of the leading poets; (The Daemon of the World, Ozymandias, The
Witch of Atlas)
 John Keats (1795-1821)
• was a London poet, especially known for his odes and sonnets and for his
letters, which contain many reflections on poetry and the work of the
imagination. (Ode on a Grecian Urn, Ode to a Nightingale, On Autumn)
REALISM
(1820-1920)
• The realist movement portrayed the hypocrisy,
brutality, and dullness of life for the bourgeois.
• This movement rejected the idealization of
nature, the poor, love, and polite society during
the romantic period and instead showed the
dark side of life.
• Some writers portrayed the cruelty of the
developing industrialism in Europe during this
time.
LEO TOLSTOY (1828-1910)
• Was a Russian writer who
primarily wrote novels and
short stories. Later in life, he
also wrote plays and essays.
• His two most famous works,
the novels War and
Peace and Anna Karenina, are
acknowledged as two of the
greatest novels of all time
and a pinnacle of realist
fiction.
“ANNA KARENINA (1887)”

• Tolstoy’s first self-proclaimed novel, Anna Karenina, tells the story of the eponymous
Russian society woman who, initially trapped by societal conventions, dares to leave her
loveless marriage for an illicit love and meets with tragic consequences.
“WAR AND PEACE (1869)”
• War and Peace broadly focuses on
Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812 and
follows three of the most well-known
characters in literature:
Pierre Bezukhov, the illegitimate son of a
count who is fighting for his inheritance
and yearning for spiritual fulfillment
Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, who leaves his
family behind to fight in the war against
Napoleon
Natasha Rostov, the beautiful young
daughter of a nobleman who intrigues
both men.
HENRIK IBSEN (1828-1906)
• One of the most famous and controversial writers in world
literature.
• His plays broke new ground and earned him the nick name "the
father of realism," a style of theater that focused on domestic
interactions. Ibsen is a founder of the Modernist theater
movement.
• Ibsen is best known for the play A Doll's House, which deals with
the limitations and harsh expectations of women at the time.
• Other works of Henrik Ibsen are Pillars of Society (1877)
and The League of Youth (1869)
A DOLL'S HOUSE ( 1879)

• Is a play by renowned Norwegian playwright, Henrik Ibsen. Challenging

marital norms and featuring strong feminist themes, the play was widely
celebrated as well as criticized when it was first performed in 1879.
• It is often considered an early feminist masterpiece
CHARLES DICKENS (1812-1870)

• A British novelist, journalist, editor, illustrator and social commentator

who wrote such beloved classic novels as Oliver Twist, A Christmas
Carol, Nicholas Nickleby, David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities and Great
Expectations.
OLIVER TWIST (THE PARISH BOY’S
PROGRESS) (1837-1838)

• The novel was the first of the author’s works to realistically depict the
impoverished London underworld and to illustrate his belief that poverty leads
to crime.
• The book was inspired by how Dickens felt as an impoverished child forced to
get by on his wits and earn his own keep.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1843)

• The book features the timeless protagonist Ebenezer Scrooge, a curmudgeonly

old miser, who, with the help of a ghost, finds the Christmas spirit.
• The novel was intended as a social criticism, to bring attention to the hardships
faced by England’s lower classes.
“DAVID COPPERFIELD (1849 -1850)”

• Dickens tapped into his own personal experiences, from his difficult childhood
to his work as a journalist.
• Although David Copperfield is not considered Dickens’ best work, it was his
personal favorite.
 ÉMILE-ÉDOUARD-CHARLES-ANTOINE
ZOLA (ÉMILE ZOLA) (1840-1902)
• French novelist, critic, and political
activist who was the most prominent
French novelist of the late 19th
century.
• He was noted for his theories
of naturalism, which underlie his
monumental 20-novel series Les
Rougon-Macquart, and for his
intervention in the Dreyfus
Affair through his famous open letter,
“J’accuse.”
 LES ROUGON-MACQUART

• The cycle, described in a subtitle as The Natural

and Social History of a Family Under the Second
Empire
• Is a documentary of French life as seen through
the lives of the violent Rougon family and the
passive Macquarts, who are related to each other
through the character of Tante Dide.
VICTORIAN PERIOD
(1837-1901)
VICTORIAN LITERATURE
• Literary works written during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-
1901).
• Common Themes:
Critique of industralization
Critique of the deterioration of the rural lifestyle
Celebration of the past (including chivalry)
Conflicts between classes
Women´s rights
• MORALITY - Most works were written to teach moral lessons to
readers.
GENRES

• Novel
• Poetry
• Theater
• Nonfiction
• Gothic and supernatural literature
• Children‘s literature
NOVELS
• Novel was the dominant genre during the Victorian
period.
Early Victorian Novels :
-portraited difficult lives ; where hard work,
love and perseverance were always rewarded.
Late Victorian Novels:
-reflected an inner struggle to conquer the
flaws of human nature through effort and virtue.
POETRY
• Many characteristics of romantic poetry continued in
poetry of the Victorian period. However, Victorian poetry, in
general, is less subjective than the romantic.
• The themes are more realistic, discussing such issues as
child labor, the rights of women, science and religion.
• Victorian poetry is mostly pictorial, heavily relying on visual
imagery.
• The elegy is one of the most popular poetic forms in the
period, a form of poetry that laments the dead or the past.
THEATER
• Theater became an extremely popular form of
entertainment for all social classes during this era and
Queen Victoria promoted it. Plays usually had a strong
comedic element, both high and low, and the plots were
full of mistaken identities, coincidences and mistiming’s.
Oscar Wilde was the leading dramatist of the late
Victorian period and his comic masterpiece The
Importance of Being Earnest is a satiric reflection of the
time.
NONFICTION
• The Victorian era was a period of great
scientific discovery and the Victorians tried to
describe and classify the world they lived in.
Among others, Charles Darwin with On the
Origin of Species, Friedrich Engels with his
Condition of the Working Classes in England
and John Stuart Mill with his philosophical
works, changed the way the Victorians thought
about themselves and about the world.
SUPERNATURAL AND GOTHIC
LITERATURE

Possible features in a
gothic novel are
monsters, ghosts, curses,
hidden rooms, mad
women in the attic and
witchcraft.
CHILDREN‘S LITERATURE

• Literature became a popular way to

teach children lessons and morals. They
were only rarely enjoyable works. Later,
when reading for pleasure became
socially accepted, folk and fairy-tale
compilations became very popular There
were different types of publications
written for boys and girls.
 VICTORIAN NOVELISTS
• CHARLES DICKENS
- the most widely read author from this
time.
Notable Works:
-A Christmas Carol (1843)
-Great Expectations ( 1860)
-Oliver twist (1837)
-The Pickwick Papers (1836)
- A Tale of Two Cities (1859)
 VICTORIAN NOVELISTS
• CHARLOTTE, EMILY AND ANNE
BRONTË
-The sisters published their works under
the male pseudonyms Currer, Ellis and
Ashton Bell
Some of their works:
Charlotte: Jane Eyre
Emily: Wuthering Heights
Heights Anne: The Tennant of
Wildfell Hall
 VICTORIAN NOVELISTS

• WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY

Notable Work:
-Vanity Fair (1847)
• In it, he satirizes British society of
the 19th century, although it is set
during the Napoleonic Wars.
 VICTORIAN NOVELISTS
• GEORGE ELIOT
-Real name is Mary Anne
Evans
Notable Works:
-The Mill on the Floss (1860)
- Silas Marner (1861)
-Romola (1862–1863)
- Middlemarch (1871–72)
 VICTORIAN POETS

• ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON

-He was the Poet Laureate of Great
Britain and Ireland during much of Queen
Victoria's reign and remains one of the most
popular British poets.
Notable Works:
-"Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal" – it
later appeared as a song in the film Vanity Fair
- Idylls of the King
- "Ulysses“
- "Tithonus"
 VICTORIAN POETS

• ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING

-She is generally considered the greatest of English poetesses.
Her works are full of tender and delicate, but also of strong
and deep, thought. Her own sufferings, combined with her
moral and intellectual strength, made her the champion of the
suffering and oppressed wherever she found them.
Notable works:
-Aurora Leigh
-Casa Guidi Windows
-The Sonnets from the Portuguese
 VICTORIAN POETS

• ROBERT BROWNING
- Husband of Elizabeth Barrett.
- His poems are known for their irony,
characterization, dark humour, social
commentary, historical settings, and
challenging vocabulary and syntax.
Notable works:
-Pied Piper of Hamelin Men and Women
-The Ring and the Book
- Dramatic Romances and Lyrics
 THEATER

• OSCAR WILDE
-was the leading dramatist of the
late Victorian period and his comic
masterpiece “The Importance of Being
Earnest” is a satiric reflection of the
time.
MODERNISM
(1910-1965)
 BACKGROUND

INDUSTRIALIZATION WORLD WARS OTHER

UNFORTUNATE
EVENTS
 CHARACTERISTICS OF THIS PERIOD
A style or movement in the
arts that aims to break with
classical and traditional forms

Break includes a strong

reaction against established (the famous London
religious, political, and social Underground logo, designed
by Edward Johnston in 1919, being
views. There are no such things an early example of the need for
clear, easily recognizable and
as absolute truth. All things are memorable visual symbols)

relative
CHARACTERISTICS OF THIS PERIOD

Popular culture was emergent in

this period, which was not
derived from high culture but
instead from its own realities
(particularly mass production)
fueled much modernist
innovation.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LITERATURE
This style of writing represents
a radical shift in cultural
sensibilities of the
corresponding time.
Genres in this period still
include poetry, fiction and non-
fiction stories and other prose
that are existent in the late
1800’s
CHARACTERISTICS OF THIS PERIOD

Central preoccupation of
Modernism is with the inner self
and consciousness; thus,
literature took the form of the
first person which is considered
deviant to the classical and
traditional forms.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LITERATURE

The plot, theme and the

characters are not necessarily
linear---Living in the moment was
an underlying theme of
modernism.
 Ironies and Satires as tools to
aid them in making fun of
something or to point it out
FAMOUS AUTHORS DURING THIS ERA

1. VIRGINIA WOOLF
(January 25, 1882 – March 28,
1941)
• British writer born and raised
in London, England
• style is complex, psychological,
intricate, and dense.
FAMOUS WORKS
• Mrs. Dalloway
• A Room of One's
Own
• To The Lighthouse.
FAMOUS AUTHORS DURING THIS ERA

2. JAMES JOYCE (1882-1941)

• Irish novelist, short story writer,
and poet. He contributed to the
modernist avant-garde and is
regarded as one of the most
influential and important authors of
the 20th century
FAMOUS WORK

• Ulysses
FAMOUS AUTHORS DURING THIS ERA

3. W.B YEATS (13 June 1865 – 28 January

1939)
• Yeats started his long literary
career as a romantic poet and
gradually evolved into a modernist
poet.Yeats believed that art and
politics were intrinsically linked
FAMOUS WORKS
• To A Friend
Whose Work Has
Come to Nothing
• September 1913
POST-MODERNISM
(1965-PRESENT)
• Postmodernism developed after World War II and utilized
techniques such as fragmentation, paradox, and questionable
narrators
• Metafiction was also often employed to undermine the
writer’s authority
• Postmodernism can be seen as a reaction against the ideas
and values of modernism, as well as a description of the
period that followed modernism's dominance in cultural
theory and practice in the early and middle decades of the
twentieth century. The term is associated with skepticism,
irony and philosophical critiques of the concepts of
universal truths and objective reality.
KURT VONNEGUT
• Kurt Vonnegut is a poster child for
postmodernism.
• One of the big names of the 1960s and
'70s, he's remembered as a major satirist
and voice of U.S. counterculture—and his
works are perfect go-to texts if you're
trying to get a handle on some of the main
themes and techniques of postmodern
literature.
• Literary works
Slaughterhouse-Five
Breakfast of Champions
JORGE LUIS BORGES
• Borges was one of the earliest writers to
embrace what we now know as postmodern
techniques. Borges never wrote a single
novel—he was all about the short story
format (plus other short works such as poems
and essays), explaining that "the short story
can be taken in at a single glance.
• These stories aren't about naturalism or
realistic depictions of daily life; they're more
into the philosophical stuff and the breaking
down of traditional ideas about time and
space.
• Literary Works
The Library of Babel
On Exactitude in Science
SAMUEL BECKETT
• From 1945 onwards, Beckett started to
focus more and more on the failings of
modernism, art, and language as a type
of expression. One of Beckett's main
philosophical inquiries: in a world
without meaning, how can a writer
express themselves using words?
• Literary Works
Waiting for Godot
Stirrings Still
 VLADIMIR NABOKOV
• Nabokov is a tough nut to
crack, and people love to
argue about whether he's a
modernist or postmodernist.
• Nabokov's most postmodern
novel is Pale Fire, which, like
Italo Calvino's If on a
winter's night a traveler, has
an experimental narrative
structure and dashes our
expectations.
GREEK AND ROMAN
MYTHOLOGY
APOLLO/APOLLO ARTEMIS/DIANA
HERA/JUNO ZEUS/JUPITER
HERMES/MERCURY ARES/MARS
ATHENA/MINERVA POSEIDON/NEPTUNE
HADES/PLUTO APHRODITE/VENUS
HESTIA/VESTA HEPHAESTUS/VULCAN
THE STORY OF ROMULOS AND
REMUS
VENUS AND ADONIS
CUPID AND PSYCHE
PERSEUS AND MEDUSA
ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE
THESEUS AND THE LABYRINTH
ILLIAD
ODYSSEY