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Anglo Saxon Period ( 450-1066). Themes: heroism, fate, moral instruction Genres: oral traditions, poetry Key Authors: Beowulf poet, Exeter author Historical Context: Clans ruled themselves. People first very warrior-like; later became farmers.
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Anglo Saxon Period (450-1066) • Themes: heroism, fate, moral instruction • Genres: oral traditions, poetry • Key Authors:Beowulf poet, Exeter author • Historical Context: Clans ruled themselves. People first very warrior-like; later became farmers. • Literature’s Effects: Oral tradition unites myths of different groups. Roman alphabet is introduced.
Medieval (1066-1485) • Themes: honor, religious devotion, chivalry • Genres: oral traditions, frame stories, plays • Key Authors: Chaucer, Arthurian legends • Historical Context: Crusades begin; country forms • Literature’s Effects: Church uses literature to instruct population. Illiterate can hear and see stories.
Renaissance (1485-1660) • Themes: human potential, love • Genres: drama, poetry (metaphysical) • Key Authors: Shakespeare, Milton • Historical Context: War of Roses ends. Printing press invented. • Literature’s Effects: Literature accessible to middle class.
Neoclassical (1660-1798) • Themes: reason, harmony, stability • Genres: poetry, satire, essays, letters • Key Authors: Pope, Swift, Defoe • Historical Context: Half of male population is literate. Factories begin to be built. • Literature’s Effects: Emphasis on the individual. Human beings seen as basically evil.
Romanticism (1798-1832) • Themes: peace through nature, horror stories • Genres: poetry, lyrical ballads, novel (emerges) • Key Authors: Wordsworth, Coleridge, Austen, Byron, M. Shelley, Keats, Blake • Historical Context: Middle class enters politics. Literature’s Effects: Population critically examines society. Human beings seen as basically good.
Victorian (1832-1900) • Themes: unfortunate life, city -vs- country, sexual promiscuity, aristocratic villains • Genres: novel, elegies, poetry, monologues • Key Authors: Dickens, Tennyson, Rossetti, Bronte • Historical Context: Immense industrial growth. Raise of countries and trade. Paper becomes inexpensive. • Literature’s Effects: Literature accessible to all.
Mod / Post Mod (1900-1980) • Themes: loneliness, societal loss of values • Genres: fantasy, free verse poetry, speeches, novels • Key Authors: Joyce, Yeats, Conrad, Orwell, Elliot • Historical Context: One million soldiers lost in WWI. Germany bombs England in WWII. • Literature’s Effects: Belief that one must seize the moment before its gone.
Contemporary (1980-Present) • Themes: open-mindedness, interpreting the past • Genres: first person fiction, narratives • Key Authors: Stoppard, Follett, Rowling • Historical Context: Advances in communication make the world seem smaller.