Literature
In the 4th millennium BC, trade and administration in Mesopotamia grew too complex for human memory alone. Writing emerged as a dependable method to record transactions permanently. The Limestone Kish tablet from Sumer, dated around 3500 BC, may be the earliest known writing system. Ancient Egyptian literature followed shortly after, with primary genres including didactic texts, hymns, prayers, and tales written almost entirely in verse. By the Old Kingdom between 26th century BC and 22nd century BC, literary works included funerary texts, epistles, letters, and commemorative autobiographical texts recounting official careers. Narrative Egyptian literature only appeared during the early Middle Kingdom from 21st century BC to 17th century BC.
Oral traditions thrived alongside or before these written records across diverse cultures. Australian Aboriginal culture maintained oral histories passed down through tens of thousands of years. Evidence suggests both Budj Bim and Tower Hill volcanoes erupted between 34,000 and 40,000 years ago. This timeline provides a minimum age constraint for human presence in Victoria, potentially supporting oral histories of the Gunditjmara people regarding volcanic eruptions. An axe found underneath volcanic ash in 1947 proved humans inhabited the region before the eruption of Tower Hill. In ancient India, folklore, mythologies, and scriptures were transmitted orally using elaborate mnemonic techniques. The Rigveda was compiled from as early as 1500 BC over several centuries. Homer's epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey, were originally composed, performed, and transmitted orally around the late eighth or early seventh century BC.
Johannes Gutenberg invented movable type in Europe around 1440, gradually making books less expensive and more widely available. A man born in 1453 could look back from his fiftieth year on a lifetime where about eight million books had been printed. This output exceeded what all scribes of Europe produced since Constantine founded Constantinople in AD 330. Early printed books created before 1501 are known as incunables or incunabula. The Chinese inventor Bi Sheng made movable type of earthenware, which spread to Korea later. Around 1230, Koreans invented metal type movable printing that eventually reached Europe between the late 14th century and early 15th century.
The history of newspaper publishing began in Germany in 1609, with magazines following in 1663. The Diamond Sutra from Tang dynasty China stands as the world's earliest dated printed book from AD 868. Digital media has now blurred lines between online electronic literature and other modern forms. Electronic literature consists of works created exclusively on and for digital devices. These developments allowed an ever-growing distribution and proliferation of written works throughout history.
Ancient Greek literature included Homer's epic poems, Hesiod's Works and Days around 700 BC, and Theogony. Plato wrote philosophical texts between 428/427 BC and 348/347 BC, while Aristotle lived from 384 BC to 322 BC. Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides remain the only three authors whose hundreds of classical tragedies still exist today. Aristophanes provided examples of Old Comedy, the earliest form of Greek comedy. Roman literature began in 240 BC when audiences saw a Latin version of a Greek play. Latin would flourish for the next six centuries including essays, histories, poems, plays, and other writings.
The Qur'an appeared between 610 AD and 632 AD, marking the beginning of Islamic literature. Muslims believe it was transcribed in the Arabic dialect of the Quraysh tribe. The Torah is widely seen as a product of the Persian period between 539 BC and 333 BC, probably 450 BC to 350 BC. Sanskrit literature begins with the Vedas dating back to 1500, 1000 BC. The Mahabharata and Ramayana were composed and redacted between approximately the 6th to 1st centuries BC. The Zuo Zhuan, compiled no later than 389 BC, stands as an exemplary piece of narrative history attributed to blind historian Zuo Qiuming from the 5th century BC.
In late 1820s England, growing political awareness among utilitarians and Benthamites promoted courses in English literary study at newly formed London University. Literary criticism remains one of the oldest academic disciplines concerned with literary merit or intellectual significance of specific texts. The study of books as artifacts falls under textual criticism or the history of the book. A fundamental question of literary theory asks what literature actually means, though many contemporary theorists believe it cannot be defined or refers to any use of language.
The Nobel Prize in Literature was established by Alfred Nobel's will in 1895, awarded to authors producing outstanding work in an ideal direction. Selma Lagerlöf won the first Nobel Prize for women in 1909, becoming the first woman granted membership in The Swedish Academy in 1914. Between 1901 and 2020, Nobel Prizes went to 117 individuals: 101 men and 16 women. Feminist scholars have sought since the twentieth century to expand the literary canon to include more women writers. Psychologists like Hogan argue that understanding characters' situations unites communities by provoking universal emotions.
Literary works have been protected by copyright law from unauthorized reproduction since at least 1710. The Statute of Anne 1710 and the Literary Copyright Act 1842 used the term book, but statutes referred to literary works since 1911. The United States established federal copyright law with the Copyright Act of 1790, updated significantly in 1976. Japan joined the original Berne convention in 1899, protecting copyrighted works for 50 years after author death or publication. In 2004, Japan extended terms to 70 years for cinematographic works, applying this new term to all works by end of 2018.
Censorship controls what can be portrayed, spoken, performed, or written by states and religious organizations. James Joyce's novel Ulysses was banned in the United States from 1921 until 1933 on grounds of obscenity. Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov described it as a divine work of art and greatest masterpiece of 20th century prose. Soviet poet Anna Akhmatova faced condemnation and censorship by Stalinist authorities in 1922. The European Union implemented copyright directives including the Copyright Term Directive and Information Society Directive.
Widespread education of women became common only during the nineteenth century, leaving literature mostly male dominated until recently. Few English-language women poets remain remembered until the twentieth century. Emily Brontë, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and Emily Dickinson emerged as notable individuals in the nineteenth century. Jane Austen lived from 1775 to 1817, recognized as the first major English woman novelist. Aphra Behn served as an early female dramatist. Amantine Dupin, known by pen name George Sand, lived from 1804 to 1876 and was more renowned than Victor Hugo and Honoré de Balzac in England during the 1830s and 1840s.
The Adventures of Pinocchio published in 1883 remains the most translated Italian book after the Bible. Children's literature began emerging in the eighteenth century with educational books on conduct and simple ABCs decorated with animals and plants. Modern scholars continue expanding the literary canon to include diverse voices and perspectives across all cultures and time periods.
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Common questions
When did writing first emerge in Mesopotamia?
Writing emerged as a dependable method to record transactions permanently during the 4th millennium BC. The Limestone Kish tablet from Sumer, dated around 3500 BC, may be the earliest known writing system.
What is the oldest dated printed book in history?
The Diamond Sutra from Tang dynasty China stands as the world's earliest dated printed book from AD 868. This artifact predates other known printed works and marks a significant milestone in the history of literature.
Who invented movable type printing technology in Europe?
Johannes Gutenberg invented movable type in Europe around 1440, gradually making books less expensive and more widely available. Early printed books created before 1501 are known as incunables or incunabula.
Which three ancient Greek authors have hundreds of classical tragedies that still exist today?
Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides remain the only three authors whose hundreds of classical tragedies still exist today. These figures represent the surviving body of work from ancient Greek drama alongside Aristophanes who provided examples of Old Comedy.
When was the Nobel Prize in Literature first awarded to a woman?
Selma Lagerlöf won the first Nobel Prize for women in 1909, becoming the first woman granted membership in The Swedish Academy in 1914. Between 1901 and 2020, Nobel Prizes went to 117 individuals including 101 men and 16 women.