Literature and alcohol

Abstract

The review of historically more important authors, literary works and the wider social and spiritual context leads to the conclusion that alcohol fumes float above world literature, as literature and alcohol have been intertwined from the very beginning. The reader should bear in mind that my long-term and in-depth work only manages to present “the tip of the iceberg” within this field of alcoholic intoxication and literature.  World literature and drunkenness have merged together numerous times in history, whether through open glorification of alcoholic intoxication or hidden in the form of carnivalesque literature. With romanticism came an important change in the perception of intoxication, moving from pleasure to the medical field of mental illness. Modern authors have introduced into their literary works their own experiences with alcoho­lism, which served both as a source of magnificence and doom. Newer works explore the complex mentali­ty of the addict and reject stereotypes. Another great contribution of literature to understanding alcoholism is its focus on the mental perspective.