Literature Cheat Sheet

LITERATURE CHEAT SHEET: THE MOST NOTABLE LITERATURE PIECES IN
THE WORLD AND THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT THEM
CANTERBURY TALES
This literature is written by Geoffrey
Chaucer in the 14th century.
It is composed of tales bringing to life
different characters and stories.
This literature remains to be popular even in
an academic setting.
In fact, it is one of the most read and studied
books globally.
DIVINE COMEDY
The epic poem is made by Dante Alighieri
about a journey in the afterlife.
It tackles the soul’s identification and
recognition of God.
It has an accent of a medieval Christian
philosophy and theology.
This is believed to be the greatest written in
Italian literature.
MOBY DICK
It is one of the best American novels.
It is written by Herman Melville.
It is about a man hunting for a great whale.
Melville used heavy symbolism in this novel.
It got popular because of its meticulous
presentation of the whaling industry in the
19th century, as well as its narrative
arrangement.
THE ODYSSEY
This is another ancient Greek epic poem
made by Homer.
It tackles the journey of the ten-year old
Odysseus going back home after the Trojan
War.
1984
Censorship, surveillance and truth were
presented like no other in this novel.
This dystopian novel was written by George
Orwell.
Orwell portrayed a totalitarian regime
affecting the rights of the people in this
novel.
This novel plays a big part in the modern
culture for the creation of terms and ideas
in the society.
BRAVE NEW WORLD
Aldous Huxley exposed his fears on
emerging youth culture and commerciality
in this dystopian novel.
It is one of the greatest novels of the 20th
century.
The novel showed unfavorable treatment on
the extinction of someone’s identity by
technological advancements in the future.
THE ILIAD
Written by one of the most popular authors
in the world Homer, this Greek epic poem
covers all kinds of music, thought and art in
the Western civilization.
It is all about the things that happened a few
weeks after the Trojan War.
DON QUIXOTE
Miguel de Cervantes’s Don Quixote was
initially in two books.
This Spanish novel is considered as one of
the most famous and influential in the world.
It is popular for its characterization,
adventure, and symbolism.
For years, this novel has already inspired
and still inspiring old and new artists.
MADAME BOVARY
In this novel, Gustave Flaubert tells the
story of a woman who escapes a loveless
marriage through adulterous affairs.
It was a target of heavy censorship when
published.
Because of its heavy censorship, Flaubert
faced a trial.
When Flaubert was acquitted, the novel
became a masterpiece of the Realism
movement.
THE GREAT GATSBY
It opened the gates for students to
appreciate literature in school.
F. Scott Fitzerland combined Jazz Age in the
United States in the 1920s and the idea of
American Dream.

LITERATURE CHEAT SHEET: THE MOST NOTABLE LITERATURE PIECES IN
THE WORLD AND THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT THEM
ANNA KARENINA
Leo Tolstoy was a revolutionary tool in his
presentation on women. He also
emphasized prejudice and social hardship at
that time when he wrote it.
Time magazine had included Anna Karenina
in the greatest novels list after it was
completely published on 1878.
Tolstoy was able to put together his
thoughts on pain, family and love in a
Russian society.
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
Harper Lee published this novel in the
1960.
Since it was published, it became a classic,
and even released as a movie. The film
garnered an academy-award in 1962.
This is the only novel that Harper Lee
published aside from its controversial
sequel in 2015.
This classic novel was able to earn a Pulitzer
Prize for fiction in the year 1961.
THE LORD OF THE RINGS
This novel by J.R.R. Tolkein raised the
standards of fantasy.
It was adapted into films. The films were
greatly embraced even for those who
haven’t read any of the books.
The early stories are in the book entitled
The Hobbit that was also written by
Tolkein. Such book was also made into a
movie.
IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME
Marcel Proust completed a seven-volume
book for this novel. This is considered as one
of the most known works in the early 20th
century. It tackles about childhood, meaning
and memory, which avoided 19th-century
plot driven models.
ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE
This is the most known work of Gabriel
Garcia Marquez.
Marquez earned a lot of awards including
the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982
because of this novel.
BELOVED
Toni Morrison demonstrated the trauma of
slavery even after freed in this spiritual and
hunting novel.
It earned a Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1988.
The novel is admired for addressing
psychological effects of slavery and its
significance of family and society for
healing.
THINGS FALL APART
Chinua Achebe’s wok is often used for
reading courses when it comes to world
literature and African studies.
It is one of the ways for African people to
disclose their experiences of imperialism in
the mid-1900s.
JANE EYRE
This is also a famous reading assignment in
school.
Charlotte Brontëinitially used Currer Bell
when it was published in 1874 to keep her
identity as a woman a secret.
Since 1847, there were significant changes
on women in literate.
THE COLOR PURPLE
This is a good example of an epistolary
novel. It is composed of different letters
made by one or more characters.
Alice Walker was able to receive the 1982
Pulitzer Price for this novel.
She was also the champion for a National
Book Award.
The novel was made into film and was
nominated in the Academy Awards in
1985. But it was snubbed for its 11
nominations.
References:
http://oedb.org/ilibrarian/50_books_that_cha
nged_the_world/
https://www.britannica.com/list/12-novelsconsidered-the-greatest-book-ever-written