Activity 2.

ENGLISH LITERATURE
Literary Periods Characteristics Common Genres and Examples

Old English (Anglo- Much of the first half of Epic,

Saxon) Period (450– this period—prior to the Poetry
1066) seventh century, at least— Hagiography
had oral literature. A lot of Sermons
the prose during this time Bible translations
was a translation of Legal works
something else or Chronicles
otherwise legal, medical, Riddles
or religious in nature.
 Cædmon's Hymn and Beowulf
Middle English This period sees a huge Poetry served as the main genre.
Period (1066–1500) transition in the language, Drama began in the form of
culture, and lifestyle of "Mystery Play, " "Morality
England and results in Play" and "Interlude". The
what we can recognize writers of the age were greatly
today as a form of influenced by Dante, Petrarch
“modern” (recognizable) and Boccacio. Love, chivalry
English. The era extends to and religion are the three main
around 1500. As with literary ideals of this period.
the Old English period,
much of the Middle
English writings were
religious in nature;
however, from about 1350
onward, secular literature
began to rise.
The Renaissance - This period is often Focused on worldly things, such
(1500–1660) subdivided into four parts, as spring and love. The reason
including the Elizabethan part of this literary period
Age (1558–1603), the inspired essays on human
Jacobean Age (1603– characteristics and politics, with
1625), the Caroline Age Francis Bacon being one of the
(1625–1649), and the most writers of these types of
Commonwealth Period essays.
(1649–1660).
-The Elizabethan Age was
the golden age of English
drama. Some of its
noteworthy figures include
Christopher Marlowe,
Francis Bacon, Edmund
Spenser, Sir Walter
Raleigh, and, of course,
William Shakespeare.
-The Jacobean Age is
 named for the reign of
James I. It includes the
works of John Donne,
Shakespeare, Michael
Drayton, John Webster,
Elizabeth Cary, Ben
Jonson, and Lady Mary
Wroth. The King James
translation of the Bible
also appeared during the
Jacobean Age.
-The Caroline Age covers
the reign of Charles I
(“Carolus”). John Milton,
Robert Burton, and George
Herbert are some of the
notable figures.
-Commonwealth Period
was so named for the
period between the end of
the English Civil War and
the restoration of the Stuart
monarchy. This is the time
when Oliver Cromwell, a
Puritan, led Parliament,
who ruled the nation. At
this time, public theaters
were closed (for nearly
two decades) to prevent
public assembly and to
combat moral and religious
transgressions.

The Neoclassical This period is called Restoration comedies (comedies

Period (1600–1785) neoclassical because its
writers looked back to the
ideals and art forms of
classical times,
emphasizing even more
than their Renaissance
predecessors the classical
ideals of order and rational
control.
The Romantic Period In this period, new poetry
(1785–1832) forms were explored and
writing was a way in
which people could
express their experiences,
emotions and imagination.
The Victorian Period The Victorian era was
of manner)
developed during this time
under the talent of playwrights
like William Congreve and John
Dryden. Satire, too, became
quite popular, as evidenced by
the success of Samuel Butler.
new poetry forms were explored
and writing was a way in which
people could express their
experiences, emotions and
imagination.
-The many conflicts of the
(1832–1901) characterized by economic
depression. On an average,
there were 1.5 million
unemployed workers and
their families on poverty
relief.
The Edwardian This period was known
Period (1901–1914) for elegance and luxury
among the rich and
powerful in Britain but
also for moral looseness
and for a general failure to
prepare for some of the
challenges of the twentieth
century — particularly
World War I, which broke
out four years after the
death of King Edward.
The Georgian Period The period was marked by
extreme luxury and
Victorian Era provided fertile
subject matter for non-fiction
prose writers such as Matthew
Arnold, Thomas Carlyle, John
Stuart Mill, John Henry
Newman, Walter Pater,
and John Ruskin.
-Popular forms of
entertainment such as the music
hall and melodramas flourished
during the Victorian Era as
entertainment became divided
along class lines. Popular music
and musical plays, separated
from legitimate theater in their
own venues, provided leisure-
time amusement for the middle
classes. Robert Browning
wrote closet dramas, plays not
actually intended for the
stage. Oscar Wilde revived the
comedy of manners with plays
such as Lady Windermere’s
Fan and The Importance of
Being Earnest.
Edwardian writers like E.M.
Forster, Joseph Conrad, and
H.G. Wells built upon the social
conscience of Victorian era
(1837-1901), writers such
as Charles
Dickens and Charlotte Bronte.
Their epic Bildungsromans
‘Oliver Twist’ and ‘Jane Eyre’
probed at the disparity between
social class, gender and family
hierarchies. Later writers
expanded upon these themes by
satirising the discrimination
inherent in Victorian ideas
towards different classes and
foreign cultures. Edwardian era
writers focused on the bigger
picture: subversive ideas were
presented metaphorically,
symbolically, and in opposition
to the liberating force of nature.
-Georgian poets: Published in 4
anthologies known as Georgian
(1910–1936) poverty, the birth of Poetry, published by Marsh
industrialization, and the (rural subject matter)
growth of the British
empire.