Timeline: English literature

7

Anglo-Saxon period (Old English), 7th to 10th century:

The origin of English literature dates back to the Middle Ages, where it began to be written in the British Isles from the Anglo-Saxon dialect, which, later, would receive the name "Old English". As an example, the poems of:
- Beowulf
- The dream of the Rood
- Caedmon's Hymn

1100

Medieval English period, 11th to 15th century

The point of reference is the Norman invasion of William the conqueror in the eleventh century, which made French acquire much more importance, and its use ended up influencing that "old English" and bringing it much closer to English than today we know.
Some examples are:
- Ancrene Riwle
- I sind of a Haiden
- Owl & the nightingale

1500

Elizabethan Period, XV-XVI century

Since the end of the 15th century, the printing press was introduced in England, vernacular literature flourished and the Protestant Reformation, together with humanism of Italian roots, influenced the ideological content of most of the works.
Great authors like Thomas Wyatt, Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Dekkery and Francis Beaumont appeared; although over all of them stood out the timeless figure of William Shakespeare, who made great works and contributions to this era.

1700

The neoclassical period (restoration era), 17th to 18th centuries

During this period, English literature was acquiring a greater theoretical base to which Dryden's works of literary criticism contributed significantly. In the literary field of the SXVIII two tendencies coexisted, the first traditional and neoclassical, to which Pope and Swift belong, and the other more modern one that maintained a close relationship with journalism, at that time on the rise.

1800

The Romanticism, 18th-19th century

Traditionally it has been considered that until the seventies there was a certain identification between the English people and the institutions, since it was the time of the heyday of the British Empire; However, the reality was very different, the new proletarian class lived in subhuman conditions and was looking for a way out of that situation.

1900

19th and 21st century English literature

The century begins in an environment that mixes optimism for technological advances and nostalgia for an idealized past, embodied in the spirit of the fin de siècle of 19th century literature. A large number of genres are created, which are exploited as time passes; great writers are born; Even so, too many forms and genres are created, which is why in the 21st century there are many repeated works in terms of plot, and genres, which reveals the current limit of English literature.

3000