Periods of English Literature Flashcards
1
Q
- refers to the literature produced from the invasion of Celtic England by Germanic tribes
- literature in this period began from the oral tradition
- Old English piece of literature is Beowulf
- Caedmon and Cynewulf wrote biblical and religious theme
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OLD ENGLISH (ANGLO-SAXON) PERIOD
2
Q
- most widely known writings are Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales
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MIDDLE ENGLISH PERIOD
3
Q
- began with the ascent of the House of Tudor to the English throne
- famous English humanist here are Sir Thomas and Sir Thomas Wyatt
- it has 4 subsets
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ENGLISH RENAISSANCE
4
Q
- coincides with the reign of Elizabeth I
- during this time, medieval tradition was blended with Renaissance optimism
- lyric poetry, prose, and drama were the major styles of literature this age
- some important writers include William Shakespeare,
Christopher Marlowe, Edmund Spenser, Sir Walter Raleigh, and Ben Jonson
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ELIZABETHAN AGE OF ENGLISH LITERATURE
5
Q
- coincides with the reign of James I
- during this time the literature became sophisticated, sombre, and conscious of social abuse
and rivalry - this age produced rich prose and drama as well as the King James translation of the Bible
- Shakespeare and Jonson wrote during this age, as well as John Donne, Francis Bacon, and Thomas Middleton
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JACOBEAN AGE OF ENGLISH LITERATURE
6
Q
- coincides with the reign of Charles I
- 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
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CAROLINE AGE OF ENGLISH LITERATURE
7
Q
- includes the literature 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 theatres on moral and religious grounds
- for the next eighteen years the theatres remained closed, accounting for the lack of drama produced during this time period.
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COMMONWEALTH PERIOD ( PURITAN INTERREGNUM)
8
Q
- 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, skepticism, wit, and refinement
- this time also marks the first great age of English literary criticism
- this period can be divided into three subsets
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NEOCLASSICAL PERIOD OF ENGLISH LITERATURE
9
Q
- it is marked by the restoration of the monarchy and the triumph of reason and tolerance over religious and political passion
- this time, they produced an abundance of prose and poetry and the distinctive comedy of manners known as Restoration comedy
- it was during this period 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.
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RESTORATION PERIOD
10
Q
- derives its name from the brilliant literary period of Virgil and Ovid under the Roman emperor Augustus
- refers to literature with the predominant characteristics of refinement, clarity,
elegance, and balance of judgment - well‐known writers of this 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.
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ENGLISH AUGUSTAN AGE
11
Q
- its 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 this age 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).
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AGE OF SENSIBILITY OR JOHNSON AGE
12
Q
- began with the accession of Queen Victoria to
the throne in 1837 and lasted until her death in 1901 - the year 1870 is often used to divide the era into “early Victorian” and “late Victorian.”
- literature in this period 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, Charlotte Brontë, George Eliot, and Thomas Hardy.
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VICTORIAN PERIOD
13
Q
- it grew out of 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 dominance of scientific thinking and defied the hostility of society to any art that was not useful or did not teach moral values. It was from the movement of Aestheticism and Decadence that the phrase art for art’s sake emerged - a well‐known author of the English Aestheticism and Decadence movement is Oscar Wilde.
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AESTHETICISM AND DECADENCE MOVEMENT OF ENGLISH LITERATURE
14
Q
- is named for King Edward VII and spans the time from Queen Victoria’s death (1901) to the beginning of World War I (1914)
- during this time, 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 this 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.
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EDWARDIAN PERIOD
15
Q
- refers to the period of British Literature that is named for the reign of George V (1910‐36)
- many writers of the Edwardian Period continued to write during this 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.
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GEORGIAN PERIOD
