Literary Periods and Movements

• Literary periods are broad spans of time in literary history.
• Literary periods are characterized by certain themes, styles, and techniques.
• These periods categorize works based on when they were written and their historical or cultural contexts.
• Literary movements are specific collective approaches or trends in literature.
• Literary movements arise in response to social, political, or philosophical shifts.
• Literary periods and movements are important because they provide understanding of the historical, social, and intellectual contexts.
• They also provide a framework for interpreting literature.
• Further, they offer deeper insight into the evolution of writing, themes, and ideas over time.
• Historical, social, and cultural factors influence literature by shaping themes, styles, and subjects explored by writers.
• Literature reflects events, struggles, values, and ideologies, while responding to societal shifts, movements, and conflicts.

Early Periods of Literature

• Early periods of literature are characterized by oral traditions, religious texts, and written forms.
• These reflect the cultural and historical contexts of their time.
• Ancient Literature was a period from before the 5th century BCE
• Examples include: The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Iliad and The Odyssey.

Classical Period

• The Classical period in Western history was roughly between the 5th and 4th centuries BCE.
• During this period, Greek and Roman civilizations flourished.
• Significant achievements were made in art, philosophy, politics, and science.
• The Parthenon is the centrepiece of a 5th-century-BCE building campaign on the Acropolis in Athens, and was constructed during the High Classical period.

Medieval Period

• The Medieval period, also known as the Middle Ages, lasted roughly from the 5th to the late 15th century.
• It spanned from the fall of the Western Roman Empire to the beginning of the Renaissance.
• The Crusades, a series of religious wars between Christians and Muslims for control of Jerusalem, occurred during this period.
• The Siege of Jerusalem in 1099 was a famous battle.

Renaissance Period

• The Renaissance period was a cultural movement from the 14th to the early 17th century.
• It began in Italy and spread across Europe, marking the end of the Middle Ages and the start of the Early Modern Age.
• Renaissance means rebirth, signifying the revival of classical Greek and Roman culture, art, and thought after cultural stagnation during the medieval period.

Key Cultural Aspects of the Renaissance

• Humanism was at the heart of the Renaissance, emphasizing the value and potential of human beings.
• The invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg around 1440 was a significant cultural event.

Reformation Literature

• Reformation Literature was a period in the 16th century CE
• Key features include: religious conflict, social upheaval, pamphlets and sermons, and translations of the Bible.
• Notable works include: Works by Martin Luther, John Calvin, and other reformers; religious tracts and pamphlets.
• Key authors include: Martin Luther, John Calvin, Erasmus.

Enlightenment Literature

• Enlightenment Literature was a period in the 18th century CE.
• Key features include: Reason, logic, satire, emphasis on individual liberty, social reform.
• Notable works include: Candide, Robinson Crusoe, Pamela, Gulliver's Travels.
• Key authors include: Voltaire, Daniel Defoe, Samuel Richardson, Jonathan Swift.

Romantic Literature

• Romantic Literature was a period in the late 18th and early 19th centuries CE.
• Key features include: Emotion, imagination, nature, individualism, rebellion against societal norms.
• Notable works include: Lyrical Ballads, Frankenstein, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre.
• Key authors include: William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Mary Shelley, Jane Austen, Charlotte.

Victorian Literature

• Victorian Literature was a period in the mid-19th century CE.
• Key features include: Social commentary, realism, industrialization, moral dilemmas, exploration of class differences.
• Notable works include: A Tale of Two Cities, Wuthering Heights, Great Expectations, A Christmas Carol.
• Key authors include: Charles Dickens, Emily Brontë, Charles Darwin, George Eliot.

Modern Literature

• Modern Literature was a period in the early to mid-20th century CE.
• Key features include: Experimentation with form and style, stream of consciousness, alienation, disillusionment, psychological realism.
• Notable works include: The Great Gatsby, The Waste Land, To the Lighthouse, Ulysses.
• Key Authors include: F. Scott Fitzgerald, T.S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf, James Joyce.

Postmodern Literature

• Postmodern Literature was a period from the late 20th century CE to the present
• Key features include: Metafiction, irony, fragmentation, blurring of genres, rejection of grand narratives.
• Notable works include: One Hundred Years of Solitude, Catch-22, Beloved, The Handmaid's Tale.
• Key authors include: Gabriel García Márquez, Joseph Heller, Toni Morrison, Margaret Atwood.

Conclusion

• Each period and movement has unique characteristics and themes.
• These reflect the changing worldviews and ideologies of the time.
• Studying literature through these lenses provides valuable insight into the evolution of human thought and culture.