Literary Movement Era Timeline

By Dram1

  • Romanticism

    This was a literary movement that began in the early 18th century and extended into the early 19th. During this period authors focused on writing about individuality, emotion, and appreciation for nature. Lord Byron-"Don Juan"
    Johann Wolfgang von Goethe-"Faust"
    William Wordsworth-"Tintern Abbey"

  • Renaissance

    The Renaissance was considered a period of great change. This period also brought along the emergence of "Humanist Literature". The Renaissance lasted from the 14th century to the 17th century. This was the time period when many of the worlds renowned writers rose to fame. Geoffrey Chaucer-"Parlement of Foules"
    William Shakespeare-"Hamlet"
    Christopher Marlowe-"Tamburlaine the Great"

  • Enlightenment Era

    This Era laid the foundations of Modern Western thought. This was a period of scientific revolution and intellectuality in the 18th Century. This was an important period in the development of literature because it shaped many of the literary movements we see today. Voltaire-"Candide"
    Diderot-"Encyclopedie"
    Montesquieu-"The Spirit of Laws"

  • Medieval Era and the Dark Ages

    This Era lasted from approximately the 4th century to the 15th century. This was an era where christian beliefs began to take over pagan beliefs. This period was marked by wide spread poverty. Considered one of the most influential literary movements of all time. Marie de France- "The Lais of Marie de France"
    Geoffrey Chaucer-"The Canterbury Tales"
    Dante Alighieri-"The Divine Comedy"

  • Naturalism

    The Naturalism literary movement was ground-breaking in its time, paving the way for a new generation of writers and stories. The writers during this time often used a pessimistic view while writing such as, crime, despair, and poverty. Some of the best authors of the time were known for their vivid story telling. Jack London-"The Call of the Wild"
    Gustave Flaubert-"La Peste a Florence"
    Stephen Crane-"The Red Badge of Courage"

  • Victorian Era

    The victorian era lasted from 1837-1901 and was a major shift in literature towards realism. A really popular genre during this time period was Gothic Fiction. Aestheticism in literature also emerged during this time period. Oscar Wilde-"The Ballad of Reading Gaol"
    Walter Pater-"Marius the Epicurean"
    Edgar Allan poe-"The Tell-Tale Heart"

  • Realism

    This era was a time where people tried to portray life in the realest way possible, it was first seen in French literature in the 1840s. Rather than writing fantasies or poems and myths writers focused on writing about every day life and how it was. This time period was during the 19th century. Leo Tolstoy-"War and Peace"
    Honore De Balzac-"La Comedie Humane"
    Mark Twain-"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"

  • Beat Generation

    This was a movement that mostly took place during the mid-1950's and early 1960's. During this time the writers were kind of going against the regular conventional literature and were trying out new ways to express themselves and their ideas. Through many of the authors works they were able to spread awareness about mental health, racism, and spirituality. Jack Kerouac-"On the Road"
    Allen Ginsberg-"Kaddish"
    William S. Burroughs-"Naked Lunch"

  • Modernism

    This was a movement that emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Modernism just like Beat Generation also showed how authors were rejection tradition ideas of literature and were using their own ideas and exploring new ones. This era had a huge impact on the literary world, a big enough impact that it can be seen in the works of numerous authors and writers to this day. T.S. Eliot-"Alfred Prufrock"
    James Joyce-"Ulysses"
    William Faulkner-"The Sound and the Fury"

  • Post-Modernism

    This literary movement began in the late 20th century. This era is most commonly characterized by its focused on fragmented structures and irony. This era was also greatly influenced by Modernism. During this time authors and writers started to explore new themes and new ways of writing that have opened up so many opportunities for other writers. Thomas Berger-"Little Big Man"
    Richard Brautigan-"Trout Fishing in America"
    Don DeLillo-"Libra"