History of English Literature

                                              

1. Old English (Anglo-Saxon) Period (450–1066)

This period is an early period of English literary history. This ancient English literature period is often called the Anglo-Saxon term. This term comes from two German tribes namely Angles and Saxon. This tribe is a tribe of invaders who entered the British mainland and controlled it. In this period there were several famous literary works. One of them is the epic poem entitled 'Beowulf,'. This poem tells of a knight figure who protected Scandinavian land from Grendel's attack. In the field of prose, the famous figure is King Alfred. King Alfred translated several books including "Pastoral Care" by Pope Gregory, "Eclesiastical History of English People" by Bede, "Universal History and Geography" by Orosius and "Consolation of Philosophy" by Boethius.

2. Middle English Periode (1150-1500)

The transition from the Old English to Middle English was marked by the conquest of the British by the Normans. Before this conquest, English was heavily influenced by Scandinavian languages, but after the conquest of the Normans, British rulers used Latin and French. Often referred to as Anglo-Norman. In literature there were several well-known writers in this period, including Geoffrey Chaucer, William Langland and Sir Thomas Malory. Geoffrey Chaucer is called the father of English poetry. His work is The Canterbury Tales. William Langland was a poet with his work entitled The Vision of Piers the Plowman. In the world of prose Sir Thomas Malory with the title of the story Mort D’Athur which tells about King Arthur in the quest for the Holy Grail.

3. Renaisance Period (1500-1688)

The term Renaisance means rebirth. The Renaissance period in England was marked by Protestant Christian religious reform. His rebirth means to study science that is not controlled by the church. In addition, rebirth means the emergence of awareness of himself which has been controlled by the church (Dark Age.). there are two developments in the literature in this period, namely poetry and drama. Renaisance poetry has the theme of lyrics, elegance, tragedy, pastoral, accompaniment, beauty and truth. There are some famous poets in this era, namely, John Milton with his work entitled significance and paradise lost. Edmund Spencer The Faerie Queene, Spenserian Stanza. Dramas in this era have a history of plays, tragedy and comedy. The most famous drama of this era is William Shakespeare.

4. Elizabethan Period (1579)

This period was the leadership of Queen Elizabeth. She was born on September 7, 1553 in Greenwich, England. She is the daughter of the king of Hanry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Elizabeth died on March 24, 1603 after the British Empire for 45 years from November 17, 1558 to the end, and was known as the "Queen of the Virgin". In this period, Literature tells stories of love, religion and tells the story of Queen Elizabeth and her leadership. This can be seen from dramatic and non-dramatic. There are several famous writers in this period. William Shakespeare was the greatest and most dramatic poet of this period. , he wrote about 38 tragedies, comedy, history and also wrote 154 sonatas, 2 narrative poems and other poems. His famous literary works are the Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (1597), Hamlet (1603), The Story of Winter (1623). The other writer is Edmund Spencer, a poet who was not dramatic with his poem titled Ratu faerie (1590), Amoretti (1595), Epithalamion (1595).

5. Jacobean Age

The Jacob Era is the period after the Elizabeth era. This era was under the rule of King James 1. (1630-1625). During this time King James translated the Bible from Latin into English. There are several famous writers in this period. A playwright named Ben Johnson with his satirical drama entitled 'The Great Volphone', and 'The Alchemist'. This drama contains allusions to human nature which at that time was greedy and selfish. Besides this drama in this era has the theme of tragedy of revenge. Some playwrights who succeeded with this theme were John Webster with his play entitled The Duchess of Malfi, Cyril Tourneur with his work entitled The Revenger's Tragedy and John Marston with his work entitled The Malcontent.

In the field of prose there are several famous works. The first is the Authorized Vesion of the Bible (King James Edition). Secondly, Francis Bacon in his work entitled The New Atlantis. Third, Sir Walter Raleigh with his work entitled The History of the Word. In the field of poetry, poetry in this era is less well known than Elizabeth's. There are some famous poets of this era including John Downland with his poem entitled Third and Last Booke of Songs. Ben Jonson with his poem entitled The Forest and Shakespeare Sonnets.

6. Restoration Period

This period was under the reign of King Charles II in 1660. During his leadership, King Charles II brought new changes in English literature. The theater that was previously closed was opened again. The group of writers just started writing dramas. This restoration was initiated by John Dryden who wrote a work entitled 'Essays in Poesy Drama'. In this essay Dryden criticizes English drama and French drama. He has a view of English drama more advanced than French drama. Furthermore, the Essay was written by John Locke entitled, 'Letter of Tolerance Concering' (1689), 'Education of Some Concerning Thoughts' (1693), The Reasonableness of Christianity (1695), 'Essays on Human Understanding'. John Locke's works are very important for England because they provide about human understanding. In philosophy John Locke imagined as a follower of the empiricist school.

In the drama there was also a restoration. Drama in this period is different from the Elizabeth period. The drama in this period has Heroic and Comedy themes. There are some famous dramas in this era, George Etherege wrote The Man of Mode (1696), William Wycherley, wrote The Country Wife and The Plain Dealer. One of the famous playwrights who wrote the skit was William Congreve. There are several famous works, namely, 'Love for Love', The Way of the World 'and ‘Dual Dealers.

7. Neoclassical Period/ Agustan Period

This period lasted from 1660 to 1798. This period was known as the neo-classical period. There are some famous writers of this era. First, John Dryden. His work is in the form of poetry entitled Absalom and Achitophel. In this poem contains innuendos to politicians in his time. Second, Alexander Pope. He is a famous poet at this time. His famous poem entitled The Rape of the Lock, The Dunciad, the Essay on Man and translates some classic works entitled 'Homer'. Furthermore, William Blake was a poet and also an artist. One of his famous literary works is entitled 'Innocence Songs and Songs of Experience'.