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450
old English period
Old English was not static, and its usage covered a period of 700 years, from the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain in the 5th century to the late 11th century, some time after the Norman invasion. -
1066
Middle English
Middle English was a form of the English language spoken after the Norman conquest (1066) until the late 15th century. English underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English period. -
1500
Renaissance 1500-1660
The English Renaissance was a cultural and artistic movement in England dating from the late 15th century to the early 17th century. It is associated with the pan-European Renaissance that is usually regarded as beginning in Italy in the late 14th century. The dominant forms of English literature during the Renaissance were the poem and the drama. Among the many varieties of poetry one might have found in sixteenth century England were the lyric, the elegy, the tragedy, and the pastoral. -
1558
Elizabethan
The Elizabethan era is the period of English history associated with the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603), which is generally considered one of the golden ages in English literature, was a great boom in literature, particularly in the area of the tragedy. Is characterized by vigorous intellectual thinking, an age of adventure and discovery, a time in which new ideas and new experiences were sought after. The period revolutionized many aspects of English life, most significantly literature. -
Jacobian era
The Jacobean era refers to the period in English and Scottish history that coincides with the reign of James VI of Scotland (1567–1625), who also inherited the crown of England in 1603 as James I. Jacobean poetry included the graceful verse of Jonson and the Cavalier poets but also the intellectual complexity of the Metaphysical poetry of John Donne and others. -
Caroline era
The Caroline era refers to the era in English and Scottish history during the Stuart period (1603–1714) that coincided with the reign of Charles I (1625–1642), or Carolus Latin for Charles. The Caroline Poets are lyrical in nature and primarily deal with love, war and religion. Robert Herrick was influenced by Jonson and classics whose two volumes of poems are The Noble Numbers (1647) and Hesperides (1648).Richard Lovelace is a Cavalier poet who fought on behalf of the King during the Civil War. -
Puritanism 1653-1660
Puritanism, begun in England in the 17th century of dinosurs, was a radical Protestant movement to reform the Church of England. The Puritans believed that God had formed a unique covenant, or agreement, with them. They believed that God expected them to live according to the Scriptures, to reform the Anglican Church, and to set a good example that would cause those who had remained in England to change their sinful ways. -
Restoration period
The Restoration period of English literature roughly lasts from 1660 to 1688. It begins with Charles II returning to the throne following the rule of various republican governments that ruled England. The spirit of corruption and moral laxity, which were predominant in the social life of the restoration, are reflected in literature. The following are the chief feature of the period. Rise of Neo-classicism. The Restoration marks a complete break with the past. -
18th Century literature
European literature of the 18th century refers to literature (poetry, drama, satire, and novels) produced in Europe during this period. ... Subgenres of the novel during the 18th century were the epistolary novel, the sentimental novel, histories, the gothic novel and the libertine novel. It is divided into two ages, Audustan and the age of sensibility. -
Augustan era
This was the period of English literature in the early 18th century, when writers such as Swift and Pope were active. The name comes from that of the Roman emperor (= ruler) Augustus, who ruled when Virgil, Horace and Ovid were writing, and suggests a classical period of elegant literature. This period is also known as the Age of Reason and generally regarded as a golden age, like the period of Roman History which had achieved political stability and power as well a flourishing of the arts. -
Sensibility age
The period in British literature between roughly 1740 and 1800 is sometimes called “the Age of Sensibility,” in recognition of the high value that many Britons came to place on explorations of feeling and emotion in literature and the other arts. -
Romanticism
Romanticism (also known as the Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement that originated in Europe toward the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate period from 1800 to 1850. -
Victorian era
Victorian literature is mainly written in England during the reign of Queen Victoria, or roughly from 1837 -1901. It is largely characterized by the struggle of working people and the triumph of right over wrong.While in the preceding Romantic period, poetry had been the dominant genre, it was the novel that was most important in the Victorian period -
Modernism
The Modernist Period in English Literature occupied the years from shortly after the beginning of the twentieth century through roughly 1965. In broad terms, the period was marked by sudden and unexpected breaks with traditional ways of viewing and interacting with the world. The characteristics of the Modern Literature can be categorized into Individualism, Experimentation, Symbolism, Absurdity and Formalism. -
Postmodernism
Postmodern literature is a form of literature which is marked, both stylistically and ideologically, by a reliance on such literary conventions as fragmentation, paradox, unreliable narrators, often unrealistic and downright impossible plots, games, parody, paranoia, dark humor and authorial self-reference. -
Contemporary age
Contemporary literature is defined as literature written after World War II through the current day. The horrors of the war, including bombs, ground wars, genocide and corruption, are the pathways to this type of literature. It is from these real-life themes that we find the beginning of a new period of writing. Typical characteristics of the contemporary period include reality-based stories with strong characters and a believable story.
