How Does The Feeling Of A Time Period Affect Literature?

Our cohort is nearing the end of its secondary education and therefore it is important that we reflect on the ways in which it has shaped our attitudes, values and beliefs. For example, over the past five years, we have read, analysed and evaluated various literary works such as novels, plays, poems and films in our English studies. These texts have expressed various ideologies, explored interesting themes and introduced us to fascinating characters. These elements have left a lasting impression on our attitudes, values and beliefs. In addition to this, English literary texts have provided us with historical knowledge as well as a thorough understanding of the role that aesthetic devices

When reading literature we often attempt to use particular threads of thought or lenses of critique to gain entry into the implied historic or legendary nature of literature. To accurately process a tale in the light in which it is presented, we have to consider the text from multiple viewpoints. We must take into consideration intentional and affective fallacies and the socioeconomic circumstances of the presenter/author/narrator. We also have to consider how our personal experience creates bias by placing the elements of the story into the web of relationships that we use to interpret the external world. There also is the need to factor in other external pressures, from societal norms, cultural ideals, and psychological themes, and how

JAMES HURST Adapted from: Elements of Literature: Third Course. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. 2003.

The course Survey of Literature I not only explored, but analyzed a wide range of texts from different eras. Each text allowed students to critically analyze different factors, including what time period it was written during, why it was written by the author, who the audience was and other literary components. The texts entitled Letter to Ferdinand and Isabella Regarding the Fourth Voyage (with the aid of Letter to Luis de Santangel Regarding the First Voyage), Clotel, and Fourth of July were critical texts in the course because they helped readers challenge their point of view with regard to common historical perspectives.

Toward the late 1800’s, Europe was plagued with bad news. They had already reached the prime of their empire and were now on their way to the declination of the continent. Later, people like Adolf Hitler would try to bring it back to its full glory, but for now everything was heading south. As usual, the tone of artistic works followed the success of the empire. Many pieces of art and literature became darker. Even poets such as Thomas Hardy and Emily Bronte started to write in a much more serious, somber tone. Their poems started to be drawn to subjects more of things in the past. In Emily Bronte’s Remembrance and Thomas Hardy’s poems The Darkling Thrush and “Ah, are you Digging on My Grave?”, the speakers undergo loss of love, loss of hope, and somber remembrance of things past, respectively.

Jane Eyre and Fahrenheit 451 are two pieces of literature destined to stand the test of time. They both possess various traits which distinguish themselves as ‘classics,’ thereby allowing them to be relevant novels regardless of the time period. These aforementioned traits are derived from the facts that both of these novels are timelessly relatable in the sense of possessing the universal ‘coming of age’ theme regarding overcoming disillusionment, give a glimpse into history by acting as symbols of societal norms in their respective time periods, and demonstrate elevated writing largely through the use of symbolism.

Throughout my life, I have been at odds with the literary world. I could never find it in myself to sit down and enjoy poetry or short stories, penned by the literary visionaries of yore. However, even I must begrudgingly admit that there is great value in these works of literature through the lessons and messages they communicate, as is evidenced by the myriad of societal changes which have been forged by the pen of a novelist. Literature has done a lot for me, such as giving me new perspective on politics and propaganda, entertaining me, and offering the ability to view the world through the philosophical perspective of the author. Though I may not derive much amusement from the perusal of books, there is no questioning the immense value

Introduction Throughout time, literary works have affected us, humans. From the ways pieces of literature are written to the audience they are trying to reach, there is something interesting about every piece of work. Although many people don’t read as much as they have in the past, literature is a great way to see how humans interact with each other in different time periods and situations. Written by John Sutherland, A Little History of Literature creates a question that has been asked many times throughout my life: “Why do we still read and watch drama that was written 2,000 years ago, in a language few of us understand. For a society which might as well be on another planet for all the resemblance it has to ours?”

The motif behind a literature changes over time. It is affected by numerous factors like politics, religion to name a few. The term feminism has influenced literature in a profound way, and still there are a lot of feminist writers sharing their beliefs. Feminism can be defined as an ideology that believes in equal rights and opportunities for women. So, there were number of writers during the wave of feminism that supported the feminist ideology. Writers like Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath fall on the second wave which happened sometime around the 50s and 60s. Their poetries were very dark themed and talked about their troubled life and how they were wounded emotionally and mentally. Both writers ended their life at their own will. Their literature

1. What can this book teach a 21st century reader about the period in which it was written or set or both? (In some books, they are the same, in others not.)

In a way, literature offers one of the least harmful ways to feel all these emotions at once “by simply turning a page instead of turning our lives upside down” (Meyer 1). If we are given this opportunity to prepare for the worst, we should take advantage of it and treat literature with utmost respect rather than replace it with other subjects to fit in with our generation.

independence from others. With this independence they are able to discover not only their identity, but also their role in society. The works Heptameron, Measure for Measure, and, A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies not only highlight this notion, but also demonstrate the advancements in which one achieves when one goes against the grain. In which involves one finding their sense of identity. In the work Heptameron, a group of characters tell short narratives depicting social and moral values and practices of men and women in the sixteenth century. In one

This essay examines the use of the Gothic when connecting writings to ideas of the past. Specifically, it analyses how writers develop these ideas, cultivated out of specific elements through the text. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley both show strong gothic themes, however, Northanger Abbey is a satire of the genre. The latter section of Austen’s novel draws heavily on Gothic elements whereas the former has a small reference to Ann Radcliffe’s book The Mysteries of Udolpho. Specifically, the ideas of the past that will be explored throughout will be those surrounding gender.

An investigation of works of literature that present the breakdown of the human psyche, in order to explore human nature and man’s place within society and the world, as these are conveyed through Gothic and Elizabethan literature.

The premise of decadence was tremendously popular in late 19th century European literature. In addition, the degeneracy of the individual and society at large was represented in numerous contemporary works by Mann. In Death in Venice, the theme of decadence caused by aestheticism appears through Gustav von Achenbach’s eccentric, specifically homoerotic, feelings towards a Polish boy named Tadzio. Although his feelings spring from a sound source, the boy’s aesthetic beauty, Aschenbach becomes decadent in how excessively zealous his feelings are, and his obsession ultimately leads to his literal and existential destruction. Thus exemplifying, as will be examined in the following, how aestheticism is closely related to, and indeed often