ENGLISH LITERATURE poetry.

During the three centuries following

Hastings, Normans and Saxons gradually united.
1. Anglo-Saxon or Old-English period The Anglo-Saxon speech simplified itself by
The literature begins with songs and stories dropping most of its Teutonic inflections, absorbed
of a time when the Teutonic ancestors were living eventually a large part of the French vocabulary,
on the borders of the North Sea. Three tribes of and became our English language. English
these ancestors, the Jutes, Angles, and Saxons, literature is also a combination of French and
conquered Britain in the latter half of the fifth Saxon elements.
century, and laid the foundation of the English The three chief effects of the conquest were
nation. The first landing was probably by a tribe of (1) the bringing of Roman civilization to England;
Jutes, under chiefs called by the chronicle Hengist (2) the growth of nationality, i.e. a strong
and Horsa. The date is doubtful; but the year 449 is centralized government, instead of the loose union
accepted by most historians. of Saxon tribes; (3) the new language and
These old ancestors were hardy warriors literature, which were proclaimed in Chaucer.
and sea rovers, yet were capable of profound and At first the new literature was remarkably
noble emotions. Their poetry reflects this double varied, but of small intrinsic worth; and very little of
nature. Its subjects were chiefly the sea and the it is now read.
plunging boats, battles, adventure, brave deeds, The following have been noted:
the glory ofwarriors, and the love of home. Accent, (1) Geoffrey's History, which is valuable as
alliteration, and an abrupt break in the middle of a source book of literature, since it contains
each line gave their poetry a kind ofmartial rhythm. the native Celtic legends of
In general the poetry is earnest and somber, and Arthur.
pervaded by fatalism and religious feeling. A careful (2) The work of the French writers, who
reading ofthe few remaining fragments of Anglo- made the Arthurian legends popular.
Saxon literature reveals five striking characteristics: (3) Riming Chronicles, i.e. history in
the love of freedom; responsiveness tonature, doggerel verse, like Layamon's Brut.
especially in her sterner moods; strong religious (4) Metrical Romances or tales in verse.
convictions, and a belief in Wyrd, or Fate; These were numerous, and of four classes:
reverence for womanhood; and a devotion to glory (a) the Matter of France, tales centering
as the ruling motive in every warrior's life. about Charlemagne and his peers, chief of
The following have been noted: which is the Chanson de Roland; (b) Matter
(1) the great epic or heroic poem Beowulf, of Greece and Rome, an endless series of
and a few fragments of the first poetry, such fabulous tales about Alexander, and about
as "Widsith," "Deor's Lament," and "The the Fall of Troy; (c) Matter of England,
Seafarer." stories of Bevis of Hampton, Guy of
(2) Characteristics of Anglo-Saxon life; the Warwick, Robin Hood, etc.; (d) Matter of
form of the first speech. Britain, tales having for their heroes Arthur
(3) The Northumbrian school of writers. and his knights of the Round Table. The
Bede, the first historian, belongs to this best of these romances is Sir Gawain and
school; but all his extant works are in the Green Knight.
Latin. The two great poets are Cædmon and (5) Miscellaneous literature,--the Ancren
Cynewulf. Northumbrian literature flourished Riwle, our best piece of early English prose;
between 650 and 850. In the year 867 Orm's Ormulum; Cursor Mundi, with its
Northumbria was conquered by the Danes, suggestive parallel to the Miracle plays; and
who destroyed the monasteries and the ballads, like King Horn and the Robin Hood
libraries containing our earliest literature. songs, which were the only poetry of the
(4) The beginnings of English prose writing common people.
under Alfred (848-901). The most important
prose work of this age is the Anglo-Saxon 3. The Age of Chaucer
Chronicle, which was revised and enlarged The fourteenth century is remarkable historically for
by Alfred, and which was continued for the decline of feudalism (organized by the
more than two centuries. It is the oldest Normans), for the growth of the English national
historical record known to any European spirit during the wars with France, for the
nation in its own tongue. prominence of the House of Commons, and for the
growing power of the laboring classes, who had
2. The Anglo-Norman Period heretofore been in a condition hardly above that of
The Normans were originally a hardy race slavery.
of sea rovers inhabiting Scandinavia. In the tenth The age produced five writers of note, one
century they conquered a part of northern France, of whom, Geoffrey Chaucer, is one of the greatest
which is still called Normandy, and rapidly adopted of English writers. His poetry is remarkable for its
French civilization and the French language. Their variety, its story interest, and its wonderful melody.
conquest of Anglo-Saxon England under William, Chaucer's work and Wyclif's translation of the Bible
Duke of Normandy, began with the battle of developed the Midland dialect into the national
Hastings in 1066. The literature which they brought language of England.
to England is remarkable for its bright, romantic The following have been noted:
tales of love and adventure, in marked contrast with (1) Chaucer, his life and work; his early or
the strength and somberness of Anglo-Saxon French period, in which he translated "The
1
Romance of the Rose" and wrote many minor from the Renaissance, from the Reformation, and
poems; his middle or Italian period, of which the from the exploration of the New World. It was
chief poems are "Troilus and Cressida" and "The marked by a strong national spirit, by patriotism, by
Legend of Good Women"; his late or English religious tolerance, by social content, by intellectual
period, in which he worked at his masterpiece, the progress, and by unbounded enthusiasm.
famous Canterbury Tales. Such an age, of thought, feeling, and
(2) Langland, the poet and prophet of social vigorous action, finds its best expression in the
reforms. His chief work is Piers Plowman. (3) drama; and the wonderful development of the
Wyclif, the religious reformer, who first translated drama, culminating in Shakespeare, is the most
the gospels into English, and by his translation significant characteristic of the Elizabethan period.
fixed a common standard of English speech. Though the age produced some excellent prose
(4) Mandeville, the alleged traveler, who works, it is essentially an age of poetry; and the
represents the new English interest in distant lands poetry is remarkable for its variety, its freshness, its
following the development of foreign trade. He is youthful and romantic feeling. Both the poetry and
famous for Mandeville's Travels, a book which the drama were permeated by Italian influence,
romances about the wonders to be seen abroad. which was
The fifth writer of the age is Gower, who wrote in dominant in English literature from Chaucer to the
three languages, French, Latin, and English. His Restoration. The literature of this age is often called
chief English work is the Confessio Amantis, a long the literature of the Renaissance, though, as we
poem containing one hundred and twelve tales. Of have seen, the Renaissance itself began much
these only the "Knight Florent" and two or three earlier, and for a century and a half added very little
others are interesting to a modern reader. to our literary possessions.
The following have been noted:
4. The Revival of Learning (1) the Non-dramatic Poets, that is, poets
This transition period is at first one of who did not write for the stage. The center of this
decline from the Age of Chaucer, and then of group is Edmund Spenser, whose Shepherd's
intellectual preparation for the Age of Elizabeth. For Calendar (1579) marked the appearance of the first
a century and a half after Chaucer not a single national poet since Chaucer's death in 1400. His
great English work appeared, and the general most famous work is The Faery Queen. Associated
standard of literature was very low. with Spenser are the minor poets, Thomas
There are three chief causes to account for Sackville, Michael Drayton, George Chapman, and
this: Philip Sidney. Chapman is noted for his completion
(1) the long war with France and the civil of Marlowe's poem, Hero and Leander, and for his
Wars of the Roses distracted attention from books translation of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. Sidney,
and poetry, and destroyed of ruined many noble besides his poetry, wrote his prose romance
English families who had been friends and patrons Arcadia, and The Defense of Poesie, one of our
of literature; earliest critical essays.
(2) the Reformation in the latter part of the (2) The Rise of the Drama in England; the
period filled men's minds with religious questions; Miracle plays, Moralities, and Interludes; our first
(3) the Revival of Learning set scholars and literary play, "Ralph Royster Doyster"; the first true English
men to an eager study of the classics, rather than comedy, "Gammer Gurton's Needle," and the first
to the creation of native literature. tragedy, "Gorboduc"; the conflict between classic
Historically the age is noticeable for its and native ideals in the English drama.
intellectual progress, for the introduction of printing, (3) Shakespeare's Predecessors, Lyly, Kyd,
for the discovery of America, for the beginning of Nash, Peele, Greene, Marlowe; the types of drama
the Reformation, and for the growth of political with which they experimented,--the Marlowesque,
power among the common people. one-man type, or tragedy of passion, the popular
The following have been noted: Chronicle plays, the Domestic drama, the Court or
(1) the Revival of Learning, what it was, and Lylian comedy, Romantic comedy and tragedy,
the significance of the terms Humanism and Classical plays, and the Melodrama. Marlowe is the
Renaissance; greatest of Shakespeare's predecessors. His four
(2) three influential literary works,-- plays are "Tamburlaine," "Faustus," "The Jew of
Erasmus's Praise of Folly, More's Utopia, and Malta," and "Edward II."
Tyndale's translation of the New Testament; (4) Shakespeare, his life, work, and
(3) Wyatt and Surrey, and the so-called influence.
courtly makers or poets; (5) Shakespeare's Successors, Ben Jonson,
(4) Malory's Morte d'Arthur, a collection of Beaumont and Fletcher, Webster, Middleton,
the Arthurian legends in English prose. The Miracle Heywood, Dekker; and the rapid decline of the
and Mystery Plays were the most popular form of drama. Ben Jonson is the greatest of this group.
entertainment in this age; but we have reserved His chief comedies are "Every Man in His Humour,"
them for special study in connection with the Rise "The
of the Drama, in the following chapter. Silent Woman," and "The Alchemist"; his two extant
tragedies are "Sejanus" and "Catiline."
5. The Elizabethan Age (6) The Prose Writers, of whom Bacon is
This period is generally regarded as the the most notable. His chief philosophical work is the
greatest in the history of literature. Historically, it is Instauratio Magna (incomplete), which includes
noted in this age the tremendous impetus received "The Advancement of Learning" and the "Novum
2
Organum"; but he is known to literary readers by The chief thing to note in England during the
his famous Essays. Minor prose writers are Richard Restoration is the tremendous social reaction from
Hooker, John Foxe, the historians Camden and the restraints of Puritanism, which suggests the
Knox, the editors Hakluyt and Purchas, who gave wide swing of a pendulum from one extreme to the
us the stirring records of exploration, and Thomas other. For a generation many natural pleasures had
North, the translator of Plutarch's Lives. been suppressed; now the theaters were reopened,
bull and bear baiting revived, and sports, music,
dancing,--a wild delight in the pleasures and
vanities of this world replaced that absorption in
6. The Puritan Age "other-worldliness" which characterized the
The half century between 1625 and 1675 is extreme of
called the Puritan period for two reasons: first, Puritanism.
because Puritan standards prevailed for a time in In literature the change is no less marked.
England; and second, because the greatest literary From the Elizabethan drama playwrights turned to
figure during all these years was the Puritan, John coarse, evil scenes, which presently disgusted the
Milton. Historically the age was one of tremendous people and were driven from the stage. From
conflict. The Puritan struggled for righteousness romance, writers turned to realism; from Italian
and liberty, and because he prevailed, the age is influence with its exuberance of imagination they
one of moral and political revolution. In his struggle turned to France, and learned to repress the
for liberty the Puritan overthrew the corrupt emotions, to follow the head rather than the heart,
monarchy, beheaded Charles I, and established the and to write in a clear, concise, formal style,
Commonwealth under Cromwell. The according to set rules. Poets turned from the noble
Commonwealth lasted but a few years, and the blank verse of Shakespeare and Milton, from the
restoration of Charles II in 1660 is often put as the variety and melody which had characterized
end of the Puritan period. The age has no distinct English poetry since Chaucer's day, to the
limits, but overlaps the Elizabethan period on one monotonous heroic couplet with its mechanical
side, and the Restoration period on the other. perfection.
The age produced many writers, a few The greatest writer of the age is John
immortal books, and one of the world's great literary Dryden, who established the heroic couplet as the
leaders. The literature of the age is extremely prevailing verse form in English poetry, and who
diverse in character, and the diversity is due to the developed a new and serviceable prose style suited
breaking up of the ideals of political and religious to the practical needs of the age. The popular
unity. ridicule of Puritanism in burlesque and doggerel is
This literature differs from that of the best exemplified in Butler's Hudibras. The realistic
preceding age in three marked ways: tendency, the study of facts and of men as they
(1) It has no unity of spirit, as in the days of are, is shown in the work of the Royal Society, in
Elizabeth, resulting from the patriotic enthusiasm of the philosophy of Hobbes and Locke, and in the
all classes. diaries of Evelyn and Pepys, with their minute
(2) In contrast with the hopefulness and pictures of social life. The age was one of transition
vigor of Elizabethan writings, much of the literature from the exuberance and vigor of Renaissance
of this period is somber in character; it saddens literature to the formality and polish of the Augustan
rather than inspires us. Age. In strong contrast with the preceding ages,
(3) It has lost the romantic impulse of youth, comparatively little of Restoration literature is
and become critical and intellectual; it makes us familiar to modern readers.
think, rather than feel deeply.
The following have been noted: 8. Eighteenth-century Literature
(1) the Transition Poets, of whom Daniel is The period is between the English
chief; Revolution of 1688 and the beginning of the French
(2) the Song Writers, Campion and Breton; Revolution of 1789. Historically, the period begins
(3) the Spenserian Poets, Wither and Giles in a remarkable way by the adoption of the Bill of
Fletcher; Rights in 1689. This famous bill was the third and
(4) the Metaphysical Poets, Donne and final step in the establishment of constitutional
Herbert; government, the first step being the Great Charter
(5) the Cavalier Poets, Herrick, Carew, (1215), and the second the Petition of Right (1628).
Lovelace, and Suckling; The modern form of cabinet government was
(6) John Milton, his life, his early or Horton established in the reign of George I (1714-1727).
poems, his militant prose, and his last great The foreign prestige of England was strengthened
poetical works; by the victories of Marlborough on the Continent, in
(7) John Bunyan, his extraordinary life, and the War of the Spanish Succession; and the
his chief work, The Pilgrim's Progress; bounds of empire were enormously increased by
(8) the Minor Prose Writers, Burton, Clive in India, by Cook in Australia and the islands
Browne, Fuller, Taylor, Baxter, and Walton. Three of the Pacific, and by English victories over the
books selected from this group are Browne's French in Canada and the Mississippi Valley,
Religio Medici, Taylor's Holy Living and Dying, and during the Seven Years', or French and Indian,
Walton's Complete Angler. Wars. Politically, the country was divided into
Whigs and Tories: the former seeking greater
7. Period of Restoration liberty for the people; the latter upholding the king
3
against popular government. The continued strife Papers, and Thomas Percy, whose work for
between these two political parties had a direct literature was to collect the old ballads, which he
(and generally a harmful) influence on literature, as called the Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, and
many of the great writers were used by the Whig or to translate the stories of Norse mythology in his
Tory party to advance its own interests and to Northern Antiquities.
satirize its enemies. Notwithstanding this perpetual (3) The First English Novelists; the meaning
strife of parties, the age is remarkable for the rapid and history of the modern novel; the life and work
social development, which soon expressed itself in of Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe, who is
literature. Clubs and coffeehouses multiplied, and hardly to be called a novelist, but whom we placed
the social life of these clubs resulted in better among the pioneers; and the novels of Richardson,
manners, in a general feeling of toleration, and Fielding, Smollett, Sterne, and Goldsmith.
especially in a kind of superficial elegance which
shows itself in most of the prose and poetry of the 9. The Age of Romanticism
period. On the other hand, the moral standard of This period extends from the war with the
the nation was very low; bands of rowdies infested colonies, following the Declaration of
the city streets after nightfall; bribery and corruption Independence, in 1776, to the accession
were the rule in politics; and drunkenness was of Victoria in 1837, both limits being very indefinite,
frightfully prevalent among all classes. Swift's as will be seen by a glance at the Chronology
degraded race of Yahoos is a reflection of the following. During the first part of the period
degradation to be seen in multitudes of London especially, England was in a continual turmoil,
saloons. This low standard of morals emphasizes produced by political and economic agitation at
the importance of the great Methodist revival under home, and by the long wars that covered two
Whitefield and Wesley, which began in the second continents and the wide sea between them. The
quarter of the eighteenth century. mighty changes resulting from these two causes
The literature of the century is remarkably have given this period the name of the Age of
complex, but we may classify it all under three Revolution. The storm center of all the turmoil at
general heads,--the Reign of so-called Classicism, home and abroad was the French Revolution,
the Revival of Romantic Poetry, and the Beginning which had a profound influence on the life and
of the Modern Novel. The first half of the century, literature of all Europe. On the Continent the
especially, is an age of prose, owing largely to the overthrow of Napoleon at Waterloo (1815)
fact that the practical and social interests of the age apparently checked the progress of liberty, which
demanded expression. Modern newspapers, like had started with the French Revolution, but in
the Chronicle, Post, and Times, and literary England the case was reversed. The agitation for
magazines, like the Tatler and Spectator, which popular liberty, which at one time threatened a
began in this age, greatly influenced the revolution, went steadily forward till it resulted in the
development of a serviceable prose style. The final triumph of democracy, in the Reform Bill of
poetry of the first half of the century, as typified in 1832, and in a number of exceedingly important
Pope, was polished, unimaginative, formal; and the reforms, such as the extension of manhood
closed couplet was in general use, supplanting all suffrage, the removal of the last unjust restrictions
other forms of verse. Both prose and poetry were against Catholics, the establishment of a national
too frequently satiric, and satire does not tend to system of schools, followed by a rapid increase in
produce a high type of literature. These tendencies popular education, and the abolition of slavery in all
in poetry were modified, in the latter part of the English colonies (1833). To this we must add the
century, by the revival of romantic poetry. changes produced by the discovery of steam and
The following have been noted: the invention of machinery, which rapidly changed
(1) the Augustan or Classic Age; the England from an agricultural to a manufacturing
meaning of Classicism; the life and work of nation, introduced the factory system, and caused
Alexander Pope, the greatest poet of the age; of this period to be known as the Age of Industrial
Jonathan Swift, the satirist; of Joseph Addison, the Revolution.
essayist; of Richard Steele, who was the original The literature of the age is largely poetical in
genius of the Tatler and the Spectator; of Samuel form, and almost entirely romantic in spirit. The
Johnson, who for nearly half a century was the triumph of democracy in government is generally
dictator of English letters; of James Boswell, who accompanied by the triumph of romanticism in
gave us the immortal Life of Johnson; of Edmund literature. At first the literature, as shown especially
Burke, the greatest of English orators; and of in the early work of Wordsworth, Byron, and
Edward Gibbon, the historian, famous for his Shelley, reflected the turmoil of the age and the
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. wild hopes of an ideal democracy occasioned by
(2) The Revival of Romantic Poetry; the the French Revolution. Later the extravagant
meaning of Romanticism; the life and work of enthusiasm subsided, and English writers produced
Thomas Gray; of Oliver Goldsmith, famous as poet, so much excellent literature that the age is often
dramatist, and novelist; of William Cowper; of called the Second Creative period, the first being
Robert Burns, the greatest of Scottish poets; of the Age of Elizabeth. The six chief characteristics of
William Blake, the mystic; and the minor poets of the age are: the prevalence of romantic poetry; the
the early romantic movement,--James Thomson, creation of the historical novel by Scott; the first
William Collins, George Crabbe, James appearance of women novelists, such as Mrs. Anne
Macpherson, author of the Ossian poems, Thomas Radcliffe, Jane Porter, Maria Edgeworth, and Jane
Chatterton, the boy who originated the Rowley Austen; the development of literary criticism, in the
4
work of Lamb, De Quincey, Coleridge, and Hazlitt; fundamentally, since love, truth, justice,
the practical and economic bent of philosophy, as brotherhood--all great ideals--are emphasized as
shown in the work of Malthus, James Mill, and the chief ends of life, not only by its poets but also
Adam Smith; and the establishment of great literary by its novelists and essayists.
magazines, like the Edinburgh Review, the The following have been noted:
Quarterly, Blackwood's, and the Athenaeum. (1) The Poets; the life and works of
The following have been noted: Tennyson and Browning; and the chief
(1) the Poets of Romanticism: the characteristics of the minor poets, Elizabeth Barrett
importance of the Lyrical Ballads of 1798; the life (Mrs. Browning), Rossetti, Morris, and Swinburne.
and work of Wordsworth, Coleridge, Scott, Byron, (2) The Novelists; the life and works of
Shelley, and Keats; Dickens, Thackeray, and George Eliot; and the
(2) the Prose Writers: the novels of Scott; chief works of Charles Reade, Anthony Trollope,
the development of literary criticism; the life and Charlotte Brontë, Bulwer-Lytton, Kingsley, Mrs.
work of the essayists, Lamb, De Quincey, Landor, Gaskell, Blackmore, George Meredith, Hardy, and
and of the novelist Jane Austen. Stevenson.
(3) The Essayists; the life and works of
Macaulay, Matthew Arnold, Carlyle, Newman, and
Ruskin. These were selected, from among many
10. The Victorian Age essayists and miscellaneous writers, as most
The year 1830 is generally placed at the typical of the Victorian Age. The great scientists,
beginning of this period, but its limits are very like Lyell,
indefinite. In general it is thought as covering the Darwin, Huxley, Wallace, Tyndall, and Spencer,
reign of Victoria (1837-1901). Historically the age is hardly belong to our study of literature, though their
remarkable for the growth of democracy following works are of vast importance; and we omit the
the Reform Bill of 1832; for the spread of education works of living writers who belong to the present
among all classes; for the rapid development of the rather than to the past century.
arts and sciences; for important mechanical
inventions; and for the enormous extension of the AMERICAN LITERATURE
bounds of human knowledge by the discoveries of American literature is the written or literary
science. work produced in the area of the United States and
At the accession of Victoria the romantic its preceding colonies. During its early history,
movement had spent its force; Wordsworth had America was a series of British colonies on the
written his best work; the other romantic poets, eastern coast of the present-day United States.
Coleridge, Shelley, Keats, and Byron, had passed Therefore, its literary tradition begins as linked to
away; and for a time no new development was the broader tradition of English literature. However,
apparent in English poetry. Though the Victorian unique American characteristics and the breadth of
Age produced two great poets, Tennyson and its production usually now cause it to be considered
Browning, the age, as a whole, is remarkable for a separate path and tradition.
the variety and excellence of its prose. A study of 1. Colonial literature
all the great writers of the period reveals four There was articulation of Puritan cultural
general characteristics: ideas. Captain Smith was the first American author
(1) Literature in this Age has come very with his works: A true Relation of Such Occurences
close to daily life, reflecting its practical problems and Accidents of Noate as Hath in Virginia...(1608)
and interests, and is a powerful instrument of and The General Historie of Virginia, New England,
human progress. and The Summer Isles (1624).
(2) The tendency of literature is strongly a. Early Writing
ethical; all the great poets, novelists, and essayists > J. Winthrop’s The History of New England
of the age are moral teachers. discussed religious foundations of Massachusetts.
(3) Science in this age exercises an > E. Winslow recorded a diary after the
incalculable influence. On the one hand it Mayflower’s arrival.
emphasizes truth as the sole object of human > I. Mather & W. Bradford wrote History of
endeavor; it has established the principle of law Plymouth Plantation.
throughout the universe; and it has given us an > R. Williams & N. Ward argued state and
entirely new view of life, as summed up in the word church separation.
"evolution," that is, the principle of growth or > Morton’s The New English Canaan
development from simple to complex forms. On the mocked the religious settlers.
other hand, its first effect seems to be to > E. Taylor’s Preparatory Meditations was
discourage works of the imagination. Though the written to prepare him for religious worship.
age produced an incredible number of books, very > W. Wigglesworth’s The Day of Doom
few of them belong among the great creative works described the time of judgement.
of literature. (4) Though the age is generally > N. Noyes was known for his doggerel
characterized as practical and materialistic, it is verses.
significant that nearly all the writers whom the b. Revolutionary Period
nation delights to honor vigorously attack > B. Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanac and
materialism, and The Autobiography of B. Franklin helped in the
exalt a purely ideal conception of life. On the whole, formation of budding American identity.
we are inclined to call this an idealistic age
5
 > Paine’s Common Sense and The novels Adventures of Sawyer and Adventures of
American Crisis influenced the political tone. Huckleberry Finn spoke depicted real people and
sounded American, using local dialects, newly
2. Post-independence invented words and regional accents.
> T. Jefferson’s United States Declaration of > W. D. Howell’s The Rise of Silas Lapham
Independence and Notes on the State of Virginia represented the realist tradition.
made him the most > H. James’s novellas Daisy Miller was
talented early American writer. about an enchanting American girl in Europe and
> A. Hamilton, J. Madison, & J. Jay wrote The Turn of the Screw, an enigmatic story.
Federalist essays. > J. Herne’s Margaret Fleming attempted at
> F. Ames, J. Otis & P. Henry wrote political bringing modern realism into the drama.
writings and orations.
7. Beginning of the 20th Century
3. First American Novels > E. Hemingway’s Edith Wharton
> T. A. Digges’ Adventures of Alonso scrutinized the upper-class, Eastern-seaboard
depicted sentimental novel tradition. society, and The Age of Innocence centered on a
> W. H. Brown’s The Power of Sympathy man who chose to marry a conventional woman.
depicted a tragic love story between siblings. > S. Crane’s The Red Badge of Courage
> S. Rowson’s Charlotte: A Tale of Truth and Maggie: A Girl of the Streets depicted the life of
was later entitled Charlotte Temple was about a New York city prostitutes.
seduction tale. > T. Dreiser’s Sister Carrie portrayed a life
> H. W. Foster’s The Coquette: Or, History of kept woman.
History of Eliza Wharton was about a woman who > E. Bellamy’s Looking Backward outlined
was seduced and abandoned. political and social frameworks of American society.
> W. Irving’s A History of New York from the > U. Sinclair’s The Jungle advocated
Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch socialism.
Dynasty supported himself > H. B. Adam’s autobiography The
through the income generated by his publication. Education of Henry Adams depicted a stinging
description of the education system and modern
4. Unique American Style life.
> W. Irving wrote humorous works in > G. Stein’s Three Lives showed her
Salmagundi and the satire A History of New York, familiarity with cubism, jazz, etc. She was dubbed
by Diedrich Knickerbockes. as one of the Lost Generation.
> C. Bryant wrote nature-inspired poetry. > T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land embodied a
> E. A. Poe wrote The Masque of the Red jaundiced vision of post-World War I society.
Death, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Fall of the > K. Gibran’s writings absorbed modernist
House of Usher, and The Murders in the Rue European influences.
Morgue. > F. S. Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby told of
> Cooper wrote Leatherstocking Tales the youth’s golden dreams to dissolve in failure and
about Natty Bumppo which included The Last disappointment.
Mohicans. > W. Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom!, As I
> R. W. Emerson formed the movement Lay Dying, The Sound of the Fury, and Light in
Transcendentalism. August showed the slave-holding era of the Deep
> H. D. Thoreau’s Walden urged resistance South.
to the meddlesome dictates of organized society.
> A. de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America 8. The Rise of the American Drama
described his travels. > L. Halllam’s troupe popularized minstrel
> H. B. Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin shows and the adaptations of Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
discussed slave’s narrative autobiography. > T. Williams & A. Milles integrated script,
> N. Hawthorne’s collection of stories called music, and dance in Oklahoma! and West Side
Twice-Told Tales. Story.

5. Early American Poetry 9. Depression-era Literature

> W. Whitman’s magnum opus Leaves of > J. Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath told
Grass depicted the all-inclusiveness of American the story of the Joads, a poor family from
democracy. Oklahoma and their journey to California in search
> E. Dickinson’s Because I Could not Stop of a better life. His other novels were Tortilla Flat,
for Death was psychologically penetrating. Of Mice and Men, Cannery Row, and East of Eden.
> W. Stevens wrote Harmonium and The > N. West’s Miss Lovely Hearts plumbed the
Auroras of Autumn. life of its antihero introduced a reluctant advice
> T. S. Eliot wrote The Waste Land. columnist and The Day of
> R. Frost wrote North of Boston and New the Locust which introduced a cast of Hollywood
Hampshire. stereotype and explored the ironies of the movies.
> J. Agee’s Let Us Now Praise Famous Men
6. Realism, Twain and James depicted the lives of three struggling tenant-farming
> Mark Twain’s (Samuel Langhorne in Alabama.
Clemen’s pen name) Life on the Mississipi and the
6
 > H. Miller’s Tropic of Cancer and Black important novels were Libra, Mao II, and Falling
Spring were banned because of obscenity but had Man.
major influence on > D.F. Wallace’s The Broom of the System
succeeding generations of American writers. and Infinite Jest showed futuristic portrait of
America.
10. Post-World War II > P. King authored the short stories Girl with
> H. Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird depicted Curious Hair, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
the more realistic modernists along with the wildly and Oblivion: Stories.
romantic beatniks. > J. Franzen’s The Twenty-Seventh City
> S. Bellow’s The Adventures of Augie centered about his native place St. Louis, and The
March and Herzog painted vivid portraits of the Corrections was about disintegrating Lambert
American society. family.
> J. D. Salinger’s Nine Stories and The > M. Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of
Catcher in the Rye perceived madness of the State Kavalier and Clay told a story of two friends as they
of affairs in America. rose the ranks of the comics industry in its heyday.
> A. Ginsberg’s Howl set the tone of the > D. Johnson’s Tree of Smoke was about
movement. the falsified intelligence during Vietnam.
> J. Kerouac’s On the Road was a chronicle > L. Erdrich’s The Plague of Doves was
of a soul-searching travel through the continent. about the tribal experience set against the
> W. S. Burrough’s Naked Lunch showed backdrops of murder and The Round House which
his travels and experiments with hard drugs. was built on the same theme.
> J. Updike’s Rabbit Run discussed the
taboo topics such as adultery. 13. Minority Literature
> R. Ellison’s Invisible Man told the story of > M. H. Kingston wrote fictioned memoir
a black Underground Man who experienced racial The Woman Warrior, her novel China Men and
tension. Tripmaster Monkey: His Fake Book.
> R. Wright’s The Man Who Was Almost a > H. Jin’s Waiting was about a Chinese
Man and Native Son depicted his childhood and soldier who waited 18 years to divorce his wife for
autodidactic education. another woman and worried about persecution and
> W. Gaddis’ The Recognition portrayed protracted affair.
forgery, capitalism, religious zealotry, etc. > J. Lahiri’s first collection of short stories
> J. Hawkes’ The Lime Twig addressed the Interpreter of Maladies and second collection of
themes of violence and eroticism. short stories Unaccented Earth.
> A. Tan’s The Joy Luck Club traced the
11. Short Fiction Poetry lines of four immigrants families brought together
> F. O’ Connor’s short stories A Good Man by the game Mahjong.
is Hard to Find and Everything That Rises Must > C. R. Lee wrote Native Speaker, A
Converge and her novels Wise Blood and The Gesture Life and Aloft.
Violent Bear It Away focused on the search of truth > S, S. Far, T. Mori, C. Bulosan, J. Okada,
and religious scepticism. H. Yamamoto became prominent.
> J. Ashbery wrote Self-Portrait in a Convex >S. Cisneros’ The House of Mango Street
Mirror, E. Bishop’s North and South, and was taught in schools across the United States.
Geography III, R. wilbur’s Things of this World, J. > J. Diaz’ The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar
Berryman’s The Dream Songs, A.R. Ammon’s Wao told the story of an overweight Dominican boy
collected poems, Roethke’s The Wakings, J. growing up as a social outcast.
Merills’s The Changing Light at Sandover, L. > J. Alvarez wrote How the Garcia Girls Lost Their
Gluckfor’s The Wild Iris, W.S. Merwin’s Carrier of Accents and In the Time of the Butteflies, O.
Ladders. Hijuelos’ The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love, C.
Garcia’s Dreaming in Cuban, N.S. Momaday’s
12. Contemporary American Literature House made of Dawn, L.M. Silko’s Ceremony, G.
> T. Pynchon’s Gravity Rainbow showed the Vizenor’s Bearheart: The heiship Chronicles, L.
most salient literary movement of postmodernism. Erdrich’s Love Medicine.
His other works were The Crying of Lot, V., Mason
and Dixon, and Against the Day. Philippine Literature
> T. Marrison’s The Bluest Eye had an Philippine literature is the literature
elaborated description of incestuous rape and associated with the Philippines and includes the
explored the conventions of beauty. He legends of prehistory, and the colonial legacy of the
experimented in his works Song of Solomon and Philippines. Most of the notable literature of the
Beloved. Philippines was written during the Spanish period
> C. McCarthy’s The Orchard Keeper, and the first half of the 20th century in Spanish
Suttree, Blood Meridian, All the Pretty Houses, and language. Philippine literature is written in Spanish,
The Road achieved both commercial and critical English, Tagalog, or other native Philippine
success, several of his works having adapted to languages.
film. 1. Early works
> D. Delillo’s White Noise tackled the >Doctrina Christiana, Manila, 1593, is the
subjects of death and consumerism. His first book printed in the Philippines.
Underworld chronicled American life. His other
7
 >Tomas Pinpin wrote and printed in 1610 languages.
Librong Pagaaralan nang mga Tagalog nang 1. Religious drama
Uicang Castilla, 119 pages designed to help fellow a. The Panunuluyan– Literally, seeking
Filipinos to learn the Spanish language in a simple entrance, the Tagalog version of the Mexican Las
way. He is also with the first news publication made Posadas. Held on the eve of Christmas, it
in the Philippines, "Successos Felices". dramatizes Joseph's and Mary's search for
Bethlehem.
2. Classical literature in Spanish during the b. Cenaculo – Was the dramatization of the
19th Century On December 1, 1846, the first daily passion and death of Jesus Christ.
newspaper, La Esperanza, was published in the c. Salubong – An Easter play that
country. Other early newspapers were La Estrella dramatizes the meeting of the Risen Christ and His
(1847), Diario de Manila(1848) and Boletin Oficial Mother.
de Filipinas (1852). The first provincial newspaper d. Moriones – Refers to the participants
was El Eco de Vigan (1884), which was issued in dressed roman soldiers, their identities hidden
Ilocos. In Cebu City "El Boletín de Cebú" (The behind colorful, sometimes grotesque, wooden
Bulletin of Cebu), was published in 1890. masks.
On 1863, the Spanish government e. The Santacruzan – Performed during the
introduced a system of free public education that month of May which have the devotion for the Holy
increased the population's ability to read Spanish Cross. It depicts St. Elena's search for the cross on
and thereby furthered the rise of an educated class which Christ died.
called the Ilustrado (meaning, well-informed). f. Pangangaluwa – An interesting socio-
Spanish became the social language of urban religious practice on All Saint's Day which literally
places and the true lingua franca of the means for The Soul.
archipelago. A good number of Spanish
newspapers were 2. Secular dramas
published until the end of the 1940s, the most These were generally held during the nine
influential of them being El Renacimiento, printed in nights of vigil and prayers after someone's death,
Manila by members of the Guerrero de Ermita on the first death anniversary when the family
family. members put away their mourning clothes.
Some members of the ilustrado group, while in a. The Karagatan – comes from the
Spain, decided to start a Spanish publication with legendary practice of testing the mettle of young
the aim of promoting the autonomy and men vying for a maiden's hand. The maiden's ring
independence projects. Members of this group would be dropped into sea and whoever retrieves it
included Pedro Alejandro Paterno, who wrote the would have the girl's hand in marriage.
novel Nínay (first novel written by a Filipino) ((cn)) b. The Duplo – A forerunner of the
and the Philippine national hero, José Rizal, who balagtasan. The performances consist of two
wrote excellent poetry and two famous novels in teams; One composed of young women called
Spanish: Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not), and El Dupleras or Belyakas; and the other, of young men
Filibusterismo. Especially potent was La called Dupleros or Belyakos.
Solidaridad, more fondly called La Sol by the c. The Comedia – It is about a courtly love
members of the propaganda movement, founded in between, a prince and a princess of different
15 February 1885.[citation needed] religions. It is about a Christian- Muslim relationship
With the help of this paper, Filipino national
heroes like José Rizal, Graciano Lopez Jaena, and 4. Modern literature (20th and 21st century)
Marcelo H. del Pilar were able to voice out their The greatest portion of Spanish literature
sentiments. was written during the American period, most often
as an expression of pro- Hispanic nationalism, by
3. Poetry and metrical romances those who had been educated in Spanish or had
>Ladino Poems – Were natives of first lived in the Spanish-speaking society of the big
Tagalog versifiers who saw print: highly literate in cities,
both Spanish and the vernacular. and whose principles entered in conflict with the
>Corridos – Were widely read during the American cultural trends. Such period of Spanish
Spanish period that filled the populace's need for literary production—i.e., between the independence
entertainment as well as edifying reading matter in of Spain in 1898 and well ahead into the decade of
their leisure moments. the 1940s—is known as Edad de Oro del
>Awit – like corridos, these were also widely Castellano en Filipinas. Some prominent writers of
read during the Spanish period as entertaining, this era were Wenceslao Retana and Claro Mayo
edifying, reading manner in their leisure time. It is Recto, both in drama and essay; Antonio M. Abad
also a fabrication of the writers imagination and Guillermo Gomez Wyndham, in the narrative;
although the characters and the setting may be Fernando María Guerrero and Manuel Bernabé,
European. The structure is rendered dodecasyllabic both in poetry. The predominant literary style was
quatrains. the so-called "Modernismo", a mixture of elements
from the French Parnassien and Symboliste
a. Prose schools, as promoted by some Latin American and
The prose works of the Spanish Period Peninsular Spanish writers (e.g. the Nicaraguan
consisted mostly of didactic pieces and translations Rubén Darío, the Mexican Amado Nervo, the
of religious writings in foreign
8
Spaniard Francisco Villaespesa, and the Peruvian 2. Buddhism originated in India in the 6th
José Santos Chocano as major models). century B.C. This religion is based on the teachings
of Siddharta Gautama called Buddha, or the
5. Notable Philippine literary authors “Enlightened One‟. Much of Buddha‟s teaching is
Estrella Alfon, Francisco Arcellana, Carlos focused on self-awareness and self-development in
Bulosan, Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, Linda Ty order to attain nirvana or enlightenment.
Casper, Gilda Cordero- Fernando, N. V. M. The Buddhist scriptures uphold the Four
Gonzalez, Nick Joaquin, F. Sionil José, Ambeth R. Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path.
Ocampo, Alejandro R. Roces, Bienvenido Santos, The Four Noble Truths are: 1) life is
Edilberto K. Tiempo, Kerima Polotan Tuvera, José suffering; 2) the cause of suffering is desire; 3) the
Rizal, Francisco Balagtas, Zoilo Galang, Lualhati removal of desire of suffering; and the Noble
Bautista, Genoveva Edroza- Matute, Nicanor Eightfold Paths leads to the end of suffering.
Abelardo, Kris Astudillo The Noble Eightfold Paths consist of: 1)
right understanding; 2) right thought; 3) right
AFRO-ASIAN LITERATURE speech; 4) right action; 5) right means of livelihood;
6) right effort; 7) right consideration; 8) right
A. INDIA meditation.
1. Literary Periods. The Indus civilization flourished
in northern India between 2500 and 1500 B.C. Te 3. Religious and Philosophical Works.
Aryans, a group of nomadic warriors and herders The Vedas form a collection of sacred
were the earliest known migrants into India. They among hymn or verse composed in archaic
brought with them a well- developed language and Sanskrit the Indo-European speaking people who
literature and a set of religious beliefs. entered India from the Iranian regions.
a) Vedic Period (1500 B.C. -500 B.C.). This The Dhammapada (Way of Truth) is an
period is named for the Vedas, a set of hymns that anthology of basic Buddhist teaching in a simple
formed the cornerstone of Aryan culture. Hindus aphoristic style. One of the best-known books of
consider the Vedas, which were transmitted orally the Pali Buddhist canon it contains 423 stanzas
by priests, to be the most sacred of all literature for arranged in 26 chapters.
they The Upanishads form a highly sophisticated
believe these to have been revealed to humans commentary on the religious thought suggested by
directly by the gods. the poetic hymns of the Rigveda. The name
b) Epic and Buddhist Age (500 B.C. –A.D.). implies, according to same traditions, „sitting at the
The period of composition two great epics, feet of the teacher.‟
Mahabharata and the Ramayana. This time was
also the growth of later Vedic literature, new 4. Epics. The two major Indian epics, the
Sanskrit literature, and the Buddhist literature in Mahabharata and the Ramayana, are the literary
Pali. embodiments of Hinduism.
c) Classical Period (A.D. -1000 A.D.). The The Mahabharata is longer and more
main literary language of northern India during this importan, but the Ramayana seems to be more
period was Sanskrit, in contrast with the Dravidian interesting for modern audience.
languages of southern India. Sanskrit, which means The Mahabharata consists of a mass of
„perfect speech‟, is considered a sacred language legendary and didactic material that tells of the
spoken by the gods and goddesses. struggle for supremacy between two groups of
d) Medieval and Modern Age (A.D. 1000 – cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas. The
present). Persian influences on literature were traditional date for the war is 3102 B.C. The poem
considerable this period. Persian was the court is made up of the almost 100,000 couplets divided
language of the Moslem rulers. In the 18th century into 18 parvans or sections. Authorship is
India was directly under the British Crown and traditionally ascribed to the sage Vsaya, although it
remained so until its Independence in1947. is more likely that he compiled existing material.
The Bhagavad Gita (The blessed Lord‟s
2. Religions. Indian creativity is evident in religion Song) is one of the greatest and most beautiful of
as the country is the Birthplace of two important the Hindu scriptures. It is regarded by the Hindus in
faiths: Hinduism, the dominant religion, and somewhat the same way as the Gospels are by
Buddhism, which ironically became extinct in India Christians.
but spread throughout Asia. The Ramayana was composed in Sanskrit,
1. Hinduism, literally “the belief of the probably not before 300 B.C., by the poet Valmiki,
people of India”, is the predominant faith of India and consists of some 24,000 couplets divided into
and of no other nation. The Hindus are deeply seven books. It reflects the Hindu values and forms
absorbed with God and the creation of the of social organization, the theory of karma, the
universe. ideas of wifehood, and feelings about caste, honor
The Purusarthas are the three ends of man: and promises.
dharma – virtue. Duty, righteousness, moral law;
artha- wealth; and karma- love or pleasure. A fourth 5. Literary Selections.
end is moksha- the renunciation of duty, wealth and The Panchatantra is a collection of Indian
love in order to seek spiritual perfection. It is beast fables originally written in Sanskrit. Sakuntala
achieved after the release from samasara, the is a Sanskrit drama by Kalidasa. Love is the central
cycle of births and deaths.
9
emotion that binds the characters Sakuntala and Taketori Monogatari was an example of
king Dushyanta. proto-science fiction. The protagonist of the story,
The little Clay Cart (Mrcchakatika) is Kaguya-hime, is a princess from the Moon who is
attributed to Shudraka, a king. The characters in sent to Earth for safety during a celestial war, and
this play include a Brahman merchant who has lost is found and raised by a bamboo cutter. She is later
his money through liberality, a rich courtesan in taken back to her extraterrestrial family in an
love with a poor young man, much description of illustrated depiction of a disc-shaped flying object
resplendent palaces, and both comic and tragic or similar to a flying saucer.
near-tragic emotional situations Gitanjali: by Konjaku Monogatarishū was a collection of
Rabindranath Tagore. over a thousand stories in 31 volumes. The
The Taj Mahal a poem by Sahir Ludhianvi is volumes cover various tales from India, China and
about the mausoleum in North India built by the Japan.
mogul emperor Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz-i-
Mahal. 2. Medieval literature (1185–1603)
On learning to be an Indian an essay by The Tale of the Heike (1371) was an epic
Santha Rama Rau illustrates the telling effects of account of the struggle between the Minamotoand
colonization on the lives of the people particularly Taira clans for control of Japan. Other important
the younger generation. tales of the period include Kamo no Chōmei’s
Hōjōki (1212) and Yoshida Kenkō’s Tsurezuregusa
6. Major Writers. (1331).
Kalidasa a Sanskrit poet and dramatist is Other notable genres in this period were renga, or
probably the greatest Indian writer of all time. linked verse, and Noh 11avoure.
Rabindranath Tagore (1861- 1941) The son
of a Great Sage, Tagore is a Bengali poet and 3. Early-modern literature (1603–1868)
mystic who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in The jōruri and kabuki dramatist Chikamatsu
1913. Monzaemon is known as the Japan’s Shakespeare.
Kamala Markandaya (1924). Her works Matsuo Bashō wrote Oku no Hosomichi (1702), a
concern the struggles of contemporary Indians with travel diary. Hokusai was the most famous
conflicting Eastern and Western values. Nectar in a woodblock print artist, and illustrated his famous 36
Sieve. Her first novel and most popular work is Views of Mount Fuji. Jippensha Ikku is also known
about an Indian peasant’s narrative of her difficult as Japan’s Mark Twain.
life. Ihara Saikaku gave birth to the modern
R.K. Narayan (1906). One of the finest consciousness of the novel and mixed vernacular
Indian authors of his generation writing in English. dialogue into his cautionary tales. Jippensha Ikku
Anita Desai (1937). An English-language wrote Tōkaidōchū Hizakurige, which is a mix of
Indian novelist and author of children’s books, she travelogue and comedy. Tsuga Teisho, Takebe
is considered India’s premier imagist writer. Clear Ayatari, and Okajima Kanzan were instrumental in
Light of Day is her landmark work. developing the yomihon, which were historical
romances almost entirely in prose, influenced by
B. Japanese Literature Chinese vernacular novels such as Three
Early works of Japanese literature were Kingdoms and Shui hu zhuan. Twoyomihon
heavily influenced by cultural contact with China masterpieces were written by Ueda
and Chinese literature, often written in Classical Akinari: Ugetsu Monogatari and Harusame
Chinese. Indian literature also had an influence monogatari wrote the extremely popular
through the diffusion of Buddhism in Japan. fantasy/historical romance Nansō Satomi
Eventually, Japanese literature developed into a Hakkenden in addition to other yomihon.Santō
separate style in its own right as Japanese writers Kyōden wrote yomihon mostly set in the gay
began writing their own works about Japan, quarters until the Kansei edicts banned such works,
although the influence of Chinese literature and and he turned to comedic kibyōshi.
Classical Chinese remained until the end of the
Edo period. Since Japan reopened its ports to 4. Modern literature (1868–1945)
Western trading and diplomacy in the 19th century, A new colloquial literature developed
Western and Eastern literature have strongly centering on the “I novel”, with some unusual
affected each other and continue to do so. protagonists such as the cat narrator of Natsume
Sōseki’s Wagahai wa neko de aru (I Am a Cat),
1. Classical literature (794–1185) Botchan and Kokoro (1914). Shiga Naoya, the so-
Murasaki Shikibu’s Genji Monogatari is called “god of the novel”, and Mori Ōgai were
considered the pre-eminent masterpiece of Heian instrumental in adopting and adapting Western
fiction and an early example of a work of fiction in literary conventions and techniques. Ryūnosuke
the form of a novel. Kokin Wakashū (905) wrote, a Akutagawa is known especially for his historical
waka-poetry anthology, and Makura no Sōshi short stories. Ozaki Kōyō, Kyōka Izumi, and Ichiyo
(990s), the Higuchi represent a strain of writers whose style
latter written by Murasaki Shikibu’s contemporary hearkens back to early-Modern Japanese literature.
and rival, Sei Shōnagon, as an essay about the life, In the early Meiji period (1868–1880s),
loves, and pastimes of nobles in the Emperor’s Fukuzawa Yukichi authored Enlightenment
court. The iroha poem was also developed during literature, while pre-modern popular books depicted
the early part of this period. the quickly changing country. Then Realism was
10
brought in by Tsubouchi Shōyō and Futabatei period. Nobuo Kojima’s short story “The American
Shimei in the mid- School” portrays a group of Japanese teachers of
Meiji (late 1880s–early 1890s) while the Classicism English who, in the immediate aftermath of the war,
of Ozaki Kōyō, Yamada Bimyo and Kōda Rohan dealt with the American occupation in varying ways.
gained popularity. Ichiyō Kenzaburō Ōe wrote his best-known work,
Higuchi wrote short stories on powerless A Personal Matter in 1964 and became Japan’s
women of this age. Kyōka Izumi, a 11avoured second winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature.
disciple of Ozaki, pursued a flowing and elegant Kōbō Abe’s Woman in the Dunes (1960)
style and wrote early novels such as The Operating showed the Japanese experience in modern terms
Room (1895) in literary style and later ones without using either international styles or
including The Holy Man of Mount Koya (1900) in traditional conventions. Shizuko Todo’s Ripening
colloquial. Summer captured the complex psychology of
Romanticism was brought in by Mori Ōgai modern women. Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian
with his anthology of translated poems (1889) and Wood (1987) and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
carried to its height by Tōson Shimazaki etc. and (1994–1995) portrayed genre- defying, humorous
magazines Myōjōand Bungaku-kai in early 1900s. and surreal works. Banana Yoshimoto’s Kitchen
Mori also wrote some modern novels including The about love, friendship, and loss showed “manga-
Dancing Girl (1890), Wild Geese (1911), then, later esque” style of writing. Manga (comic books) have
wrote historical novels. Natsume Sōseki, who is penetrated almost every sector of the popular
often compared with Mori Ōgai, wrote I Am a Cat market.
(1905) with humor and satire, then depicted fresh
and pure youth in Botchan (1906) and Sanshirô C. Chinese Literature
(1908). He eventually pursued transcendence of Chinese literature reflects the political and
human emotions and egoism in his later works social history of China and the impact of powerful
including Kokoro (1914) his last and unfinished religions that came from within and outside the
novelLight and darkness (1916). country. Its tradition goes back thousands of years
Shimazaki shifted from Romanticism to and has often been inspired by philosophical
Naturalism which was established with his The questions about the meaning of life, how to live
Broken Commandment (1906) and Katai Tayama’s ethically in society, and how to live in spiritual
Futon (1907). Naturalism hatched “I Novel” harmony with the natural order of the universe.
(Watakushi-shôsetu) that describes about the Shang Dynasty (1600 B.C.). People
authors themselves and depicts their own mental practiced a religion based on the belief that nature
states. Neo-romanticism came out of anti- was inhabited by many powerful gods and spirits.
naturalism and was led by Kafū Nagai, Jun’ichirō Among the significant advances of this period were
Tanizaki, Kōtarō Takamura, Hakushū Kitahara and bronze working, decimal system, a twelve-month
so on in the early 1910s. Saneatsu Mushanokōji, calendarand a system of writing consisting 3,000
Naoya Shiga and others founded a magazine characters.
Shirakaba in 1910. They shared a common Chou Dynasty (1100 B.C. – 221 B.C.). The
characteristic, Humanism. Shiga’s style was longest of all dynasties and throughout most of this
autobiographical and depicted states of his mind period China suffered from severe political disunity
and sometimes classified as “I Novel” in this sense. and upheaval. This era was also known as the
Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, who was highly praised by Hundred Schools period because of the many
Soseki, wrote short stories including competing philosophers and teachers. Among the
Rashōmon(1915) with an intellectual and analytic most influential include Lao Tzu, the proponent of
attitude, and represented Neo-realism in the mid- Taoism, and Confucius, the founder of
1910s. Confucianism.
During the 1920s and early 1930s the Ch‟in Dynasty (221 B.C. – 207 B.C.). This is
proletarian literary movement, comprising such where China saw unification and the strengthening
writers as Takiji Kobayashi, Denji Kuroshima, of central government.
Yuriko Miyamoto, and Ineko Sata produced a Roads connecting all parts of the empire
politically radical literature. were built and the existing walls on the northern
Jun’ichirō Tanizaki was Japan’s first winner borders were connected to form the Great Wall of
of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Yasunari China.
Kawabata was considered a master of Han Dynasty (207 B.C. – A.D. 220) One of
psychological fiction. Ashihei Hino wrote lyrical the most glorious eras of Chinese history. This
bestsellers glorifying the war, while Tatsuzō period was marked by the introduction of Buddhism
Ishikawa attempted to publish a disturbingly from India.
realistic account of the advance on Nanjing. T‟ang Dynasty (A.D. 618 – 960) The Golden
Age of Chinese civilization. Fine arts and literature
5. Post-war literature flourished in this period. Among the technological
Osamu Dazai’s novel The Setting Sun told advances of this time were the invention of gun
of a soldier returning from Manchukuo. Shōhei powder and the block printing.
Ōoka won the Yomiuri Prize for his novel Fires on Sung Dynasty (A.D. 960 – 1279). This
the Plain about a Japanese deserter going mad in period was characterized by delicacy and
the Philippine jungle. Yukio Mishima, well known for refinement although inferior in literary arts but great
both his nihilistic writing and his controversial in learning. The practice of Neo-Confucianism
suicide by seppuku, began writing in the post-war proliferated.
11
 fables and anecdotes that teach the Taoist
1. Philosophy and Religion philosophy and questioned the principles of
Chinese literature and all of Chinese culture Confucianism.
has been profoundly influenced by three great
schools of thought: 3. Literary Selections
Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. The Book of Songs (Shih Ching), compiled
Chinese religions are based on the perception of around the 6th century B.C. is the oldest collection
life as a process of continual change in which of Chinese poetry. This collection consists of 305
opposing forces, such as heaven and earth or light poems, many of which were originally folk songs,
and dark, balance one another. These opposites focusing on such themes as farming, love, and war.
are symbolized by the Yin and Yang. Yin, the The Book of Changes (I Ching) is one of the Five
passive and feminine force, counterbalances Yang, Classics of Confucian philosophy and has been
the active and masculine force, each contains a primarily used for divination.
„seed‟ Record of a Journey to the West is the
of the other, as represented in the traditional yin- foremost Chinese comic novel written about 1500-
yang symbol. 82 by the long- anonymous Wu Chengen. The
Confucianism provides the Chinese with novel is based on the actual 7thcentury pilgrimage
both a moral order and an order for the universe. It of the Buddhist monk Xuanzang (602-664) to India
is not a religion but it makes individuals aware of in search of sacred texts.
their place in the world and the behaviour Dream of the Red Chamber is a novel by
appropriate to it. It also provides a political and Cao Zhan thought to be semiautobiographical and
social philosophy. generally considered to be the greatest of all
Confucian ethics is humanist. The following are Chinese novels.
Confucian tenets: The Injustice Done to Tou Ngo a play by
>jen or human heartedness are qualities or Guan Han-Cheng, a Yuan dramatist, tells the story
forms of 12ehaviour that set men above the rest of of the poisoning of Old
the lie on earth. Also known as ren, it is the Chang by his own son but the conviction of
measure of individual character and such, is the Tou Ngo
goal of self- cultivation.
>li refers to ritual, custom, propriety, and 4. Major Writers
manner. A person of li is a good person. Taoism Taoist Writers:
was illustrated by Lao Tzu during the Chou Chuang Tzu (4th century B.C.) was the
Dynasty. Taoist beliefs and influences are an most important early interpreter of the philosophy of
important part of Taoism. In his stories, he appears as a quirky
classical Chinese culture. The “Tao” or “The Way” character who careslittle for either public approval
means the natural course that the world follows. To or material possessions.
follow the “Tao” or to go with the flow is both Lieh Tzu (4th century B.C.) was a Taoist
wisdom and happiness. For the Taoist, teacher who had many philosophical differences
unhappiness comes from parting from the “Tao” or with his forebears Lao-Tzu and Chuan Tzu. He
from trying to flout argued that the sequence of causes predetermines
it. everything that happens, including one‟s choice of
Buddhism was imported from India during action.
the Han dynasty. Buddhist thought stresses the Lui An (172 – 122 B.C.). Taoist scholar, the
importance of ridding oneself of earthly desires and grandson of the founder of the Han dynasty. His
of seeking ultimate peace and enlightenment royal title was the Prince of Haui-nan. Together with
through detachment. With its stress on living philosophers and under his patronage, he produced
ethically and its emphasis on material concerns, a collection of essays on metaphysics, cosmology,
Buddhism appealed to both Confucians and politics, and conduct.
Taoists. Ssu-ma Ch‟ien (145 – 122 B.C.) was the
greatest of China‟s grand historians who dedicated
2. Philosophical Works himself to completing the first history of China the
The Analects (Lun Yu) is one of the four Records of the Historian..
Confucian texts. The sayings range from brief Po Chu-I (772 – 846). He wrote many
statements to more extended dialogues between poems speaking bitterly against the social and
Confucius and his students. The Analects instructs economic problems that were plaguing China.
on moderation in all things through moral Li Ch‟ing-chao (A.D. 1084 – 1151) is
education, the building of a harmonious family life regarded as China‟s greatest woman poet and was
and the development of virtues such as loyalty, also one of the most liberated women of her day.
obedience and a sense of justice. Many of her poems composed in the tz‟u form
The Tao-Te Ching (Classic of the Way of celebrate her happy marriage or express her
Power) is believed to have been written between loneliness when her husband was away.
the 8th and 3rd centuries B.C. It presents a way of Chou-Shu-jen (1881 – 1936) has been
life intended to restore harmony and tranquility to a called the Father of the modern Chinese short story
kingdom racked by widespread disorders. because of his introduction of Western techniques.
Chuang Tzu is the philosophical work of Lao He is also known as Lu Hsun whose stories deal
Tzu‟s most important disciple, Chuan Tzu. Written with themes of social concern, the problems of the
in a witty, imaginative style, this book consists of poor,
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women and intellectuals. During this period, African plays began to
Mao Tun is the pen name of Shen Yen-ping emerge. Herbert Isaac Ernest Dhlomo of South
who is an exponent of revolutionary realism. He is Africa published the first English-language African
the author of a half-dozen play, The Girl Who Killed to Save: Nongqawuse the
Liberator in 1935. In 1962, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o of
D. African literature Kenya wrote the first East African drama, The Black
1. Oral literature Hermit, a cautionary tale about "tribalism" (racism
Oral literature (or orature) may be in prose between African tribes).
or verse. The prose is often mythological or African literature in the late colonial period
historical and can include tales of the trickster (between the end of World War I and
character. Storytellers in Africa sometimes use call- independence) increasingly showed themes of
and-response techniques to tell their stories. liberation, independence, and (among Africans in
Poetry, often sung, includes: narrative epic, French-controlled territories) négritude. One of the
occupational verse, ritual verse, praise poems to leaders of the négritude movement, the poet and
rulers and other prominent people. Praise singers, eventual President of Senegal, Léopold Sédar
bards sometimes known as "griots", tell their stories Senghor, published in 1948 the first anthology of
with music. French-language poetry written by Africans,
Anthologie de la nouvelle poésie nègre et
2. Pre-colonial literature malgache de langue française (Anthology of the
Examples of pre-colonial oral literature of New Black and Malagasy Poetry in the French
west Africa includes the "Epic of Sundiata" Language), featuring a preface by the French
composed in medieval Mali, and the older "Epic of existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre.
Dinga" from the old Ghana Empire. In Ethiopia,
there is a substantial literature written in Ge'ez 4. Colonial African literature
going back at least to the 4th century AD; the best- African writers in this period wrote both in
known work in this tradition is the Kebra Negast, or Western languages (notably English, French, and
"Book of Kings." One popular form of traditional Portuguese) and in traditional African languages
African folktale is the "trickster" story, where a small such as Hausa.
animal uses its wits to survive encounters with In 1986, Wole Soyinka became the first
larger creatures. post-independence African writer to win the Nobel
Examples of animal tricksters include Prize in literature. Algerian- born Albert Camus had
Anansi, a spider in the folklore of the Ashanti been awarded the 1957 prize. During this period to
people of Ghana; Ijàpá, a tortoisein Yoruba folklore the moment African literature has become powerful
of Nigeria; and Sungura, a hare found in central compared to pre- colonial Africa.
and East African folklore.[5] Other works in written
form are abundant, namely in north Africa, theSahel 5. Colonial African literature
regions of west Africa and on the Swahili coast. The Noma Award for Publishing in Africa,
From Timbuktu alone, there are an estimated begun in 1980, is presented for the outstanding
300,000 or more manuscripts tucked away in work of the year in African
various libraries and private collections,[6] mostly literatures.
written in Arabic but some in the native languages
(namely Fula and Songhai). Many were written at
the famous University of Timbuktu. Swahili
literature similarly, draws inspiration from Islamic
teachings but developed under indigenous
circumstances.
One of the most renowned and earliest
pieces of Swahili literature being Utendi wa
Tambuka or "The Story of Tambuka".

3. Colonial African literature

The African works best known in the West
from the period of colonization and the slave trade
are primarily slave narratives, such as Olaudah
Equiano's The Interesting Narrative of the Life of
Olaudah Equiano (1789).
In the colonial period, Africans exposed to
Western languages began to write in those
tongues. In 1911, Joseph Ephraim Casely Hayford
(also known as Ekra-Agiman) of the Gold Coast
(now Ghana) published what is probably the first
African novel written in English, Ethiopia Unbound:
Studies in Race Emancipation. Although the work
moves between fiction and political advocacy, its
publication and positive reviews in the Western
press mark a watershed moment in African
literature.
13