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Period: 680 to 866
Religious Poetry
Cynewulf is famous for four poems of religious nature: Juliana, The Fates of the Apostles, Christ and Elene. The famous poem Hymn is credited to Caedmon. -
700
The Old English Literature Period (700 - 1100)
The defining detail of this period and the nascent stages of written literature, here one sees the transition from Oral tradition to documented written works of literary merit . Beowulf, an Alliterative verse Epic poem consisting of 3,182 metrical lines wholeheartedly represents this transition. Being the first Oration transcribed into the written word, the language used is very different from today's; this Anglo-Saxon Germanic form of what we know today relied on alliteration. -
1500
Middle English Literature (1100 - 1500)
This period is represented by important figures like, Geoffrey Chaucer and his acclaimed works, The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer was able to take basic concepts of human storytelling and the Oral Tradition and work them into a Frame-Narrative.
Alliterative poetry was still the popular style, and helped to pace the story itself, William Langland, and his poem: Piers Plowman is representative of this style. Also, Morality and Miracle plays were representative of this period. -
Period: 1500 to 1550
The Barren Age of Literature
After the death of Chaucer, there was not much movement forward, with Europe still recovering from a decimating outbreak of the Plague in conjunction with largely stagnant literacy rates in the populous, not much was to be said or done in terms of literary development. This is why this period received this name.
However, there were important printed works like: Tottel’s Songs and Sonnets (1557). It contained 40 poems by Surrey and 96 by Wyatt all written on different dates. -
1560
Elizabethan period (17th century)
Along with some of the aforementioned authors, The Elizabethan period ushered in an important figure known as “the poets’ poet,” his name was Edmund Spenser, his work embody concepts associated with the Renaissance, relying heavily on seasonal imagery, the naturally occurring cycles one sees in life.
Other important figure: Francis Bacon and his popular essays.
The most representative literary work of this period is its Drama, being William Shakespeare the greatest literary figure. -
Period: to
The most famous genre in the Elizabethan period
The most famous literary genre of this period is drama, particularly the Tragedies penned by William Shakespeare the greatest literary figure of this period. Some of his best known Tragedies include, King Lear, Macbeth, Othello, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and Anthony and Cleopatra. Shakespeare also wrote well known comedies, most notably Twelfth Night and published lesser-known histories like Richard II. -
Renaissance Period 1550–1660
This period is characterized by the rebirth of the arts through Humanism, giving us the Humanities as we know them today. The most prevalent Humanists were Sir Thomas More and Sir Thomas Wyatt the Elder, and H. Howard. This period is divided into four main subsets: The Elizabethan Age, the Jacobean Age, the Caroline Age, and the Commonwealth Period, best known as the Puritan Interregnum. Authors: William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet (1597) and Macbeth (1606). John Milton, Paradise Lost (1667). -
Period: to
Important authors of Neoclassical period
The most outstanding figures during this period were: A. Pope, John Locke, J. Swift and D. Defoe.
Of these three, Swift was able to offer the harshest and most cutting criticisms of humanity, particularly, ruling political parties. With a much more literate society and access to an early form of the printing press, Swift was able to reach audiences including those in power under a pseudonym. Two of his crowning achievements in satire are, Gulliver’s Travels and the essay, A Modest Proposal. -
Neoclassical Period (1660 - 1798)
The focus of this period is placed squarely on reason, harmony, and stability. As the high Renaissance came to a close a celebration of Humanism slowly transformed into a strong criticism after we were better at understanding ourselves outside of religious context. Humanity and human nature were put into question and people were basically seen as evil and corrupt.
Among the genres that were developed aside from poetry, we find: satire and essays. -
Period: to
The start of the feminist movement in the Romantic period
Mary Wollstonecraft’s, A Vindication of Women’s Rights (1792), acts a proto-feminist critique of the state of gender roles, in particular, the importance of access to education by women in order to incite change. Wollstonecraft found enormous success with her gothic novel, Frankenstein (1818). Jane Austen’s, Pride and Prejudice (1813) allowed the conceptualization of a characters journey attempting to find redemption through what is seen today as an archetypal romance novel. -
Romantic Period (1798 - 1832)
The content in this period emphasized on the interpretation and impressions of society as the corruptive aspect that makes humans evil, in other words a reaction to the period before. This way, humanity is inherently good, but society inevitably corrupts it; here we see a more analytical response to our initial deduction including more dynamic voices, many of which powerful and transformative works by women. -
Period: to
Female voices in the Renaissance Period
This period has many other main contributors ranging from Playwrights to Queens. Some of these individuals include: John Milton and Paradise Lost, William Shakespeare and his timeless Tragedies, Comedies, and Sonnets; opening up unheard of territory in field of poetry; and most importantly, strong female voices in that of Elizabeth I and Margaret Cavendish utilizing what served as some of the first modest feminist critiques of the world around them. -
Victorian Period (1832- 1900)
The themes developed during this period included discussions about conflict over power, city vs country, sexual promiscuity, aristocratic villains. Aside from novels and poetry, other genres like elegies and monologues were developed.
Important figures:
Charles Dickens, a representative of critical realism: Oliver Twist (1837 to 1839).
Oscar Wilde, writer, dramatist and poet. The picture of Dorian Gray (1890).
Robert Louis Stevenson, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886). -
Modern / Postmodern Period
This period marks a change in the discourse about religion, in which rejection and objection are the main premises. This is why the content included themes like the breakdown of social norms, spiritual loneliness and alienation.
Important authors:
Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse (1927).
James Joyce, Ulysses (1922). -
Period: to
Postmodern Period authors
Among the postmodern authors we find Truman Capote and his novel, Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1958). The Post World War II, most important author: J.R.R Tolkien. Lord of the Rings sequel, epic-high fantasy book, (1937 and 1949). -
Contemporary (1980 - present)
The themes evidenced in this period has to do with open-mindedness and interpreting the past. The genres include, first person fiction and narratives. Also, the advances in communication made the literature to expand to other forms of art like films.
Among the contemporary authors, and some "best sellers" we find:
Kazuo Ishiguro, Never let me Go (2000) and When we were Orphans, (2005).
Salman Rushdie, Satanic Verses (1988).
