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450
Old English (Anglo-Saxon) Period (450–1066)
The term Anglo-Saxon comes from two Germanic tribes: the Angles and the Saxons. This period of literature dates back to their invasion (along with the Jutes) of Celtic England circa 450.
Much of the first half of this period—prior to the seventh century, at least—had oral literature. -
1066
Middle English Period (1066–1500)
The era extends to around 1500. english writings were religious in nature; This period is home to the likes of Chaucer, Thomas Malory, and Robert Henryson. Notable works include "Piers Plowman" and "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." -
1500
The Renaissance (1500–1660)
This period is often subdivided into four parts,
The Elizabethan Age was the golden age of English drama. Some of its noteworthy figures include Christopher Marlowe.The Jacobean Age is named for the reign of James I. It includes the works of John Donne.The Caroline Age covers the reign of Charles I John Milton, Robert Burton. The Commonwealth Period was so named for the period between the end of the English Civil War -
The Neoclassical Period (1600–1785)
The Neoclassical period is also subdivided into ages . The Restoration period (comedies of manner) developed during this time under the talent of playwrights like William Congreve and Satire, too, became quite popular,
The Augustan Age was the time of Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift, who imitated those first Augustans
The Age of Sensibility (sometimes referred to as the Age of Johnson) was the time of Edmund Burke, Edward Gibbon, Hester Lynch .. -
The Romantic Period (1785–1832)
The time period ends with the passage of the Reform Bill (which signaled the Victorian Era) and with the death of Sir Walter Scott. This era includes the works of such juggernauts as Wordsworth, Coleridge, William Blake, Lord Byron, John Keats, Charles Lamb, Mary Wollstonecraft, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Thomas De Quincey, Jane Austen, and Mary Shelley. There is also a minor period, also quite popular (between 1786–1800), called the Gothic era. -
The Victorian Period (1832–1901)
This period is named for the reign of Queen Victoria, who ascended to the throne in 1837, and it lasts until her death in 1901. The period has often been divided into “Early” (1832–1848), “Mid” (1848–1870) and “Late” (1870–1901) periods or into two phases, that of the Pre-Raphaelites (1848–1860) and that of Aestheticism and Decadence (1880–1901).
Finally, prose fiction truly found its place under the auspices of Charles Dickens, Charlotte and Emily Bronte, Elizabeth Gaskell. -
The Edwardian Period (1901–1914)
This period is named for King Edward VII and covers the period between Victoria’s death and the outbreak of World War I. the era includes incredible classic novelists such as Joseph Conrad, Ford Madox Ford, Rudyard Kipling, H.G. Wells, notable poets such as Alfred Noyes and William Butler Yeats; and dramatists such as James Barrie, George Bernard. -
The Georgian Period (1910–1936)
The Georgian period usually refers to the reign of George V (1910–1936) Georgian poetry today is typically considered to be the works of minor poets anthologized by Edward Marsh. The themes and subject matter tended to be rural or pastoral in nature, treated delicately and traditionally . -
The Modern Period (1914–1945)
The modern period traditionally applies to works written after the start of World War I. Common features include bold experimentation with subject matter, style, and form, encompassing narrative, verse, and drama. W.B.
Some of the most notable writers of this period include the novelists James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, and the dramatists Tom Stoppard, George Bernard Shaw, Samuel Beckett.
New Criticism also appeared at this time, led by the likes of Woolf, Eliot, William Empson, -
The Postmodern Period (1945-current)
The postmodern period begins about the time that World War II ended. Some say the period ended about 1990, Poststructuralist literary theory and criticism developed during this time. Some notable writers of the period include Samuel Beckett, Joseph Heller, Anthony Burgess, John Fowles, Penelope M. Lively. -
Bibliography
Boas, R.P. (1913). The Introduction to English Literature. The English Journal, 2(10), 630 - 636. https://www.jstor.org/stable/801519 Burgess, A. (2020). A Brief Overview of British Literary Periods. ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/british-literary-periods-739034 Kampf, D. (n.d.). An Introduction to English Literature. The Classroom. https://www.theclassroom.com/introduction-english-literature-2150.html