Literature Flashcards
Literature
Name the three locations in which the earliest writing systems arose.
Sumer (cuneiform)
Egypt (hieroglyphics)
China (characters)
(Notable Mentions: Tamil in India; Akkadian in Mesopotamia)
Literature
What is the earliest literary composition we have?
The Epic of Gilgamesh
(a Sumerian poem – circa 2000 BCE)
Literature
When were Egyptian Books of the Dead first composed?
Circa 1800 BCE
Literature
The various portions of the Pentateuch (Torah) were composed in what time period?
950 - 500 BCE
Literature
Which two Greek oral traditions were scribed into literary compositions and represent the beginning of classical antiquity?
(In what century?)
Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey
(~800 BCE)
Literature
Name some of the great works of Chinese classical literature (1000 - 200 BCE).
Classic of Poetry (anonymous)
Sun Tzu’s Art of War
Confucius’ Analects
Literature
Which Greek tragedian of classical antiquity introduced the ideas of tragedy, dialogue, and interacting characters to Western literature, thus inventing drama?
Aeschylus
Literature
Which Greek tragedian of classical antiquity introduced the idea of irony to Western literature, most notably through his play Oedipus Rex?
Sophocles
Literature
Which Greek tragedian of classical antiquity introduced the idea of comedy to Western literature?
Aristophanes
Literature
Name the three most famous founders of Western philosophy.
(HINT: they are Greeks from classical antiquity and the first mentored the second, who mentored the third.)
Socrates –> Plato –> Aristotle
Literature
True/False.
The Roman literature of classical antiquity (i.e. that by Virgil, Tacitus, Ovid, and Thucydides) was basically just an extension of the same techniques and myths used by the Greeks.
True.
Literature
What was a major contribution of the Romans to the literary mechanisms introduced by the Greeks (e.g. drama, irony, comedy, etc.)?
Satire
(by Horace)
Literature
Name some of the major literary works of Medieval Europe.
Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Merlin and King Arthur,
Beowulf (old Norse epic),
Dante’s Divine Comedy,
Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales
Literature
One Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights — where we get Aladdin, Sinbad, and Ali Baba) was written in what era?
The Medieval age of the Islamic world
Literature
What was the major technological contribution of the Renaissance to world literature around 1500 CE?
Gutenberg’s printing press
Literature
Name a few of the major literary works arising in the Renaissance and early modern period.
Shakespeare’s works
Cervantes’ Don Quixote
Milton’s Paradise Lost
Who are the main characters in Shakespeare’s Macbeth?
Macbeth (a Scottish general)
Lady Macbeth
King Duncan
Banquo (Macbeth’s friend)
Malcom (Duncan’s son)
What are the main story and themes of Macbeth?
I. Macbeth (a Scottish general) and Lady Macbeth are jealous and obsessive for power;
II. They kill King Duncan so Macbeth can be King
III. They then continue having to kill to cover up their secrets and their descent into madness
IV. Eventually, Duncan’s son Malcom returns and overthrows Macbeth
Who are the main characters in Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men?
George
Lennie
What are the main story and themes of Of Mice and Men?
I. George and Lennie flee Lennie’s accidental past crimes and begin work as ranchers
II. The story shows the way the elderly, African-Americans, women, and the disabled are cast aside by society
III. Lennie accidentally kills a woman, and George ends up killing him before the mob arrives to lynch Lennie
Literature
What are the main themes of James Baldwin’s essay entitled The Fire Next Time?
- The real defeat is when the black man comes to believe in the inferiority his oppressors claim he has
- A discussion of the interplay between race and religion in America
- The fact that oppression of black folk is a reflection of white America’s insecurity with itself
Literature
What is the main plot of Othello?
Othello (a Venetian Moor and military officer) has wed Desdemona (daughter of a Venetian duke), and Iago (a conniving vassal) is trying to undermine and destroy him by making him jealous of his right-hand man Cassio.
It is basically the story of Iago pitting Othello against his wife and his closest allies through jealousy.
