HISTORY OF

ENGLISH
LITERATURE
4. Neo-Classical Age (1660-1798)
 Restoration Age (1660-1700)
 Augustan Literature
 Age of Sensibility

5. 19th Century Literature

 Romanticism (1798-1837)
 Victorian Age (1837-1901)
 Edwardian Age

6. English Literature Since 1901

 Modernism (1901-1939)
 Post Modernism (1940-21st Century)
THE ANGLO –
SAXON PERIOD
(858 - 1100)
 The Anglo-Saxons were made up of three tribes who came to England
the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes (the ancestors of the English race). The
Anglo-Saxon age comprises about 600 years.
 Writing was not given much importance. People communicated the
poems and literary works orally during the period under consideration.
 Beowulf was the first poem written. The author was
an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet, referred to by scholars as the
"Beowulf poet". 
 Beowoulf is one of the most important works of that age. It is an
epic poem which throws light on a young warrior in Geatland who fought
for his people. It’s all about the heroic deeds of the German Warrior which
happened apparently in 5th & 6th centuries. Beowoulf is a 300 line poem
and it was probably written 300 years later when ‘written texts’ came into
existence.  It was probably completed in the 8th Century.
 Battle poems and mostly religious poems
 Caedmon and Cynewulf (7th and early 9th century poets) focused on
Biblical and religious themes.
 According to historians, of vernacular literary culture was lost or
destroyed; that which survived was transcribed during the 10 th
century by monks. It was a warrior society, a tribal community with
people clustered together in settlements and feared outside attack.
 The land was farmed and there were centres for learning.

 Old English was spoken and written in various forms from 5 th to 12th
century. it derived from several West German dialects that were
brought to Britain by invaders.
 After Norman conquest, it later became subordinated to Latin
(language of learning and religion) and French (language of court and
government)
Norman Conquest: 

 Invasion of the Normans (residents of Normandy, France) defeated the

Anglo – Saxon King at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and conquered

England. The army consisted of the Norman, Breton and the French
which was led by William the Conqueror. 

 They brought the French language to England. French was adopted as

the new language for the parliament.

 Very little English literature is produced during this period. Vernacular

literature was only produced after 1350 when English was permitted in
law court and schools
THE MIDDLE AGES OR
ANGLO-NORMAN
PERIOD (1100 - 1500)
 The Norman Conquest inaugurated a distinctly new epoch in the literary
as well as political history of England.
 Throughout the whole period, which we call the Middle English period (as
belonging to the Middle Ages or Medieval times in the History of Britain)
or the Anglo-Norman period, in forms of artistic expression as well as of
religious service, the English openly acknowledged a Latin control.
 In course of time the Anglo-Saxons lost their initial hostility to the new
comers, and all became part and parcel of one nation. The Normans not
only brought with them soldiers and artisans and traders, they also
imported scholars to revive knowledge, chroniclers to record memorable
events, minstrels to celebrate victories, or sing of adventure and love.
 The great difference between the two periods—Anglo-Saxon period and
Anglo-Norman period, is marked by the disappearance of the old English
poetry.
 In spite of the English language having been thrown into the
background, some works were composed in it, though they echoed in
the main the sentiments and tastes of the French writer
The Romances
The most popular form of literature during the Middle English period
was the romances. These romances are notable for their stories and
were mostly borrowed from Latin and French sources. They deal with
the stories of King Arthur, The War of Troy, the mythical doings of
Charlemagne and of Alexander the Great.
Courtly love poems: about knights and their love
The Miracle Plays
In the Middle English period Miracle plays became very popular. From
the growth and development of the Bible story, scene by scene, carried
to its logical conclusion, this drama—developed to an enormous cycle
of sacred history, This kind of drama is called the miracle play and it
flourished throughout England from the reign of Henry II to that of
Elizabeth (1154-1603).
The Morality Plays:
Another form of drama which flourished during the Middle Ages was the
Morality plays. In these plays the uniform theme is the struggle between
the powers of good and evil The personages were abstract virtues, or
vices, each acting and speaking in accordance with his name; and the
plot was built upon their contrasts and influences on human nature, with
the intent to teach right living and uphold religion. In a word, allegory is
the distinguishing mark of the moral plays. In these moral plays the
protagonist is always an abstraction; he is Mankind, the Human Race,
the Pride of Life etc.
 One of the greatest poets of the Middle Ages was William Langland, and his poem, A
Vision of Piers the Plowman holds an important place in English literature. It is a satire
on the corrupt religious practices, throws light on the ethical problems of the day.
 Gower occupies an important place in the development of English poetry.. Gower is
mainly a narrative poet and his most important work is Confession Amantis. Gower
presents himself as a moralist.
 Chaucer who was the real founder of English poetry, and he is rightly called the
‘Father of English Poetry’. Chaucer’s poetry has been read and enjoyed continuously
from his own day to this, and the greatest of his successors. Chaucer, in fact, made a
fresh beginning in English literature. He disregarded altogether the old English
tradition. His education as a poet was two-fold. Part of it came from French and Italian
literatures, but part of it came from life. The most famous and characteristic work of
Chaucer is the Canterbury Tales, which is a collection of stories related by the pilgrims
on their way to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury. These pilgrims represent
different sections of contemporary English society, and in the description of the most
prominent of these people in the Prologue Chaucer’s powers are shown at their very
highest. All these characters are individualized, yet their thoroughly typical quality
gives unique value to Chaucer’s picture of men and manners in the England of his time.
RENAISSANCE
(1500 -1660)
 The English Renaissance covers a long span of time, which is divided for the sake of
convenience into the following three periods:
i)  The Beginning of Renaissance (1516 – 1558).
ii)  The Flowering of Renaissance (1558 – 1603). It is actually called the Age of Elizabeth.
iii)  The Decline of Renaissance (1603 – 1625). It is also termed the Jacobean Age.
 The Renaissance Period in English literature is also called the Elizabethan Period or
the Age of Shakespeare. Renaissance means the Revival of Learning. In its broadest
sense it means the gradual enlightenment of the human mind after the darkness of
the Middle Ages. 
 Political peace and stability because of Queen Elizabeth

 Age of social contentment – industries, trade tax systems –all created the
atmosphere for literary activities
 Religious tolerance – Anglican English Church

 Sense of patriotism and this can be seen in many writers including Shakespeare,
Spenser,
 Discovery, expansion and exploration/ Revival of Learning.
• A golden period of English literature

• Also, new discoveries took place in several other fields such as art,
philosophy, geography, science etc. 
• Contradictions: the darkness of Middle Ages also persisted. Disorder,
bloodshed, violence, barbarity, superstitions etc
• Elizabethan Age was an age in which men lived very much, thought
intensely and wrote strongly.
• Literary tendencies:
• During this period, the most memorable achievement in literature was in
the field of drama.
• In the medieval morality plays, the characters are Friendship, Charity,
Sloth, Wickedness and the like. But now under the influence of
Humanism, this movement focused its interest on ‘the proper study of
mankind’
• Humanism was a movement that had started in Italy and reached other
parts of Europe but in England, it became popular during the Elizabethan
period.
• Christopher Marlowe – his heroes such as Tamburlaine, Dr. Faustus,
Barabas and the Jew of Malta, are possessed of uncontrolled ambitions.
• Shakespeare, a more consummate artist, carried Humanism to
perfection.
• Instead of looking up to some higher authority, as was done in The
Middle Ages, during the Renaissance Period guidance was to be found
from within.
• Tragedies, comedies, historical plays, revenge tragedies, tragi – comedy
were being written
• Famous dramatists: Shakespeare, Ben Johnson, Thomas Kyd, Marlowe,
Nashe, Lyly, Peele, Robert Greene etc 
• Poetry in the Renaissance period took a new trend. It was the poetry of
the new age of discovery, enthusiasm, excitement, self glorification,
imagination, emotional depth, passionate intensity. Under the impact of
the Renaissance, the people of England were infused with freshness and
vigour, and these qualities are clearly reflected in poetry of that age.
• Poetic independence: elegy, ode, sonnet, love poetry, patriotic poetry,
philosophical poetry etc
• Satirical poetry – towards the end of this period (civil conflicts)

• Important poets: Surrey, Thomas Wyatt, Spenser, Sidney, Donne, Ben

Johnson
• The Elizabethan period was also the period of the origin of modern
English prose. During the reign of Elizabeth prose began to be used as a
vehicle of various forms of amusement and information, and its
popularity increased on account of the increased facility provided by the
printing press. Books on history, travel, adventures, and translations of
Italian stories appeared in a large number.
• In prose, the revealing of writer’s own mind became full of interest. This
tendency led to the rise of a new literary form—the Essay, which was
used successfully by Bacon.
• Elizabethans loved decorative modes of expression and flowery style.

• Religious, philosophical, romance and adventurous prose was being

written
• The Caroline age (1625 - 1649)

• The Caroline age is named after Charles I (1625-1649).

• The age of Caroline is an age of poetry of three kinds or schools:

Metaphysical, Cavalier and Puritan schools of poetry.
• The entire period was marked by civil war, which divided the people into
two factions: one loyal to the King and the other opposed to him.
• The Puritan Movement may be regarded as a second and Renaissance, a
rebirth of the moral nature of man following the first renaissance,
intellectual awakening of Europe
• Puritanism became a political as well as a moral and religious force.
Puritanism had two chief objects: the first was personal righteousness; the
second was civil liberty.
• The spirit which it introduced was fine and noble, but it was hard and stern.
 It was fatal both to art and literature. Great literature could not be
produced during this period. Milton was an exception. He was the greatest
literary genius of this era.
 The country was divided by the struggle for political and religious liberty,
and the literature was divided in spirit as were the struggling parties.
 The influence of Puritanism was detrimental to the growth of drama. The
closing of the theaters in 1642 gave a final jolt to the development of
drama. The actual dramatic work of this period was small and
insignificant.
 Poetry: Milton represents the best of the Renaissance and the Puritanism.
Though a Puritan, he was also a classicist and humanist. He delighted in
everything that pleased his eyes. He was a passionate lover of beauty. He
did not share the Puritan contempt for the stage. Nevertheless, he
possessed the moral earnestness and the religious zeal of the Puritan.
 Milton was the greatest poet after Shakespeare. In his writing he has
blended a wonderful union of intellectual power and creative power.
RESTORATION
PERIOD (1660 -
1700)
 The period from 1660 to 1700 is known as the Restoration period or the
Age of Dryden. Dryden was the representative writer of this period.
 The restoration of King Charles II in 1660 marks the beginning of a new
era both in the life and the literature of England. The King was received
with wild joy on his return from exile.
 During this period gravity, moral earnestness and decorum in all things,
which distinguished the Puritan period, were thrown to the winds.
 The natural instincts which were suppressed during the previous era
came to violent excesses.
 During the Restoration period there was a rapid development of
science.
 The French influence was predominant during this period because the
King had spent the period of his exile in France. The French manners
and fashion spread from the court to the aristocracy. It also influenced
contemporary literature.
 This era also witnessed the rise of two political parties the Whigs and the
Tories.
 The literature of the Restoration period marked the complete breaking of
ties with the Renaissance literature. It reflected the spirit of the age.
 The authors of the period were not endowed with exceptional literary
talents. So they turned to the ancient writers, in particular, to the Latin
writers, for guidance and inspiration.
 The work of the authors of the Restoration period was imitative and of
limited quality.
 The neo-classicists or pseudo- classicists could not soar to great
imaginative heights or could not penetrate deeply into human emotions.
 Thus they evolved a number of rules-means avoidance of enthusiasm,
moderate opinions moderately expressed, strict accuracy in poetic
technique; and humble imitation of the style of Latin Classics. The writers,
both in prose and poetry, tacitly agreed upon the rules and principles in
accordance with which they should write.
 Restoration literature is realistic. It was very much concerned with life in
London, and with details of dress, fashions and manners.
 sought to paint realistic pictures of corrupt court and society, and
emphasized vices rather than virtues and gave us coarse, low plays
without interest or moral significance
 The poetry of the Restoration period is formal, intellectual and realistic.
In it form is more important than the subject matter.
 Dryden: Dryden was the first representative of the new ideas. He began
the neo- classical age in literature.
 The Restoration marks the beginning of modern prose.
 The spread of the spirit of common sense and of the critical temper of
mind; the love of definiteness and clarity and of the obscure have
contributed to the development of English prose. It was an age of
intellectualism and rationalism, the qualities which are essential for
prose.
 The expression was precise, lucid, simple and straight forward.
 Thus an easy and conversational style, which properly expressed the
tastes and the intellectual make-up of the new reading public, evolved.
 The theatres which were closed in 1642 were opened during the
Restoration. They became the riotous haunt of the upper classes.
 Consequently, the plays written for the play houses were distinctly
calculated by the authors to appeal to a specific audience.
 Restoration tragedy (Heroic tragedies appealed to artificial,
aristocratic sentiments on the subject of honour) and comedy of
manners (the simple aim of this comedy is to show the manners of the
upper ranks of society. Exposed follies of refined gentlemen)
 Decline of restoration comedy: From 1700 onwards, it was felt that the
appeal of the Restoration Comedy of Manners was restricted only to the
aristocratic society. The immoral and antisocial influence of these plays
was clearly perceived and the voice of protest was also heard.