English literature

English Literature

By Nubia Andrea Pulidon González
  • 450

    Old English - AngloSaxon Period

    Old English - AngloSaxon Period
    The history of English Literature starts with the Germanic tradition of Anglo-Saxon settlers which were around 5th to 11th century AD.
    Beowulf is the first English literary work (the oldest known)
  • 1066

    The Medieval Period

    The Medieval Period
    The Canterbury Tales is one of the most important works of English literature, and the best work of the Middle Ages in England. It was the last work of Geoffrey Chaucer. It is a collection of 24 short stories written between 1387 and 1400. They were written mostly in verse, although there are two in prose, and are presented as part of a story-telling contest for a group of pilgrims during a journey from London to Canterbury. to visit the sanctuary of Tomás Becket in the cathedral of said city.
  • 1485

    English Renaissance Period

    English Renaissance Period
    The main topic was Humanism and emphasis on the dignity of human rights. Representatives: Thomas More, Edmund Spencer, Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson and William Shakespeare.

  • Revolution and Restoration Period

    Revolution and Restoration Period
    It was characterized by a somber and pensive spirit in accordance with the religious ideals and political norms of the Puritans, religious verse, theological and political treatises replaced romantic poetry. The main authors were John Milton and John Buyan.

  • The Enlightenment (Neoclassical) Period

    The Enlightenment (Neoclassical) Period
    It reflected the styles and ideals of ancient Greek and Roman art and style by focusing on logic, symmetry, integrity, law, and loyalty.
    Main exponents: Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift and Daniel Defoe.

  • Romantic Period

    Romantic Period
    It was characterized by an emphasis on feelings and emotions, often taking images from nature and creating forms that are relatively free of rules.
    Main exponents: William Blake, William Wordsworth, Lord Byron, John Keats.

  • The Victorian Period

    The Victorian Period
    It was the English literature that emerged during the reign of Queen Victoria. It was considered the Golden Age especially for British novels as it was when the novel became the leading literary genre in English.

  • The Modern Period

    The Modern Period
    Modernism rises out of skepticism and disillusion, the rise of all kinds of irrational philosophical ideas and the teory of psychoabalysis as its theoretical base.
    Main exponents:
    Virginia Wolf
    James Joyce
    John Galsworthy
    Samuel Beckett

  • The Postmodern Period

    The Postmodern Period
    Much of the innovations of post-structuralist thought come from its axiom that everything is discourse.
    It had authors like:
    -Umberto Eco
    -John Fowles
    -Martin Amis