This book provides a historical overview of modern Greek literature from the Byzantine period to the present day, with an introduction to the Greek language.
The first part presents literary creation from the earliest beginnings until the 18th century: literature before the Fall (11th-15th century) and after the Fall (15th-17th century), especially in Crete and Cyprus, as well as the works of the learned diaspora. Special chapters are dedicated to the literary flourishing in Crete in the 17th century and to popular song.
The second part analyzes literature in the decades leading up to the Revolution of 1821. A chapter is dedicated to Solomos and another to Kalvos and the Ionian School. Following this are the Romantics of the Athenian School, the generation of 1880, with the central figure being Palamas, prose after 1880 (Vizyenos, Papadiamantis, etc.), the language issue and Psychari, poetry around and after Palamas, and the notable figures of Kavafis, Sikeliannos, Kazantzakis, and the generation of the Thirties.
The final chapter develops post-war poetry and prose.
