Indian and Western Novels: A Comparative History
Early Indian and Western Literary Works
Early Examples:
- Banabhatta – Kadambari (Sanskrit)
- Panchatantra (Sanskrit)
- Dastan – Tales of adventure in Urdu and Persian
Early Marathi Novels:
- Baba Padmanji – Yamuna Paryatan (Marathi; about widows)
- Lakshman Moreshwar Halbe – Muktamala (imaginary romance)
Early Malayalam Novels:
- Chandu Menon – Subjudge from Malabar; tried to translate Henrietta Temple by Benjamin Disraeli into Malayalam; wrote Indulekha in Malayalam (first modern novel in Malayalam)
Early Telugu Novels:
Read MoreNotable Literary Figures: Addison, Astell, Behn & More
Joseph Addison (1672-1719)
Joseph Addison was an English essayist, poet, playwright, and politician. He is usually remembered alongside his long-standing friend, Richard Steele, with whom he founded The Spectator magazine. He studied at Oxford. His famous work is Cato, based on the last days of Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis.
Mary Astell (1666-1731)
Mary Astell was an English feminist writer and rhetorician. Born in England, she studied in Cambridge and died in London. Her two most well-known books,
Read MoreGarcilaso de la Vega and Fray Luis de León: Spanish Renaissance Poetry
Garcilaso de la Vega: Life and Work
Garcilaso de la Vega (c. 1501-1536) was one of the greatest Spanish poets, known for his formal perfection and significant influence on subsequent centuries of Spanish verse. His works remained unpublished during his lifetime and were first published in 1543. This cultivated poet from Toledo composed in both of the major poetic styles of his time:
- Traditional Castilian Poetry (primarily eight-syllable couplets)
- Italianate Poetry, to which he owes his fame and importance.
Giovanni Boccaccio and the Decameron: Influence on Literature
Giovanni Boccaccio: Father of Italian Literature
Giovanni Boccaccio (Florence 1313 – Certaldo or Florence, 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer and humanist. He wrote in Latin and Italian and is considered, along with Dante and Petrarch, one of the fathers of Italian literature. His most famous work is the Decameron. This book was translated into Catalan in 1429, and its influence on Catalan literature was enormous. Sentences extracted from Boccaccio’s Decameron appear in Tirant lo Blanc by Joanot
Read MoreLiterary Devices and Spanish Medieval Poetry Forms
Literary Devices
- Alliteration: Repetition of one or more phonemes in a line.
- Anaphora: Repetition of a word at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences.
- Parallel Structure: Equal parallel structures.
- Pleonasm: Use of unnecessary words.
- Polysyndeton: Repetition of conjunctions.
- Allegory: Transformation of meaning.
- Antithesis: Juxtaposition of opposite words or sentences.
- Apostrophe: Use of an exclamation to address someone.
- Hyperbole: Exaggeration.
- Metaphor: A real term used with an imaginary one.
- Personification:
Sixteenth-Century Castilian Prose: Renaissance Literature
Sixteenth-Century Castilian Prose
Castilian prose in the Renaissance developed along four main directions:
Didactic Prose
Aimed at the improvement of man and the reformation of society. Examples include:
- Juan Valdés, Diálogo de la Lengua
- Fray Antonio de Guevera, Contempt of Court
Historical Prose
Driven by the expansionary effect of the time and the prospects created with the conquest of America. This stream is represented by Father Mariana’s Indian History, which has a formative purpose.
Religious Prose
In
Read More