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701 BCE
The Odyssey
Written by Homer in 701 BC, this epic poem is one of the greatest of its time. It is the story of the obstacles the war hero Odysseus faces on his journey home to his family. -
431 BCE
Pericles Funeral Oration
This piece of literature was written by Pericles in an effort to gain soldiers to fight for Athens. His knowledge of his audience and persuasive speech compelled many young soldiers to fight a war they were almost sure to lose. -
Period: 500 to 1500
Medieval Period
This is the time period when Rome fell and the Anglo-Saxons took over Europe. Works such as Beowulf and The Wanderer were written in this period. -
Period: 1500 to
Renaissance and Reformation
Martin Luther split from the Roman Church and Protestantism emerged. -
Period: to
Age of Enlightenment
Also referred to as the Age of Reason, this intellectual movement praised individuality and reason. People heavily involved in the beliefs of this era were commonly liberals and humanists. -
Period: to
Romanticism
This period encouraged emotion and imagination. An Example this is the poem Songs of Innocence by William Blake. -
Period: to
Realism
This period exemplified the simple things in life and spoke of poverty. Mark Twain was a significant author in this period. -
Period: to
Transcendental Movement
People in this period didn't believe in political or religious organizations. They believed that people were the best version of themselves when the were completely self- dependent. -
Period: to
Victorian Era
This period acts as a transitional period between the Romantic Period and the more modern eras of the 20th century. Reading novels was very popular in this age and it opened opportunities for every type of writer to publish work. -
Period: to
Existentialism Period
This Period emphasized "individual existence, freedom, and choice." The phrase "I think therefore I am" was thought to be a perfect representation of this era. People who were part of this belief don't believe that humans are predestined to a certain purpose in life. The believe everyone has to create their own purpose for existence. -
Period: to
Naturalism
Naturalists thought of humans as animals. This was a very philosophical era. -
A Doll's House
This Play, written by Henrik Ibsen, tells the story of a young woman who is forced into submission by her father, her husband, and the cultural standards of women in 19th century Norway. -
Period: to
The Bloomsbury Group
This was a small group of around a dozen upper-class artists and intellectuals led by Virginia Woolf. There were no rules or in this group neither was there any type of initiation to become a member. Most of their members were leftists and were known for their extremely unconventional ideas for that time period. They openly supported gay marriage, open relationships, and women in the arts. -
Period: to
Modernism
This era encouraged many different styles. This period was heavily influenced by science and technology. -
A Second Coming
Based off the novel Things Fall Apart, this poem by William Butler Yeats speaks of a nation's desire for war and the destruction it brings. -
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
This short story by James Thurber tells the story of a man with an over-bearing wife who gets lost in his daydreams. In every day situations, he imagines himself in dramatic and romantic scenarios as his wife grocery shops and runs errands. -
The Great Divorce
This intriguing book by C.S. Lewis is an allegory describing a journey from Hell to Heaven. Characters are given the choice to take the harder path to Heaven, or remain in Hell where human contact is virtually nonexistent and everything a man desires comes into being simply by imagining. -
Period: to
The Beat Generation
Post World War 2 groups originating in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York. These people had bohemian style and cared little about politics and what was going on in the world. They were hippies. -
Things Fall Apart
This novel is about the Igbo culture during the colonization of Nigeria. It is a story about a man who loses everything he has in order to satisfy his need for dominance. -
Period: to
Postmodernism Era
This literature in this era is distinguishable by the use of paradox and dark novels filled with paranoia. Authors stray away from novels with a certain meaning and strive to create works of literature that have no meaning or multiple unclear meanings. -
A Thousand Pieces of Gold
This powerful novel by Ruthanne McCunn tells the story of a young Chinese girl who was sold to slave traders and made a victim of human trafficking. -
The Desert is My Mother
This poem written by Pat Mora uses personification to show the author's relationship with the desert and how it provides for her. -
How I Got My Name
This poem, written by Marilyn Mei Ling Chin, tells the story of the narrator's life and thoughts of the world around her. Named by her father after Marilyn Monroe, she mourned the feeble minds of men driven by lust. She also spoke of the stereotypes given to Asians because of their superior intelligence which she claimed failed to compensate for their lack of creativity. -
Shisoi
Shisoi is a poem written by Luci Tapahonso that describes the narrator's love for her granddaughter. -
Teenagers
This poem, also by Pat Mora, speaks of a parent who feels as if they are losing their children to the teenage years. She speaks of her children speaking in "code" that she no longer remember; this code is the common conversations of teenagers. -
Immigrants
This poem, also by Pat Mora, speaks of the fear of an immigrant family moving into the US. She describes the longing parents have for their children to fit in with American society but the dark lingering fear that it will never happen.