world literature overview

1. World Literature Before 1660
OVERVIEW ABOUT THE CURRICULUM

3. WHAT IS LITERATURE?
 Literature allows a person to step back in time and learn about life on Earth from
the ones who walked before us. We can gather a better understanding of culture
and have a greater appreciation of them. We learn through the ways history is
recorded, in the forms of manuscripts and through speech itself.
 Literature provides a language model for those who hear and read it. By using
literary texts, students learn new words, syntax and discourse functions and they learn
correct sentence patterns, standard story structures. They develop their writing skills.
 Literature is the foundation of life.
It places an emphasis on many topics from human tragedies to tales of the
ever-popular search for love. While it is physically written in words, these words come
alive in the imagination of the mind, and its ability to comprehend the complexity or
simplicity of the text.

4. THE IMPORTANCE OF LITERATURE
 Literature is a term used to describe written and sometimes spoken
material. Derived from the Latin word literature meaning “writing formed with
letters,” literature most commonly refers to works of the creative imagination,
including poetry, drama, fiction, nonfiction, and in some instances, journalism,
and song.
 So after the sequential elapse of time, it is proved that, literature definitely has
profound sway upon life to a large extent. Literature influences us and makes
us understand the every walk of life. Narratives, in particular, inspire empathy
and give people a new perspective on their lives and the lives of others.
 Literature is the foundation of humanity’s cultures, beliefs, and traditions. It
serves as a reflection of reality, a product of art, and a window to an
ideology. Everything that happens within a society can be written, recorded in,
and learned from a piece of literature.

5. WORLD LITERATURE
 World literature can be defined as works of literature that have been
created, distributed, and circulated beyond their country of origin.
Odyssey, Things Fall Apart, A Doll's House, and The Recognition of
Sakuntala to name a few. All of these works of literature were created in
countries around the world and are included in teachings in the United
world literature is studied all over the world, for example, The
ancient Greece, is studied by scholars everywhere.

6. WORLD LITERATURE
 Topics of World Literature vary depending upon when and where the literature was written, although some works have similar themes and
features, including the human condition, which cannot be avoided. Topics of world literature often include a discussion on humanity's
origin, power, heroism, and love. In most instances, the biggest feature of world literature is that it can be understood thematically by
people of many different cultures, nationalities, time periods, and ethnicities.
 Some other common features of world literature include:
• Folklore
• Legends
• Fables
• Mythology
 These features are often found in world literature because they are used by a culture as a way of discussing or trying to figure out where
they came from and why they are there. In other words, these features are humanity's way of inspecting their own humanity, which is
valued throughout time and across cultures. Great world literature is widely read beyond the borders of its origin country.

7. WHAT ARE IN THIS COURSE?

8. ANCIENT WORLD LITERATURE PERIOD
B.C.E: Before the Common Era (same as B.C)
C.E: Common Era (same as A.D)

11. PART I: ANCIENT EGYPTIAN LITERATURE

12. MAIN FEATURES
1. Ancient Egypt has one of the world's oldest literary traditions. The only others that
can match its antiquity an longevity are those of ancient Mesopotamia, China, and India.
Stretching over almost three millennia, from perhaps as early as 2700 B.C.E, to the
Common Era, the texts that emerged from ancient Egypt display a remarkable
range of themes, genres, and styles: biographical inscriptions honoring the dead from
tombs, stone stelae, and statues; hymns to the gods; accounts of travel adventures;
laments of life and loss; wisdom texts advising future generations on how to live a good
life in a flawed world; passionate love poetry; fantastic tales; and satirical fables.

13. MAIN FEATURES
2. For much of the Common Era, the literature of ancient Egypt was virtually
unknown. Except for a few motifs and narratives that passed into Greek and from
there into medieval European texts, the Egyptian literary tradition disappeared in the late
fourth century C.E., and hieroglyphs, the "sacred engraved signs” of the Egyptian
writing system, as the Greeks called them, could not be read. It was not until the
nineteenth century that European scholars deciphered the forgotten language and
gradually recovered Egypt’s written heritage, including the rich body of its literature.

14. THE ORALAND WRITTEN IN EGYPTIAN LITERARY CULTURE
3. For most of its history, Egyptian was written in two main scripts: the more ceremonial
and elaborate hieroglyphic script and the cursive form using ink on papyrus, called
''hieratic" or "priestly writing" by the Greeks, which was used for everyday affairs and
for religious texts.
Literacy was restricted to elites in ancient Egypt; perhaps as few as one in a hundred
people could read and write. Thus, literature was not a medium for broad consumption
by reading but was enjoyed mostly through oral delivery.

15. THE CLASSICAL PERIODS OF EGYPTIAN LITERATURE
1. Old Kingdom (ca. 2000 B.C.E
backward) – The Pyramid
texts
2. Middle Kingdom (ca. 1940-
1650 BCE) – The Tale of
Sinuhe
3. New Kingdom (ca. 1500-
1000 BCE) – Harpist’s song
4. The Late Period (ca. 1000-30
BCE)- Stela of Taimhotep
Kings of the Middle Kingdom expanded the use of writing and scribal
schools. The first great period of Egyptian literature, which formed
part of this development, saw the production of tales, wisdom texts,
dialogues, and complaints.
During the New Kingdom period, in defiance of Egypt’s traditional
lavish tomb culture, some of these poems claim that constructing a
monumental tomb with expensive grave goods is worthless and that
one should instead enjoy this life on earth to the full.
The first millennium B.C.E. Egypt brought major upheavals to
Egyptian society and literature. Egypt lost its imperial power and
became the target of foreign invasion. Against this backdrop of foreign
invasion and political instability, some literature of the Late Period
carries more somber tones

16. PART II: THE WORK OF ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA
THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH
(ca. 1900-250 BCE)
- One of the earliest pieces of world literature.
- The story of its main protagonist, King Gilgamesh, and his quest for immortality touches
on the most fundamental questions of what it means to be human: death and
friendship, nature and civilization, power and violence, travel adventures and
homecoming, love and sexuality.
- The epic spread throughout the ancient Near East and was translated into various
regional languages during the second millennium BCE.

17. PART III: THE HEBREW BIBLE
Hebrew Bible, also called Hebrew Scriptures, Old Testament,
or Tanakh, collection of writings that was first compiled and
preserved as the sacred books of the Jewish people. It
also constitutes a large portion of the Christian Bible, known as
the Old Testament. Except for a few passages in Aramaic,
appearing mainly in the apocalyptic Book of Daniel, these
scriptures were written originally in Hebrew during the period from
1200 to 100 BCE. The Hebrew Bible probably reached its current
form about the 2nd century CE.

18. PART IV: THE ANCIENT GREEK LITERATURE

19. MAIN FEATURES
1. Greek literature has influenced not only its Roman neighbors to the west but
also countless generations across the European continent. Greek writers are
responsible for the introduction of such genres as poetry, tragedy, comedy,
and western philosophy to the world.
2. The Greeks were a passionate people, and this zeal can be seen in
a rich history of both war and peace, leaving an indelible imprint on

20. MAIN PERIODS
Greek literature can also be divided into distinct periods: Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic.
1. The literature of the Archaic era mostly centered on myth; part history and part
folklore. Homer's epics of the Iliad and the Odyssey and Hesiod's Theogony are significant
examples of this period. Literary Greece begins with Homer. Since writing had not yet
arrived in Greece, much of what was created in this period was communicated orally, only to
be put in written form years later.
2. The Classical era (4th and 5th centuries BCE) centered on the tragedies of such writers
as Sophocles and his Oedipus Rex, Euripides's Hippolytus, and the comedies
of Aristophanes.
3. Lastly, the final period, the Hellenistic era, saw Greek poetry, prose, and culture expand
across the Mediterranean influencing such Roman writers as Horace, Ovid, and Virgil.
Unfortunately, with only a few exceptions, much of what was created during the Archaic and
Classical period remains only in fragments.

21. MAIN WRITERS IN FOCUS
 HOMER
 AESOP
 SAPPHO

22. WHAT ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO DO IN THE COURSE?
 Attend the class weekly
 Write a summary
 Write a commentary
 Give a presentation
 Do the tests

23. REFERENCES
 www.EssayWrite.best - Write an essay
.................................................................................................................................... www.LitReview.xyz - Summary of
books .................................................................................................................................... www.Coursework.best -
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www.Dissertations.me - proquest dissertations
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reviews .................................................................................................................................... www.WebSlides.vip -
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www.WritePaper.info - Write a research paper
.................................................................................................................................... www.EddyHelp.com -
Homework help online ....................................................................................................................................
www.MyResumeHelp.net - Professional resume writing service
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