British Literature

British Literature Timelines

Anglo-Saxons449 - 1066 • England, a land of invasions: Iberians, Celts, Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Normans • Animists – spirits found in nature • Druids, guardians of the culture and beliefs • Mythology • Life influenced by magical religion • Tribal structure, small kingdoms

Strict social structure • Loyalty tantamount • Honor price & blood feuds • Warm hall – cold world • Fate/wyrd • Anglo-Saxon religion more concerned w/ ethics • Bards/scops • Fame = immortality

Romans brought government, roads, cities, and Christianity • Monasteries – monks preserved Anglo-Saxon cultural and literary traditions

Middle Ages1066 - 1485 • Normans & William, the Conqueror • England now connected to Europe • Feudalism, based on religious concept & military system • Focus on the afterlife • Chivalry & courtly love • Ballads, mystery & miracle plays • Crusades, murder of Thomas A’ Becket, Magna Carta, Hundred Years War, the Black Death

The Renaissance1485 - 1660 • Rebirth • Changes of people’s beliefs, values, and behavior • Carpe diem • The Cavaliers • Humanism • Focus on the now • Reformation • The printing press

Henry the VIII & the Church of England • Protestants vs. Catholics • England a world power • Flood of literature – poetry, drama, essays • King James Bible • allegory

The Restoration & the 18th C. • Neoclassical, Enlightenment, Age of Reason • Calm order after an era of political turmoil • Why? to How? • Less frightened and superstitious • Reason over intuition/feelings • Deism • “Whatever is, is right.” • Satire to expose moral corruption and crass commercialism

Journalism • Form emphasized • 1st English novels (“new”) • Industrialism mushroomed & writers turned to nature & folk themes

Romantic Period1798 - 1832 • Blake, Wordsworth, and Coleridge; Byron, Shelley, and Keats • An agricultural nation to an industrial nation • Large, restless working class • Some of the most radical changes in human life • Revolution • Laissez faire

Appalling conditions • Focus – nature, imagination • Simple, unadorned language • Personal experiences & emotions • More psychological & mysterious aspects of human experience • Fascination w/ youth & innocence • Questioning of tradition & authority • Idealism • The Gothic

Victorian Period1832 - 1901 • A time of great change • A period of relatively political and social stability • The Industrial Revolution of the 18th century greatly expanded • Steady growth of British interests outside the country • Political power extended to the middle and working classes • Gradual political reforms • Middle-class Victorians prided themselves on the material advances of the 19th century and on their ability to solve human problems • In the mid-century depression hits England • Widespread unemployment • Famine in Ireland • Deplorable living and working conditions

Child labor without safeguards • Overcrowding and poor sanitation brought on by rapid urbanization • People retained optimism as reforms and improvement followed • Voting extended to the working class, except agricultural workers • Limits to child labor • State-supported compulsory education led to increased literacy • Obsession with gentility or decorum especially among the middle class • Discouraged to discuss birth, sex, and death in open, polite conversation • Women subject to male authority • Advances in science and technology demonstrate to the people that human efforts could overcome all material problems

The period filled with voices asking questions and raising doubts • Materialism, secularism, vulgarity, and sheer waste that accompanied Victorian progress led some writers to wonder if their culture was really advancing • By the end of the century, skepticism and denial had become pervasive in many literary works • Uncertainty, pessimism, and spiritual doubt creep in • Victorian writing reflects the dangers and benefits of rapid industrialization, while encouraging readers to examine their own understanding of the era’s progress

Modern1900 - 1950 • Rejection of the traditional • Loss of innocence (The Great War) • Darwin, Marx, Freud • Loss of faith in the American Dream • Rejection of the ideal hero • Introspection • Stream of consciousness • Questioning of authority • Cynicism, skepticism, pessimism

Contemporary1950 - Present • Loss of individualism • Rapid development in science & technology • Cultural diversity • Nontraditional forms • Overlap of fiction & nonfiction • More personal approach that challenged complacency & convention • Futuristic & speculative

British Literature