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Historically, the Anglo-Saxon period denotes the period in Britain between about 450 and 1066, after their initial settlement and up until the Norman Conquest regional government of shires and hundreds, During this period, Christianity was established and there was a flowering of literature and language.
Old English literature is mostly chronicle and poetry - lyric, descriptive but chiefly narrative -
The major poet of England in the late Middle Ages and the most significant writer before Shakespeare. Born and educated in London, Chaucer served in the court and the army and went abroad on diplomatic missions. His oeuvre can be divided into three periods, an early one based on French models, such as the Roman de la rose -
That poem of more than 1,300 lines, probably written in late 1369 or early 1370, is an elegy for Blanche, duchess of Lancaster, John of Gaunt’s first wife, who died of plague in September 1369. Chaucer’s close relationship with John, which continued through most of his life, may have commenced as early as Christmas 1357 when they, both about the same age, were present at the countess of Ulster’s residence in Yorkshire
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From 1066 onwards, the language is known to scholars as Middle English. Ideas and themes from French and
Celtic literature appear in English writing at about this time, but the first great name in English literature is that of
Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400). -
Machiavelli was a diplomat in Florence who tried to answer how could a ruler guarantee that he would stay in power by writing The Prince in 1513. Machiavelli claimed that people were greedy and self-centered. He argued that rulers should not be good, and that rulers should do whatever is necessary to keep power and protect their city, including killing and lying. Today, when someone is called a Machiavellian, it means that they are acting tricky and not thinking about the good. -
Modern lyric poetry in English begins in the early 16th century with the work of Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503-1542)
and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey (1517-1547). Wyatt, who is greatly influenced by the Italian, Francesco
Petrarca (Petrarch) introduces the sonnet and a range of short lyrics to English, while Surrey (as he is known)
develops unrhymed pentameters (or blank verse) thus inventing the verse form which will be of great use to
contemporary dramatists -
also called Neoclassicism and Classicism, a widespread and influential movement in painting and the other visual arts that began in the 1760s, reached its height in the 1780s and ’90s, and lasted until the 1840s and ’50s. In painting it generally took the form of an emphasis on austere linear design in the depiction of Classical themes and subject matter, using archaeologically correct settings and clothing.
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Renaissance art, painting, sculpture, architecture, music, and literature produced during the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries in Europe under the combined influences of an increased awareness of nature, a revival of classical learning, and a more individualistic view of man -
At the time, and the great writers of the period did not call themselves Romantics. Not until August Wilhelm von Schlegel’s Vienna lectures of 1808–09 was a clear distinction established between the “organic,” “plastic” qualities of Romantic art and the “mechanical” character of Classicism. -
The emergence of a rich literary language and an original religious literature was simultaneous with a massive effort to translate texts from Greek, Armenian, and Syriac. Among the earliest works in Georgian is the prose Tsameba tsmidisa Shushanikisi dedoplisa (470 or later; “The Passion of Saint Queen Shushanik”), attributed to Iakob Tsurtaveli. -
During the Victorian period, Britain was a powerful nation with a rich culture. It had a stable government, a growing state, and an expanding franchise. It also controlled a large empire, and it was wealthy, in part because of its degree of industrialization and its imperial holdings and in spite of the fact that three-fourths or more of its population was working-class.
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Literature of this period reflects the social activism and social change characteristic of the times. In the latter half of this period, the influence of the digital age is reflected in new and emerging forms of writing and literacy. -
Though nominally authored as 'Cutler, T et al', the impulse for this work came from Paul Hirst (now Professor at Birkbeck College) and Barry Hindess. 'Hindess & Hirst' were an intellectual force in the 1970s, beginning with their work on the journal 'Theoretical Practice', through 'Pre Capitalist Modes of Production' and to the volumes cited above. Hindess and Hirst's initial project had been (in the wake of Althusser's attempt to do same)