Periods of English Literatures (By Merli Puji Handayani)

Merli Puji Handayani
3B / 0807326

Periods of English Literatures

For ease of study, the historians have divided the English literature into periods, which are:

Old English Period
450-1066: Old English (or Anglo-Saxon) Period
The Old English or Anglo Saxon Period was begun from the invasion of Britain by Germanic (Anglo Saxon) tribes in the 5th century AD until the French invasion under William the Conqueror in 1066. During the Old English Period, the written literature was begun from the development of oral tradition, and the earliest text that written between the eight and the eleventh centuries were called Old English or Anglo Saxon. One of the most well-known eighth century Old English pieces of literature is Beowulf, a great Germanic epic poem. The other examples are two poets of the Old English Period who wrote on biblical and religious themes were Caedmon and Cynewulf.

Middle English Period
1066-1500: Middle English Period
The Middle English Period consists of the literature was begun from the conquering of England by Normans in the Eleventh century. The standard literary language was come from the dialect of the London area and became recognizable as "modern English."
Before the second half of the fourteenth century, the literature consisted of lyric poetry and epic “long poems” with religious contents. The second half of the fourteenth century produced the first great age of secular literature. The most well-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.

Renaissance Period
Renaissance period was also called the Early New English Period. The Renaissance period consists of four parts such as The Elizabethan Age, the Jacobean Age, the Caroline Age, and the Commonwealth Period (which is also known as the Puritan Interregnum).

1)1558-1603: Elizabethan Age
The Elizabethan age was existed in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I in 1558 until 1603. Lyric poetry, prose, and drama were the major styles of literature that developed during the Elizabethan Age. Some important writers of the Elizabethan Age were William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Edmund Spenser, Sir Walter Raleigh, and Ben Jonson.
2)1603-1625 : Jacobean Age
The Jacobean Age was existed in the reign of James I in 1603 - 1625. At this time, the literature became more sophisticated and became more conscious about social abuse and rivalry. The Jacobean Age produced rich prose and drama as well as the King James translation of the Bible. Shakespeare and Jonson wrote during the Jacobean Age, as well as John Donne, Francis Bacon, and Thomas Middleton.
3)1625-1649 : Caroline Age
The Caroline Age was existed in the reign of Charles I in 1625 - 1649. The writers of this age wrote with purity and elegance. It produced a circle of poets which known as the "Cavalier Poets" and the writers of this age were the last to write in the Elizabethan tradition.
4)1649-1660 : Commonwealth Period (or Puritan Interregnum)
The Commonwealth Period was produced during the time of Puritan leader Oliver Cromwell. This period produced the political writings of John Milton, Thomas Hobbes' political treatise Leviathan, and the prose of Andrew Marvell. In September of 1642, the Puritans closed theaters on moral and religious reasons.

The Neoclassical Period
The Neoclassical Period was much influenced by French literature. The Neoclassical Period was divided into three kinds which are the Restoration, the Augustan Age, and the Age of Sensibility.

1)1660-1700 : The Restoration
The Restoration was signed by the restoration of the monarchy and the success of reason and tolerance over religious and political passion. The Restoration produced many kinds of prose and poetry and the distinctive comedy of manners known as Restoration comedy. Two examples that produced were Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained. Those were published by John Milton.
The Other major writers of this era were John Dryden, John Wilmot 2nd Earl of Rochester, and John Locke.
2)1700-1745 : The Augustan Age (or Age of Pope)
The Augustan Age was named from the brilliant literary period of Vergil and Ovid under the Roman emperor Augustus (27 B.C. - A.D. 14). The Augustan Age refers to literature with the predominant characteristics of refinement, clarity, elegance, and balance of judgment. The famous writers of the Augustan Age were Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, and Daniel Defoe
3)1745-1785 : The Age of Sensibility (or Age of Johnson)
In The Age of Sensibility, literature began to emphasize instinct and feeling, rather than judgment and restraint. A growing sympathy for the Middle Ages during the Age of Sensibility marked 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. 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
1785-1830: The Romantic Period
The Romantic Period began in the late 18th century until approximately 1832. 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 innovative based on their belief that literature should be spontaneous, imaginative, personal, and free. The Romantic representative authors were Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth, Jane Austen, and Lord Byron.

The Victorian Period
1832-1901: The Victorian Period
The Victorian Period began with the accession of Queen Victoria to the throne in 1837 until her death in 1901. The Victorian Period spans over six decades, the year 1870 is often used to divide the era into "early Victorian" and "late Victorian." In general, Victorian literature deals with the issues and problems of the day. Some issues that the Victorians dealt were 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 were Alfred Lord Tennyson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, her husband Robert, Matthew Arnold, Charles Dickens, Charlotte Brontë, George Eliot, and Thomas Hardy.

Within the Victorian Period, there were two other literary movements. They were The Pre-Raphaelites and The Aestheticism and Decadence movement.

The Pre-Raphaelites
1848-1860: The Pre-Raphaelites
The Pre-Raphaelites wanted to return into a style of truthfulness, simplicity, and religious loyalty that had reigned prior to Raphael and the high Italian Renaissance. Rossetti and his sister Christina, incorporated these ideals into their literature, and the result was that of the literary Pre-Raphaelites.

The Aestheticism and Decadence movement
1880-1901: Aestheticism and Decadence
The Aestheticism and Decadence movement grew from the French movement of the same name. The authors of this movement encouraged experimentation and held the view that art is totally opposed "natural" norms of morality. This style of literature opposed the opinion that any art was not useful or did not teach moral values. A well-known author of the English Aestheticism and Decadence movement is Oscar Wilde.

The Edwardian Period
1901-1914: The Edwardian Period
The Edwardian Period is named for King Edward VII and the length of this period from Queen Victoria's death until the beginning of World War I. During this time, the British Empire was at its height and the wealthy lived on materialistic luxury. However, four fifths of the English population lived in poverty line. 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. The Other writers of the time include William Butler Yeats, Joseph Conrad, Rudyard Kipling, Henry James, and E.M. Forster.

The Georgian Period
1910-1936: The Georgian Period
The Georgian Period is named for the reign of George V. 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 focused on rural subject matter and is traditional in technique and form.

The Modern Period
1914-1945: The Modern Period
The Modern Period began from World War I in 1914. The authors of the Modern Period have experimented 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.

The Postmodern Period
1945-present: The Postmodern Period
Postmodernism blends literary genres and styles and attempts to break free of modernist forms. Modernist issues regarding innovative narrative techniques are taken up again and adapted in an academic. 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.

References:
http://englisharticles.info/free-reading-articles/literature/literary-periods-of-english-liter.html
Klarer, Mario. (1998). An Introduction to Literary Studies. London: Routledge