Different historical periods have emphasized various characteristics of literature. Early works often had an overt or covert religious or didactic purpose. Moralizing or prescriptive literature stems from such sources. The exotic nature of [[romance (genre)|romance]] flourished from the [[Middle Ages]] onwards, whereas the [[Age of Reason]] manufactured nationalistic epics and philosophical [[tract]]s. [[Romanticism]] emphasized the popular folk literature and emotive involvement, but gave way in the 19th-century West to a phase of so-called [[realism (arts)|realism]] and [[naturalism (literature)|naturalism]], investigations into what is real. The 20th century brought demands for [[symbolism]] or [[psychology|psychological]] insight in the delineation and development of character. | Different historical periods have emphasized various characteristics of literature. Early works often had an overt or covert religious or didactic purpose. Moralizing or prescriptive literature stems from such sources. The exotic nature of [[romance (genre)|romance]] flourished from the [[Middle Ages]] onwards, whereas the [[Age of Reason]] manufactured nationalistic epics and philosophical [[tract]]s. [[Romanticism]] emphasized the popular folk literature and emotive involvement, but gave way in the 19th-century West to a phase of so-called [[realism (arts)|realism]] and [[naturalism (literature)|naturalism]], investigations into what is real. The 20th century brought demands for [[symbolism]] or [[psychology|psychological]] insight in the delineation and development of character. |