|
English Literature (11518 words) |
 | It is not unlikely that the written literature may have begun as early as the sixth century, but at any rate, by the middle of the seventh century the traces of it are clear in the work of Cædmon, according to the testimony of Bede. |
| It is the custom of historians of literature to divide the literary life of Chaucer into a French, an Italian, and an English period, according as his work was influenced by the manner of each national literature. |
| After long years of repression they have their full freedom in the arena of literature, and there is more than a promise that when the history of the twentieth century comes to be written many Catholic names will be found in the highest places on the roll of honour. |
| Italian Literature (5869 words) |
| This century in Italy, as elsewhere, is the golden age of vernacular ascetical and mystical literature, producing a rich harvest of translations from the Scriptures and the Fathers, of spiritual letters, sermons, and religious treatises no less remarkable for their fervour and unction than for their linguistic value. |
| Also in religious literature we have the ascetical letters of B. Giovanni Dominici (died 1419), a strenuous opponent of the pagan tendencies of the classical revival, and the vernacular sermons (1427) of St. Bernardine of Siena. |
| Political considerations colour most of the literature of the middle of the century, whether it be the historical writings of Cesare Balbo (1789-1853), the satirical and patriotic poems of Giuseppe Giusti (1809-50), the revolutionary lyrics of Gabriele Rossetti (1783-1854), the tragedies of Giovanbattista Niccolini (1782-1861), or the once admired romances of Francesco Domenico Guerrazzi (1804-73). |
Feeds |
Contact