21st LITERATURE REVIEWER

21st LITERATURE REVIEWER

NOTABLE LITERARY PIECES

The Tale of Kieu

  • Written by Nguyen Du. This Vietnamese poem that recounts the life of a beautiful young woman who has to sacrifice herself to save her family.

The Temple of the Golden Pavilion

  • Written by Kimitake Hiraoka. It is a Japanese novel based on the burning of the reliquary of Kinkaku-Ji by a young Buddhist assistant in 1950.

The Ocean to the Youth

  • Written by Choe Nam Seon. It is a Korean poem that aims to produce cultural reform and modern knowledge about the world to the youth.

Red Sorghum

  • Written by Mo Yan. It is a Chinese novel that relates the story of a family in a rural area in Shandong Province during a turbulent time.

The Ballad of the Army Cats

  • Written by Du Fu. It is a Chinese poem that talks about conscription-with hidden satire that speaks of the noticeable luxury of the court.

Jamila

  • Written by Chingiz Aytmatov. It is a Russian novel that recounts a story of a sister-in-law and a local crippled young man.

Rashomon

  • Written by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa. It is a Japanese short story that recounts the encounter between a servant and an old woman in the dilapidated place where unclaimed corpses were sometimes dumped.

Abqariyat Series

  • Written by Abbas Mahmoud al-Aqqad. It is an Egyptian book compilation that covers the life of the seven most important Sahabahor the disciples and followers of Muhammad.

The Heartless

  • Written by Yi Kwang-su. It is a Korean novel that describes the Korean’s conflict between social realities and traditional ideals.

The Conservationist

  • Written by Nadine Gordimer. It is an African novel which is a character study of a successful South African industrial executive.

Chaka

  • Written by Thomas Mofolo. It is a historical African novel about the story of the rise and fall of the Zulu king Shaka.

Things Fall Apart

  • Written by Chinua Achebe. It is an African novel that concerns the traditional Igbo life at the time of the advent of missionaries and the colonial government in his homeland.

Abay

  • Written by Mukhtar Auez-uli. It is Kazakh novel that is based on the life and poetry of Kunanbay-uli.

T’oji (The Land)

  • Written by Pak Kyongni. This is a Korean epic novel that chronicles the violent Korean History from 1897 to 1945.

Alone and Drinking Under the Moon

  • Written by Li Po. It is a Chinese poem that deals with the ancient social custom of drinking.

CHINESE LITERATURE

Li Po

  • The most renowned Chinese poet.

KOREAN LITERATURE

Hangul

  • Korean’s distinctive writing system that gave birth to a wave of Korean Literature.

The Heartless

  • A Korean novel that describes Korean conflict between social realities and traditional ideals.

JAPANESE LITERATURE

Kabuki

  • A traditional Japanese popular drama with singing and dancing performed in a highly stylized manner.

INDIAN LITERATURE

Kalidasa

  • Considered as Hindu Shakespeare

MIDDLE EAST ASIAN LITERATURE

Islam

  • It is an essential component and foundation of culture in the Middle East.

AFRICAN LITERATURE

  • Is the cradle of human civilization yet it has a limited scope and length in terms of literary tradition.

Colonial and Post Colonial Experiences

  • Shaped African literature from ancient to the contemporary period. Contemporary African writers use their literary work to express their disagreement to the constant corruption in their country.

Chinua Achebe

  • Wrote the novel “Things Fall Apart.” It is concern with traditional Igbo life at the time of the missionaries and colonial government in his homeland.

Thomas Mafolo

  • Wrote the novel entitled Chaka. It is about the danger in the blind ambition of power.

NORTH AND LATIN AMERICAN LITERATURE

David L. Weatherford

  • Wrote the poem SLOW DANCE. It talks about the reality of death. This poem reminds us to live life to the fullest.

Alfred Edward Housman

  • Wrote the poem “When I was One and Twenty.” It discusses the reality of being in-love and it narrates the realization of the pieces of advices given to him when he was 21 years old.

Kate Chopin

  • Wrote “The Story of an Hour.” It discusses the reality about marriage, freedom, and repression when the wife learned the death of her husband but later discovered that he was alive.

James Grover Thurber

  • Wrote “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” It is a story about a clumsy but very imaginative old man that teaches us to learn to appreciate and look at the beautiful life of a person.

Tess Almendarez Lojacono

  • Wrote the story “Just One Thing.” This is about the importance of encouraging children to be the best version of oneself.

EUROPEAN LITERATURE

Restoration Age – is an era of literary criticism.

Literary Criticism

  • Is an attempt to evaluate and understand the literary of an author
  • Is a description, analysis, evaluation, or interpretation of a particular literary work or an author’s writings as a whole.
  • Usually expressed in the form of a critical essay. In-depth book reviews are also sometimes viewed as literary criticism.

Leo Tolstoy

  • Wrote the novel “Anna Karenina.” It teaches us about living for the good of humanity.

Robert Frost

  • Wrote the poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” These last line mean that the poet has to fulfill his promises and has to travel a lot of distance before he can rest.

John Milton

  • Wrote the epic poem (blank verse) “Paradise Lost and Paradise Regain.” In his Paradise Lost, he considered Satan or Lucifer as a fallen angel.

William Shakespeare

  • Wrote the tragedy, Romeo and Juliet.

Sophocles

  • Wrote “Oedipus the King.” This is about a tragic story of a prince who has an unfortunate fate. He was fated to kill his own father and marry his own mother. This is the oracle which plagued his own life.

21st Century Literature

  • Is a compilation of literary pieces written within the past decade which is written by contemporary authors.
  • It deals with current themes and issues and reflects a technological culture
  • It also reflects the social, cultural, and political realities.
  • It comprises literary works by authors from all walks of life
  • It covers a wide range of genres that are adaptive to human situations
  • It deals with the simplicity and complexity of human life and existence.

FAMOUS 21ST LITERARY GENRE

Manga, illustrated novels, digi-fiction, flash fiction, chiklit, hyperpoetry, speculative fiction.

Manga

  • Manga originates from Japan
  • It is a mixture of both comics and anime.
  • Manga is a Japanese word if translated it means whimsical drawings.
  • Manga is like American comics.
  • Some manga’s have superhero’s just like most comics.
  • For example, Tokyo Mew Mew.

Illustrated Novel

  • 50% of the narrative is presented without words.
  • The reader must interpret the images in order to comprehend completely the story.
  • Textual portions are presented in traditional form.
  • Some illustrated novels may contain no text at all.
  • Span all genres.

Digi-Fiction

  • Combines three media: book, movie/video, and internet website.
  • In order to get the full story, students must engage in navigation, reading, viewing, in all three formats.

Characteristics of Flash Fiction

  • Begins in media res
  • Shows instead of tells
  • Little to no background information
  • Trusts the reader to find meaning
  • Often has a surprise ending or plot twist

Chick Lit

  • “Upbeat, entertaining…reads, written mostly by women that feature young female characters. These books can be about boys, friendship, family, fitting in, or vacations…almost always involve self-discovery, offer an uplifting ending, and spotlight characters that are easy for girls to relate to.

Hyperpoetry

  • Also known as cyberpoetry. It refers to the genre of poetry that is always produced and presented with the computer.

Speculative Fiction

  • Science fiction, supernatural fiction, fantasy, alternative history, horror, dystopian, utopian fiction