British Literary Periods

1. For details on each period, downloadBritish Literature Periods www.typepad.com British Literary Periods

2. Anglo-Saxon / 449-1066 • Fast Facts • Oral stories of warriors • Life centered around independent tribes • Strong belief in fate and comitatus - commitment • Church and pagan world unite • Literary Focus • Beowulf – recited by a scop

3. Medieval 1066-1485 • Fast Facts • William the Conqueror crowned first king of England • Crusades expand trade • Oral literature continues • Chivalric code of honor • Eliot writes about the death of Thomas Becket • Literary Focus • Canterbury Tales - Chaucer • Morted’Arthur– Mallory

4. Renaissance 1485-1660 • Fast Facts • Civil wars • Reign of Elizabeth I • Growth of the theatre • Printing press spreads literacy and literature • World view less on afterlife and more on present life • Literary Focus • Shakespeare’s plays • Metaphysical poets • Cavalier Poets

5. 17-18th Centuries 1660-1798 • Fast Facts • Emphasis on reason and logic • Satiric look at society through literature • Growth of urban factories and slums • Creation of the novel • Literary Focus • Gulliver’s Travels – Swift • Rape of the Lock – Pope • Pride and Prejudice – Austen

6. Romantic 1798-1832 • Fast Facts • Gothic becomes cool • Evils of society exposed • Nature = Good Industry = Bad • Imagination is key • Rise of the dark brooding hero • Literary Focus: • The Rime of the Ancient Mariner – Coleridge • Frankenstein - Shelly

7. Victorian1832-1900 • Fast Facts • Britain becomes an empire • Conflicts of Haves and Have Nots continue • Novels and magazines mass produced • Literary Focus: • The Importance of Being Earnest – Wilde • Tale of Two Cities – Dickens • Pygmalion – Shaw

8. Modern & Postmodern 1900-1950 • Fast Facts • Empire loses 1 million soldiers in WWI • Churchhill helps defeat Hitler • Loss of belief in the goodness of humankind • Utopian and dystopian literature • Literary Focus • Lord of the Flies – Golding • The Once and Future King - White

9. Contemporary1950-present • Fast Facts • World grows smaller • Media interprets values and events • Technology replaces personal interaction • Autobiographical and first person narrative writing • Experimental theatre • Literary Focus - optional • Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

10. What era valued comitatus? Under what ruler did Shakespeare and the theatre flourish? Name one of the two writers of satire in the 17-18th centuries. Who was the first king of England? What era popularized the brooding, dark hero? What term is used for the oral story tellers of the Anglo-Saxons? In what era did Charles Dickens write? Whose death is examined in Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral? What invention helped to spread literacy and literature? Which writer examined the social classes of the Medieval age? Bonus – Who first authored the legend of King Arthur? Quick Quiz