-
Period: 450 to 1066
Old English
Old English literature consists of poetry, prose, charms, riddles, maxims, proverbs, and various other wisdom sayings. It is a mixture of pagan traditions, thoughts about life, the universe and nature, as well as Christian thought and moral values. There is often no clear-cut delineation between religious and non-religious poetry or sometimes even between poetry and prose. -
Period: 1066 to 1500
Middle English
In Britain, chivalric literature, particularly the legends of King Arthur, flowered in the medieval romance, a narrative, in either prose or poetry, presenting a knight and his adventures. The word romance originally indicated languages that derived from Latin and is not related to modern usage romantic love. Instead a medieval romance presents a knight in a series of adventures featuring battles, supernatural elements, repeated events, and standardized characters. -
Period: 1500 to
English Renaissance
England had a strong tradition of literature in the English vernacular, which gradually increased as English use of the printing press. Poets such as Edmund Spenser, whose verse epic The Faerie Queene had a strong influence on English literature but was eventually overshadowed by the lyrics of William Shakespeare, Thomas Wyatt and others. the works of these playwrights and poets of English Renaissance theatre were the legacy of the period. -
Period: to
Puritanism
Poets like Andrew Marvell, Abraham Cowley and John Milton led their tremendous impact on Puritan poetry. Milton’s Paradise Lost is a dream for the Puritans. In the field of prose literature R. Burton, Bacon, Browne, Taylor, Clarendo and Bunyan are worth mentioning. Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress had kissed the zenith of success and is well regarded “Next to Bible” . Undeniably, this book is the greatest product of Puritan literature. -
Period: to
Restoration Age
The Restoration is an unusual historical period, as its literature is bounded by a specific political event: the restoration of the Stuart monarchy. Equally was an age of poetry. Not only was poetry the most popular form of literature, but it was also the most significant form of literature, as poems affected political events and immediately reflected the times. The Restoration was also the time when John Locke wrote many of his philosophical works. -
Period: to
18Th Century
Literary life in England flourishes impressively in the early years of the 18th century. Jonathan Swift, first makes his mark in 1704 with The Battle of the Books and A Tale of a Tub. Daniel Defoe, writes Robinson Crusoe and and Gulliver's Travels: 1719-1726. The most original novel of the 18th century, and one of the most chaotically endearing books of any age, is published from 1759 by a clergyman on the staff of the cathedral in York. It is Laurence Sterne's Tristram Shandy. -
Period: to
Romanticism
This movement, characterised by their gloomy meditations on mortality. Blake was an writer of this kind. Among his works are Songs of Innocence and Experience. Others were Walter Scott and Lord Byron "undoubtedly the greatest genius of our century". Polidori's The Vampyre was published in 1819, creating the literary vampire genre.
The most famous sentimental novels in English are Samuel Richardson's Pamela, and Laurence Sterne's Tristram Shandy.
Mary Shelley published Frankenstein. -
Period: to
Victorian
Literature in the Victorian age tended to come face to face with realism. Seems to deviate from the strict principle of “art for art’s sake” and asserts its moral purpose. It was an idealistic age where ideals like truth, justice, love, brotherhood were emphasized by poets, essayists and novelists of the age.
Famous Victorian novelists and poets:
The Bronte sisters, Christina Rossetti, Wilkie Collins, Charles Dickens, Benjamin Disraeli, George Eliot, Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll, among others -
Period: to
Modern Literature
Modernism is a reaction to the previous Victorian period. Modernism has a clear break with tradition which was so important to Victorians. Writers could see the world moving away from the certainty of the Victorian era towards instability and the unknown.
Modernism is marked by experimentation and individualism. This came from the shocking reality of the Great War, World War I 1914-1918.
Joseph Conrad publishes his novel Lord Jim and James Joyce Publishes Ulises. -
Period: to
Post Modern
The prefix "post", however, does not necessarily imply a new era. Rather, it could also indicate a reaction against modernism in the wake of the Second World War. It could also imply a reaction to significant post-war events
The beginning of postmodern literature could be marked by significant publications or literary events. Some mark the beginning of postmodernism with the publication of Rebecca West, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: A Journey Through Yugoslavia or The Cannibal by John Hawkes. -
Period: to
Contemporany
the 21st century , history remained the outstanding concern of English literature. Contemporary issues such as global warming and international conflicts received attention. Apocalyptic literature thrived. Cloud Atlas, a far-reaching book by David Mitchell, contain chapters that envisage future eras ravaged by malign technology and climactic and nuclear devastation. Into this new millennium, writers seem to find greater imaginative stimulus in the past than in the present and the future.