Западная литература: история и развитие

Literature written in the context of Western culture in the languages of Europe
the literary genre featuring stories set on the American frontier

Western literature, also known as European literature, is the literature written in the context of Western culture in the languages of Europe, and is shaped by the periods in which they were conceived, with each period containing prominent western authors, poets, and pieces of literature. The best of Western literature is considered to be the Western canon. The list of works in the Western canon varies according to the critic's opinions on Western culture and the relative importance of its defining characteristics. Different literary periods held great influence on the literature of Western and European countries, with movements and political changes impacting the prose and poetry of the period. The 16th Century is known for the creation of Renaissance literature, The 19th century was known as the Romantic era, in which the style of writing was influenced by the political issues of the century, and differed from the previous classicist form. Johannine literature, being "hymnic, densely troped and symbolic, structured, inspired", It has been argued that the writings of Saint John the Evangelist, which was considered an integral part of Johannine theology, coincided with Pauline theology during the early modern era to hold influence over the English literature of the time. However, it is argued by author P. M. Oliver that the theology which was indoctrinated in the poetry of revelatory poets including John Donne was expanded on and created by the poets themselves. Prominent forms of literature which shaped and contributed to this era of Reformation include significantly structured prose and poetry, including the Spenserian stanza; the sonnet, which is a form of poem easily distinguishable by its fourteen line form with a structured rhyme format; Spenser has been "dubbed 'the English Virgil'" due to his influence on this particular genre. The book, due to the political and authoritative changes of the time of the reformation, attempted to provide a "compromise" between Protestant and Roman Catholic beliefs.

The Spanish Golden Age spanned over the course of the 16th century and was a time of development and acceleration in the arts and literature in Spain. This acceleration of poetry, drama and prose forms of literature was partly due to the increase in contact that Spain gained to other European nations including Italy. During this time, a prominent Spanish poet arose named Garcilaso de la Vega. He utilised literary devices seen in foreign nations within his work, and was able to, therefore, replace the stanza forms originally used in Spain with Italian meters and stanza forms.

Prose and poetic literature within western regions, most prominently in England during the early modern era, had a distinct Biblical influence which only began to be rejected during the Enlightenment period of the 18th century. The term metaphysics was coined by poet John Dryden, and during 1779 its meaning was extended to represent a group of poets of the time, then called "metaphysical poets". Major poets of the time included John Donne, Andrew Marvell and George Herbert. John Donne was a prominent metaphysical poet of the 17th century. Donne's poetry explored the pleasures of life through strong use of conceits and emotive language. Donne adopted a more simplistic vernacular compared to the common Petrarchan diction, with imagery derived mainly from God. Literature has been produced to comment on the different versions of "Enlightenment" that spawned across Europe during the 18th century. Henry Farnham stated in his book The Enlightenment in America that the "Moderate Enlightenment [ ] preaches balance, order and religious compromise", whereas the "Revolutionary Enlightenment" attempted to "construct a new heaven and earth out of the destruction of the old".

Significant texts which shaped this literary period include Tractatus Theologico Politicus, an anonymously published treatise in Amsterdam in which the author, Spinoza, rejected the Jewish and Christian religions for their lack of depth in teaching. Spinoza discussed higher levels of philosophy in his treatise, which he suggested was only understood by elitists. This text is one of many during this period which attributed to the increasing "anti religious" support during the time of Enlightenment. France was attempting to improve the education of young women and therefore have this be seen as a reflection of the advancement of society. This led to the emergence of a new genre of literature in 18th century France of books of conduct for girls and unmarried women. The court of Madrid during the 18th century saw an increase in influence from the French and the Italian, English authors who are stated to hold influence on Spanish "Ilustrados" include John Locke, Edmund Burke, Edward Young and Thomas Hobbes. Only until the 20th century, however, was the Spanish Enlightenment period properly acknowledged by scholars, with past research regarding the Spanish Enlightenment period as a "time of foreign imitation".

Spanish literature of the 18th century, apart from being influenced by the Enlightenment period, was influenced by the literary concept of the "sublime". Longinus described the literary devices that the sublime creates as those that allowed the reader to experience something similar to the speaker. He had created a style of language that was not used to persuade, but merely to transport the reader into the mind of the speaker. Therefore, Italy was home to many isolated literary figures, with no unambiguous meaning for the term "Romanticism" itself. This was explained in the writings of Pietro Borsieri, in which he depicted the term Romanticism as being a literary movement that was self defined by the writers. Romantic poets drew inspiration from ancient Greek and Latin poetry and mythology, while poets of this time period also sought to create a sense of unity within the country with their writings. The one facet which held Italy together during this time of political disunity was the poetry and writings of the time period, as suggested by Berchet.

Historical events including the European Revolution, within which the French revolution is claimed to be most significant, contributed to the development of 19th century British Romanticism. These revolutions birthed a new genre of authors and poets who used their literature to convey their distaste for authority. This is seen in the works of poet and artist William Blake, who used primarily philosophical and biblical themes in his poetry, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth, also known as the "Lake Poets", whose literature including the Lyrical Ballads is claimed to have "marked the beginning of the Romantic Movement". There was known to be two waves of British Romantic authors; Coleridge and Wordsworth were grouped into the first wave, while a more radical and "aggressive" second wave of authors included the likes of George Gordon Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Due to the adamant aggression of Byron in his poetic works which advocated for an anti violence revolution and world in which equality existed, a form of fictional character was born named the "Byronic hero", who is known to be rebellious in character. The Byronic hero "pervades much of his work" and Byron is considered a reflection of the character he created. Greek and Roman mythology was prevalent in the works of British Romantic poets including Byron, Keats and Shelley. However, there were poets who rejected the notion of mythological inspiration, including Coleridge, who preferred to take inspiration from the Bible to produce significantly religious inspired works. British 19th century Romanticism developed literature which focused on the "self organisation of living beings, their growth and adaption into their environments and the creative spark that inspired the physical system to perform complex functions". There are observed close ties between medicine, a concept which was experiencing innovation during the 19th century, and Romantic English literature. The exposure to these artworks influenced British literature and culture during a time "when Britain was struggling to prove the value of its own visual culture". The art gave inspiration and "shaped the aesthetic" of Romantic literature for writers including the likes of author Mary Shelley. The diversity and lack of standard seen in the work of infamous Italian artists including Michelangelo and Raphael allowed Romantic writers to celebrate new forms and ways of expression. English essayist William Hazlitt articulated how the lack of restriction, and ample artistic liberty and freedom seen through the artworks of Raphael inspired poets of the Romantic era. Michelangelo's artworks, which "embodied the sublime", were reflected in the literature of Dante and Shakespeare, with constant analogies being made at the time comparing the two.