English Literature: Anglo-Saxon and Medieval

• English literature refers to literary works written in the English language.
• It encompasses a vast range of genres, periods, and styles.
• Its origins can be traced back to Anglo-Saxon literature.
• It includes literature from Britain, the United States, and former colonies.

Anglo-Saxon Period (c. 450-1066)

• Old English or Anglo-Saxon literature marks the beginning of English literature.
• Key characteristics: oral tradition, alliterative verse, focus on heroic themes.
• Beowulf is the most famous work.
• Other works include poems like "The Wanderer" and "The Seafarer," and prose by King Alfred.

Medieval Period (1066-1485)

• The Norman Conquest in 1066 profoundly impacted English literature.
• French influences blended with the Anglo-Saxon tradition.
• Key developments include the rise of Romance literature and religious writing.
• Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales is a monumental work.
• Other important works include Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur and the morality play Everyman.

Renaissance (c. 1485-1660)

• A period of renewed interest in classical learning and the arts.
• Characterized by humanism, individualism, and a flowering of creativity.
• William Shakespeare is the most celebrated writer.
• Other important figures include Edmund Spenser, Christopher Marlowe, and John Donne.
• Key genres: poetry, drama, and prose.
• The printing press facilitated the spread of literature and ideas.

Neoclassical Period (1660-1798)

• Emphasized reason, order, and classical forms.
• Divided into the Restoration Age, the Augustan Age, and the Age of Sensibility.
• Key figures include John Dryden, Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift, and Samuel Johnson.
• Genres: satire, essays, poetry, and drama.
• Highly influenced by classical Greek and Roman literature.

Romantic Period (1798-1837)

• A reaction against the Neoclassical emphasis on reason.
• Focused on emotion, imagination, individualism, and the beauty of nature.
• Key figures include William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and John Keats.
• Important works include Lyrical Ballads.
• Gothic literature emerged as a subgenre.

Victorian Period (1837-1901)

• Characterized by social, economic, and political changes.
• The rise of industrialization, urbanization, and the British Empire.
• Key figures include Charles Dickens, the Brontë sisters (Charlotte, Emily, and Anne), George Eliot, and Thomas Hardy.
• Novels often explored social issues, class distinctions, and moral questions.
• Poetry flourished; Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Robert Browning were prominent poets.

Modern Period (1901-1945)

• A period of experimentation and innovation in literature.
• Influenced by World War I, modernism, and psychoanalysis.
• Disillusionment, alienation, and the breakdown of traditional values were common themes.
• Key figures include James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, T.S. Eliot, and William Butler Yeats.
• Stream of consciousness and other innovative narrative techniques were used.

Postmodern Period (1945-present)

• Characterized by a questioning of traditional values and beliefs.
• Fragmentation, metafiction, and a blurring of boundaries between genres.
• Key figures include Samuel Beckett, Thomas Pynchon, and Toni Morrison.
• Explores themes of identity, power, and the nature of reality.
• Diverse voices and perspectives gained prominence.

Poetry

• A form of literary expression that uses aesthetic and rhythmic qualities of language.
• Includes various forms: sonnets, ballads, free verse, etc.
• Notable poets: Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Eliot, Plath.

Drama

• Literature intended for performance.
• Genres include tragedy, comedy, and historical plays.
• Prominent playwrights: Shakespeare, Marlowe, Beckett, Miller.

Novel

• A long fictional narrative.
• Explores various themes and characters in depth.
• Notable novelists: Austen, Dickens, Woolf, Achebe.

Short Story

• A brief fictional narrative.
• Focuses on a single incident or specific problem.
• Important short story writers: Poe, Hemingway, O'Connor, Munro.

Literary Movements

• Organized trends that are categorized by shared beliefs or styles.
• Examples include: Romanticism, Modernism, Post-Modernism, etc.

Literary Theory

• Different critical approaches used to analyze and interpret literature.
• Examples include: feminism, Marxism, post-structuralism etc.