History of Literature

Epochs in History of Literature Discuss with a friend: Which literary epochs do you know about? What are they called and what characterize them? Which English or American writers do you know about? Think about written material but also film adaptations of famous works. Write suggestions on the board if possible

Epochs in History of Literature 500-110: Old English 1100-1400: Middle English 1400-1500: The Renaissance begins to spread 1500-1650: The Renaissance and The Reformation 1650-1800: The Restoration, The Age of Enlightenment 1800-1835: The Romantic Age 1837-1901: The Victorian Age 1900-1945: Modernism 1946: Postmodernism Map of nations using English as an official language or as the predominant language Year 2006 aggregate estimates suggest approximately 375 million native English speakers, and a combined native and non-native number of English speakers of over 1.5 billion worldwide. A number of countries use English as an official language as a unifying force despite the influence of major local languages in countries such as Kenya, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Malta, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Tanzania. English may also be a widely-used unofficial language, as is the case in Bangladesh

Timeline History of Literature

Old English (500-1100) History and epic poems Oral tradition  writing tradition Example: King Alfred Christian slant on earlier known tales, like the poem about Beowulf, a Scandinavian hero 2) The tradition of telling changes from oral to writing as Christiany spreads 3) King Alfred, ”father of English literature”, translates The Venerable Bede into English and encourages other writings in English

Middle English (1100-1400) Latin and French Poetry Drama Example: Geoffrey Chaucer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE0Mt ENfOMU (General Prologue from Canterbury Tales, end of 14th century) Latin and Frenc dominate written work, not so much is written in English. Invasion and occupation from France makes French official Language for 100 years. English ruling classes increasingly in conflict with the French. Written poetry emerges, mostly romance about knights. Written in poetic style like Old English, but now in Middle English. Oxford and Cambridge unversitites founded. Chaucer – Canterbury Tales (end of 14th century), a group of pilgrims headed for Canterbury in East England, satiries character types

Canterbury Tales General Prologue When April's gentle rains have pierced the drought Of March right to the root, and bathed each sprout Through every vein with liquid of such power It brings forth the engendering of the flower; When Zephyrus too with his sweet breath has blown 5 Through every field and forest, urging on The tender shoots, and there's a youthful sun, His second half course through the Ram now run, And little birds are making melody And sleep all night, eyes open as can be 10 (So Nature pricks them in each little heart), On pilgrimage then folks desire to start. The palmers long to travel foreign strands To distant shrines renowned in sundry lands; And specially, from every shire's end 15 In England, folks to Canterbury wend: To seek the blissful martyr is their will, The one who gave such help when they were ill. Listen first on Youtube, look at the Middle English text to see if you can follow. Did you manage to hear any words? Listen again but try to follow in this text at the same time. Differences in English language.

The Renaissance Begin to Spread (1400-1500) Romances increasingly popular Folk ballads Early Modern English Example: Sir Thomas Malory knights, monsters, love, mystery, miracle, morality Folk ballads became popular Early Modern English begins to develop, pronunciaton changes. English becomes official language in 1415 with Henry V as the king. Sir Thomas Malory – Morte d’Arthr (romance), published in 1485

The Renaissance and the Reformation (1500-1650) Interest in education, science, arts, the classic Lyric poetry Non-fiction prose Early Modern English Theatres Examples: Shakespeare, Marlowe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h- n3gclQ1ak (10 things I hate about you, 1999, based on The Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare) Lyrc poetry –developed form, the sonnet, the pastoral poems, drama Non –fiction prose like essays, biographies Early Modern English established, inventiveness in English Theatres popular for all social classes, had to close dwn in 1642 due to Puritanism, thus for a time stopping dramatists’ creative art

The Restoration and The Age of Enlightenment (1650-1800) Religious content Age of Reason Poetry The rise of the novel Examples: John Milton, Daniel Defoe, Jonathan Swift http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ph0XLhn TNNM (Gulliver’s travels, 2010, based on the book with the same name by Jonathan Swift) Restoration – reaction against Puritanism, wishes to restore monarchy. Comedy of manners – light, witty style Age of Englightenment/reason: scientific revolution with descriptive, argumentative analytical and philosophical non-fiction. Satire used to criticise and attack people/types or insitutions Poetry – admiration of Classics, intellectual way The rise of the novel: more common to follow a central character through varous often unrelated events.

The Romantic Age (1800-1835) Romantic poetry Use of everyday language Mystery and terror Late Modern English Examples: Jane Austen, Lord Byron, Sir Walter Scott http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=- nGkJmxlZ7o (Ivanhoe, 1982, based on the book with the same name, by Sir Walter Scott) Romantic poetry used with breaking away from earlier norms to seek new form of expression Use of everyday language to express imagniation and overflowing emotions, inspired by Nature, the Far East, Medieval tales of knights, folk traditions Mystery and terror – tales about dark forces, ghosts etc. Late Modern English – no major structural differences from today’s English Jane Austen – novels express highly ironic observations of human nature in the period of social setting during this time

The Victorian Age (1837-1901) Prose From Romantic  realism Episodic writing Detective stories Drama Examples: the Brontë sisters, Lewis Carroll, Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde, Rudyard Kipling http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuvbFHWfHb o&feature=related (Alice in Wonderland, 1951, based on the book with the same name by Lewis Caroll) Prose important with both ficition and non-fiction texts. Novels became widely read and more accepted Gradually went from the romantic novel to a more realistic sense, wanted to show how life really is, which often resulted in hard realities and the poor Episodic writing with cliff-hangers by the ending of the chapter, for publication in magazines Detective stories common Drama with social comments and satire

Modernism (1900-1945) Modernism develops The ”ice-berg technique” Imaginative children’s literature War poets Examples: Joseph Conrad, Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, TS Eliot, George Orwell http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl08W86 Oaqo&feature=related (The Hours, 2002, based on Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Wolf) Focus from externally observable to internal human state and psychology The ice-berg technique – few words but highly charged between the lines Imaginative children’s literature – popular genres with detective/spy fiction, sci fi and fantasy (Tolkien) War poets – write about the suffering in the war. Poetry develop into a flora of isms with much symbolism, generally seeking to express inner truths

Postmodernism (1945) Diversity in all forms ”The angry young men” Novels Examples: Doris Lessing, VS Naipul, Harold Pinter, Toni Morrison Diversity in all forms – highly structured, concrete, realistic to wildly fantastic After WWII – The angry young men, hard social realities Novels with different narrative techniques (different narrators, non chronological etc.)

Timeline History of Literature

Info on Assignment Instructions Form pairs Make research in the classroom our outside Pick one writer Tell me Back in classroom at xx.xx