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Period: to
Great Works of Europe
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John Milton
Milton, John. “Paradise Lost.” in The Broadview Anthology of British Literature Volume A, 920-997. Buffalo: Broadview Press, 2014.
John Milton wrote in England, following the civil war and the restoration. He was a parliamentarian who worked under Oliver Cromwell. His epic poem "Paradise Lost," tells the tale of the bible, from the fall of Satan to the fall of Eden. The story symbolizes the political turmoil in England, with God as the absolute monarch and Satan as the failed revolutionary. -
Francois-Marie Arouet "Voltaire"
Voltaire. “Micromégas.” The Project Gutenberg EBook of Romans, 2008. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/30123/30123-h/30123-h.htm#chap07.
Voltaire is the embodiement of enlightenment thinking in France. His short story, "Micromégas," is a tale of a giant alien and his companion who discover humans, the latter believing they are the reason for life. The aliens laugh at the humans' pride. The tale reflects enlightenment thought, it mocks theology and focuses on rationalism, philosophy and science. -
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Goethe, J.W. Von. “The Sorrows of Young Werther.” Project Gutenberg, 2013, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2527/2527-h/2527-h.htm
Goethe, an important German writer, began the "Sturm und Drang" literary movement, which would influence the Romantic Movement across Europe. The "Sturm und Drang" focused on intense emotion, the irrational, and rejected the rationalism of the enlightenment. His short story “The Sorrows of Young Werther,” a tale of unrequited love, embodies the movement. -
Charles Dickens
Dickens, Charles. “Hard Times.” in The Broadview Anthology of British Literature Volume B, 590-591. Buffalo: Broadview Press, 2014.
Charles Dickens was an English writer who wrote of the effects of industrialism on the condition of the poor and working class. In this excerpt of his novel "Hard Times," he describes a fictional industrial city (based on real ones such as Manchester), with images of a polluted city and dehumanized people who live only to work. -
Leo Tolstoy
Tolstoy, Leo. “How Much Land does a Man Need?” The Good News, 2009, http://www.goodnews.or.kr/en/goodnews/0904/_0904.wisdom.pdf.
Leo Tolstoy was a great Russian realist writer. In his short story, “How Much Land does a Man Need?” a peasant is happy until he aquires land and gets greedier and greedier until he dies from trying to obtain too much. This reflects Tolstoy's view of idealized Russian peasant society, rejecting the greed and decadence of cities like Saint Petersburg. -
William Butler Yeats
Yeats, William Butler. “Easter 1916.” in The Broadview Anthology of British Literature Volume B, 1171-1173. Buffalo: Broadview Press, 2014.
W.B. Yeats was a supporter of the Irish Nationalist cause in the early 20th century. His poem "Easter 1916," describes the "Easter Rising" (a rebellion in which Irish nationalists were killed by British soldiers), immortalizing the fallen as martyrs, but also with a tone of pacifism. Such pacifism was pevalent in Europe, due to the horrors of WW1.
