por The best writers they include Jane Austen, Miguel de Cervantes, Marcel Proust, Pablo Neruda and many others that I will name in this article. Writing, like other arts, arouses a series of feelings that would make it impossible to create a fair Olympus that satisfies all of humanity.
In 1994, the literary critic Harold Bloom published his work The Western Canon. The Books and School of Ageswhere he defended the existence of an Elysium of writers who managed to achieve aesthetic or artistic purity in their works.
This purity is based on the Esthetic by Emmanuel Kant (1724-1804), who focused on seeking an intersubjective solution to the judgments about the artistic question and its legitimacy.
We now go on to list the 26 writers Bloom thought should appear on his list. You may also be interested in this list of writers from Mexico.
List of the best western writers in history
William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
Most important figure in English-speaking literature. Poet and playwright, he is the author of 37 plays and more than 150 sonnets, being The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, othello either Hamlets some of his best known.
For Bloom, Shakespeare is at the top (along with Dante Alighieri) of his Canon.
Dante Alighieri (1265? – 1321)
Born in Florence, Dante is one of the most recognized Italian poets in history, being considered the «father of the Italian language». His best known work above all is the Divine Comedybut also essays like new life or De vulgari eloquentia They are highly valued essays.
As we mentioned before, along with Shakespeare, the Florentine author is at the top of the Canon for Harold Bloom.
Miguel de Cervantes (1547 – 1616)
Author born in Alcalá de Henares (Madrid) and greatest symbol of Spanish literature. «The Prince of Wits» has the honor of having the most published and translated literary work in history after the Bible. As you can intuit we are talking about Don Quijote of La Manchathe culminating work of the author of the Golden Age.
“Like Shakespeare, Cervantes is inevitable for all the writers who followed him. If Dickens and Flaubert reflect his narrative method, Melville and Kafka inherit his character, ”Bloom commented on the Spanish author in an article for El País.
Jane Austen (1775-1817)
Writer considered one of the «classics» of the British novel. With an ironic and serene style, her work has always been linked to the environment that has surrounded her.
He wrote six novels, being Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Persuasion his best known.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
Irish-born playwright, considered one of the most important writers of Victorian London. Among his most popular works are The Picture of Dorian Gray, The importance of being called Ernesto and The Ballad of Reading Gaol.
Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)
He was an American writer recognized for being one of the first creators of short stories. Among his stories are A Descent into the Maelstrom, Black Cat and The premature burial.
Jules Verne (Jules Verne) (1828-1905)
He was a French writer, famous for his adventure and science fiction novels. Among his works are Journey to the center of the Earth, From the Earth to the Moon, Around the world in eighty days and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)
American writer, considered one of the most influential novelists of the 20th century. He received the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954. Among his most notable works are the old man and sea and Farewell to arms
Moliere (1622 – 1673)
Jean Baptiste-Poquelin is considered the father of the French Comedy, being one of the actors and playwrights who have most influenced the theater.
Among his works we could highlight Tartuffe, the miser, The Gentleman Bourgeois and above all the misanthrope.
Molière, who suffered from tuberculosis, felt unwell while on stage while performing his work the imaginary patient, dying a few hours later at his home. Although this led to the popular superstition of yellow’s bad luck in the theater, it could also be interpreted as a man’s love for art and his work.
Leo Tolstoy (1828 – 1910)
Writer of Russian origin, as well as playwright, philosopher or educator. Despite his noble origin, he lived an unstructured life due to the turbulent stage that his country was experiencing. This influenced his way of seeing the world and therefore of narrating his works.
We can highlight his novels War and peace, The death of Ivan Ilyich, The Cossacks either Anna Karenina.
His ideology on «non-active violence» has influenced many thinkers such as Martin Luther King or Ghandi throughout history.
Franz Kafka (1883-1924)
Exponent of the renewal experienced by the European novel at the beginning of the 20th century. He is of Czech origin, although his work would be written almost entirely in German. His stories stand out for their symbolism and their depiction of anguish in the daily life of contemporary man.
Metamorphosis, The process or The Castle have been some of his best-known writings, being so powerful and personal that the term kafkaesque It is collected in the Royal Academy of Language as something distressing or absurd.
Kafka left many of his works unfinished and few were able to see them published, however, his influence has been very important in pens such as Sartre, García Márquez or Albert Camus.
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
Sigmund Freud is known for his work in the field of psychoanalysis. This Austrian neurologist has been one of the most influential men of the last century thanks to his work and projects.
Marcel Proust (1871-1922)
An intelligent and sensitive man, he is considered one of the most important essayists in France, thanks in part to works such as In Search of Lost Timeone of the masterpieces of the 20th century.
The death of the cathedrals, The pleasures and the days either Parodies and miscellaneous are other of the titles of the author born in Paris.
Pablo Neruda (1904 – 1973)
Pablo Neruda was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature (1971) and Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Oxford.
«No poet in the Western Hemisphere of our century admits of comparison with him,» Bloom said of the author of Twenty love poems and a song of despair, residence on earth or Elemental Odes.
Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
Poet born in Massachusetts, her sensitivity and depth to cover topics are some of the hallmarks of her pen.
Her work was very prolific, but barely a dozen poems were published while she lived. Life, love, time and eternity, nature or death were some of the themes that the American writer captured the most in her work.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
German writer and one of the exponents of romanticism. His work is based on the epic and the lyric written in different modalities such as prose and verse.
The apprenticeship years of Wilhelm Meister, Splendor either elective affinities are some of the titles that have made it worthy of appearing on this list.
Charles Dickens (1812-1870)
English writer and social critic, as would be reflected in many of his works. He is one of the most important novelists of the Victorian era and some of his characters are world famous, enjoying enduring popularity.
A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, Hard Times or Oliver Twist are some of these perishable works in the libraries of any home.
Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986)
Porteño by birth, he is considered one of the most important literary figures of the last century. He worked various genres and sometimes came to merge them, highlighting the short stories.
The Aleph, The Maker, Fictions either The Brodie Report are some of the key works of Borges.
Although he is considered one of the masters of contemporary fiction, he never received the Nobel Prize for Literature for his political ideas.
Walt Whitman (1819-1892)
Humanist who worked as a journalist, poet and essayist. Born in the United States, he had a hard beginning in which he served as a teacher or volunteer in the American Civil War, his talent was recognized during his lifetime, as was evident at his massive funeral.
Alcohol, his sexuality or religion were some of the ingredients in his life that shaped works like Leaves of Grass.
Virginia Woolf (1882-1941)
Adeline Virginia Stephen became an important literary figure in the United Kingdom during the interwar period thanks to her gifts as an essayist, novelist, letter writer or short story writer.
The Waves, Mrs. Dalloway either to the lighthouse are some of the most famous works of this convinced feminist, which she had to deal with at a time when the literary genre was dominated by men.
John Milton (1608-1674)
Important poetic figure in the United Kingdom, being compared to William Shakespeare.
A cultured and enlightened man, he knew the classical languages, Hebrew and Italian, and became Minister of Foreign Languages during Cromwell’s tenure.
Plays like paradise lost and paradise regained They make him worthy of being considered one of the most important contemporary writers.
Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906)
Freethinker from a very young age and director and playwright of a theater since he was 25 years old. His trips to countries like Italy and Germany exploited his creative capacity, being the period where he developed most of his work.
Although he was a controversial person and many of his titles were a scandal at the time, to this day he is considered the father of modern realistic drama and one of the most influential artists in modern drama.
Spectral, Brand, an enemy of the people either the lady of the sea are some of his most significant works.
Fernando Pessoa (1888 – 1935)
The most important Portuguese-speaking writer, also ranked among the most recognized worldwide. Poet and novelist, he practiced journalism and the commercial world.
His work in verse was the most outstanding, being essential Poems by Fernando Pessoa, Poems by Álvaro de Campos and Odes of Ricardo Reis.
James Joyce (1882-1941)
A Dubliner by birth, his work has always been closely linked to his city of origin. However, he was one of the most cosmopolitan authors of the time and one of the most influential of the 20th century.
Ulises It is his culminating work, but novels as Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man either Finnegan’s Wake are other of the wonders of this Anglo-Saxon avant-garde.
Samuel Beckett (1906-1989)
Born in Dublin (Ireland), he is one of the greatest icons of literary experimentalism. Focused on minimalism, his writings address the pessimism of the human condition.
Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, his most significant work is Waiting for Godot. Anecdotally, he was a disciple of James Joyce and worked for him as a translator.
Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400)
Along with Dante, the oldest member of the list. Philosopher, writer, poet,…