English Literature Through the Time by Lathifah Ghoida Azhar

English Literature Through the Time
by Lathifah Ghoida Azhar
0807335

By Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary literature means pieces of writing that are valued as works of art, especially novels, plays, and poems (in contrast to technical books and newspapers, magazines, etc). So, English literature means literature that’s written in English. The English Literature appeared because of the Germanic traditional Anglo-Saxon settlers in early Middle Age.

The Old English (450-1066)

The Old English version of poetry probably was the ‘milder’ version of the original content. The original Germanic content was about war. In the first coming to England, the poetry was handed down orally from generation to generation.
The products: Beowulf

Middle English literature (1066-1500)

In this period Chancery Standard (an English-based Form) became widespread and printing press regularized their language. It was because Edward the third began a war to enforce his claims from approximately 1336 up until 1470s. The Middle English Literature focused on three main things, they are religious, country love and Arthurian.
The products: Piers Plowman

Renaissance/Early Modern English Literature (1500-1660)

This period divides into several sub-periods
• 1558-1603 Elizabethan Age
• 1603-1625 Jacobean Age
• 1625-1649 Caroline Age
• 1649-1669 Commonwealth Period
The products: Vernacular Liturgy, Book of Common Prayer

Neoclassical Period/18th century Literature (1660-1785)

This is the period where’s everything must has at least a reason, which was time to logical thinking, and the secularism grown fast. This period creates gothic novels.
The products: The Mysteries of Udolpho

Romantic Literature (1785-1830)

Pioneered by Jean Jacques Rousseau and followed by almost all European poets. The first England poets were Lake Poets, including William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. It brought a new emotionalism and intropection.
The second generation includes Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Shelley, and John Keats.
The products: Rime of the Ancient Mariner, The Giaour, The Corsair, etc

Victorian literature (1832-1901)

In this period novel became the leading form of English Literature. Most writers were sick enough to fulfill the arictocratic wants. They began to meet the taste of middle class reading. The famous writers in that period include Brontë Sisters and Charles Dickens.
The Products: Vanity Fair, Pickwick Papers, Wuthering Heights.

Modern Literature

The Modern Literature got great influence from the Romantism and Karl Max’s political writings. The earliestm example of Modern appeared in the mid to late 19th century and reached its peak between the First and Second World War. Some great writers in that period were James Joyce and William Butler Yeats.
Products: Ulysses, Dubliners, Heart of Darkness

references:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_literature
http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=aa08
http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-century/bl-periods.htm

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

Periods of English Literatures

Period English of Literatures
Ami Fatimah Mulyati
0807333

The term English literature refers to literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English. In other words, English literature is as diverse as the varieties and dialects of English spoken around the world. In spite of many discrepancies and in inconsistencies, some terms and criteria of classification have established themselves in Anglo-American literary criticism. There are some criteria of literature based on their classifications:
1. The history of language: Old English and Middle English,
2. National history: Colonial Period,
3. Politics and Religion: Elizabethan and Purity age, and
4. Art: Renaissance and Modernism

Period of English Literature
Old English Period 5th-11th century
Middle English Period 12th-15th century
Renaissance 16th-17th century
Augustan Age 18th century
Romantic Period First half of 19th century
Victorian Age Second half of 19th century
Modernism First to second world war
Postmodernism 1960s and 1970s

Period of American Literature
Colonial or Puritan Age 17th-18th century
Romantic Period and Transcendentalism First half of 19th century
Realism and Naturalism Second half of 19th century
Modernism First to second world war
Postmodernism 1960s and 1970s




Old English
Old English appeared in the early Middle Ages. It is regarded as beginning with the invasion of Britain by Germanic (Anglo-Saxon) tribes in the fifth century AD and lasting until the French invasion under William the Conqueror in 1066. The earliest texts written between the eight and the eleventh century are called Old English or Anglo-Saxon.the example of this literature texts are The Seafarer (9th century), the Wanderer (9th-10th century), the mythological Beowulf (8th century) or The Battle of Meldon (10th century).
Middle English Period
The Middle English Literature had occurred in the first time when Edward III begun a war to enforce his claims on the throne of France. In this time there were some famous poems and it called “long Poems” with religious contents such as Piers Plowman (1367-1370), Sir Gwain and the Green Knight (14th century), le Morte d’Arthur (1470), Canterbury Tales (1387), Il Decamerone (1349-1351).
Renaissance
It also called the Early New English Period, a term which focused on the history of the language and the Elizabethan Age (Queen Elizabeth I) or Jacobean Age (King James), divisions based on political rule. Particularly notable in this period is the revival of classical genres, such as the epic with Edmund Spencer’s (1552-1599), Faerie Queene (1590-1596), and the drama with William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593) and others.
Augustan Age
The next period is commonly regarded as an independent epoch is the Eighteen Century, which is also referred to as the Neoclassical, Golden or Augustan Age. In this period literary theory was adapted to suit contemporary culture. This was also a time of influential changes in the distribution of texts, including the development of novel as a genre and the introduction of newspaper and literary magazines such as The Tatler (1709-1711) and The Spectator (1711-1714). This time marked the beginning of novel as a new literary genre.
Puritan or Colonial Age
This period can be seen as the first literary phenomenon on the North American continent. Early American texts reflect, in their histeriographic and theological orientation, the religious roots of American colonial times. Cotton Mather’s (1663-1728) and John Winthrop’s (1588-1649) notes in the diary form and Anna Bradstreet’s (1612-1672) poetry are among the most important source for an understanding of the early colonies.
Romanticism
In the end of the eighteen century, Romanticism marks the beginning of the new period in traditional English literary history. The first edition of Lyrical Ballads (1798) by William Wordsworth (1770-1850) and Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) is commonly considered to the beginning of a new period in which Nature and individual, emotional experience play an important role. The most important representative of English Romanticism include William Blake, John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Shelley.
Modernism
It can be seen as a reaction to the realist movements of late nineteenth century. It discovered innovated narrative techniques such as stream of-consciousness or structural forms such as collage and literary Cubism. The literary texts in this period include Ulysses, Finnegans wake, Mrs. Dollaway, To The Lighthouse, Three lives, The Cantos, The waste Land and The Sound and The Fury.
Postmodernism
This literary movement of the second half of the twentieth century indirectly deals with Nazi crimes and structurally developing the approach of Modernism. The most famous texts in this period are Lost in the Funhouse, The Crying of lot, Doubled or Nothing, The French Leutnant’s Woman. And the Dramas are Travesties (1974) and Waiting for Godot (1952).




references
Klarer, Mario.1998.An Introducing to Literary Studies.London:Routledge