English literature through the ages -Brief

English literature through the ages-Brief

English literature through the ages

(Brief)

English literature is one of the richest pieces of literature in the world. It has vitality, rich variety, and continuity. As literature is the reflection of society, the various changes which have come about in English society from the earliest to modern times have left their stamp on English literature. When we study the history of English literature, we find that it has passed through certain definite phases, each having marked characteristics. These phases may be termed ‘Ages’ or ‘Periods’, which are named either after the central literary figures or the important rulers of England, literary movements or termed by literary historians.English literature through the ages -Brief

English literature is one of the richest kinds of literature in the world. It has vitality, rich variety, and continuity. As literature is the reflection of society, the various changes which have come about in English society from the earliest to modern times have left their stamp on English literature. When we study the history of English literature, we find that it has passed through certain definite phases, each having marked characteristics. These phases may be termed ‘Ages’ or ‘Periods’, which are named either after the central literary figures or the important rulers of England, literary movements or termed by literary historians. It is essential to keep them in mind to follow their distinctive characteristics during the various periods of development in literature.

The Anglo-Saxons:    The earliest phases of English literature started with Anglo-Saxon literature of the Angles and Saxons (the ancestors of the English race) much before they occupied Britain. Like other nations, they sang at their feasts, and the songs were about battles, gods, religion, agriculture, and their ancestral heroes. It was in these songs that English poetry began in the ancient Engle-land, while Britain was still a Roman province.

Though much of this Anglo-Saxon poetry is lost, there are still some fragments left. It expresses another temperament and way of living; it breathes the influence of the wind and storm.

Middle English/Anglo-Norman period:      The Normans defeated the Anglo-Saxon King, Harold 11, at the Battle of Hastings and conquered England. This conquest inaugurated a distinctly new epoch in literature, as well as the political history of England. It spurred a wholesome awakening of national life. The people started getting inspired by this new vision of a greater future. The Anglo-Saxons lost their initial hostility to the newcomers with time, and they became part and parcel of one nation. The Normans not only brought with them soldiers, artisans and traders, but they also had scholars to revive knowledge, and minstrels to celebrate victories or sing of adventure and love. Old English poetry vanished and romances, that talked of heroes of bygone days became popular. They dealt with the stories of King Arthur, The War of Troy, and the mythical doings of Charlemagne and Alexander the Great. The major poets of this age are William Langland, John Gower, and Chaucer.

The Renaissance Period (1500-1600):         The Renaissance Period brought the ‘revival of learning, and it denotes in its broadest sense the gradual enlightenment of the human mind after the darkness of the Middle Ages.

The essence of this movement was that man discovered and unveiled his new potential. Along with the revival of learning, discoveries took place in several other fields. Vasco De Gama circumnavigated the earth; Columbus discovered America; Copernicus uncovered the Solar System. Books started to be printed, and philosophy, science, and art were systematized. The reign of Queen Elizabeth I is of remarkable importance since Renaissance is chiefly marked by the tenure of her rule, which is why the Renaissance Period is also called the Elizabethan Period or ‘The Golden Age. The most noteworthy achievement during this period was in the field of drama. The significance lies in the fact that they brought the educated class in touch with a more advanced form of drama as compared to the old English play. Poetry in the Renaissance took a new trend. It was the poetry of the new age of discovery, enthusiasm, and excitement. Under the impact of the Renaissance, the people of England were infused with freshness and vigor. Prose began to be used as a vehicle for various forms of amusement and information, and its popularity increased with the advancement of the printing press. The prominent authors in this age were University Wits - Shakespeare (thirty-seven plays and 154 sonnets), Ben Johnson, Spencer, and Christopher Marlowe.

The Puritan Age (1600-1660):          It is also called the Age of Milton, who was the noblest representative of the Puritan spirit. The Puritan movement is marked by the rebirth of the moral nature of man, which followed the intellectual awakening of Europe. It stood for the liberty of people from the shackles of despotic rulers, as well as the introduction of high ideals in politics. It aimed at making men honest and free. However, due to the severe religious principles, poetry became metaphysical. The chief advocate of the school was Donne, followed by Cowley, Herrick, and others. This period was rich in prose and produced great prose writers like Milton, Bacon, Burton, and Sir Thomas Browne.

The Restoration Age (1660-1700):   This phase in the history of English Literature is called Restoration as the monarchy was restored in England, and Charles II, whose father had been executed after his defeat by the parliamentary forces under Oliver Cromwell, came back to England from his exile in France and became the King. With his arrival, all restraints and disciplines were disposed of and a wave of licentiousness and frivolity swept the country. The existing poetry was renounced and poets were ordered to follow the style of their French contemporaries. They began to imitate French writers and their vices. Consequently, the Elizabethan spirit, lust for adventure, and knowledge, all became things of the past.

Poetry became more satirical, and realistic, and was written in the heroic couplet of which Dryden was the supreme master. The theaters which were shut by the Puritans opened again. The plays took a new form, which lacked an emotional approach to life and poetry. Moreover, it appealed to the aristocratic class only. Prose reached a major mark at this age.

18th Century Literature:      It is also called the Classical Age in literature. As the writers of the eighteenth century in England tried to follow the simple and noble methods of the great ancient writers, they began to be called Classical writers. The English writers rebelled against the fantastic style of writing prevalent in the past ages, and they demanded that poetry, drama, and prose should follow exact rules. But as they followed the ancient classical writers only in their external performance, they lacked their sublimity, essence, and grandeur, so they are called pseudo-classicists.

The Romantic Age:   The Romantic Age is the most fruitful period in the history of English Literature. It is a movement that started against the neoclassical school of thought and was marked by the publication of the ‘Lyrical Ballads’ by Wordsworth and Coleridge in 1798.

In Romanticism, primary importance was given to the artist’s feelings and freedom of expression. The essence lay in the fact that literature must reflect all that is spontaneous and unaffected in nature and man, and it must be free to follow its fancy, in its way.

No age in English Literature has produced poets as those belonging to this age. Moreover, it was the age of revolutionary change, not only because of the character and function of poetry but in the whole conception of the nature of man and the world in which he found himself. The escapist, Keats, the visionary, Coleridge, and many other poetic giants like Wordsworth, Shelley, Byron, and Southey, all belonged to this age.

The Victorian Age:   The Victorian Age started in 1832; this age is divided into two parts: The early Victorian age and the late Victorian age. It was a fact that England was fast moving from agriculture to industrialization, and power was being transferred to the middle class. Child labor was being condemned and steps were taken to diminish it. This issue was highlighted in the novels of Charles Dickens, who belonged to the Victorian era. The writers and poets considered it their duty to bring people back to religion, and so their work was more moralistic. Robert Browning, Mathew Arnold, and Alfred Tennyson are the famous poets of this age.Victorian literature is often considered stuffy and morally oppressive. However, it is also very imaginative and emotional. It also reflects realism to show the plight of the everyday working class.

Some of the most famous authors of this period are Charlotte Bronte, Emily Bronte, and Charles Dickens. During this time, novel writing became the most prominent literary work.

The Modern Age:      The Modern Age in English Literature started at the beginning of the twentieth century and opposed the so-called ‘hypocritical’ attitude of Victorian Society. Nothing was considered certain and people strove for realism and the meaning of life. They did not take anything for granted; everything was questioned. 

Modern poetry exercised great freedom in the choice of themes. Gone were the days when it was believed that the job of the poet was only to create “beauty”. They wrote both about beautiful and twisted things, human feelings, sad realities, World Wars, pessimism, and humanitarianism.

The new dramatists gave up the old style of their predecessors and began to portray the actual English life in their plays. The characters in their plays were often restless, questioning, and dissatisfied.

Some of the novels adopted the technique of stream of consciousness. All the traditions and norms were broken, and the writers started to focus more on the characters’ inner minds and psychology, rather than the actions and plot.

Science made massive progress, and Darwinism and other such theories (which challenged religious beliefs), greatly welcomed doubts and skepticism. 

Post-modernism:       Post-modern literature serves as a reaction to the supposed stylistic and ideological limitations of modernist literature and the radical changes the world underwent after the end of World War II. For many post-modern writers, the various disasters that occurred in the last half of the 20th century left several writers with a profound sense of paranoia.

Post-modern philosophy tends to conceptualize a world in which knowledge and facts are always related to particular situations, and it’s both futile and impossible to attempt to locate any precise meaning to any idea, concept, or event. Post-modern writers were greatly affected by this philosophy.

Similarly, at the core of many post-modern literary writers’ imagination, there is a belief that the world has already fallen apart and that actual, singular meaning is impossible to locate. It also implies that literature should serve to reveal the world’s absurdities, paradoxes, and ironies.

Post-modern literary writers come from all across the world. It is not specific to writers from any particular region or culture. There are thousands of writers and literary works from all over the world which is considered ‘post-modern’ by critics and scholars.

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