ENGLISH LITERATURE

1. ENGLISH LITERATURE

2. INTRODUCTION

The definition of English Literature English
literature means different things in different
contexts. All definitions of literature agree that
English literature includes literary works like
novels, stories, poems, nonfiction and plays
composed in English. At the college or
graduate level, English literature tends to
refer to British literature. While in high
school and general usage, English literature
often refers to any literature written in
English

3. THE ANGLO - SAXON PERIOD
(EARLIEST TIME)
 Oral tradition was valued greatly. This was a way
to tell later generations of their history and to pass
their views of religion on.
 In Literature, epic poetry was very popular. The
most famous English epic is Beowulf
 Old English poetry follows a system of alliteration
which binds its verses together and creates a
distinctive sound. As stories were told orally in
this time alliteration made it easier to remember
the text. Alliteration: the use of words that
begin with the same sound near one another

4. Beowulf
 It is a story about a hero (Beowulf)
who kills three monsters: Grendel,
Grendel's mother, and a dragon.
The poem serves to illustrate many
of the values that were important in
Anglo-Saxon culture. Because
Beowulf is the poem's hero, he
embodies many of those values.
 Beowulf is the longest epic poem
in Old English, the language
spoken in Anglo-Saxon England

5. MEDIEVAL LITERATURE
 English was spoken by the lower classes
,Latin was the language of the church and
French was spoken by the higher classes.
 Rhyme replaces alliteration
 Geoffrey Chauser-Greatest English poet
of the middle ages. considered "the father of
English literature" the printing press had
not yet been invented, so the first copies of
his work were handwritten.
 The Canterbury Tales: A group of pilgrims
decide to tell each other stories on their long
journey to Canterbury to visit the shrine of St
Thomas Becke

6. Renaissance - Early Modern
English
 William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
Considered the greatest English-speaking
writer in history and known as England's
national poet.
 He is also the most famous playwright in
the world.He wrote the blockbuster plays
of his day - some of his most famous are
Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet.
It has been almost 400 years since he died,
but people still celebrate his work all around
the world.
 He wrote 38 plays and 154 sonnets

7. THE PERIOD OF REVOLUTION
AND RESTORATION
The literature of the Restoration period marked
the complete breaking of ties with the
Renaissance literature. It reflected the spirit
of the age. The spirit of corruption and
moral laxity, which were predominant in the
social life of the restoration, are reflected in
literature.
John Milton –a revolutionary poet ,political both
in life and his art .PARADISE
LOST,PARADISE REGAINED

8. THE PERIOD OF
ENLIGHTENMENT
The age of enlightenment or the age of
reason, a progressive intellectual
movement to enlighten the whole world
with the light of modern philosophical
and artistic idea.
William Blake - The poems from The
Songs of Innocence indicate the
conditions which make religion a
consolation, a prospect of illusory
happiness and the poems from The
Songs of Experience reveal the true
nature of religion which brings misery to

9.  THE ROMANTIC PERIOD (THE TURN
OF THE 18TH AND 19TH CENTURY)
 The Romantic Period is an age of poetry;
 Romanticism:- It designates a literary
and philosophical theory which tends to
see the individual as the very centre of
all life and all experience. It also places
the individual at the centre of art, making
literature most valuable as an expression
of his or her unique feelings and
particular attitudes.
 Wordsworth - his definition of poetry,
"Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of
the powerful feelings" and poetry
originates, from "emotion recollected in
tranquility": a nature poet; working in
collaboration with Coleridge in Lyrical

10. Victorian literature
 It refers to English literature during the reign
of Queen Victoria (1837–1901). The 19th century
is considered by some to be the Golden Age of
English Literature, especially for British
novels.[1 It was in the Victorian era that the novel
became the leading literary genre in English.
English writing from this era reflects the major
transformations in most aspects of English life,
from scientific, economic, and technological
advances to changes in class structures and the
role of religion in society. Famous novelists from
this period include Rudyard Kipling, Charles
Dickens, William Thackeray.