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Period: 1200 BCE to 800
Homeric or Heroic Period
It was the that the Greek nation was formed and the foundations laid for many of the social and political developments of subsequent centuries. Homer's iliad and Odyssey
Ovid's Metamorohose
Virgil's Aenid
St Jerome's Bible compilation -
Period: 800 BCE to 200 BCE
Classical Greek Period
The Classical Period of ancient Greece was a time when the Greeks achieved new heights in art, architecture, theater, and philosophy. Democracy in Athens was refined under the leadership of Pericles. -
Period: 200 BCE to 455
Classical Roman Period
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Period: 70 BCE to 455
Patristic Period
The Patristic era began sometime around the end of the 1st century (when the New Testament was almost completed), and ended towards the close of the 8th century. -
Period: 450 to 1066
Old English (Anglo-Saxon Period): 450–1066
This Age started in the fifth century when the Jutes, Angles and Saxons came to England from Germany, defeated the English tribes and started their reign. It ended in 1066 with the Norman Conquest. (tetsuccesskey, 2022) -
700
Beowulf
Beowulf is the oldest surviving Germanic epic and the longest Old English poem (Britannica, 2022) -
750
Other great works of Old English poetry
Include The Wanderer, The Seafarer, The Battle of Maldon, and The Dream of the Rood (Britannica, 2022) -
Period: 1066 to 1500
The Middle English Period (1066-1500)
This period started with the Norman Conquest in1066 and ended with the end of fifteenth century. There are two ages in this period. . The period from 1340 to 1400 is called the Age of Chaucer because Chaucer, the great poet, dominated this period. The time from 1066 to 1500 is also called the Middle Ages. -
1300
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, late 14th century
The anonymous writer of this romance most likely came from Britain’s Northwest Midlands, given the dialect he employs, according to SparkNotes. -
1300
Mystery Plays (mid-1300s through 1400s)
Mystery plays began as a way to present Bible stories and religious teachings during religious festivals. The plays were often presented as complete cycles that together told the whole story of the universe, from Creation to Judgement. (READ GREAT LITERATURE, 2022) -
1370
William Langland, Piers Ploughman, 1370-90
Piers Ploughman was written by a clergyman. It describes a series of dreams or visions in which the dreamer, Will, questions how his soul may be saved, also engaging in much social commentary and critique as he seeks wisdom on how to lead the best life -
1373
Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love, 1373
Julian of Norwich was a 14th century anchoress, which meant she chose a solitary life of prayer and contemplation, walled within a small cell from which she spoke to people only on rare occasions. (READ GREAT LITERATURE, 2022) -
1390
John Gower, Confessio Amantis
Gower was a friend of Chaucer who admired his work. According to a great site on literature, Interestingliterature.com, “A long poem comprising a number of smaller stories, Confessio Amantis (written in the early 1390s) takes as its theme the idea of courtly love – the poem’s title means ‘the lover’s confession’. -
1400
“Pearl” (by the Gawain poet), late 14th century
“Pearl” is a lovely and intricate poem found in the same manuscript that includes Sir Gawain, written by the same poet. The speaker in the poem, who has recently lost a child, has a vision in which he visits a different land and sees his child “Perle” again. (READ GREAT LITERATURE, 2022) -
1400
Morality Plays, 1400s through early 1500s
According to the editors of the Encyclopedia Britannica, “Morality play, also called morality, an allegorical drama popular in Europe especially during the 15th and 16th centuries, in which the characters personify moral qualities (such as charity or vice) or abstractions (as death or youth) and in which moral lessons are taught.” Le Morte D’Arthur is a good example of a medieval romance. -
1400
Geoffrey Chaucer
Not only did Chaucer’s "Canterbury Tales" mark the first time English was used for a serious work of literary ambition (English being considered a "common" language for the uneducated at the time when the royal family of England still considered themselves in many ways French and in fact French was the official language of the court), but Chaucer’s technique of using five stresses in a line was a direct ancestor of the iambic pentameter used by Shakespeare and his contemporaries. (Somers, 2019) -
Period: 1400 to
Renaissance
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. -
1430
The Book of Margery Kempe, late 1430s
Being unable to write herself, Kempe dictated her book to a scribe, detailing her critique of medieval town values and how she ultimately gave up her secure position in society to devote herself to a religious life. It’s interesting that Marjory Kempe went to visit Julian, and reports on this conversation in her book. (READ GREAT LITERATURE, 2022) -
1485
Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, 1387-1400
Almost everyone familiar with Western literature has heard of The Canterbury Tales, and even read one or more of them in school. One of the first major works written in English, Canterbury Tales tells the story of 30 different people from all walks of medieval society who are going on a religious pilgrimage together. (READ GREAT LITERATURE, 2022) -
1527
Nicholas Machiavelli
Machiavelli’s focus on terrestrial instead of heavenly power is indicative of the general shift going on in his lifetime as the Renaissance gained steam. His concept that there was a division between public and private morality, and his endorsement of violence, murder, and political trickery to gain and maintain power is where we get the term Machiavellian when describing brilliant if evil politicians or schemers. -
1553
Edmund Spenser
Spenser isn’t as much of a household name as Shakespeare, but his influence in the realm of poetry is as epic as his best-known work, "The Faerie Queen." That lengthy (and technically unfinished) poem is actually a pretty blatantly sycophantic attempt to flatter then-Queen Elizabeth I; Spenser wanted desperately to be ennobled, a goal he never achieved, and a poem linking Queen Elizabeth with all the virtues in the world seemed like a good way to go -
William Shakespeare
He created many words still in common English usage today (including bedazzled, which might be his greatest achievement), he coined many of the phrases and idioms we still use today (every time you try to break the ice, say a short prayer to Bill), and he codified certain stories and plot devices that have become the invisible vocabulary of every story composed (Somers, 2019) -
John Donne
Donne isn’t a household name outside of English and literature majors, but his influence on literature in the ensuing years is epic. Considered one of the earliest “metaphysical” writers, Donne more or less invented several literary techniques in his complex works, most notably the trick of using two seemingly opposite concepts to construct powerful metaphors. -
Period: to
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism in English literature refers to a movement which flourished between 1660 and 1798. The term refers to a style that is based on, but different from, the classic structures of the Roman and Greek writers of old. ''Neo'' means ''new,'' so the term literally means the ''old classic.'' However, neoclassicism was a unique style with its own themes and works. (Martin del Campo, 2022) -
John Milton
Milton is best known for Paradise Lost, widely regarded as the greatest epic poem in English. Together with Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes, it confirms Milton’s reputation as one of the greatest English poets. (C. Labriola, 2022) -
John Dryden
John Dryden was the greatest English poet of the 17th century. After William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson, he was the greatest playwright. And he has no peer as a writer of prose, especially literary criticism, and as a translator. (poetryfoundation, 2022) -
Alexander Pope
The acknowledged master of the heroic couplet and one of the primary tastemakers of the Augustan age, British writer Alexander Pope was a central figure in the Neoclassical movement of the early 18th century. He is known for having perfected the rhymed couplet form of his idol, John Dryden, and turned it to satiric and philosophical purposes.(poetryfoundation, 2022) -
William Wordsworth
We can't talk about British Romanticism without talking about William Wordsworth, the father of the whole she-bang. In fact, the beginning of British Romanticism as a literary movement is usually traced back to Wordsworth's publication of the collection of poems Lyrical Ballads in 1798, which he co-authored with his friend Samuel Taylor Coleridge .(shmoop.com, 2022) -
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was William Wordsworth's sidekick. The two were good friends, and they spent a lot of time taking long walks together and talking about poetry. In fact, they were so close that Coleridge contributed some of his own poems to Lyrical Ballads -
Period: to
The Romantic Period
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. There was a lot of social change during this period.
(easternct.edu, 2022) -
William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray, (born July 18, 1811, Calcutta, India—died Dec. 24, 1863, London, Eng.), English novelist whose reputation rests chiefly on Vanity Fair (1847–48), a novel of the Napoleonic period in England, and The History of Henry Esmond, Esq. (1852), set in the early 18th century. (Brander, 2022) -
Lord Byron
Lord Byron chased women (and men), lived extravagantly, was constantly in debt, traveled all over Europe, and died at the tender age of 36 after joining the Greeks in their war for independence from the Ottoman Empire. Oh yeah, and in the middle of all that, he wrote one of the most famous Romantic poems: Don Juan. (shmoop.com, 2022) -
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley belonged to the second, younger generation of Romantic dudes and dudettes, along with Lord Byron. He was really inspired by the ideals of the French Revolution, and he held some pretty revolutionary social and political views. He spent a lot of time hopping around Europe with his brilliant wife, Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein. (shmoop.com, 2022) -
Period: to
Transcendentalism
Transcendentalism, 19th-century movement of writers and philosophers in New England who were loosely bound together by adherence to an idealistic system of thought based on a belief in the essential unity of all creation, the innate goodness of humanity, and the supremacy of insight over logic and experience for the revelation of the deepest truths. -
Period: to
Victorian era
In British history, the period between approximately 1820 and 1914, corresponding roughly but not exactly to the period of Queen Victoria’s reign (1837–1901) and characterized by a class-based society, a growing number of people able to vote, a growing state and economy, and Britain’s status as the most powerful empire in the world. (Steinbach, 2022) -
Edgar Allan Poe
The name Poe brings to mind images of murderers and madmen, premature burials, and mysterious women who return from the dead. His works have been in print since 1827 and include such literary classics as The Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven, and The Fall of the House of Usher (goodreads, 2022) -
Period: to
American Realism and Regionalism
There were two main movements within this. Regionalism focused on rural and agrarian America. Social Realism had a more urban focus and presented strong political and social commentaries. Despite their differences, both celebrated working-class Americans, particularly during the stress of the Great Depression. -
Charles Dickens
One of the most famous British authors of all time, Charles Dickens’s literary style is so unique and influential it has its own adjective: Dickensian -
George Eliot
George Eliot, pseudonym of Mary Ann, or Marian, Cross, née Evans, (born November 22, 1819, Chilvers Coton, Warwickshire, England—died December 22, 1880, London), English Victorian novelist who developed the method of psychological analysis characteristic of modern fiction. Her major works include Adam Bede (1859), The Mill on the Floss (1860), Silas Marner (1861), Middlemarch (1871–72), and Daniel Deronda (1876). (Haight, 2022) -
Period: to
Modernism
Modernism, in the fine arts, a break with the past and the concurrent search for new forms of expression. Modernism fostered a period of experimentation in the arts from the late 19th to the mid-20th century, particularly in the years following World War I. (Kuiper, 2021) -
Period: to
The Edwardian Era
After Queen Victoria’s death, her eldest son Prince Edward VII immediately ascended to the throne. His brief reign lasted only nine years (1901 to 1910) but the Edwardian era is seen by most historians to include both his tenure as Prince of Wales (starting from 1880 when he rose to popularity given Queen Victoria’s absence from the public) until the start of the First World War in 1914. (lillicoco.com, 2022) -
Henry James
Henry James, (born April 15, 1843, New York, New York, U.S.—died February 28, 1916, London, England), American novelist and, as a naturalized English citizen from 1915, a great figure in the transatlantic culture. His fundamental theme was the innocence and exuberance of the New World in clash with the corruption and wisdom of the Old, as illustrated in such works as Daisy Miller (1879), The Portrait of a Lady (1881), The Bostonians (1886), and The Ambassadors (1903). (Edel, 2022) -
Period: to
The lost generation
The Lost Generation is an expression coined by Ernest Hemingway. With this expression he was referring to the generation of disillusioned youth affected by the trauma and human catastrophes of the First World War. The term embraces Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Dos Passos, E.E. Cummings, Archibald MacLeish, Hart Crane, and many other writers who made Paris the centre of their literary activities in the 1920s. -
Joseph Conrad
considered to be one of the greatest English-language novelists of all time. He wrote short stories and novels throughout his life after becoming fluent in the language in his twenties. (Poem Analysis, 2022) -
Rudyard Kipling
one of the best-known authors of this period. He’s remembered for his celebration of British colonialism through his poetry and short stories. (Poem Analysis, 2022) -
Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf, original name in full Adeline Virginia Stephen, (born January 25, 1882, London, England—died March 28, 1941, near Rodmell, Sussex), English writer whose novels, through their nonlinear approaches to narrative, exerted a major influence on the genre.(Reid, 2022) -
Beatrix Potter
a well-loved author, illustrator, and natural scientist. Her best-known books are the Tales of Peter Rabbit. (Poem Analysis, 2022) -
Period: to
Beat Generation
A new cultural and literary movement staked its claim on the nation's consciousness.
The Beat Generation was never a large movement in terms of sheer numbers, but in influence and cultural status, they were more visible than any other competing aesthetic -
Period: to
The Postmodern Period
Postmodernism, also spelled post-modernism, in Western philosophy, a late 20th-century movement characterized by broad skepticism, subjectivism, or relativism; a general suspicion of reason; and an acute sensitivity to the role of ideology in asserting and maintaining political and economic power. (Duignan, 2022) -
Period: to
Post colonial literature
A possible working definition for postcolonialism is that it involves a studied engagement with the experience of colonialism and its past and present effects, both at the local level of ex-colonial societies and at the level of more general global developments thought to be the after-effects of empire. -
Samuel Beckett
Beckett’s “theatre of the absurd” emphasized the disintegration of narrative. In the play Waiting for Godot (1953), Beckett creates an entire existential narrative featuring two characters who contemplate their day as they wait for the ambiguous Godot to appear. However, he never arrives, and his identity is not revealed. (MasterClass, 2021) -
Period: to
Confessional Poetry
It has been described as poetry of the personal or "I", focusing on extreme moments of individual experience, the psyche, and personal trauma, including previously and occasionally still taboo matters such as mental illness, sexuality, and suicide, often set in relation to broader social themes. -
T.S. Eliot
T.S. Eliot, in full Thomas Stearns Eliot, (born September 26, 1888, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.—died January 4, 1965, London, England), American-English poet, playwright, literary critic, and editor, a leader of the Modernist movement in poetry in such works as The Waste Land (1922) and Four Quartets (1943) (Davies, 2022) -
John Barth
Barth wrote an essay of literary criticism titled The Literature of Exhaustion (1967), detailing all writing as imitation and considered by many to be the manifesto of postmodern literature. Barth’s fourth novel, Giles Goat-Boy (1966), is a prime example of the metafiction characteristic of postmodernism,(MasterClass, 2021) -
John Fowles
Fowles’s The French Lieutenant's Woman (1969) is a historical novel with a major emphasis on metafiction. The book features a narrator who becomes part of the story and offers several different ways to end the story -
E.M. Forester:
An author and essayist who used much of his work to examine class differences. -
Italo Calvino
Calvino’s novel If on a winter's night a traveler (1979) is an excellent example of a metanarrative—the book is about a reader attempting to read a novel titled If on a winter's night a traveler. (MasterClass, 2021) -
Don DeLillo
Following an advertising executive in New York during the Nixon era, DeLillo’s Underworld (1997) is an exceptionally fragmented narrative, exploring the rise of global capitalism, the decline of American manufacturing, the CIA, and civil rights, and other themes. White Noise (1985) reframes postmodernism through consumerism, bombarding characters with meaninglessness. (MasterClass, 2021)