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450
Old English (Anglo-Saxon) 450 - 1066
This period dates back to their invasion (along with the Jutes) of Celtic England circa 450. The era ends in 1066 when Norman France, under William, conquered England. -
1066
Middle English period 1066-1500
Sees a huge transition in the language, culture and lifestyle of England and results in what we can recognize today as a form of modern English. As with the Old English period, much of the middle English writings were religious in nature, from about 1350 onward, secular literature began to rise. -
1500
The Renaissance 1500 -1660
Recently, critics and literary historians have begun a call this the "Early modern" period, but here we retain the historically familiar term. This period is often subdivided into four parts, including the Elizabethan Age (1558-1603), The Jacobean Age (1603-1625), The Caroline Age (1625-1649), and the Commonwealth period (1649-1660). -
The Neoclassical Period 1600-1785
Was broken down into three parts: The restoration, Augustan and Johnson period. Writer of that period tried to imitate the Romans and Greeks' style. It was beginningof the British tradition of drinking afternoon tea. It was the starting point of the middle class, more people were literate.
Conservatism flourished in both politics and literature. some popular types of literature included: Parody, Essays, letters, Melodrama etc. -
The romantic Period 1785-1832
The beginning of that period is often debated. The time period ends with the passage of the Reform Bill. American literature has its own Romantic period, but typically when one speaks of Romanticism, one is referring to this great age of British literature, perhaps the most popular and well known of all literary ages.
The works of such juggernauts as Wordsworth, Coleridge, William Blake, Lord Byron. There is also a minor period (between 1786-1800), called the Gotic era. -
The Victorian Period 1832-1901
it was named for the reign of Queen Victoria, who ascended to the throne in 1837 and it lasts until her death in 1901. It was a time of great social, religious, intellectual, and economic issues, heralded by passage of the Reform Bill, which expanded voting rights.
This period is in strong contention with the Romantic period for being the most popular period in all of English literature.
Poets: Elizabeth Barret, Chritina Rossetti, Alfred Lord.
Prose fiction found its place with Charles Dickens.. -
The Edwardian Period 1901-1914
it was named for King Edward VII and covers the period between Victoria's death and the outbreak of World war I. The era includes classic novelists such as Joseph Conrad, Ford Madox; notable poets such as Alfred Noyes and William Butler Yeats. Dramatits such as James Barrie, George Bernand Shaw and John Galsworthy. -
The Georgian Period 1910-1936
Usually refers to the reign of George V but also includes the reigns of the four succesive Georges from 1714 - 1830. The Georgian poets such as Ralph hodgson, John Masefield. The themes and subject matter tended to be rural or pastoral in nature, treated delicately and traditionally rather than with passion. -
The modern period 1914
Traditionally applies to works written after the start of World War I. Include bold experimentation with subject matter, style, and form, encompassing narrative, verse and drama. W.B.
Most notable writers include the novelists among James Joyce, Virginia Woolf.
New criticism also appeared at this time, led by the likes of Woolf, Eliot, William Empson and others Which reinvigorated literary criticism in general. It is difficult to say whether modernism has ended. -
The postmodern Period 1945
Begins about the time that World War II ended. Many believe it is a direct response to modernism. Some say the period ended about 1990. Poststructuralist literary theory and criticism developed during this time. Writers Samuel Beckett, Joseph Heller, Anthony Burgess. Many postmodern authors wrote during the modern period as well.
