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1066
Middle English Period (1066–1500)
The history of English Literature begins with the Germanic tradition of the Anglo-Saxon settlers. Beowulf is the earliest and most popular work in Old English Literature. As the Normans conquested England, Middle English replaced the Old English and was used by the father of English Literature, Geoffrey Chaucer in his famous work, The Canterbury Tales. William Shakespeare came to be considered as the most iconic and greatest writer in the history of English Literature. -
1066
Old English (Anglo-Saxon) Period (450–1066)
It could say that Anglo-Saxon is the language that was spoken in the south of the United Kingdom, from the 7th to the 12th century AD. C.
Authors and topics
-Beowulf.
-Caedmon.
-Cynewulf.
These works include genres such as epic poetry, hagiography, sermons, Bible translations, legal works, chronicles, and riddles. In total, there are about 400 surviving manuscripts from the times from the time. -
The Renaissance (1500-1660)
The Renaissance was a fervent period of European cultural, artistic, political and economic “rebirth” following the Middle Ages. Generally described as taking place from the 14th century to the 17th century, the Renaissance promoted the rediscovery of classical philosophy, literature and art.
Some of its notable figures include Christopher Marlowe, Francis Bacon, Edmund Spenser, Sir Walter Raleigh, and, of course, William Shakespeare. -
The neoclassical period (1600-1785)
The Neoclassical period is also subdivided into ages, including The Restoration (1660–1700), The Augustan Age (1700–1745), and The Age of Sensibility (1745–1785). The Restoration period sees some response to the puritanical age, especially in the theater. The Age of Sensibility (sometimes referred to as the Age of Johnson) was the time of Edmund Burke, Edward Gibbon, Hester Lynch Thrale, James Boswell, and, of course, Samuel Johnson. -
The romantic period (1785-1832)
The Romantic Period began roughly around 1798 and lasted until 1837. The political and economic atmosphere at the time heavily influenced this period, with many writers finding inspiration from the French Revolution.
Romantic Authors: William Beckford, Romantic Authors, William Wordsworth, William Blake, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Percy Bysshe Shelley, John Keats, Lord Byron, Jane Austen, Mary Shelley. -
The Victorian period (1832-1901)
The Victorian period witnessed a huge boost in its economy, as well as alterations in its social structure: The Industrial Revolution stimulated globalization and modern science. Then the rise of pre-feminism, with criticism focused on reforming then-accepted gender roles. Christianity was also rethought and liberalized. ,
Authors of the Victorian period: Jane Austen, Novelist, Elizabeth, Barrett Browning, Poet, William Blake. -
The Edwardian period (1901-1914)
The Edwardian Period began in 1901 with Queen Victoria’s death. King Edward VII took the throne and reigned until his death in 1910. The remainder years are pre World War I.
Edwardian writers like E.M. Forster, Joseph Conrad, and H.G. Wells built upon the social conscience of Victorian era (1837-1901), writers such as Charles Dickens and Charlotte Bronte. Their epic Bildungsromans 'Oliver Twist' and 'Jane Eyre' -
The Georgian period (1910-1936)
The Georgian period generally 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 rather than with passion, and covers, for example, the Georgian poets, such as Ralph Hodgson, John Masefield, W.H. Davies, and Rupert Brooke. -
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. Yeats’ words, “Things fall apart; the center cannot hold,” are often referred to when describing the core tenet or “feeling” of modernist concerns. Some of the most notable writers of this period include the novelists James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, Aldous Huxley. -
The postmodern period (1945–1990)
As implied by its name, the Postmodernist period occurred directly after the Modernist period. Events that inspired this movement were the end of World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam War, the Cold War, and the Civil Rights movement. Postmodernism works were characterized by multiple qualities.
Key Authors:John Hershey, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Theodore Roethke, Robert Hayden, James Baldwin, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr, Arthur Miller, Julia Alvarez, Harper Lee.