Final answer:
Medieval literature and world literature from that era share universal themes such as love, conflict, and heroism, reflecting the human experience. Literature serves to engage readers, preserve culture, and inspire thought, with writers influenced by their cultural contexts. Differences in themes and styles can be attributed to cultural factors like language, religion, and societal structures.
Step-by-step explanation:
When comparing medieval literature to literature and poetry from around the world during that era, we find both similarities and differences reflecting the universal themes and diverse cultural contexts. Literature is often considered a reflection of life, capturing human experiences and emotions. Medieval literature, such as the works inspired by the Christian Bible or the Islamic Qur'an, often addressed themes like morality, the human condition, and the divine. Equally, literature from other parts of the world during the same period conveyed similar concerns through poetry, epics, and narratives, each within their own cultural and societal framework.
Literature is supposed to engage the reader, provoke thought, and often to entertain, teach or preserve cultural values and histories. Creative expression, philosophical ideas, the need to communicate, and the desire to influence society are all factors that influence a writer to create. Despite different ways of life, literature across the globe often grapples with the concept of love, conflict, heroism, and the quest for knowledge–themes of interest to all cultures and societies.
The differences in medieval literature can be attributed to factors like language, religion, societal structures, and the specific concerns of a region or people. For example, courtly love is a theme often found in European medieval literature, while poetry from the Middle Eastern tradition at the time placed a strong emphasis on metaphysical reflection and the beauty of nature. Creativity and its importance for the individual and the culture are evident in the variety of forms and styles adopted by writers throughout history. The enduring elements of literature, those which cause a piece of literature to continue to be read and valued, include its ability to speak profound truths, connect with readers emotionally, and offer insight into the human experience.