Art and literature

Art and Literature


Question
What are some art forms?


Drama
■

Middle Ages: based on stories from
the Christian religion

■

Early 15th Century: “morality plays”
– characters called Knowledge, God,
Death, Beauty, etc

■

Late 15th Century: non-religious
plays began to develop


Drama
■

Elizabeth I (queen 1550 - 1603):
“The golden age of English drama”
– plays were very popular

■

They are much less popular now

■

Until 19th Century, drama was
almost all written in verse

■

Now, almost none is verse


Question
What language are the most famous
Western operas written in?

Answer: Italian


Opera

(Carmen)


Opera
■

Music, singing, acting, dancing
– classical music

■

Popular in Europe and America
during 18th and 19th centuries


Musical theatre
■

Similar to opera, but using “popular”
styles of music (rather than classical)
– eg. The Sound of Music, Cats

■

Reached their peak in 1940s, 1950s

■

Later, many movies were made in this
style

■

Even today, these areas are famous
for musical theatre:
– West End (London), Broadway (New York)

Novels
■

First successful novel published in
England in 1719
– Robinson Crusoe (by Daniel Defoe)

■

Some genres (types) of novel:
– romance
– western (historical American frontier)
– mysteries (also called whodunits)
– fantasy (set in different worlds, with
dragons, swords, heros, etc)


Question
What recent, popular film was based
on a fantasy novel?


Fantasy Novels
■

Lord of the Rings
was one of the first
fantasy novels

– published 1954