Rabu, 30 September 2009

Periods of English Literature

by Asri Nur Rakhman

As we know that periods of literature is the time period when the literature occurred in our society and had grown until now. There were so many era in the English literature history.

Periods in literature are named for rulers, historical events, intellectual or political or religious movements, or artistic styles. Most literary periods therefore have multiple names. What's worse, some of these names are debated.

Here are the chronology from the history of English literature.

The Old English Period or the Anglo-Saxon Period
The old English occurred during the invasion of Britain by Germanic (Anglo-Saxon) federation in 5th century AD to the French invasion under William the Conqueror in 1066. Literature in England first time discovered in Latin Middle Ages. The most important Latin literary text in that era is the Ecclesiastical History of the English People (731 AD) by Beda Venerabilis (627-735).

Old English (Anglo-Saxon) is written between the eighth and the eleventh centuries and just very small number the texts that we could find. There’s a n anonymous magic charms, riddles, and poems inside such as “The Seafarer” (c. 9th century), as well as some epic works like the mythological Beowulf (c. 8th century) that based on the history

The Middle English Period (1066-1500)
The Middle English Period began when the standard literary language, derived from the dialect of the London area, became recognizable as "modern English."

Prior to the second half of the fourteenth century, vernacular literature consisted primarily of religious writings. The second half of the fourteenth century produced the first great age of secular literature. The most widely known of these writings are Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, the anonymous Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and Thomas Malory's Morte d'Arthur.

The English Renaissance started with the ascent of the House of Tudor to the English throne in 1485, the English Literary Renaissance began with English humanists such as Sir Thomas More and Sir Thomas Wyatt. English Literary Renaissance consists of four subsets: The Elizabethan Age, the Jacobean Age, the Caroline Age, and the Commonwealth Period (which is also known as the Puritan Interregnum).

The Elizabethan Age of English Literature (1558 – 1603)
In The Elizabethan Age of English Literature, medieval tradition was fused with Renaissance optimism. The major styles of literature that flowered during the Elizabethan Age were Lyric poetry, prose, and drama. Some important writers of the Elizabethan Age include William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, and Edmund Spenser.

The Jacobean Age of English Literature (1603 – 1625).
In this Age the literature became sophisticated, and aware of social abuse and rivalry. The Jacobean Age produced rich prose and drama as well as the King James translation of the Bible. During the Jacobean Age, Shakespeare and Jonson wrote as well as John Donne, Francis Bacon, and Thomas Middleton.

The Caroline Age of English Literature (1625 – 1649)
The writers of this age wrote with refinement and elegance. This era produced a circle of poets known as the "Cavalier Poets" and the dramatists of this age were the last to write in the Elizabethan tradition.

The Commonwealth Period
The Commonwealth Period is familiar with the name Puritan Interregnum, of English Literature includes the literature produced during the time of Puritan leader Oliver Cromwell. This period develop the political writings of John Milton, Thomas Hobbes' political treatise Leviathan, and the prose of Andrew Marvell. In September of 1642, the Puritans closed theatres on moral and religious grounds.

The Neoclassical Period of English literature (1660 - 1785)
The Neoclassical Period of English literature was much influenced by contemporary French literature, which was in the midst of its greatest age. The literature of this time is known for its use of philosophy, reason, scepticism, wit, and refinement. The first great age of English literary criticism was marked by The Neoclassical Period.

The Neoclassical Period can be divided into three subsets: the Restoration, the
Augustan Age, and the Age of Sensibility.

The Restoration, 1660 – 1700. Restoration produced an abundance of prose and poetry and the distinctive comedy of manners known as Restoration comedy. It was during the Restoration that John Milton published Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained.
Other major writers of the era include John Dryden, John Wilmot 2nd Earl of Rochester, and John Locke.

The English Augustan Age (1700 – 1745), refers to literature with the predominant characteristics of refinement, clarity, elegance, and balance of judgment. Well-known writers of the Augustan Age include Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, and Daniel Defoe. A significant contribution of this time period included the release of the first English novels by Defoe, and the "novel of character," Pamela, by Samuel Richardson in 1740.

During the Age of Sensibility, literature reflected the worldview of Enlightenment and began to emphasize instinct and feeling, rather than judgment and restraint. A growing sympathy for the Middle Ages during the Age of Sensibility sparked an interest in medieval ballads and folk literature. Another name for this period is the Age of Johnson because the dominant authors of this period were Samuel Johnson and his literary and intellectual circle. This period also produced some of the greatest early novels of the English language, including Richardson's Clarissa (1748) and Henry Fielding's Tom Jones (1749).

The Romantic Period
The Romantic Period of English literature began in the late 18th century and lasted until approximately 1832. In general, Romantic literature can be characterized by its personal nature, its strong use of feeling, its abundant use of symbolism, and its exploration of nature and the supernatural. In addition, the writings of the Romantics were considered that literature should be spontaneous, imaginative, personal, and free. The Romantic Period produced a wealth of authors including Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth, Jane Austen, and Lord Byron.

In the Romantic Period that Gothic literature was born, where the characteristics of gothic are dark and gloomy setting.

The Victorian Period (1837-1901).
In general, Victorian literature deals with the issues and problems of the day. Some contemporary issues that the Victorians dealt with include the social, economic, religious, and intellectual issues and problems surrounding the Industrial Revolution, growing class tensions, the early feminist movement, pressures toward political and social reform, and the impact of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution on philosophy and religion. Some of the most recognized authors of the Victorian era include Alfred Lord Tennyson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, her husband Robert, Matthew Arnold, Charles Dickens, and Thomas Hardy.

The Edwardian Period (1901-1914).
In The Edwardian Period, the British Empire was at its height and the wealthy lived lives of materialistic luxury. However, four fifths of the English population lived in squalor. The writings of the Edwardian Period reflect and comment on these social conditions. For example, writers such as George Bernard Shaw and H.G. Wells attacked social injustice and the selfishness of the upper classes. Other writers of the time include William Butler Yeats, Joseph Conrad, Rudyard Kipling, Henry James, and E.M. Forster.

The Georgian Period (1910-1936).
Many writers of the Edwardian Period continued to write during the Georgian Period. This era also produced a group of poets known as the Georgian poets. These writers, now regarded as minor poets, were published in four anthologies entitled Georgian Poetry, published by Edward Marsh between 1912 and 1922. Georgian poetry tends to focus on rural subject matter and is traditional in technique and form.

The Modern Period applies to British literature written since the beginning of World War I in 1914. The authors of the Modern Period have conducted with subject matter, form, and style and have produced achievements in all literary genres. Poets of the period include Yeats, T.S. Eliot, Dylan Thomas, and Seamus Heaney. Novelists include James Joyce, D.H. Lawrence, and Virginia Woolf. Dramatists include Noel Coward and Samuel Beckett.

Following World War II (1939-1945), the Post-modern Period of British Literature developed. Postmodernism blends literary genres and styles and attempts to break free of modernist forms.

While the British literary scene at the turn of the new millennium is crowded and varied, the authors still fall into the categories of modernism and postmodernism. However, with the passage of time the Modern era may be reorganized and expanded.

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