History of English Literature

Old English (Anglo-Saxon Period ( 5th- 14th Century)

1066

In grammar, Old English is chiefly distinguished from later stages in the history of English by greater use of a larger set of inflections in verbs, nouns, adjectives, and pronouns, and also (connected with this) by a rather less fixed word order; it also preserves grammatical gender in nouns and adjectives.

Middle English ( 14th to 15th Century)

1500

1. During this period, English gained widespread popularity among people in every stratum of society. Gradually, the language gained maturity, and by the late 1300s, Chaucer’s poetry made English the perfect medium for literature. 2. Middle English literature is its impersonality, by which I mean that most of its literature was anonymous, and we don’t know the names of those who wrote it. 3. That’s why religious writing forms a greater part of Middle English Literature.

Renaissance English Period ( Elizabethan Age or the Golden Age Of English Literature 16th Century to Early 17th Century)

1660

1. Reforms in the institutions: In earlier times, literature was dominated by the spirit of religion and blind faith. 2. In the Renaissance age, it was the reason instead of the religion that governed human behaviour. The man was free to make use of his power. 3. The age was accompanied by the birth of modern science, mathematics, astronomy etc.
2. Writers: Martin luther, Charles Darwin, Eramus, Christopher

Puritan

1660

1. The movement began in 1530 and lasted well into the 17th century. 2. Religion was the central tenet of Puritan life. 3. Puritan literature is the result of this movement and lifestyle. Much of it is in the form of letters and journals written by Puritans regarding their experiences. Puritan writing is primarily made up of sermons, poetry, and historical narratives, but Puritan writers created very little fiction

Restoration Age (17th- 18th Century)

1700

1. Social and Political Conflict
2. The two devastating incidents – The Great Plague of London and The Great Fire of London did much more harm to English Social life. 3. Opening of Theaters: The clubs and coffee houses were also established during the period. These houses become the centers of political discussions and from here only, the periodical essays originated.
   
3. Realism: Restoration literature is realistic. It was concerned with life and with fashion and manners.
   

Neoclassical Period

1785

This time period is broken down into three parts: the Restoration period, the Augustan period, and the Age of Johnson. Writers of the Neoclassical period tried to imitate the style of the Romans and Greeks. Neoclassical literature is characterized by order, accuracy, and structure. In direct opposition to Renaissance attitudes, where the man was seen as basically good, the Neoclassical writers portrayed man as inherently flawed. They emphasized restraint, self-control, and common sense.

18th Century

1798

Literature of this period was greatly influenced by the works of the writers of classical antiquity. The literary figures of this era believed classical writers to be the models and the ultimate standards of literary taste. The poets of the 18th century tried their best to copy the classical writers of Latin Literature. The 18th century the Classical Age. emphasized rationalism, intellect, logic, and wit. It was opposed to excessive emotionalism, sentimentalism, enthusiasm and even imagination.

Romanticism

1837

1. Glorification of Nature: in all its unbound glory, plays a huge role in Romantic literature. 2. Awareness and Acceptance of Emotions: offered a counterpoint to the rational, and it also made Romantic poetry and prose extremely readable and relatable. 3. Celebration of Artistic Creativity and Imagination: They believed that artists and writers looked at the world differently, and they celebrated that vision in their work.
2. Romantic literature also explores the theme of aesthetic beauty,

Victorian period

1901

Victorian literature was written in England during the reign of Queen Victoria and is characterized by themes such as the struggle of the working class and the triumph of right over wrong. Explore this literary period, its authors and their style of Victorian prose and poetry, and explore the major events of the Victorian era.
the artists were inspired both by the art that came before them and the events occurring during the time that they were working

Edwardian Period

1914

The writers George Bernard Shaw and E.M. Forster are much more closely associated with the era. The majority of these movements chose to move away from the traditional forms of storytelling and poetry to embrace more experimental methods. Authors started using techniques including unreliable narrators and using a stream of consciousness. The Georgian poets, by contrast, were almost anti-modern, producing lyric poetry with rural and pastoral themes.

Georgian Period

1936

The Georgian poets arrived between two important movements in poetry, the Aestheticism of the Victorian period and Modernism, which followed the outbreak of the First World War. Georgian poetry was seen as a rejection of Aestheticism and the movement's motto 'art for art's sake and its devotion to unnatural beauty. The work of the Georgian poets was often romantic and sentimental, Georgian poetry, including its use of formal techniques, Romanticism and sentimentality.

Modern Literature

1940

Writers presented the world or society as a challenge to the integrity of their characters. Poets abandoned traditional rhyme schemes and wrote in free verse. Novelists defied all expectations. Modernist writers infused objects, people, places and events with significant meanings. They imagined a reality with multiple layers, many of them hidden or in a sort of code. Writers saw literature more as a craft than a flowering of creativity.

Postmodern Literature (1950s -1960s)

1960

Works of Postmodern literature reflect a society's social and/or political viewpoints, shown through realistic characters, connections to current events, and socioeconomic messages. some common stylistic techniques are: pastiche, intertextuality, metafiction, temporal distortion, minimalism, maximalism, magical realism, faction, reader involvement

Contemporary

2000

Contemporary literature reflect the social and political views of their authors. These are shown through the characters, the connections with the events and the socio-economic messages of his works. uses avant-garde narrative resources, such as the modification of time and the presentation of the inner world of the characters. The development of magical realism as a narrative technique represents a breakthrough in contemporary literature, is marked by a deep social and political character.