homework encyclopedia

4 1,001 NIGHTS
1,001 Nights (also called The Arabian
Nights) is a collection of traditional folk tales
from the Middle East. Scheherazade tells her husband,
the sultan, 1,001 wonderful stories to save her life. The tale
of Aladdin and his magic flying carpet is one of the stories.

WHAT WERE THE FIRST WORKS OF LITERATURE?

The earliest written works were epic poems – long

stories or. MYTHS about the adventures of heroes.

The Indian epics Ramayana and Mahabharata

(c. 500 BCE) are still read today. Two famous Greek

poems, Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad, were first written

down from the spoken tradition in the 8th century.

IS LITERATURE DIFFERENT AROUND THE WORLD?

Literature differs from country to country because of

the language it is written in. Some forms of literature

come from one country, such as Japanese haiku

poetry. However, the themes of love, revenge, and

death are found everywhere.

WHY DO PEOPLE WRITE LITERATURE?

Creative people who have something to say need to

find a means of expression. Painters use paint, and

writers use words. Authors write to inform, explore,

amuse, inspire, and to tell a good story. They also

write. NON-FICTION to record events and lives.

Literature uses words to create works of art. It is

usually written, but the earliest literature was

memorized and passed on by word of mouth.

Literature has different forms, such as poetry,

drama (plays), or. NOVELS, and they all offer

insights into people’s deepest thoughts and feelings.

Literature

1 THE ADVENTURES OF ALICE IN WONDERLAND

This fantasy of a young girl’s adventures down a rabbit hole was written

by English author Lewis Carroll in 1865, and illustrated by John Tenniel.

It is a witty commentary on society and education in Victorian times.

c. 1307– Divine Comedy

1321 Dante Alighieri

c. 1387– The Canterbury

1400 Tales Geoffrey

Chaucer

1609 Sonnets

William

Shakespeare

1851 Moby Dick

Herman Melville

1922 Ulysses

James Joyce

1949 Nineteen

Eighty-four

George Orwell

1968 One Hundred

Years of

Solitude Gabriel

García Márquez

LANDMARKS

IL POSTINO 3

Il Postino (1994) was a film of a

novel called Burning Patience

(1983), written by Chilean

author Antonio Skarmeta.

The story, set in Italy, tells

how a humble postman is

inspired by poetry to

win the woman of his

dreams and to express

his political beliefs.

The monsters seem fierce, but Max

can tame them with a single look

Max is given the name

“wild thing” by his mother

for being a naughty boy

4 WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

Maurice Sendak’s tale was thought too

scary for children when it was first

published in the USA in 1963. In it,

a boy called Max sails to the Land

of the Wild Things, where he

meets monsters and becomes

king. However, Max’s travels

are imaginary, and the

smell of his supper

brings him back

to reality.

Set design and costumes

were amazing in this 1999

opera staging of the book

The Hatter with

the March Hare

and Dormouse

Alice is invited to a

mad tea party at the

March Hare’s home