AFRICAN LITERATURE

1. It is a powerful tool in cultural emancipation.

2. It unshackles the chains of imperialism in the continent.
3. It proves that only the native language can clearly capture the meaning of the literary piece.

GEOGRAPHY
1. Africa is the second largest and second most populated continent in the world.
2. Africa has 54 countries divided into regions: Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western and Central Africa.
3. Africa came from the Latin word ‘aprica’, meaning sunny or from the Greek word ‘aphrike’, meaning
without cold.

HISTORICAL INFLUENCES
1. The Europeans started its exploration and colonization of Africa in the 15th century and divided
it among Europeans’ colonial controls by 1900. History and literature of Europe were strong
forces utilized in reinforcing imperialism in colonized nations to the point of belittling the land’s history
and literature.
2. The view of Africa’s literary history has changed by about the 1850s as African linguistic
studies emerged as an academic field. This resulted to upsurge of interest in African languages and
early literature.
3. Many thinks of 1958 with Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, as a birth of African
Literature. Yet African literary pieces inked before the 20th century proved to be substantial.
4. In the second half of the 19th century, studies and collections produced the publication of
numerous African texts and translations. The publication covers stories, riddles, proverbs, local
practices, historical texts, poems, songs, myths, narratives and folklores.
5. A rapid upsurge of African nationalism was seen in the mid-20 th century which resulted to
freedom from colonial domination convoyed by fast social changes.

TYPES/PERIODS
1. Oral African literature
African oral literature was performative. Its themes were usually mythological and historical.
Performance, tone, riddles, and proverbs were key components of oral African literature. These
elements were manipulated by the orator to produce certain effects on their audience. The performer
also often had visual aids during their performance. As the performer was usually face-to-face with the
public, they were able to perform in specific ways by using mimicry, gestures, and expressions to
produce an impact on their audience. They could also portray a certain image by dressing up as a
specific character. Oral African literature was versatile and communal. Performers could at times even
introduce pieces of their older stories into their new stories or create completely new content and
structures in their stories.
2. Pre-colonial African literature
Pre-colonial African literature is the literature written between the fifteenth and nineteenth
centuries and includes the Atlantic slave trade. These stories were based on the folklore of
different regions in African countries. For example, Sungura is a hare in folklore in East Africa and
Central Africa. Often, these stories included mischievous animal characters such as Anansi, a spider
found in the folklore of the Ashanti tribe in Ghana. It is important to understand that before colonial
rule, African literature existed. Africans wrote in Africa as well as in the west and they also wrote in
their native languages. Natures, tribes, and the Gods were the dominant subject of the early
writings.
3. Colonial African Literature
It was produced between the end of World War I and African independence (the date of which
depends on the different countries, such as Ghana's 1957 independence from British control and
Algeria's independence in 1962 from France). The known European assumption of Africa as a continent
either of barren literature until contact with colonizers or owning crude literary forms unworthy of
scholarly study has been around for quite some time.
It contained themes of independence, liberation and Négritude. Traditionally, Africans combine
teaching in their art forms. For example, rather than writing or singing about beauty, African people use
elements of beauty to portray crucial facts and information about African society.
Négritude: a movement starting in the 1930s led by African people in places controlled by the French
who were raising awareness of ‘Black consciousness’ and protesting against French colonisation.
Negritude is characterized by cultural unity of black people, new and compassionate look at the African
culture, rejection of white culture, and declaration of the African humanity.
4. Post-colonial African Literature
Writers in this period wrote in both western languages and African languages. The main themes that
African authors explore in post-colonial African Literature are the relationship between modernity and
tradition, the relationship between Africa’s past and Africa’s present, individuality and collectivism, the
notion of foreignness and indigenous, capitalism and socialism, and what it means to be African.
Modern African literatures were a product of colonial educational systems modelled after Europe than
surviving African traditions. Also known as the literature of protests, recent African Literature
highlighted cultural liberation. This narrates the dilemma of a person struggling against traditional
pressures.

ARABIAN LITERATURE

· Arabia or the Arabian Peninsula is situated southwest of Asia. It is where Islam and the
Arab people originated. Four-fifths of the peninsula is Saudi Arabia and the rest are Yemen,
Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain. Kuwait, Jordan and Iraq.
· Within nomadic and tribal culture began the Arabic literary tradition some 16 centuries ago. It
aspired for the preservation of hospitality and courage as values while expressing a love for
both nature and animals.
· The rise of Islamic faith introduced the original Arabian literature to the influence of other cul-
tural traditions such as Persian, Byzantine, Amazigh, Andalusian, and Indian.
· At the end of the 20th century, the strong influence of the West dominated, but the Arabian
literature strived in maintaining the indigenous inspiration of its own heritage while entertaining
the approaches and models of the west.
· The peninsular nature of Arabian environment preserved the Arabic language during
the pre-Islamic times from the changes of outside forces. It is deemed to be the most-protected
Semitic languages model.
· Limited written works appeared in the 6 th century and earlier. Pre-Islamic is labelled by
Muslims as Jahiliyyah (period of ignorance).
· It was in the 7th century that Arabic culture and literature flourished with the Qur’an,
Islam’s Holy Book, as the powerful center and is still holding its place of influence. The Qur’an
was considered the leading and most powerful Arabic literary piece. It holds 114 suras or
chapters containing massive collection of 6236 ayat or verses. It comprises narratives, para-
bles, homilies, restrictions, instructions, direct addresses from Allah, and explanations on itself.
· The rise of Islamic faith across Africa and then into Asia created a gap between the written and
oral aspects of the language. The Arabic written language set a standard based on the Qur’an
which had endured limited change over time. It is called the classical Arabic.
· At the other end of the linguistic spectrum is the spoken language which developed great diver -
sity as Islam penetrated into various cultures. Persia’s Sasanian empire was one of the earliest
contacts of Arabian literature until it reached to the east with India and elsewhere as Baghdad
was founded in 762.
· The contacts resulted to the advent of The Thousand and One Nights by Tahir Shah, the largest
narrative collection of the world. The House of Wisdom, a library that housed pieces from
the Hellenistic culture translated into Arabic, was also founded in Baghdad.
· While Islamic political division in the 10th century ironically provided support for scholars and
writers, literary creation was marked by the continuing crusades, invasions, and fall of Con-
stantinople (1453), Granada (1942), and Cairo (1517). In Arabic literature surveys, the pe-
riods between 1258 and 1800 was declared ‘period of decadence’.
· Modern Arabic literary tradition is characterized by (1) improved contacts with the Western influ -
ence; and (2) renewed attentiveness to traditional heritage of Islam and the Arabic language.
· Arabs are great love poets to the point that 70% of Arabic poetry is about love.

EGYPTIAN LITERATURE

• Egypt is known as the Cradle of Civilization or Fertile Crescent, a Middle Eastern region shaped like crescent, which is
considered as the birthplace of history, science, writing, trade, urbanization, agriculture and organized religion. It connects the
Middle East to Northeast Africa.

• The scholarly works on ancient Egyptian culture are largely based on the recognition of scenes related to arts, theatre,
literature, dance, music, among others illustrated in tombs, monuments, and temples as well as on the interpretation and
translation of writings found on these.

• Egyptians always have their identity awareness as descendants of Ancient Egypt. As the largest Arabic-speaking nation, Egypt
plays a big role in the culture of the Arab world.
•Egyptian architecture and art received much attention from the world compared to its literature.

• Ancient Egyptian Literature is a creation of the civilization of the pharaohs and has huge differences from that of the well-
received standard of formal Greek literature. It is also dissimilar from those of Western societies and of other early and modern
literatures of the East.

•Ancient Egyptian literature presented itself to the world as engraved writings on walls of tombs, temples, and other
monuments. These inscriptions indicate the religious qualities of the early literary forms reflected in the hymns of worship to
their gods and kings.

• Old Kingdom Literature. Autobiographies and offering lists were the pieces of evidence of early Egyptian writing from the
Early Dynastic Period. These writings were engraved on someone’s tomb for the purpose of informing the living of the gifts
rightfully offered to the deceased. The Offering List was a simple instruction, known to the Egyptians as the hetep-di-nesw ("a
boon given by the king"), inscribed on a tomb detailing food, drink, and other offerings appropriate for the person buried there.
The autobiography, written after the person's death, was always inscribed in the first person as though the deceased were
speaking. The Catalogue of Virtues accentuated the good a person had done in his or her life and how worthy they were of
remembrance.

• From the inscriptions developed the Pyramid Texts which were descriptions of a king’s rule. The texts also served as an
afterlife guide to the souls of the deceased pharaohs as these contained incantation and spells written by scribes and priests to
release the ka (soul) from the Pharaoh’s body and assist it to rise to heaven. These engravings were written in hieroglyphics, the
Egyptian writing system characterized by a combination of ideograms (symbols signifying meaning), logograms (symbols that
represent words), and phonograms (symbols representing sounds).

• Following closely on the heels of the Pyramid Texts, a body of literature known as the Instructions in Wisdom appeared. These
works offer short maxims on how to live much along the lines of the biblical Book of Proverbs and, in many instances, anticipate
the same kinds of advice one finds in Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Psalms, and other biblical narratives. The oldest Instruction is that of
Prince Hardjedef written sometime in the 5th Dynasty.

• Some texts were also written in papyrus, ancient writing material made from the stalk of the plant, Cyperus papyrus. Ebers and
Ani Papyri are examples of these writings. Ebers Papyrus (1550 B.C.) is a medical papyrus containing herbal knowledge while Ani
Papyrus (1250 B.C.) is a funerary text with colored illustrations and cursive hieroglyphics.

• Creation myths such as the famous story of Atum standing on the primordial mound amidst the swirling waters of chaos,
weaving creation from nothing, comes from the Pyramid Texts. These inscriptions also include allusions to the story of Osiris, his
murder by his brother Set, his resurrection from the dead by his sister-wife Isis, and her care for their son Horus in the marshes
of the Delta.

• Middle Kingdom Literature. The Middle Kingdom is considered the classical age of Egyptian literature. During this time the
script known as Middle Egyptian was created, considered the highest form of hieroglyphics and the one most often seen on
monuments and other artifacts in museums in the present day.

• Some of the greatest work of the Middle Kingdom in that it not only expresses a depth of understanding of the complexities of
life but does so in high prose.

• The literature of the Middle Kingdom presented stories which could praise a king like Amenemhat I or present the thoughts
and feelings of a common sailor or the nameless narrator in conflict with his soul. The literature of the Middle Kingdom opened
wide the range of expression by enlarging upon the subjects one could write about and this would not have been possible
without the First Intermediate Period.

• The Middle Kingdom declined during this dynasty in all aspects, finally to the point of allowing a foreign people to gain power
in lower Egypt: The Hyksos and their period of control, just like the First Intermediate Period, would be vilified by later Egyptian
scribes who would again write of a time of chaos and darkness. In reality, however, the Hyksos (invaders who conquered the
land) would provide valuable contributions to Egyptian culture even though these were ignored in the later literature of the New
Kingdom.

• Between the Middle Kingdom and the era known as the New Kingdom falls the time scholars refer to as the Second
Intermediate Period (c. 1782-c.1570 BCE). The memory of the Hyksos "invasion" remained fresh in the minds of the Egyptians
and was reflected in the political policies and the literature of the period.

• The early pharaohs of the New Kingdom dedicated themselves to preventing any kind of incursion like that of the Hyksos and
so embarked on a series of military campaigns to expand Egypt's borders; this resulted in the Age of Empire for Egypt which was
reflected in a broader scope of content in the literature and art. Monumental inscriptions of the gods of Egypt and their
enduring support for the pharaoh became a vehicle for expressing the country's superiority over its neighbors, stories and
poems reflected a greater knowledge of the world beyond Egypt's borders, and the old theme of order vs. chaos was re-
imagined as a divine struggle. These larger themes were emphasized over the pessimistic and complex views of the Middle
Kingdom. The Hyksos and the Second Intermediate Period did the same for New Kingdom art and literature that the First
Intermediate Period had for the Middle Kingdom; it made the works richer and more complex in plot, style, and
characterization.

• An interesting aspect of New Kingdom literature is its emphasis on the importance of the scribal tradition. Scribes had always
been considered an important aspect of Egyptian daily life and the popularity of The Satire of the Trades makes clear how
readers in the Middle Kingdom recognized this.

• Following the New Kingdom came the era known as the Third Intermediate Period (c. 1069-525 BCE) and then the Late Period
(525-323 BCE) and the Ptolemaic Dynasty (323-30 BCE) after which Egypt was annexed by Rome. Around the 4th century CE
Christianity rose to prominence in Egypt and the Christian Egyptians (known as Copts) developed their own script, a kind of
hybrid of demotic Egyptian and Greek, and the old texts of hieroglyphic and hieratic script were forgotten.

• The Pyramid Texts, Coffin Texts, and Book of the Dead are three of the most significant texts that survived up to this day.
These are mostly incantations with the purpose of bringing out comfort and salvation to the dead in the afterlife.

CHINESE LITERATURE

1. Geography. The People’s Republic of China is an East Asian country with the biggest landmass and population in all of Asia. It
covers 22 provinces, 5 independent regions, 4 municipalities (Tianjin, Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing), and 2 special administrative
regions (Macau and Hong Kong) all make up the 33 administrative units under its central government. It houses both the highest
and one of the lowest spots on earth. Its varied landforms range from steep terrains to massive coastal areas while the climate
varies from desert-like conditions to tropical monsoons.

2. Historical Background. Chinese literature reflects the political and social history of China and the impact of powerful religions
that came from within and outside the country. Its tradition goes back thousand of years and has often been inspired by
philosophical questions about the meaning of life, how to live ethically in society, and how to live in spiritual harmony with the
natural order of the universe.

3. Chinese Dynasties.

3.1 Shang Dynasty (c. 1600-1046 B.C.) Chinese civilization was born and historical records were preserved. The very first Chinese
inscriptions were in the form of oracle bones and bronze wares found in a minor territory in northern central China.

3.2 Zhou Dynasty (1045-255 B.C.) dominated the Shang Dynasty and ruled for about 800 years. Taoism, Confucianism, and
other influential philosophical and religious beliefs which later became the basis of Chinese principles developed in this period.

3.3 Qin Dynasty (221-206 B.C.) caused the literary tragedy and the implementation of legalism. Literature books were burned
leaving only written materials on agriculture and medicine to survive. Confucian teachers and philosophers were executed. The
emperor also ordered the reduction of One Hundred Schools of Thought into one. The sole philosophy left was Legalism, a belief
maintaining social control and justifying strong government rule. Nevertheless, this era’s contributions to literature were
Legalism writings and standardization of written classical language.

3.4 Han Dynasty (206-220 A.D.) This period brought the restoration of Confucianism and was later blended with Legalism.
Another contribution od this era is the invention of writing paper by Cai Lun (50-121).

3.5 Tang Dynasty (618-907) The greatest poets, Li Bai and Dufu were great influences of this period.

3.6 Song Dynasty (960-1279) made significant technical and scientific developments. During this period, the discovery of
movable type paved the way to quicker and cheaper publication of printed materials. The Confucian Classics: the Five Classics
(The Book of Changes, The Record of Rites, The Classic Poetry, The Spring and Autumn Annals, and The Classic of History) and
the Four Books (The Analects of Confucius, The Doctrine of the Mean, Mencius, and The Great Learning) were codified and were
utilized as texts needed to pass a test for China’s bureaucracy.

3.7 Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) The Mongols with their huge empire, large population and army, and technology established a
prosperous dynasty. Shadow puppet plays were held in camps as entertainment, vernacular language was used in these plays.
Though Chinese did not rule during the Yuan Empire, the era still contributed outstanding developments in history and
literature.
3.8 Ming Empire (1368-1644) started when the Chinese fought against the Mongols. Novels flourished in this era. The Journey
to the West book about a monk and his travel to India was penned during the time of Isolation. Isolationists were Muslims
employed by the Ming Empire to explore the Middle East, Indian Ocean and Africa.

3.9 Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the last of Chinese royal dynasties was brought by Manchus who came from the tribal-ethnic
group, Jurchens. This dynasty experienced both internal rebellions and foreign attacks, its people became familiar to foreign
literature and the culture of the West in the 19th century. Western culture influenced the educated Chinese to study abroad and
translate and produce foreign literature

4. Philosophy and Religion. Chinese and all of Chinese culture has been profoundly influenced by three great schools of thought:
Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Unlike Western religions, Chinese religions are based on the perception of life as a
process of continual change in which opposing forces, such as heaven and earth or light and dark, balance one another. These
opposites are symbolized by the Yin and Yang. Yin, the passive and feminine force, counterbalances Yang, the active and
masculine force, each contains a ‘seed’ of the other, as represented in the traditional yin-yang symbol.

5. Genres in Chinese Poetry has always been highly valued in Chinese culture and was considered superior to prose. Chief
among its characteristics are lucidity, brevity, subtlety, suggestiveness or understatement, and its three-fold appeal to intellect,
emotion, and calligraphy.

6. Conventions of Chinese Theatre. Chinese drama may be traced to the song and dances of the chi (wizards) and the wu
(witches)whom the people consulted to exercise evil spirits, to bring rain, to insure bountiful harvest, etc., an origin in worship
or some sacred ritual. Chinese Theater has four principal roles: sheng, tau, ching, and chao. The sheng is the prerogative of the
leading male actor. The tau plays all the women’s roles. The ching roles usually assigned the roles of brave warriors, bandits,
crafty and evil ministers, upright judges, loyal statesmen, at times god-like and supernatural beings. The chau is the clown or
jester who is not necessarily a fool and may also do serious or evil character.

7. Chinese Plays. Classical Chinese plays do not follow the unties of time, place, and action. The plot may be set in two or more
places, the time element sometimes taking years to develop or end, and action containing many other sub-plots. The Chinese
play is a total theater, there is singing, recitation of verses, acrobats, dancing, and playing of traditional musical instruments.

8. Chinese Dramas. Chinese Drama conveys an ethical lesson in the guise of art in order to impress a moral truth or a Confucian
tenet. Music is an integral part of the classical drama. Chinese music is based on movement and rhythm that harmonized
perfectly with the sentiments being conveyed by a character. Dramatic conventions that serve to identify the nature and
functions of each character. Make-up identifies the characters and personalities. Costumes help reveal types and different colors
signify ranks and status. Actions reflect highly stylized movements. Hand movements may indicate embarrassment or
helplessness or anguish or anger.

9. Major Chinese Writers.

9.1 Chuang Tzu (4th century B.C.) was the most important early interpreter of the philosophy of Taoism. He served as a minor
court official. In his stories, he appears as a quirky character who cares little foe either public approval or material possessions.

9.2 Lieh Tzu (4th century B.C.) was a Taoist teacher who argued that a sequence of causes predetermines everything that
happens, including one’s choice of action.

9.3 Lui An (172-122 B.C.) was not only a Taoist scholar but the grandson of the founder of the Han dynasty. His royal title was
the Prince of Haui-nan. Together with philosophers and under his patronage, he produced a collection of essays on metaphysics,
cosmology, politics, and conduct.

9.4 Ssu-ma Ch’ien (145-90 B.C.)was the greatest of China’s Historian who dedicated himself to completing the first history of
China, the Records of the Historian. His work covers almost three thousand years of Chinese history in more than half a million
written characters etched onto bamboo tablets.

The following are the T’ang Poets:

9.5 Li Po (701-762) was Wang Wei’s contemporary and he spent a short time in courts, but seems to have been too much of a
romantic. His poetry was often other-wordly and ecstatic. He had no great regard for his poems himself. He is said to have mad
thousands of them into paper boats which he sailed along streams.

9.6 Tu Fu (712-770) is the Confucian moralist, realist, and humanitarian. He was public-spirited, and his poetry helped
chronicle the history of the age: the deterioration.
9.7 Wang Wei (796?-761?) was an 8th century government official who spent the later years of his life in the country, reading
and discussing Buddhism with scholars and monks. He is known for the pictorial quality of his poetry and for its economy. His
word-pictures parallel Chinese brush artistry in which a few strokes are all suggestive of authority, the disasters of war, and
official extravagance.

9.8 Po Chu-I (772-846) was born at a time when China was still in turmoil from foreign invasion and internal strife. He wrote
many poems speaking bitterly against the social and economic problems that were plaguing China.

9.9 Li Ch’ing-chao (A.D. 1084-1151) is regarded as China’s greatest woman poet and was also one of the most liberated women
of her day. She was brought up in court society and was trained in the arts and classical literature quite an unusual upbringing
for a woman of the Sung dynasty. Many of her poems composed in the tz’u form celebrate her happy marriage or express her
loneliness when her husband was away.

9.10 Chou-Shu (1881-1936) has been called the father of the modern Chinese short story because of his introduction of
Western techniques. He is known as Lu Hsun whose stories deal with themes of social concern, the problems of the poor,
women, and intellectuals.

ANALECTS OF CONFUCIUS

Confucius or Kung Fu-Tze is China’s most notable philosopher, teacher, and leader whose ideology, Confucianism, influenced
the country. His work, The Analects of Confucius, is a collection of short passages that present Confucius and his disciples’ words
and ideals, characterize Confucius as a man, and narrate some events in Confucius’ life.

The Analects (Lun Yu) is one of the four Confucian texts. The sayings range from brief statements to more extended dialogues
between Confucius and his students. Confucius believes that people should cultivate the inherent goodness within themselves-
unselfishness, courage and honor- as an ideal of universal moral and social harmony. The Analects instructs on moderation in all
things through the development of virtues such as loyalty, obedience, and a sense of justice. It also emphasizes filial piety and
concern with social and religious rituals. To Confucius, a person’s inner virtues can be fully realized only through concrete acts of
‘ritual property’ or proper behavior toward other human beings.

Key Terms and translations:

1. Junzi - denotes an ideal moral actor or a ruler.

2. Dao - the ‘way’ or any fully conceived behavioral path

3. Ren - rendered as humanity or goodness.

4. Li - body of religious, political, and common ceremonial forms.

INDIAN LITERATURE

1. LITERARY PERIODS

The Indus Valley Civilization flourished in northern India between 2500 and 1500 B.C. The Aryans, a group of nomadic warriors
and herders, were the earliest known migrants into India. They brought them a well-developed language and literature and set
of religious beliefs.

A. Vedic Period (1500 B.C.- 500 B.CC)

This period is named for the Vedas is a set of hymns that formed the cornerstone of Aryan culture. They are transmitted orally
by priests only and considered as the most sacred of all literature for they believe these to have been revealed to humans
directly by the gods.

The Rigveda means ‘hymns of supreme sacred knowledge’. Samhita is its foremost collection, made up of 1028 hymns. The
oldest of the Vedas, comparable to the Psalms in the Old Testament of Christians.

B. Epic and Buddhist Age (500 B.C.-A.D.)

The period of composition of the two great epics, Mahabarata and the Ramayana. This time was also the growth of later Vedic
literature, new Sanskrit literature, and Buddhist literature in Pali.
The Mahabarata, traditionally ascribed to the sage Vyasa, it tells of the struggle for supremacy between cousins, the Kauravas
and the Pandavas. The poem is made up of almost 100,000 couplets divided into 18 parvans or sections. It is an exposition on
dharma (codes of conduct).

The Bhagavad Gita (The Blessed Lord’s Song) is one of the greatest and most beautiful of the Hindu scriptures. It is regarded by
the Hindus in somewhat the same way as the Gospels by the Christians.

The Ramayana was composed in Sanskrit by the poet Valmiki and consists of some 24000 couplets divided into seven books. It
reflects the Hindu values and forms of social organization, the theory of karma, the ideals of wifehood, and feelings about caste,
honor, and promises.

C. Classical Period (1000 A.D.)

The main literary language of northern India during this period was Sanskrit, in contrast with the Dravidian languages of
southern India. Sanskrit, which means ‘perfect speech’ is considered a sacred language, the language spoken by the gods and
goddesses. Poetry and drama peaked during this period.

The Panchatantra is a collection of Indian beast fables originally written in Sanskrit. It is intended as a textbook of artha (worldly
wisdom); the aphorisms tend to glorify shrewdness and cleverness more than helping others. The introduction, which acts as an
enclosing frame for the entire work, attributes the stories to a learned Brahman name Vishnusarman, who used the form of
animal fables to instruct the three dull-witted sons of a king.

Sakuntala, a Sanskrit drama by Kalidasa, tells of the love between Sakuntala and King Dushyanta. What begins as a physical
attraction for both of them becomes spiritual in the end as their love endures and surpasses all difficulties. Emotion or rasa
dominates every scene in Sanskrit drama. These emotions vary from love to anger, heroism to cowardice, joy to terror and
allows the audience to take part in the play and be one with the characters.

The Little Clay Cart (Mrcchakatika) is attributed to shudraka, a king. The characters in this play include a Brahman merchant who
has lost his money through liberality, a rich courtesan in love with a poor young man, much description of resplendent palaces,
and both comic and tragic or near-tragic emotional situations.

D. Medieval and Modern Age (A.D. 1000- present)

Persian influence on literature was considerable during this period. British influence was strong and modern-day Indians are
primarily educated in English.

Gitanjali: Song Offerings. Rabindranath Tagore uses imagery from nature to express the themes of love and the internal conflict
between spiritual longings and earthly desires.

The Taj Mahal, a poem by Sahir Ludhianvi, is about the mausoleum in North India built by the mogul emperor Shah Jahan for his
wife Mumtaz-i-Mahal.

On Learning To Be An Indian, an essay by Santha Rama Rau illustrates the telling effects of colonization on the lives of the
people particularly the younger generation. The writer humorously narrates the conflicts that arise between her grandmother’s
traditional Indian values and the author’s own British upbringing.

2. RELIGIONS

Indian creativity is evident in religion as the country is the birthplace of two important faiths: Hinduism, the dominant religion,
and Buddhism, which ironically became extinct in India but spread throughout Asia.

2.1 Hinduism, literally ‘the belief of the people of India’.

The Purusarthas are the three ends of man: dharma- virtue, duty, righteousness, moral law; artha- wealth; and karma- love or
pleasure. A fourth end is moksha- the renunciation of duty, wealth and love in order to seek spiritual perfection. It is achieved
after the release from samsara, the cycle of births and deaths. Everything that seems to divide the soul from this reality is maya
or illusion. Life is viewed as an upward development through four stage of effort called the four asmaras: 1) the student stage-
applies to the rite of initiation into study of the Vedas; 2) the householder stage- marries and fulfills the duties as head of the
family where he begets sons and earns a living; 3)the stage of the forest dweller- departs from home and renounces the social
world; and 4) ascetic- stops performing any of the rituals or social duties of life in the world and devotes time for reflection and
meditation.
Kama refers to one of the proper pursuits of man in his role as householder, that of pleasure and love. The Kama-sutra is a
classic textbook on erotics and other forms of pleasure and love, which is attributed to the sage Vatsyayana.

The Hindus regard Purusha, the Universal Spirit, as the soul and original source of the universe. The four Varnas serve as the
theoretical basis for the organization of the Hindu society. The most important philosophical doctrine is the concept of a single
supreme being, the Brahman, and knowledge is directed toward reunion with it by the human soul, the Atman or self.

2.2 Buddhism is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, called Buddha, or the ‘Enlightened One’. Much of Buddha’s
teaching is focused on self-awareness and self-development in order to attain nirvana or enlightenment. According to Buddhist
beliefs, human beings are bound to the wheel of life which is a continual cycle of birth, death, and suffering. This cycle is an
effect of Karma in which a person’s present life and experiences are the result of past thoughts and actions, and these present
thoughts and actions create those of the future.

The Dhammapada (Way of Truth) is an anthology of basic Buddhist teaching in a simple aphoristic style (short sentence
expressing a truth in fewest possible words).

3. MAJOR WRITERS

3.1 Kalidasa a Sanskrit poet and dramatist is probably the greatest Indian writer of all time. His poems suggest that he was a
Brahman (priest).

3.2 Rabindranath Tagore is the son of the great sage, Tagore, he is a Bengali poet and mystic who won the Nobel Prize for
Literature in 1913. The death of his wife and two children brought him years of sadness but this also inspired some of his best
poetry. He is also a gifted composer and a painter.

3.3 Prem Chand pseudonym of Dhanpat Rai Srivastava, an Indian author of numerous novels and short stories in Hindi and
Urdu who pioneered in adapting Indian themes to Western literary styles. Some of his works are Sevasadana (House of
Service), Manasarovar (The Holy Lake), and Godan (The Gift of a Cow).

3.4 Kamala Markandaya, her works concern the struggles of contemporary Indians with conflcting Eastern and Western
values. Her first and most popular novel is the Nectar in a Sieve.

3.5 Arundhati Roy is a young female writer whose first book The God of Small Things won for her a Booker Prize.