Literary epochs as orientation – basics and identifying features
How it works
Literary epochs are periods of time in which typical themes, motifs, forms and styles predominate in literature. Important epochs are e. g. ‹Mittelalter›, ‹Barock›, ‹Aufklärung›, ‹Sturm und Drang›, ‹Klassik›, ‹Romantik›, ‹Realismus›, ‹Naturalismus› and ‹Moderne›. Each epoch has characteristic features that are reflected in works, language and motifs. Thus motifs such as ‹Nacht›, ‹Wald›, ‹Sehnsucht› or the symbolic ‹blaue Blume› often point to the ‹Romantik›. The classification of texts into epochs helps to understand literary developments and to interpret texts historically.
Texts are assigned to literary epochs on the basis of typical features such as themes, language, motifs and historical contexts. If, for example, ‹Natur›, ‹Geheimnis› and ‹Sehnsucht› are noticeably emphasized in a text, this often points to the epoch ‹Romantik›.
An example
Which feature is typical of the epoch ‹Romantik›?
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50 Exercises
To the learning unit →Own explanation and own practice exercises by AmyMath. Subject reference framework: German. The topic assignment may vary by federal state.