-
600 BCE
The Odyssey
HOMER, 7th Century PRE-CLASSICAL, GREEK
-one of the world’s oldest surviving texts
-gives us insight into the Ancient Greek world
-influential epic poem -
500 BCE
Beowulf
6th Century BCE, MEDIEVAL ANGLO SAXON
Greek
-oldest surviving English poem from the Anglo-Saxon period
-written in Old English -
429 BCE
Oedipus Rex
429 BCE, CLASSICAL, SOPHOCLES
GREEK
-first tragic hero
-written during the Golden Age of Ancient Greece, where heightened intellect gave way to new forms of literature like the tragedy -
1300
Canterbury Tales
GEOFFREY CHAUCER
LATE 14TH CENTURY
MEDIEVAL
BRITISH
-depicts social classes by their clothing. pastimes, language, and transportation
-shows the corruption in the church in the early 14th century
-Chaucer included Shakespeare
-contributes to literature through “poetic power and entertainment value” -
1515
Utopia
SIR THOMAS MORE, 1515, RENAISSANCE HUMANISM,
BRITISH
-criticism of the politics in Europe and humanism
-written during the time of the Reformation
-coined the term ‘utopia’, meaning a place that only exists in the mind and emulates a ‘perfect society’ -
Romeo and Juliet
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, 1591, RENAISSANCE,
BRITISH
-influenced by Greek tragedy
-Shakespeare added many words to the modern English language
-considered the most tragic love story ever written
-West Side Story is based on this play -
Julius Ceasar
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, 1599, RENAISSANCE
BRITISH
-borrowed from Roman history
-parallels the political shifts in Elizabethan England
-addressed the lower working class
-it models “unadulterated prosaic style” -
Othello
1603, RENAISSANCE, WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
BRITISH
-Othello was the first black hero presented on the stage
-Greek tragedy elements
-written when there was lots of globalization -
Macbeth
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, 1606, Elizabethan
-written as a tribute to King James I
-demonstrates effects of political ambition -
Paradise Lost
JOHN MILTON, 1658, RENAISSANCE/RESTORATION
BRITISH
-regarded as the greatest epic poem in English history
-influences William Blake and Percy Shelley and influenced by Homer
-tells the story of man’s fall from grace
-Milton did not support organized religion
-influenced by the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. -
Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God
JONATHAN EDWARDS, 1741, GREAT AWAKENING
PURITAN
-Puritan beliefs
-Emphasizes beliefs of the Great Awakening that people need to turn away from sin and make a connection with God
-Meant to awaken the readers to consequences of sin and the will of God
-similar to The Crucible -
Sense and Sensibility
1790S, JANE AUSTEN, CLASSICISM/ROMANTICISM
BRITISH
-explores the class structure during Austen’s time period
-more opportunities for upward mobility during this period -
Frankenstein
MARY SHELLEY, 1817, ROMANTIC/GOTHIC
BRITISH
-end of enlightenment/romanticism period
-emphasizes scientific study and reason over religious thinking
-similar to poe’s short stories in the supernatural elements -
Poe Short Stories
GOTHIC/ROMANTIC, EDGAR ALLEN POE, 1827-1849
AMERICAN
-influences the modern day detective genre
-Poe created the single effect where the short story builds up to one emotion in the reader
-his stories deal with the dark, supernatural side of Romanticism -
Jane Eyre
1847, CHARLOTTE BRONTE, VICTORIAN/INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
BRITISH
-Bronte sisters wrote under a male pen name
-Written when Britain transitioned from rural to industrial society
-Gothic elements- Rochester is classified as a Byronic hero -
Wuthering Heights
1847, EMILY BRONTE, VICTORIAN/ROMANTICISM
-gothic elements
-Bronte sisters wrote under a male pen name -
Great Expectations
1860, CHARLES DICKENS, VICTORIAN
BRITISH
-shows social changes caused by the Industrial Revolution
-people could climb the social ladder
-Gothic elements, such as violent fights to the death and Miss Havisham’s disturbed mind -
Flatland
EDWIN ABBOTT, 1884, 19TH CENTURY, VICTORIAN
BRITISH
-cultural and social changes due to the Industrial Revolution
-satirizes the social classes
-first published anonymously -
Heart of Darkness
JOSEPH CONRAD, 1899, VICTORIAN/MODERNISM
BRITISH
-criticizes colonization of the west
-censured in some places and accused of dehumanizing Africans
-progressive but controversial for its time because it exposed the horrors of imperialism -
My Antonia
WILLIA CATHER, 1916, MODERNISM
AMERICAN
-praised when it was first published
-provides insight about early settlers of the American West
-important for women’s rights because it suggest women are strong and can choose their own lifestyles
-Cather known as a feminist -
Siddhartha
1919, HERMANN HESSE, ENLIGHTENMENT
/RENAISSANCE
GERMAN
-explores the conflict between organized
religion versus spiritual beliefs
-Hesse was influenced by Hinduism and Buddhism
-based on the life of Buddha -
The Great Gatsby
F. SCOTT FITZGERALD, 1924, MODERNISM
AMERICAN
-demonstrates the cultural rebellion in the 1920s
-embodies the extravagant lives Americans lived to overcompensate for the aftershock of World War I -
Of Mice and Men
JOHN STEINBECK, 1930S, MODERNISM
AMERICAN
-Illustrates the depression era and economic conditions for workers
-Comparable to The Grape of Wrath
-depicts the dangers of the American Dream -
Fahrenheit 451
RAY BRADBURY, MODERNISM, 1947, DYSTOPIAN NOVEL
AMERICAN
-influenced by the Cold War
-novel criticizes the uprising of censorship in society
-defends literature and freedom of the individual -
1984
GEORGE ORWELL, MODERNISM, 1948, DYSTOPIAN NOVEL
BRITISH
-story of Thomas More and corruption of King Henry VIII’s corruption
-portrays More as a role model and man who follows his conscience -
East of Eden
1952, JOHN STEINBECK, NATURALISM
AMERICAN
-Reference to the biblical story of Cain and Abel
-modern day retelling of the Book of Genesis in the Bible
-written by Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck
-makes readers wonder about the human capacity for evil in the years after World War II -
The Crucible
AUTHUR MILLER, 1950S, REALISM
AMERICAN
-set in Puritan times, similar to Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
-recounts the events of the Salem Witch trials
-written during the Red Scare
-Miller found parallels between the hunt for communists and the hunt for witches -
Lord Of The Flies
WILLIAM GOLDING, 1954, POST-WAR
BRITISH
-relates to The Crucible, Fahrenheit 451, Animal Farm
-explores human’s capability of being evil due to World War II
-illustrates the human impulse for both civilization and savagery -
Into The Wild
JON KRAKAUER, 1955, CONTEMPORARY,
AMERICAN
-references Romantic ideology
-inspired by Emerson and Thoreau
-supports the transcendentalism movement, which believes in the return to nature
-encourages readers to reject materialism -
Night
ELIE WEISEL, 1955, SURREALISM, POLISH
-recounts firsthand experiences of a holocaust survivor
-changes the way the history of the holocaust is conceived -
West Side Story
AURTHUR LAURENTS, 1957
AMERICAN
-inspired by Romeo and Juliet
-first conceived as a show in 1949 but it was called “East Side Story”.
-the purpose was to display the conflict between Catholic and Jewish groups. -
A Separate Peace
JOHN KNOWLES, 1959, MODERN AMERICAN
-setting is during World War II
-similar to Lord of the Flies in that it explores the troubles of growing up
-explores the transition from adolescence to adulthood during a period of war -
A Man For All Seasons
ROBERT BOLT, 1960s, RESTORATION/RENAISSANCE
BRITISH
-story of Thomas More and corruption of King Henry VIII’s corruption
-portrays More as a role model and man who follows his conscience -
Malcom X/Beloved
1965, 1987
AMERICAN
-most famous African American writers
-influenced Black movements
-Beloved unpacks the impacts of slavery through a true story of a black slave woman
-Malcolm X is an autobiography of the civil rights acitivist
-Forces society to revisit the horrible past in which America was built on -
House on Mango Street
SANDRA CISNEROS, CONTEMPORARY, 1980
AMERICAN
-Feminist novel
-Latina writer- wrote about Mexican-American life
-coming-of-age story -
The Book Theif
MARKUS ZUSAK, 2002, CONTEMPORARY
AMERICAN
-shows the importance of literacy
-set in Germany during World War II