LITERARY PERIODS

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 LITERATURE I

Distinguish literary eras based on their characteristics.

Throughout the history of humanity there have been different social changes that, according to their
context they have acquired certain characteristics. Insideof this
framework we can observe the
artistic emergence of the word: Literature. There are different classifications of the history of
literature, without embargo, here we will group it into three big
eras: Ancient, Modern and
Contemporary.

ANCIENT TIME
The ancient literary era dates back to the 15th century BC until the 5th century AD . ending with
the Middle Ages. This ancient literature developed in Egypt, Greece, Rome, India and China. It is a
current of epic, lyrical style with stories written and sung by the poets of that time.

• Oriental Literatures
The great Mesopotamian empires, as well as Egypt, witnessed the birth of literature, although it was
almost always limited to oral tradition and preserved in writing on rare occasions. Various parts of the
Bible, like the first books, come from the second millennium BC

The first epic works in the Iron Age were also written in India and China, although the exact dating of
this primitive literature continues to give rise to strong controversies. Sanskrit literature produced two
great epic works in India, the Ramayama and the Mahabharata, One Thousand and One Nights. And
in China, where literary production first truly flourished, we find Sun Tzu's Art of War (still read today)
as well as the teachings of Confucius and Lao Tze in the Tao te Ching.

• Classic era

Greeks:

a) Myths : They constitute the raw material of all artistic manifestations. Stories that explain
natural phenomena based on Gods.

b) Epic poems : They are based on historical events that, as they are transmitted from
generation to generation, are mixed with fantastic and wonderful elements, they have a
popular character. Feats of gods and heroes. Ahem. The Iliad and the Odyssey (Homer).

c) Lyrical Poetry : Poetry written to be sung among friends, the reasons that originate it are
personal to express the most intimate experiences of the writer, accompanied by melody.
Sappho and Anacreon

d) Tragedy : Originally a religious manifestation that was part of the festivities of the gods.
Example: Aeschylus (Prometheus Bound, the Persians) Sophocles (Oedipus the King,
Electra, Antigone).

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Romans:

a) “ Time of Cicero ” (88 BC) of great rev. Policies and fierce struggles and little success
literary: Cicero, extraordinary orator, gifted with great imagination and sensitivity. Julius
Caesar: He wrote poetry, historian and prose: “The War of the Galilee”

b) “ Epoch of Augustus ” period of peace that encouraged the development of arts and
literature, poetry prevailed over prose. Virgil: Maximum exponent of Latin literature. The
Aeneid (series of poems). Horace: Poems.

In Greece, a great writer named Homer emerged, to whom the works of “The Iliad and the Odyssey”
are attributed, characteristic writings of this era. In Rome, the literary men Virgil, Ovid, Juvenal,
Horace and Plautus stand out.

MEDIEVAL TIMES
After ancient literature, the Middle Ages or medieval period emerged, which spanned from the 10th
century , a time in which the first literary manifestations in romance emerged, until the end of the
14th century . Time that begins from the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the year 476 until the
fall of Constantinople, or according to other authors until the discovery of America in 1492, when the
end of the Middle Ages occurs. In other words, all written literature, in the approximately thousand
years that the Middle Ages lasted.

• Characteristics of medieval literature:

o Anonymous nature: The author does not sign his work because he knows that it
belongs to a community. He does not seek to differentiate himself from others.

o Religious theme: Especially theological themes, lives of saints, and comments on

biblical scriptures, followed by philosophical themes, comments on the Greek and
Roman classics for the most part (always trying to follow a guideline in accordance
with religion), and third secular literature, such as chivalric deeds, poetry (lyrical and
epic), as well as some works dedicated to topics prohibited by the church.

o Oral work: It was spread orally by the minstrels, since people did not know how to
read. This explains why few works have been preserved.

o Work in verse: In the Middle Ages it was considered that verse was what made a work
literary.

o Imitation: The authors collected a popular tradition or a Latin text and recreated it. That
is, the works were not original nor was it considered important that they were.

o Didacticism: The works, for the most part, had a didactic function: they transmitted
Christian values and offered models of behavior.

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 LITERATURE I

OUTSTANDING LITERARY WORKS FROM THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD

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The song of Mio Cid Anonymous
The Divine Comedy Dante Alighieri
The Decameron Giovanni Boccaccio
The miracles of our lady Gonzalo de Berceo

MODERN PERIOD
The Modern Age occurred in Europe approximately from the 16th century to the 18th century, it is
the third historical period into which universal history is divided. Recognized since the invention of the
printing press and the development of humanism and the Renaissance. This period is known for the
triumph of values; reason, progress and communication. This will shed light on the previous period
known as the Middle Ages, called a dark age of isolation. What drives the Modern Age to be reborn
is the Ancient Age or Classical Age.

This period includes 3 literary trends: Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassicism.

• Renaissance Literature

Flowering of arts and letters in Europe. The subgenre of the novel was born from books of chivalry.

Characteristics of Renaissance Literature

o Movement that tries to return to the Greek-Latin tradition where man is placed at the
center of the world.
o Nature is the main source of inspiration.
o The literary themes are a reflection of his love for things in the world: human love,
landscape, warrior, historical, political events.
either Speakers: Fernando de Rojas: La Celestina. Gracilazo de la Vega: poetry.
either The main themes of pagan antiquity are reborn: myths.

OUTSTANDING LITERARY WORKS OF RENAISSANCE LITERATURE

CONSTRUCTION SITE AUTHOR

The ingenious Don Quixote of la Mancha Anonymous
Romeo and Juliet
William Shakespeare
Hamlet

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 • Baroque Literature
Characterized by excessive ornamentation. Ingenious and different use of language.

Main characteristics of Baroque Literature:

o Art is elitist.
o The language is presented with metaphors and figurative meaning.
o Both mythical and evangelical aspects are combined.
o The ornaments, details and exuberance stand out.
o The theater presents comedies, cars and plays that teach a lesson.
o Use of archaisms and neologisms.

OUTSTANDING LITERARY WORKS OF BAROQUE LITERATURE

CONSTRUCTION SITE AUTHOR

Fable of Polyphemus and Galatea Luis de Góngora y Argote
History of the life of the searcher Francisco de Quevedo y Villegas
Response to Sister Filotea de la Cruz Sor Juana Ines De La Cruz

• Literature of Neoclassicism
The function of literature and art was eminently didactic and moral, starting from a critical attitude,
teaching man to live in a rational way. Concise style, seeking simplification and discretion, unlike the
baroque .

Main characteristics of Neoclassicism Literature:

o Classical literature (Greek-Latin) is imposed as an absolute model.

o Academies are of great importance, setting rules for all types of disciplines, Language
Academies (Dictionaries).
o Period where criticism, essays and theory are developed.
o The aim is to portray reality as faithfully as possible.
o Exponents: La Fontaine (fables), Voltaire, Moliere (playwright), Montesquieu.
o Fight between the traditional and the modern, movement of ideas and beliefs.
o Developed in France (S. XVII and XVIII) Topic: Reason and education.

OUTSTANDING LITERARY WORKS OF NEOCLASSICISM LITERATURE

CONSTRUCTION SITE AUTHOR

The Miser Molière
Andromache Jean Racine
Fables Jean de la Fontaine

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 CONTEMPORARY AGE
Contemporary literature covers the period from the 19th century to the present. There are many
writers who participate, and for obvious reasons it is the largest in existence. In this sense, the
contemporary era is the period of time considered from the French Revolution in 1789, until today,
covering all historical processes and events such as the industrial revolution, the enlightenment, the
first and second world wars, the globalization, etc. This period includes the following literary currents:
Romanticism, Realism, Naturalism, Modernism and Avant-garde.

• Romantic Literature
The idealization of passion, the overflow of feeling. It leans towards fantasy, the exotic, freedom,
fatality and sensuality.

Characteristics of Romanticism Literature

o Individualism and subjectivity, exaltation of the poetic SELF.

o Instinct is privileged over reason and lyric poetry over other genres.
either It develops in the S. XVIII and XIX
either The romantic poet experience feelings extremes:
love unlimitedly, pain
superhuman, hate exaggerated; who carry it to discouragement, despair and
death.
o He defends freedom in art, therefore, the break with all kinds of classical obstacles and
molds, which allows him to use the contrast between the tragic and the comic, the
beautiful and the ugly, etc.
o Huge feeling of the landscape, which is almost always terrible: dark night, storms; the
landscape responds to the edo. In the poet's spirit, popular themes resurface and
death is worshiped.

OUTSTANDING LITERARY WORKS OF ROMANTICISM LITERATURE

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The Raven Edgar Allan Poe
The black cat Edgar Allan Poe
Letters from my cell Gustavo Adolfo Becquer

The Miserables Victor Hugo

• Literature of Realism
Expression of the real. The logical description of human behavior stands out due to the economic
and social circumstances of the characters.

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Characteristics of Realism Literature

or Towards the S. In the 19th century, a literature emerged that attempted to discover
and explain the surrounding reality, placing special interest in social and psychological
issues.
either The ideal genre to reflect this reality is the novel, which obtains great
development.
o The writers demonstrate against all romantic subjectivism, the literature of
present life faithfully and objectively, studying external reality without mixing their
feelings.
o He is interested in describing the situation of man and the society that surrounds him.
o Romanticism does not disappear completely, only the extreme positions end.
o Speakers: Gustave Flaubert: Madame Bovary; Benito Pérez Galdós: Marianela;
Anton Chekhov: The Lady with the Little Dog; Fyodor Dostoevsky: Crime and
Punishment, the Karamazov Brothers; Emile Zola: The tavern.

OUTSTANDING LITERARY WORKS OF REALISM LITERATURE

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The lily of the valley Honore de Balzac
The Three-Cornered Hat Pedro Antonio Alarcón
Marianela Benito Pérez Galdós
The war and the peace Leo Tolstoy

• Modernism Literature
Spirit of innovation and refinement, idea of beauty in language. Elements of romanticism are taken
up to enrich its style. It predominated in Spanish-speaking American countries in the late 19th and
early 20th centuries. Its initiator was Rubén Darío.

Characteristics of Modernism Literature

o Complicated rhetoric.
o Use of neologisms and archaisms.
o Take the Swan as symbols to represent the purity and beauty of art.
o The color blue will be present in the works.
o They are inspired by exotic and oriental places.
o Changes in meter and rhythm.

OUTSTANDING LITERARY WORKS OF MODERNISM LITERATURE

CONSTRUCTION SITE AUTHOR

Blue Ruben Dario
Pink Emilio Carballido

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 Poems Jose Marti
Duke Job Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera

Avant-garde era
It is a current that comes from the beginning of the 20th century in Europe and is characterized by a new
sensitivity that seeks different experimental forms, opposing traditional ones, this is manifested through several
movements that, from divergent approaches, address the renewal of art, deploying resources that break or
distort the most accepted systems of artistic representation or expression, such as in theater, painting,
literature, cinema, or music, among others.

• Characteristics of Avant-garde Literature

o Freedom of expression, which is manifested by altering the structure of the works
o Tackling taboo topics and messing up creative parameters.
o In poetry, metrics are broken and previously irrelevant aspects, such as typography, take center
stage.
o Criticizes the bourgeoisie and everything it represents. You are enthusiastic about everything
new, technological and scientific advances are recurring themes.
o Symbols, colors and the combination of genres are present in avant-garde works.
o Raising awareness is one of your priorities.
o It goes deeper into the interior of people.
o It breaks with established traditions.

OUTSTANDING LITERARY WORKS FROM THE Avant-garde PERIOD

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Bernanda Alba's house Federico García Lorca

Pablo Neruda
Twenty love poems and a desperate song
Poetry is not you Rosario Castellanos

At the end of the 19th century, various political and social problems arose, which finally led to the two world
wars. The period that occurred after the Second World War generated a spiritual crisis that led to the flourishing
of several movements called the avant-garde or isms. Artists and writers regained the freedom of creation and
fantasy to forget the situation they were experiencing, proposing something different from what was
established. Of these movements , Modernism, Dadaism, Creationism and Surrealism stand out.

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