Geoffrey Chaucer is considered the father of English literature. He was born in 1343 in London and received an excellent education. His masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales, is a narrative poem written in verse containing stories told by a group of pilgrims traveling to Canterbury Cathedral. It provides insight into the English society of Chaucer's time through its detailed descriptions and variety of characters. The stories range from religious to humorous, with the structure involving an introduction of the pilgrims, their individual tales on the journey, and a contest to determine who tells the best story.
1. This document summarizes the history of England from the Norman conquest in 1066 until the Wars of the Roses in the late 15th century. It describes the succession of kings from the Plantagenet dynasty and the conflicts that arose. Key events included the signing of the Magna Carta, the establishment of Parliament, the Hundred Years' War with France, the Black Death plague, and the civil war known as the Wars of the Roses between the House of Lancaster and the House of York for the throne.
1. Beowulf is an Old English epic poem composed between the 8th and 11th centuries about a Geatish hero named Beowulf.
2. The poem tells the story of Beowulf's battles with the monster Grendel and with Grendel's mother, as well as his later fight with a dragon near the end of his life.
3. The poem celebrates the heroism of Beowulf and his acts of bravery in defending the Danes from these monsters through his superhuman strength and courage.
The document summarizes the history of Britain from the Celts to the Normans in 10 sections. It describes the successive invasions and settlements of the Celts, Romans, Angles, Saxons, Vikings, and Normans. It details the society, economy, and religion of the Celts. It also discusses the Christianization of England starting in the 6th century, the rule of Alfred the Great and his efforts to unite England, and the last Anglo-Saxon kings before the Norman invasion in 1066.
This document discusses the key features of drama as a literary genre. It notes that plays are typically divided into acts and scenes, and Shakespearean plays usually have 5 acts that introduce, develop, create crisis, complicate, and resolve the plot. It also describes common dramatic techniques like dialogue, soliloquy, monologue, asides and stage directions that reveal character thoughts and advance the story. Additionally, it mentions other elements like characterization, language, and structure.
This document discusses satire, irony, and humor. It defines two types of satire - mockery to express comedy and using moral standards to reform conduct. No clear distinction exists between these as the tone can vary from light to biting. Examples of early satire include Chaucer satirizing church corruption. The 18th century was a golden age for satirical prose and poetry. Irony surprises readers rather than seeking reform. There are three types of irony: verbal, dramatic, and situational. Humor differs in that it simply evokes laughter rather than deriding or hinting.
This document discusses various language devices used in poetry, including linguistic images, comparisons through similes and metaphors, personification, symbols, allegory, oxymorons, hyperbole, litotes, and the language of sense impressions. It provides definitions and examples for each device to illustrate how they are used to convey meaning and create vivid descriptions and emotional responses in readers.
1. Poetry originated as an oral art used to express and convey remarkable events and feelings through musical patterns of language.
2. Poetry is characterized by condensed language and intensified sounds based on the natural qualities of spoken language.
3. The basic structural units of poetry include lines, stanzas, and cantos or books, with lines typically ranging from 8 to 12 syllables and stanzas from 2 to 12 lines.
Geoffrey Chaucer is considered the father of English literature. He was born in 1343 in London and received an excellent education. His masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales, is a narrative poem written in verse containing stories told by a group of pilgrims traveling to Canterbury Cathedral. It provides insight into the English society of Chaucer's time through its detailed descriptions and variety of characters. The stories range from religious to humorous, with the structure involving an introduction of the pilgrims, their individual tales on the journey, and a contest to determine who tells the best story.
1. This document summarizes the history of England from the Norman conquest in 1066 until the Wars of the Roses in the late 15th century. It describes the succession of kings from the Plantagenet dynasty and the conflicts that arose. Key events included the signing of the Magna Carta, the establishment of Parliament, the Hundred Years' War with France, the Black Death plague, and the civil war known as the Wars of the Roses between the House of Lancaster and the House of York for the throne.
1. Beowulf is an Old English epic poem composed between the 8th and 11th centuries about a Geatish hero named Beowulf.
2. The poem tells the story of Beowulf's battles with the monster Grendel and with Grendel's mother, as well as his later fight with a dragon near the end of his life.
3. The poem celebrates the heroism of Beowulf and his acts of bravery in defending the Danes from these monsters through his superhuman strength and courage.
The document summarizes the history of Britain from the Celts to the Normans in 10 sections. It describes the successive invasions and settlements of the Celts, Romans, Angles, Saxons, Vikings, and Normans. It details the society, economy, and religion of the Celts. It also discusses the Christianization of England starting in the 6th century, the rule of Alfred the Great and his efforts to unite England, and the last Anglo-Saxon kings before the Norman invasion in 1066.
This document discusses the key features of drama as a literary genre. It notes that plays are typically divided into acts and scenes, and Shakespearean plays usually have 5 acts that introduce, develop, create crisis, complicate, and resolve the plot. It also describes common dramatic techniques like dialogue, soliloquy, monologue, asides and stage directions that reveal character thoughts and advance the story. Additionally, it mentions other elements like characterization, language, and structure.
This document discusses satire, irony, and humor. It defines two types of satire - mockery to express comedy and using moral standards to reform conduct. No clear distinction exists between these as the tone can vary from light to biting. Examples of early satire include Chaucer satirizing church corruption. The 18th century was a golden age for satirical prose and poetry. Irony surprises readers rather than seeking reform. There are three types of irony: verbal, dramatic, and situational. Humor differs in that it simply evokes laughter rather than deriding or hinting.
This document discusses various language devices used in poetry, including linguistic images, comparisons through similes and metaphors, personification, symbols, allegory, oxymorons, hyperbole, litotes, and the language of sense impressions. It provides definitions and examples for each device to illustrate how they are used to convey meaning and create vivid descriptions and emotional responses in readers.
1. Poetry originated as an oral art used to express and convey remarkable events and feelings through musical patterns of language.
2. Poetry is characterized by condensed language and intensified sounds based on the natural qualities of spoken language.
3. The basic structural units of poetry include lines, stanzas, and cantos or books, with lines typically ranging from 8 to 12 syllables and stanzas from 2 to 12 lines.
This document discusses the key features of fiction as a genre and narrative texts, including:
1) Novels depict imaginary characters and events representative of real life through prose, narrative, characters, actions, and plot.
2) Narrative texts present a sequence of events that make up the story or plot, which the author arranges in different ways.
3) Fiction employs techniques like setting, point of view, characters, dialogue, description, and narration to tell a story.
The document discusses different trends in early 20th century modern poetry in the UK and Europe. It describes the Georgian Poets who celebrated English traditions and values in conventional language. It also describes the War Poets like Wilfred Owen who depicted the horrors of WWI in unconventional language. Additionally, it discusses Imagist Poets like Ezra Pound who focused on precise images in short poems. Symbolist Poets like T.S. Eliot were also discussed who used allusive language and sound to evoke feelings rather than state them directly.
Ichiyo Higuchi was a Japanese author who lived during the Meiji period in the late 19th century, a time when Japan rapidly modernized. She came from a samurai family but faced hardship in her life, including the death of her father which forced her at a young age to support her family. Despite only living until age 24, she wrote several acclaimed works and is regarded as the first professional female writer in modern Japanese literature. Her novella "Takekurabe" depicted the lives of children in a neighborhood near a red-light district and addressed themes of childhood innocence and societal roles. Though her career was short, she remains an influential figure in Japanese literature.
This document discusses the key features of fiction as a genre and narrative texts, including:
1) Novels depict imaginary characters and events representative of real life through prose, narrative, characters, actions, and plot.
2) Narrative texts present a sequence of events that make up the story or plot, which the author arranges in different ways.
3) Fiction employs techniques like setting, point of view, characters, dialogue, description, and narration to tell a story.
The document discusses different trends in early 20th century modern poetry in the UK and Europe. It describes the Georgian Poets who celebrated English traditions and values in conventional language. It also describes the War Poets like Wilfred Owen who depicted the horrors of WWI in unconventional language. Additionally, it discusses Imagist Poets like Ezra Pound who focused on precise images in short poems. Symbolist Poets like T.S. Eliot were also discussed who used allusive language and sound to evoke feelings rather than state them directly.
Ichiyo Higuchi was a Japanese author who lived during the Meiji period in the late 19th century, a time when Japan rapidly modernized. She came from a samurai family but faced hardship in her life, including the death of her father which forced her at a young age to support her family. Despite only living until age 24, she wrote several acclaimed works and is regarded as the first professional female writer in modern Japanese literature. Her novella "Takekurabe" depicted the lives of children in a neighborhood near a red-light district and addressed themes of childhood innocence and societal roles. Though her career was short, she remains an influential figure in Japanese literature.