Essential facts about English Literature

1_ The English language is split into three large time periods, each represented by a main author or work: Old English (Beowulf), Middle English (Geoffrey Chaucer), and Modern English (William Shakespeare). 2_ The oldest surviving English text is Caedmons Hymn of Creation. 3_ When King Henry VIII had Englands monasteries burned down in 1535, many of the oldest texts written in English also went up in flames. 4_ The first novel wasnt written in English (critics usually give that honor to Cervantes Don Quixote), but the first extremely successful novel was: Daniel Defoes Robinson Crusoe. 5_ Works written in English have won twenty-six Nobel Prizes in Literature, more than any other language. Of those twenty-six, nine were won by authors from the United Kingdom. 6_ Bede- the father of English learning. The first Historian. 7_ Caedmon- the first English poet. 8_ Cynewulf- first writer to sign his works. 9_ Alfred- first prose writer in English. 10_ Chaucer- father of English literature 11_ Dryden- father of English criticism Bacon- father of English esaay