The Canterbury Tales was a landmark work in English literature as one of the earliest works written in vernacular English, which in the late fourteenth century was Middle English. The Canterbury Tales' author, Geoffrey Chaucer, was most likely inspired by the works of Bocaccio and Dante, which he would have encountered in diplomatic trips to Italy. The Canterbury Tales consist of over twenty unrelated tales, loosely bound together by the fact that they are all told by pilgrims on a trip to Canterbury cathedral.

Rumi was a distinctly accomplished Persian poet viewed strictly from a literary standpoint. His thoughts on Islam were also formative in developing the mystical form of the religion known as Sufism. His works are still read in their original language, but have also gained recognition from around the world.

Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales (1475) is written in a language known as "Middle English," which is distinctly different from the modern tongue; however, Chaucer's work is recognizable English and was the first widely read, successful work written in the English language. Chaucer's work is a large-scale narrative poem that follows a group of pilgrims who each tell tales while traveling to Canterbury Cathedral in England.

William Shakespeare was an English dramatist of the 16th and early 17th centuries, Christophe Marlowe was an English dramatist of the 16th century, Miguel de Cervantes was a Spanish novelist and poet of the 16th and 17th centuries, and Dante Alighieri was an Italian poet of the 13th and 14th centuries.

The "Dream of the Rood" is a poem telling the story of the crucifixion of Jesus from the perspective of the very cross on which he was hung. The poem begins with a kind of mystical vision of the cross itself, presented as being bejeweled and majestic. Then, the cross itself tells the story of the crucifixion, presenting both Jesus and the cross as suffering together in the strife of the crucifixion. Finally, the poem ends with the poet's praise of the cross again. The word "rood" is related to modern English's "rod." It also can merely mean "crucifix." In old churches, you will sometimes see a wooden screen between the main body of the church and the sanctuary. It is topped with a cross and is called a "rood screen."

Beowulf, an epic story of a hero who shares his name with the poem, was originally written in Anglo-Saxon, the ancient forebear of modern English. The poem, written by an unknown author, is one of the earliest extant examples of English literature that survives today.

The Divine Comedy (1320) is about the travels of the author through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. The text is used also as a vehicle for explaining the soul's own ascent to God, culminating in the Beatific Vision. It is a "comedy" because of its style and overall plot structure, not because of any kind of humor in the contemporary sense of "comedy." Dante's work stands as testimony to the unified worldview of the Middle Ages, one that unabashedly draws upon ancient and medieval sources and likewise is quite ready to express judgments about various figures throughout history. Because it is a journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven, its three titles are Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso.

The Oresteia is the only surviving trilogy of Ancient Greek theater that was written to be performed in one sitting. Its author, Aeschylus, gained fame and prizes for his version of the story of Agamemnon, the hero of the Trojan War who is murdered by his wife Clytemnestra when he arrives home. The plays take their name from the character of Orestes, Agamemnon's son who seeks vengeance for his father's death.

Among the ancient Greek tragedians, the work of Sophocles has been held in high esteem since he worked in the fifth century BCE. His most notable work is Oedipus Rex, which tells the story of the titular ancient king of Thebes who, unbeknownst to him, marries his mother and kills his father. The play, like most Greek drama, hinges on dramatic irony, with the audience knowing Oedipus' secrets throughout.

Sophocles was a playwright from Greece. He wrote three plays about Oedipus. Oedipus Rex, also known as Oedipus the King, was the most famous of those plays. Oedipus Rex is probably the most famous Greek tragedies ever written, especially since Sigmund Freud used it as the basis for some of his seminal works of psychology.

Aristotle was a Greek scientist and philosopher. Sophocles is most famous for his three Theban plays. Aeschylus wrote The Oresteia trilogy. Aristophanes wrote comedies and Euripedes wrote dramas in Athens.