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Before 1960, almost all comparativists studied English literature, German literature, and French literature, with occasional forays into Italian literature (primarily for Dante) and Spanish literature (primarily for Cervantes). One monument to this approach is Erich AuerbachErich Auerbach ( 1892- 1957) was a German philologist, comparative scholar, historian, and critic of literature. His best-known book was Mimesis a history of representation in literature from ancient to modern times in many languages. Auerbach was trained's book MimesisMimesis in its simplest context means imitation or representation in Greek. History Both Plato and Aristotle saw, in mimesis, the representation of nature. However, Plato thought all creation was imitation, and so God's creation was an imitation of the tr, a survey of techniques of realismRealism is commonly defined as a concern for fact or reality and rejection of the impractical and visionary. However, the term realism is used, with varying meanings, in several of the liberal arts; particularly painting, literature, and philosophy. It is in texts whose origins span several continents and three thousand years.
The field today, in contrast to this relatively predictable older model, has become extraordinarily diverse: for example, comparativists routinely study Chinese literatureAncient texts The Four Books (, Si shu) are The Great Learning (, Da Xue). The Doctrine of the Golden Mean (, Zhong Yong). The Analects of Confucius (, Lun Y), a book of pithy sayings attributed to Confucius. Mencius (, Meng Z). The Five Classics (, W jin, Arabic literatureArabic literature is literature written in Arabic, or by Arabs in other languages. Genres and forms Adab Maqama Qasida Arabic Romance Literature Hanged Poems Noted authors Historical Antara Ibn Shaddad al-'Absi, pre-Islamic Arab hero and poet (fl. Abu Nuw, and the literatures of most other major world languages alongside English and Continental European literatures.
Literary theoryLiterary theory is the theory (or the philosophy) of the interpretation of literature and literary criticism. Its history begins with classical Greek poetics and rhetoric and includes, since the 18th century, aesthetics and hermeneutics. In the 20th centu is popular in many departments of comparative literature, perhaps even more so than in English studies. However, many exceptions exist, and a more textual, less philosophical approach to literary criticism is practiced alongside theory in all comparative literature departments.