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Old English refers to the literature produced from the invasion of Celtic England by Germanic tribes in the first half of the fifth Century till the conquest of England in 1066 by William Conqueror Old English Period, written literature began to develop from oral tradtiion and in the eight century poetry written in vanacular anglo-saxon apperaered. Old English was characterized by epic, heroic stories of violence and feudal loyalty, often written in alliterative verse
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An Old English epic poem consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It may be the oldest surviving long poem in Old English and is commonly cited as one of the most important works of Old English literature. -
The Middle English Period consists of the literature produced in the four and a half centuries between the Norman Conquest of 1066 and about 1500, when the standard literary language, derived from the dialect of the London area, became recognizable as "modern English." Prior to the second half of the fourteenth century, vernacular literature consisted primarily of religious writings. The second half of the fourteenth century produced the first great age of secular literature.
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Canterbury Tales 1387 - The Canterbury Tales is a collection of 24 stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English -
The English Renassance began with the ascent of the House of Tudor to the Englsih Throne in 1485, the English Literary Renaissnace began with the Englsih Humanists such as SIr Thomas More and Sir Thomas Wyatt
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The Elizabethan Age of English Literature coincides with the reign of Elizabeth I. During this time medieval tradition blended with Renaissance optimism. Lyric poetry, prose and drama were major styles of literature that were made in the Elizabethan Age.
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English poet, playwright and actor, widely regarded as both the greatest writer in the English language, and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet, and the "Bard of Avon" - Romeo and Juliet -
The Restoration Period is marked by the restoration of the monarchy and the triumph of reason and tolerance over religious and political passion. The Restoration produce a multitude of prose and poetry and the distinctive restoration comedy.
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The Jacobean Age of English Literature coincides with reign of James I, During this time the literature became sophisticated, sombre and conscious of social abuse and rivarlry. Rich prose and drama were written in this time as well as The King James version of the Bibile.
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English Jacobean playwright and poet. Middleton stands with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson among the most successful and prolific of the playwrights who wrote their best plays during the Jacobean period - The Changeling -
The Caroline Age of English Literature coincides with the reign of Charles I. During his age the writers wrote with refinement and elegance. The dramaists in this age were the last to write in the Elizabethan tradition.
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Thomas Carew, Robert Herrick, John Suckling, William Davenant and Richard Lovelace
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The Commenwealth Period of English Literature includes the literature produced during the time of the Puritan Leader Oliver Cornwell. This time period created a collection of political writings and prose. In September of 1642, the Puritans closed theaters on moral and religious grounds. For the next eighteen years the theaters remained closed, correlating to the lack of dram produced in this time period.
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The Neoclassical Period of ENglish was influenced by contemporary French Literature, which was in the midst of its greatest age. This literature is known for use of philosphy, reason, skepticism, wit and refinement. The Neoclassical Period marks that first great age of English Literary critism.
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English poet, polemicist, man of letters, and civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under its Council of State and later under Oliver Cromwell - Paradise Lost & Paradise Regained
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was an English philosopher who is considered one of the founders of modern political philosophy - Livytan
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was an English trader, writer, journalist, pamphleteer and spy. - Robinson Crusoe (first novel in english language)
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The Augustan Age dervies from the literary period of Vergil and Ovid under the Roman Emperor Augustus. The Augustan Age refers to literature with predominant characteristics of refinement, clarity, elegance and balance of judgement. Significant contributions of this time period were the release of the first English novel and novel of character.
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poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer - History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia
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The Age of Sensibility began to reflect the worldview of Enlightment and started to emphasize instinct and feeling rather than judgement and restraint. The Age of Sensibility bloomed a growing sympathy of Middle English and sparked an interest in medieval ballads and folk literature. It was also known as the Age of Johnson due to dominant authors being Samuel Johnson and his literary and interlectual circle.
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Began in the late 18th century and lasted until about 1832. In a nutshell, Romantic Literature is characterised by it personal nature, its strong use od feeling, abundant use of symbolism and the exploration of nature and the supernatural. The Romantics were considered innovative based on their belief that literature could be spontanteous, imaginative, personal and free.
The Gothic Literature was first created. The characteristics of Gothic Literature include dark and gloomy settings. -
An English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century - Pride and Prejudice
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The Victorian Period of Literature begins with the accession of Queen Victoria onto the throne in 1837 and lasted till her death. As the Victorian period is six decades long 1870 is often used to spilt it into "eraly victorian" and "late victorian".Overall Victorian literature deals with the issues and problems of the day. Some of the contemporary issues include; social, economic, religious and intellectual issues and problems surrounding the Industrial Revolution.
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In 1848, a group of English artists, created the "Pre-Raphaelites Brotherhood". The aim of the brotherhood was to return painting to a style of truthfulness, simplicity and religious devotion that had reigned prior to Raphael and the high Italian Renaissance.
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An English novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer- Frankenstein
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English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood and whose novels have become classics of English literature - Jane Eyre
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The aestheticism adn decadence movement grew out of the french movement of aestheticism adn decadence. These authors encouraged experimentation and held the view that art is opposed to "natural" norms of morality. This style of literature opposed the dominance of scienctific thinking and deifed the hostility of society to any art that was not useful or did not teach any moral values. The phrase "art for art's sake" emerges.
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British poet, illustrator, painter and translator, and a member of the Rossetti family, he was leader of the brotherhood - Beata Beatrix
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was Poet Laureate of Great Britain and Ireland during much of Queen Victoria's reign and remains one of the most popular British poets. - Ulysses
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Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s - The picture of Dorian Grey -
German philosopher and a seminal thinker in the Continental tradition and philosophical hermeneutics, and is "widely acknowledged to be one of the most original and important philosophers of the 20th century. - Being and Time
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The Edwardian Period is named after the King Edward VII and spans from Queen VIctorias death till the beggining of WWI. During this time the British Empire was at its height and lived lives of materialistic luxury. However despite this four firths of the population lived in the squalor. The writigns fromthe Edwardian Period reflect deeply on these social conditions. For example some authors attacked the selfishness of the upperclass.
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English writer. He was prolific in many genres, writing dozens of novels, short stories, and works of social commentary, satire, biography, and autobiography. He is often know as the "father of science fiction" - Time Machine
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English journalist, short-story writer, poet, and novelist - The Jungle Book
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An essayist, publisher, playwright, literary and social critic, and "one of the twentieth century's major poets" - The Waste Land
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The Georgian period refers to the period of British Literature that is named after the reign og George V. Many writers in the Edwardian period continued to write in the Georigan period. This period produced a lot of poetry by the Georigan Poets, their poetry tended to focus on rural subject matter and its tradtional shape and form
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The Modern Period of British Literature applies to British Literature written since the beggining of WWI. The authors of this period experimented with subject matter, form and style. They have produced achievments in all literary genres.
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written by Lascelles Abercrombie, Gordon Bottomley, Rupert Brooke, Gilbert K. Chesterton, William H Davies, Walter De La Mare, John Drinkwater, James Elroy Flecker, Wilfrid Wilson Gibson, D.H Lawrence, John Masefield, Harold Monro, T. Sturge Moore, Ronald Ross, Edmund Beale Sargant, James Stephens and Robert Calverley Trevelyan . -
English writer, who is considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device - A Room of One's Own
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After WWII, the Postmodern of British Literature developed. Postmodernism blends literary genres and styles and attempts to break free of modernist forms.
While the British literary scene at the turn of the new millenium is crowded and varied, the authors still fall into the categories of modernism and postmodernism. However, with the passage of time the Modern era may be reorganized and expanded -
