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450
Old English (450 to 1066)
This period extends from about 450 to 1066, the year of the Norman conquest of England. The Germanic tribes of Europe who invaded England in the fifth century, after the Roman defeat, brought with them the Old English or Anglo-Saxon language, which forms the basis of modern English.
They contributed a specific poetic tradition whose formal characteristics amazingly survived until their defeat. -
1066
Middle English (1066 to 1500)
It is characterized by the great influence of French literature in the forms and themes. From the Norman conquest of England in 1066 until the 14th century, the French language replaced English in literary compositions, and Latin maintained its status as a scholarly language. Starting in 1200, the main genres are: the "romance," the lyric poem and the ballad. Authors and works
• William Langland "PiersPlowman" (1367)
• Pearl Poet "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" -
1500
English Renaissance 1500 to 1660
Also called the "Early Modern" period. From that moment on, literature began to flourish. The poetry, drama, and prose that were written during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I constitute the English Renaissance. This period is often subdivided into four parts:
-Elizabeth age (1558-1603)
-the Jacobean Age (1603-1625)
-The Carolina Age (1625-1649 and the Commonwealth Period (1649-1660).
Authors works:
• Francis Bacon
• Francis Beaumont
• William Shakespeare (1601) "Romeo and Juliet" -
1558
Elizabethan era (1558-1603)
Historians often describe it as the golden age of English history, it saw a great flourish of literature, especially in the field of theater.
Authors and Works:
• Gorboduc "Sackville"
• Norton "TheSpanishTragedy"
• William Shakespeare.- "Hamlet" -
Neoclassical (1600 to 1785)
Neoclassical literature refers to the literary movement promoted by the principles of the Enlightenment, in order to emulate the values of Greek and Roman authors:
The neoclassical period is also subdivided into ages:
- The Restoration (1660-1700).
- The age of Augustus (1700-1745).
- The age of sensitivity (1745-1785).
Authors and works:
• Daniel Defor (1719) "Robinson Crusoe"
• Jonathan Swift (1726) "Gulliver's Travels"
• Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos (1774) "The honest criminal" -
Romantic (1785 to 1832)
Among the most prominent characteristics of the movement is the defense of liberalism. Defending the idea of fantasy, in addition to the expression of the deepest feelings of each one and fleeing from the excess of neoclassical rationalism
Authors and Works:
• Matthew Lewis: (1775 to 1818) “the monk”
• Anne Radcliffe (1764 to 1823) "Adventures of the forest"
• Oliver W. Holmes (1831) "The Last Leaf"
• William Blake (1757, to 1827) "the ancient of days" -
Victorian period (1837-1901)
It was a time of social transformation that forced writers to take positions on the most immediate issues. A period in the history of the United Kingdom of Great Britain. It was the time of greatest splendor of the British Empire and the peak of the Industrial Revolution in that country.
Authors and Works:
• Charles Dickens (1843) "A Christmas Carol" 1843
• Emily Brontë (1847) "Wuthering Heights"
• Bram Stoker (1897) "Dracula"
• Robert Louis Stevenson (1883) "Treasure Island" -
Edwardian period (1901 to 1914)
The Edwardian era or Edwardian era in the United Kingdom is the period that covers the reign of Edward VII. Eduardo was the leader of a fashionable elite that established a style influenced by the art and fashion of continental Europe. This period is named after King Edward VII and covers the period between Victoria's death and the outbreak of the First World War.
Authors and Works:
• H. G. Wells, (1909) "anaveronica"
• Arnold Bennett, 1906 "The Silver Box"
• Joseph Conrad (1904) "nostromo" -
Georgian period (1910 to 1936)
It refers to the reign of George V (1910-1936), and covers, the Georgian poets. This era was characterized by the artistic movement
The themes and themes tended to be rural or pastoral in nature.
Major poets
• Ralph Hodgson- John Masefield, -WH Davies and Rupert Brooke -
The modern period (1914–?)
It is traditionally applied to works written after the start of the First World War. Common characteristics include bold experimentation with theme, style, and form, encompassing narrative, verse, and drama.
Authors and works:
• James Joyce "Finnegans Wake" (1939)
• Virginia Woolf "Mrs. Dalloway" (1925)
• Aldous Huxley "Brave New World" (1932)
• D.H. Lawrence, "thelostgirl" (1920)
• Joseph Conrad, the shadow line (1916)
• Graham Greene, the power and the glory (1940) -
Post Moderns (1945 to 2000)
The postmodern period begins roughly when World War II ended. Post-structuralist literary theory and criticism developed during this time.
Authors and works:
• Samuel Beckett, “waiting for Godot” (1952)
• Joseph Heller, somethinghappened (1974)
• Anthony Burgess, thewantingseed (1962)
• John Fowles, ”the collector” (1963)
• Penelope M. “Moon tiger” (1987)
• Lain Banks. "The Wasp Factory" (1984)
• JK Rowling "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" (1997) -
Contemporary Period 2000- Present
Contemporary literature is that produced in recent times and today. It can be considered that it begins at the end of the XIX century
Various genre literature trends (popular literature) emerge: science fiction, black or noir police, fantasy literature, horror novels, etc.
Topics: Memory and testimony, The family novel, Genre fiction, Writing itself, Dystopias and the end of the world.
Authors:
• Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008)
• StanislawLem (1921-2006)