What is considered Western literature?

“Western literature” is a broad term that refers to a vast body of literature from ancient times to present day in the Indo-European family of languages — including English, Spanish, French, Italian and Russian — whose common literary heritage originates in ancient Greece and Rome.

What are the characteristics of European literature?

Key characteristics of this period include an interest in the common man and childhood, emotions and feelings, the awe of nature, emphasis on the individual, myths, and the importance of the imagination.

What are the characteristics of literature?

Main Characteristics:

usually fiction that displays a sense of reality. tension or conflict. artistic unity (a main idea is conveyed) figurative language (similes, metaphors, irony, symbolism, analogy)

What provides the foundation of Western literature?

The foundations of Western Literature include Hebrew, Greek, Roman, and early European works. Starting with the Book of Genesis from the HOLY BIBLE and the Epic of Gilgamesh, we will time travel through history by reading well-loved classics from Homer, Aesop, St. Augustine, Virgil, and the Brothers Grimm.

What is the difference between Eastern and Western literature?

The Eastern and Western fictional writing may not only differ in terms of writing methods but also differs based on the plot. Western fictional stories and novels mainly focus on a single character; however, eastern authors make characters that depend upon teamwork.

What are the characteristics of American literature?

The three characteristics of American Literature include – plot of decline, indifferent of nature, 3rd person omniscient reaction to romanticism and surrealism. Firstly, American Literature reflects beliefs and traditions that come from the nation’s frontier days.

Who is the author of the most widely read works of Western literature?

Shakespeare
While Shakespeare is in no absolute way the father of Western Literature, he is perhaps the best known and most studied writer not only of Western but of all Literature.

What is the oldest known piece of literature?

The Epic of Gilgamesh started out as a series of Sumerian poems and tales dating back to 2100 B.C., but the most complete version was written around the 12th century B.C. by the Babylonians.

Where did literature come from?

Literature, in the west, originated in the southern Mesopotamia region of Sumer (c. 3200) in the city of Uruk and flourished in Egypt, later in Greece (the written word having been imported there from the Phoenicians) and from there, to Rome.

What defines European literature?

Western literature, also known as European literature, is the literature written in the context of Western culture in the languages of Europe, as well as several geographically or historically related languages such as Basque and Hungarian, and is shaped by the periods in which they were conceived, with each period …

What are the forms of European literature?

Periods of Literature:
  • Renaissance: 1400’s-1600’s.
  • Enlightenment: 1650- 1800.
  • Romanticism: 1798 – 1870.
  • Realism/Naturalism: 1850-1914.
  • Victorian Period: 1832- 1901.
  • Modernism: 1870’s – 1965.
  • Post-Modernism: 1965- Present.

What are the six different literature from Europe?

Contents
  • 2.1 Catalan literature.
  • 2.2 French literature.
  • 2.3 Galician literature.
  • 2.4 Italian literature.
  • 2.5 Portuguese literature.
  • 2.6 Romanian literature.
  • 2.7 Spanish literature.
  • 2.8 Literature in other Romance languages.

What do you think is the most important period in European literature?

The 19th century was one of the most vital and interesting periods of all. This period has special interest as the formative era from which many modern literary conditions and tendencies derived. Influences that had their origins or were in development in this period – Romanticism, Symbolism, Realism.

When did Western literature start?

The history of Western literature begins with the Classical Age around 500 BCE. It continues through the English Renaissance, which in the 16th century produced the most influential writer in Western literature, William Shakespeare.

What are the 10 periods of European literature?

Later Periods of Literature
  • THE ENLIGHTENMENT (NEOCLASSICAL) PERIOD (C. 1660-1790)
  • ROMANTIC PERIOD (c. 1790-1830)
  • VICTORIAN PERIOD And The 19th Century (c. 1832-1901)
  • MODERN PERIOD (c. 1914-1945)
  • POSTMODERN PERIOD (c. 1945 onward)
  • ENLIGHTENMENT/REVOLUTIONARY (1750-1800)
  • ROMANTICISM (1800-1840)
  • REALISM (1865-1915)

What influenced European literature?

The common literary heritage is essentially that originating in ancient Greece and Rome. It was preserved, transformed, and spread by Christianity and thus transmitted to the vernacular languages of the European Continent, the Western Hemisphere, and other regions that were settled by Europeans.

What is Western literature known for?

Western is a literature, film, and television genre. Westerns are primarily set in the American Old West between the late eighteenth century and late nineteenth century and tell the stories of cowboys, settlers, and outlaws exploring the western frontier and taming the Wild West.

What defines a Western?

western, a genre of novels and short stories, motion pictures, and television and radio shows that are set in the American West, usually in the period from the 1850s to the end of the 19th century.

Why is it called Western culture?

Western culture is a broad term used to describe the social norms, belief systems, traditions, customs, values, and so forth that have their origin in Europe or are based on European culture. Some of the central characteristics of Western culture include: Democracy. Rational thinking.

Who wrote the first Western novel?

1. The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper (1826) The book that gave birth to the genre. Like so many later Westerns, Cooper’s story is a sentimental yarn about a frontier already lost—that of upstate New York in the mid 18th century.

Which novel is considered as a classic of Western?

Shane by Jack Schaefer (1949)

Shane is considered by many the best Western novel of all-time.

Who is the author of the most widely read works of Western literature?

Shakespeare
While Shakespeare is in no absolute way the father of Western Literature, he is perhaps the best known and most studied writer not only of Western but of all Literature.

Who is the most famous western writer?

One of the most prolific writers and best-selling authors of Western fiction novels, Zane Grey wrote more than 80 books throughout his lifetime. Recognized as the finest storyteller of the American West, his passion for writing about the American frontier was evident in his romance and adventure stories.