Historical Development of Comparative Literature

This paper studies the historical development of comparative literature as an academic discipline from the Middle Ages to modern times. It starts with the development of national languages which results in the emergence of national literatures during the Renaissance. The author emphasizes the fact that diversity is wealth and that variety is the spice of intellectual life. This is at the heart of comparative literature that there is oneness and unity beyond all appearances. The author, then, continues with a short survey of comparative literature in France and Germany, and lists the comparative periodicals which were published in Europe and America since the 19th century. The author concludes that comparative literature, which is increasingly expanding all over the world, promises to become a prominent and valid approach to literature and criticism in future.