1) Medieval and Early Modern literature (450-1500)
The
literature after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in 5th century
and the Renaissance 15th century is the medieval literature.
Based
on the development of English language this period can be divided into two
periods The Old English Period and The Middle English period.
Written
Old English dates from the 7th century, it is almost an alien
language for the modern reader. The known literary work from the old English is
a heroic poem Beowulf about 3000 lines long. And it is so old that its author
is unknown. Few lines from the poem are
Hwæt! We
Gardena in geardagum,
þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon,
hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon. (Rainsford
76).
So, this
language is almost unreadable. In old English poetry Christian and pagan ideas
are at war. In old English poetry there is greater emphasis on rituals, royal authority,
and storytelling.
Image source: https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/the-canterbury-tales-by-geoffrey-chaucer
While the Middle
English Period 12th century onward marks a development in English
language. The first known author middle English is Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400).
he is the author of the Canterbury Tales a huge book of poetry. The language of
Chaucer is at least readable and conceivable. The narratives in Canterbury
tales shows the ideas of good and evil. Medieval literature was never being
reproduced due the lack writing and printing facilities.
The Renaissance / early
modern period (1500–1660)
Renaissance
in England is regarded as the rebirth of the knowledge, ideas, and
enlightenment. In fact, it was the time of renaissance where astronomy and
science took the plight. There were writers like William Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser and
King James. This age is particularly known for Shakespeare. Galileo (1564–1642)
stood against the biblical myths. People started questioning the authority. Clergy
was demoralized and there were discoveries and advancement in science. The most
important of all was the invention of printing press that motivated people to
write.
Image
source: https://www.thecut.com/2020/04/10-pictures-of-william-shakespeare-for-his-birthday.html
2) Restoration English Literature
Colonial American
(1607–1775) and England Neo-classical period
(1660–1785) literature is usually referred as the Restoration English Literature.
It was the age in which the Puritans settled in North America. The famous
phrase “as a City upon a Hill” belongs to this age when Governor John Winthrop
(1588–1649) along with his companion visioned of the glorious city. In Colonial
American Literature is the mixture of religious puritanism and nationalist
ideologies.
Landing of the Puritans in America, 1883, Pilgrim Fathers painting by Antonio Gisbert
Image Source: https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/puritans.html
While in Britain on the other hand this age is also call
as “The Long 18th Century” because a lot happened in this century in
Europe. There were movements for the restoration of Monarchy. There were
blending of ideas like in 18th century in the form of Humanism over the
scriptural authority. Paradise Lost by John Milton and The
Pilgrim’s Progress (1678) by John Bunyan (1628–88) dictate a motion from
scriptural toward more humanistic approach (Rainsford 89).
Restoration plays
questioned and commented on the manners of society. Prominent play writer William Congreve (1670–1729) particularly targeted the middle and
upper class.
Restoration poetry
tended to follow the classical context as it was under Roman emperor Augustus (27
BCE–14 CE). Alexander Pope (1688–1744) and other Augustan writers believed in imitating the
best of their classical predecessors through adopting classical genres (The British
Library and Andrew).
In England Romantic
Period ranges from 1785 CA to 1832. In roughly the same time frame it was the Early
National Period in America (1775-1828). America fought The Revolutionary War
and got Independence from Britain in 1776. There was a rise of political prose
in American Literature of Romantic period. William Hill Brown (1765-93) The Power of Sympathy 1789
(first American novel) and Tom Paine (1737-1809) Rights of Man (1791) (Rainsford
92) are the best example of political prose in America National Period
literature.
In Britain it was the time of William Wordsworth (1770-1850),
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834),
Lord Byron (1788-1824),
Percy Shelley (1792-1822) and
John Keats (1795-1821). Romantic
poetry can be coined with nature but also there is something beyond the nature
in Romantic poetry, which is how nature effects human life, and it becomes a
sort philosophical and psychological notion.
There exists a conflict between emotion and social narrative in Romantic
Novel, it can be seen in pride and prejudice by Jane Austen. People were
more aware of the basic social interaction.
4) Victorian English Literature
Literature
under the reign of Queen Victoria is referred to as the Victorian English
Literature ranges of 1832 to 1900. 19th century literature is
regarded as the brighter literature ever. The poetry and the novel of 19th
century have a unique touch. In fact, 19th century novel is regarded
as the best novel ever written. In the same century America gone through Transcendentalism
(1828–1865) and The Realistic period (1865–1900). Poets of Victorian age are Tennyson
(1809–92), Matthew Arnold (1822–88), Robert or Elisabeth Barrett Browning (1812–89;
1806–61), Christina or Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1830–94; 1828–82) while the list
of Novelists of Victorian era is Charles
Dickens (1812–70), Charlotte Brontë (1816–55), George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans;
1819–80) and Thomas Hardy (1840–1928).
Literacy rate in England in 19th century increased, improvement
in technology, cheaper print and the new ways of circulation of literature motivated
people to write more. It was the age where the academic study of English Literature
started.
Moreover, Victorian literature is full sexual and lust materials. Though
the psychological forms of sexuality like jealousy and desire can be found in
the work of Charles Dickens and other famous writers of the age. Victorian age
is also considered as the age in which children’s Literature emerged.
Image Source: https://dickensmuseum.com/pages/image-library
5) Modern English Literature
Modernist literature is the literature between World War I and
World War II. Roughly ranges from the start of 20th century towards
the middle of 20th century. Often the words War Literature and War
Poets are coined with the modernist literature. As it was the literature between
two great wars, there was off course advancement in technology especially war technology,
communication e.g., telephone and transportation.
Literature of this era is the proof of the emergence of the suppressed
groups of society particularly women and the black people of the United States.
Bloomsbury group in England and the Harlem Renaissance in the United States.
Bloomsbury Group actively promoted Feminism in Europe and Harlem Renaissance worked
hard for the “Negros” as a powerful identity in USA.
Image Source : https://medium.com/@wolfeonline/the-bloomsbury-group-a-tale-of-love-literature-f08c21d876ca
High Modernism the period after 1930 has been found as the age when literature established relation with other art like music, dance, and paintings. The emergence short poems Ezra Pound’s (1885–1972) “imagist” was in the same age. Stream of Consciousness as a technique of writing was also the gift of High modernism. Ulysses by James Joyce (1882–1941) is the well-known example Stream of Consciousness.
“The Lost Generation” was a group of writers who rejected a United
States due to some questions on the very ideology in the United States.
Work cited
Rainsford,
Dominic. Studying Literature in English. Oxon and New York, Routledge,
2014.
The
British Library, and Macdonald-Brown Andrew. “Neoclassicism.” The British
Library, 21 June 2018,
www.bl.uk/restoration-18th-century-literature/articles/neoclassicism.
Comments
Post a Comment