As a cultural phenomenon, Christianity embodies all fields of western society, which naturally plays a certain role in the development of European and American literature and affects the creative careers of many writers in the history of European and American literature.
When Christianity came into being, it was inspired and edified by Jewish "Prophet Literature", "Wisdom Literature" and "Revelation Literature". It accepted the historical accidents, religious events, folk customs, vows and love poems of the Jewish nation, and added its own gospel stories and the deeds of Jesus' disciples to form the "Bible Literature" and "Church Literature" of the Roman Empire. In the Latin literary creation in the late Rome, the Christian stories of Jesus, biographies of apostles, hymns and prayers accounted for a large proportion. Among them, the autobiographical confession written by Christian theologian Augustine as his Confessions of Faith has great influence, and this book has also become a masterpiece of Latin studies in the late Rome.
European literature in the Middle Ages was dominated by Christian literature, and the "moral" features in its writing techniques also came from metaphors and metaphors in the Bible. Genesis, edited by Sigmund, a British poet, Julianne, Irene and Christ, written by Sine Wolff, as well as Ode to a Saint, Journey to Saint Lerie and Passion in France in the 9th and10th centuries all belong to biblical literature and saint literature. The heroic epics of various ethnic groups in Europe are also influenced by Christianity in their circulation, such as the English epic Beowulf in the 8th century, the French epic Song of Roland in 1 1 century, the Finnish epic Ka Laivaara in12nd century, and the Spanish epic Sid, all of which have permeated the extreme of Jesus or the story of the Virgin. These works eulogize the history of our country, but also promote the Christian concept and praise Christian heroes.
After the Crusade, chivalrous literature began to rise, forming the "first form of sex in history" in medieval Europe. Although chivalrous literature rebelled against Christian asceticism and the idea of being born at that time, and praised the beauty of secular life and love, it still preached the Christian faith of adventure, jihad and dedication, and called for traveling and wandering around to find the relics of saints, thus maintaining close ties with Christian traditions.
European literature in the Renaissance was dominated by urban literature, which reflected the demands and aspirations of the new citizen class. Such as Boccaccio's decameron, Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Reichlin's Letter to the Ignorant, Yi Lasmo's Ode to a Fool, Malou's The Tragedy of Faust, etc., are not only rich in materials and fresh in style, but also rich in language and refined in writing. These works emphasize the wisdom and greatness of human beings, the beauty and tranquility of nature, and advocate relying on reason to confront the supreme authority of religious belief and relying on "anthropology" to replace "theology". However, its "revival" or "innovation" did not break away from the soil of Christian culture in medieval Europe. Many literary works of humanists still borrow metaphors, fables or dreams from church literature. Ideologically, it means accepting the domination of Christian theology more or less directly or indirectly. For example, Dante's Divine Comedy, the "primitive poet of the new era" and the "father of the Renaissance", was constructed according to Aquinas' orthodox theological system, so some people say that the ethics of Divine Comedy came from Aristotle, astronomy came from Ptolemy, and theology came from Aquinas, and Dante was regarded as Aquinas in the literary world at that time. In addition, Tasso, an Italian poet in the late Renaissance, expressed his appreciation and attachment to Christian culture through the conflict and contest between Christianity and Islam in his narrative poem "Liberated Jerusalem".
16th century Martin. Luther's religious reform not only transformed Christianity, but also transformed German literature. His German translation of the Bible and its essays, fables and hymns "not only cleared the bull's-eye of the church (Roman Catholic Church at that time) in Ghias, but also cleared the bull's-eye of German in Ghias, created modern German prose, and wrote the lyrics and songs of the hymn full of confidence in victory, which later became the Marseillaise of16th century".
The "religious reform" under the banner of Christianity not only opened a new era of modern capitalism in Europe, but also opened a new era of the development of European and American literature. /kloc-The British bourgeois revolution in the 0/7th century was carried out under the banner of Christian Puritanism revolution, which produced famous writers Milton and Bunyan. Their works are all based on Christian culture, and their masterpieces such as Paradise Lost, paradise regained, Samson and Journey to the Kingdom of Heaven are well-known and become the treasures of European and American literary circles. In addition, in order to find a paradise for freedom of belief. Puritans who immigrated to North America to escape religious persecution in Europe also laid a permanent foundation for North American literature. 1640 The first book published in North America, Encyclopedia of English Rhyme (usually called "Gulf Rhyme"), was written by Puritans, while The Last Judgment Day, a long poem by Christian poet Wiggers Voss, was reprinted more than ten times after the publication of 1662, becoming the first best seller in the heart of England. These Puritans' works have become wonderful works in North American literature in early spring and March.
/kloc-European enlightenment literature in the 0/5th century reflects the subtle changes of Christian thought in the new era. Lessing, a German writer, used the allusions of three rings to promote religious tolerance in Dana the Wise, arguing that all religions have their value and should not be "intolerant". Voltaire, a French writer, also tells the love story between Sultan Orosman of Islam and Say, a female Christian, and points out that extreme religious restrictions will lead to the tragic ending of human life. In his epistolary novel Nuns, Diderot criticized the monastic life of Catholicism and accused him of the bad consequences of asceticism. During this period, people from all walks of life in the West have diverse understandings of Christianity, so their attitudes towards Christianity in European and American literature are also different.
/kloc-the romantic literary trend of thought that influenced Europe and America in the 0/9th century further expanded this pluralistic tendency. Both positive romanticism and negative romanticism talk about Christianity as a western cultural tradition from their own perspectives, and Christian thought also affects romanticism, including mysticism, intuition and transcendentalism. In the works of German writers raiguel Brothers, Nofarris and Hoffman, English poets Wordsworth, Coleridge and Southey, and French literati chateaubriand, Lamartin and Winnie, we can see various trends of Christian thought at that time. They use mysterious dreams to drink themes that describe nature and transcend ideas. People's inner experience and fantasy, the mystery of nature, although mysterious and incredible because of going to extremes, also have the mysterious beauty of "the unity of things and me" and the natural fragrance of "lakes and mountains" and "deep forests and valleys". In the United States, the romantic writer Hawthorne once analyzed the truth and falsehood in the early Puritan life in North America with realistic brushstrokes in The Scarlet Letter, and discussed the crime and punishment of the fate of human nature. Intuition of Emerson, alcott, ripley and others. In the transcendental creation, I am fascinated and lingering.
/kloc-The second half of the 0/9th century and the beginning of the 20th century were turbulent times in Europe and America, and the once prosperous romantic literature had to give way to the realistic trend of thought that had insight into the western social crisis. Ibsen's plays and Dostoevsky's novels both seek a way out of the crisis in Christianity, so they are regarded as "prophet writers" by Christian thinkers in the 20th century. Tolstoy wanted to turn the tide with Christian humanitarianism, leaving many masterpieces that shocked the world. On the other hand, the Polish writer Xianke Wei Zhi awakens the national soul with the theme of Christianity, which makes his novels full of poetry, passion and charm.
In recent European and American literature, the guidance of this Christian trend of thought and the application of Christian themes have been greatly eclipsed and no longer constitute its mainstream. However, there are still excellent works reflecting the relationship between them from time to time in contemporary literary circles, so as to continue to maintain its existence and development momentum.
Note: The above Christianity is a broad sense of Christianity, including Orthodox Christianity, Catholicism and Protestantism. This article covers many subjects such as history, religion and literature. If there are mistakes and fallacies due to the author's shallow personal knowledge, please forgive me. Glory to the Trinity God.