RUSSIAN

LITERATURE
IVAN BUNIN

Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin was the

first Russian writer awarded the
Nobel Prize for Literature. He
was noted for the strict artistry
with which he carried on the
classical Russian traditions in
the writing of prose and poetry.
ALEXANDER PUSHKIN

Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin was a Russian

poet, playwright, and novelist of the
Romantic era who is considered by many to
be the greatest Russian poet and the founder
of modern Russian literature.
ANTON CHEKHOV

Anton Chekhov was a Russian auhis

short thor who lived between 1860
and 1904. Best known for stories and
plays, Anton Chekhov also worked as
a physician.
ALEXANDER SOLZHENITSN

Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsy 

a Russian novelist, historian, and short
story writer. He was an outspoken critic of
the Soviet Union and communism and
helped to raise global awareness of its
Gulag forced labor camp system.
LEO TOLSTOY

Leo Tolstoy was a Russian

writer who is regarded as one
of the greatest authors of all
time.
GREEK LITERATURE
HOMER
 He is mainly known for Iliad and
Odyssey, the most famous epic
poems. The Iliad is the oldest work
of western literature. In ancient
Greece, people considered
themselves uneducated if they had
not read both the Iliad and the
Odyssey.
SOPHOCLES
 He wrote 123 tragedies during his
life, but only seven of which have
completely survived including
Antigone, Oedipus the King and
Electra. He is known to have
developed the art of theatre by
introducing initiatives such as the
addition of a third actor and
scenography.
PLATO
 He was a student of Socrates. The latter
never wrote anything of his own.
However, his philosophy became known
through the works of Plato. Plato was
very influenced by his master’s
thinking. The most famous of Plato’s
work were The Republic and the
Symposium
EUCLID
 He was a mathematician and the father
of geometry. Although there is not
much information on his life, it is known
that he was active at the Library of
Alexandria. His most famous work is
“The Elements” and includes a system
of mathematical proofs that today, still
remain the basis of mathematics.
ARCHIMEDES
 He was a mathematician, an engineer, an
inventor and an astronomer. He is the
inventor of The Archimedes’ Screw, a
mechanism for moving water still used
today.
 *ITALIAN
LITERATURE*
GIOVANNI
BOCCACCIO

 Boccaccio, Giovanni
Italian writer, poet, and humanist. He is most
famous for the Decameron, a collection of a
hundred tales told by ten young people who have
moved to the country to escape the Black Death.
DANTE
ALIGHIERI

DANTE ALIGHIERI

 Dante was an Italian poet and moral

philosopher best known for the epic
poem The Divine Comedy, which
comprises sections representing the
three tiers of the Christian afterlife:
purgatory, heaven, and hell
ALBERTO
MORAVIA’S

Alberto Moravia was an Italian novelist and

journalist. His novels explored matters of
modern sexuality, social alienation and
existentialism. Moravia is best known for
his debut novel Gli indifferenti and for the
anti-fascist novel Il Conformista, the basis
for the film The Conformist directed by
Bernardo Bertolucci
ITALO CALVINO

Italo Calvino was an Italian journalist

and writer of short stories and novels.
His best known works include the Our
Ancestors trilogy, the Cosmicomics
collection of short stories and the
novels Invisible Cities and If on a
winter's night a traveler
UMBERTO
ECO

Umberto Eco OMRI was an Italian novelist,

literary critic, philosopher, semiotician,and
university professor. He is widely known for his
1980 novel Il nom dellarosa, a historical
mystery combining semiotics in fiction with
biblical analysis, medieval studies, and literary
theory.
FRENCH
WRITERS
MARCEL
PROUST (1871-
1922)
 He is well known for his very
long sentences, some of
which extend to several pages
in length. He was
Homosexual, and became one
of the first great European
writers to deal with
homosexuality in his work.
VICTOR HUGO
(1802-1885)

 He uses his literature as way

to describe the human
conditions and injustices of
the society. He also fights
through literature for peace,
for the status of women and
against the clergy.
JULES VERNE
(1828-1905)
 One of the first to
write about science
fiction, and is
considered as the
founding father of the
genre in France.
EMILE ZOLA
(1840-1902)
 Best known writer of the
literary movement of
naturalism. His novels deal
with burning social issues,
shocking condition of the
urban poor, alcoholism,
miners’ strike, people crushed
by work, excessive poverty.
ALBERT CAMUS
(1913-1960)
 Hiswriting talent to
transmit his philosophy.
He uses symbolism and
theatre to express his
ideas, thoughts and
doubts.
SPANISH
WRITERS
MIGUEL DE CERVANTES
(September 29, 1547-April 22, 1616)

 Spanish novelist, poet and

playwright, best know for his
beloved Don Quixote, widely
considered to be the first
modern novel, the greatest
novel in the Spanish
language, and one of the
most influential and enduring
works in western literature.
FEDERICO GARCIA
LORCA
(June 5, 1898-August 19, 1936)

A founding member of
Spanish’s Generation
of ’27. one of the
country’s most
celebrated playwrights
and poets of all times.
PEDRO CALDERO’N DE
LA BARCA
(January 17, 1600-May 25, 1681)

 Dramatist, poet and

writer of the Spanish
Golden Age.
LIFE IS DREAM
LOPE DE VEGA
(November 25, 1562-August 27, 1635)

 Spanish playwright,
poet, novelist and
marine. He was one of
the key figures in the
Spanish Golden Age of
Baroque Literature.