A short easy History of English Literature

Old English Literature:

History of English Literature starts from old English likeAnglo-Saxon (6^th to 11^th century AD). At that time poems were written even the dramas were also written in the form of poem that we called long narrative poems. Two famous long narrative poems of Old English Literature are:

Old English 

Beowulf is very famous and it is known as first English epic poem. It is not known who has written it but it has been written over more than 3182 lines. Beowulf is the main character of the story that dies in the end of story. It is not easy for the readers to read old English literature because the authors of that time did not use rhyming scheme in their poems rater their focus was on using the alliteration. Readers can identify lot of alliteration in their works.

Others famous works of Old English Literature are mentioned below;

            ·        Genesis

           ·        Exodus

           ·        The wanderer

           ·        Wife’s Lament

          ·        Husband,s Massage

          ·        Christ & Satan

         ·        The dream of the rood

         ·        The Battle of Maldon

Two major authors of Old English Literature are Cynewulf and Caedmon. Cynewulf wrote religious works.

Middle English Literature:

Name of Geoffery Chaucer (1343-1400) is quite prominent in Middle English Literature. He was born in Circa in London. In 1357 he worked for Countess Elizabeth of Ulster as public servant.  His famous work is “The Canterbury Tales” which he could not complete it. He was the first man who was buried in Westminster Abbey. Other famous work of Chaucer is The Book of Duches It is an elegy that he wrote for his first. 

William Langland is another famous author of Middle English. His famous religious work is “Pier Plowman”. In Middle English authors wrote morality and miracle plays. Famous morality play of this time is “Everyman”. In miracle plays stories were taken from Bible and clergymen were performed the plays in the church. There is another kind of play that is interludes. These plays were performed in the houses of elite class. Well-known playwright of interludes is John Heywood.

Elizabethan Age poetry (Golden Age):

After the death of Geoffery Chaucer, no great work was written till Elizabethan Age.  The period from Geoffery Chaucer to Elizabethan Age is called Barren Age. Two major names come forth that is Sir Thomas Wyatt and Earl of Surrey. Thomas Wyatt imitated Petrarch an Italian poet and told the England about Sonnets. Earl of Surrey used Blank verse first time in English which is then used by Shakespeare, John Milton and Christopher Marlowe in their works.

 A famous English book of poetry was published at the time that is “. It was published in group and comprises of songs and sonnets. It is important book because it is considered first printed book of poetry. This is first book of Sonnets and after this Shakespeare published his 154 Sonnets in 1609. Shakespeare also wrote two long narrative poems those are;

                 ·        Venus and Adonis                                ·        The Rape of Lucrece

Another celebrated name in Elizabethan Age is of Edmund Spenser. He was called Poet’s poet. He wrote 88 sonnets in Petrarchan style. He also wrote two odes,  "Epithalamion" and "Prothalamion". Great allegorical work of Spenser is "The Faerie Queen" that was his great achievement. In this poem he invented a Spenserian stanza. This Spenserian stanza included nine lines and a special kind of meter was used in it that had ABABBCBBC rhyming scheme. 

Sir Philip Sidney is also a well-known name of this age and he wrote his famous romance work called “. He not only wrote poems but also prose. His famous essay is “An Apology for Poetry”. Michael Drayton, Sir Walter Raleigh and Ben Johnson are also renowned English poet of this age.

An important thing of this age is University Wits. It was a group of intelligent writers from Oxford and Cambridge. It includes:

              ·        John Lyly famous work

             ·        Christopher Marlowe (wrote only tragedies)

             ·        Robert Greene

             ·        Thomas Nashe

             ·        Thomas Lodge

             ·        George Peele

             ·        Thomas Kyd 

John Donne, who has big name in Metaphysical poetry, also wrote beautiful sonnets that can also be included in this age.

In this age Sir Francis Bacon had started to write essays and he is called the Father of English Essays. By inspiring from Bacon, Ben Johnson also wrote essays like The Timber or Discoveries. His essays were quite similar to Francis Bacon. He also contributed in literary criticism.

The main glory of this age is its dramas, because of its unique dramas this age is called golden age.  The first regular comedy play of this age is “Ralph Roister Doister” by Nicholas Udall. The first tragedy play named “Gorboduc” was written in blank verse by two people names Thomas Norton and Thomas Sackville. 

Seven University Wits took the dramas to next level. For instance Christopher Marlowe wrote awesome tragedies in blank verse. Thomas Kyd wrote The Spanish tragedy which paved the way for Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. Shakespeare learned a lot from University Wits. Shakespeare came in London to become an actor but then he started to write play for a company Lord Chamberlain’s Men. In the beginning he wrote three immature comedies.

          ·        The Comedy of Errors

          ·        Love's Labour's Lost

·        The Two Gentlemen of Verona 

After writing immature comedies, he turned to history and wrote historical plays like “Richard II” and ". He reverted to comedy and wrote tragic comedy. Ben Johnson is also an important figure of this age. He also wrote splendid plays and introduces comedy of humors in the drama. His play “Every Man in His Humour” and “Every Man out of His Humour”are full of comedy of humors.

Other famous dramatists of Elizabethan Age are;

           ·        John Webster ("Duchess of Malfi" his most famous play)

          ·        Thomas Dekker

          ·        Thomas Middleton

         ·        Thomas Heywood

In end of the Elizabethan and Jacobean Age, John Milton came.  He was attached to politics and religion and was genius poet of his time. He wrote an elegy for Edward King death called “Lycidas. His sonnet “ is world famous sonnet. When he became totally blind, he wrote his famous epic poem “ in blank verse. He also wrote “. Civil war was going on when Milton was writing his magnum opus. 

Restoration Age:

Restoration Age started from 1660 when Charles II came back and he ordered to open the theatre again so this is an age of revolution. John Dryden is the major literary figure of this age. He wrote mock heroic poem “. He is also known for his heroic couplet which he used in his dramas.  First biggest work of John Dryden in literary criticism is “.

There are some writers in restoration age that used comedy of manners in their works. First George Etherege introduced comedy of manners. 

Augustan Age:

Alexander Pope wrote poetry and prose. He wrote mock epic poem in order to attack his contemporaries. “An Essay on Criticism” and “The Rape of the lock” was his famous work in history of English literature and he used heroic couplet a lot in his work. He also translated two great classical works “Iliad” and “Odyssey” and earned lot of money. 

Oliver Goldsmith also published some poems like “The Traveler”and “The Deserted village” by using heroic couplet.  After Oliver Goldsmith the name of Thomas Gray comes in history of English literature. He is considered one of the greatest poets of his age.

No one can forget the name of William Blake, a poet and a painter. He published two famous lyric collections “Songs of Innocence” and “

Development of Novel:

Near the mid 18^th century writers started to write novels. Jonathan Swift wrote his famous work “Gulliver's Travels”  Samuel Johnson gave lasting contribution to English Literature by writing first dictionary to English language. Samuel Richardson wrote his first novel “ and “Clarissa”.

Then Henry Fielding came and he wrote “Joseph Andrew” in response of “Pamela” and “Tom Jones” in response of “Clarissa”. These two novels were become so much popular that they became Henry Fielding the Father of English Novel.

After Henry Fielding, Laurence Sterne was a unique novelist of this age and his famous work is “Tristram Shandy”.

Romantic Age:

After the publication of “Lyrical Ballads”, romanticism came in English literature. First generation of romantic poets is known as lake poets that includes three major poets, William Wordsworth, S.T. Coleridge and Robert Southey. Second generation poets in romantic age are Lord Byron, P.B. Shelley and John Keats. 

Charles Lamb started his career as a poet but end up as prose writer. He is known for his “Essays of Elia”. His essays are very unique so he is called the Prince of English Essays. William Hazlitt is also famous for because in his essays he done analysis of Shakespeare plays.  

Victorian Age:

Alfred Lord Tennyson was born in 1809 when romantic age was on its climax. He was going to become major figure of Victorian age. He wrote many famous poems. Another important poet of Victorian age is Robert Browning. He is known for his dramatic monologue. Matthew Arnold is third greatest poet of this age and known as cultural critic. Lot of poetry was written in this age but Victorian age is known for its novels. 

Jane Austen started writing novels in romantic age and she is best known for her “Pride and Prejudice” and “Emma”. Sir Walter Scott also started to write historical novel in romantic age. 

Charles Dickens is famous novelist of Victorian age and he created unique characters. Nobody can forget his characters and he is the only writer who got famous in his life.   His best novels are “ and . William Makepeace Thackeray was his competitor who was born in India and is best known for “

Mary Ann Evans published her novels with a pen name of George Eliot and her famous novel is “Adam Bede”. Thomas Hardy is another famous name of Victorian era and he was poet, short story writer and novelist. “ is his famous novel. Joseph Conrad famous novel “Heart of Darkness” is also published in Victorian era. 

Twentieth century literature:

        E.M Forster is prominent figure in 20^th century and he wrote only five novels in his life in which the most famous is “Passage to India”. D.H Lawrence is also 20^th century writer and poet. He was known for his controversial works. His writings deal with sexuality and liveliness. Every reader should read his works.

James Joyce, who was a social novelist and wrote over human relationships. His famous novel is “ which is an autobiographical novel. Another important work of James Joyce is “ that is written on stream of consciousness.

Virginia Woolf is another author who wrote her works by using the technique of stream of consciousness. She was also literary critic and wrote many essay on cultural subjects. 

Now let’s talk about 20^th century dramatists:

The biggest name of 20^th century dramatist is George Bernard Shaw and his famous work is “. Absurd theatre was also become popular at that time and Samuel Beckett was famous dramatist of this theatre. His famous work was “. T.S Eliot also wrote dramas and his famous drama is “Cocktail Party”

In 20^th century poetry, William Butler Yeats is an influential figure and he showed spirituality in his works. T.S Eliot was also famous poet and he wrote famous “The Waste Land”

Other great poets are;

              ·        W.H Auden

              ·        Thomas Hardy

              ·        G.M.Hopkins

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