Ages of English Literature

 Old English /Anglo-Saxon Period (400-1066)

 

    The first age in the history of English literature is the Old English period, which is roughly from 400 to 1066. The period derives its name from the prominent language that was spoken in England at the time, which is generally referred to as old English. The period can also be identified as the Anglo-Saxon period, referring to the prominent race of people who inhabited England during this era. England was still finding its feet as a nation during this period, so nothing much worth mentioning took place as far as literature is concerned. Perhaps the only literary achievement worth highlighting from the time is the anonymous epic Beowulf, which is supposed to have been written in the ninth century. The Old English period comes to an end in the year 1066 with the Battle of Hastings, in which the last of the Saxon king Harold was defeated by the Norman forces of William, who subsequently ascended the throne of England as William the Conqueror.

 

The Middle English Period (1066-1400)

 

    The Middle English period begins with the Norman conquest of England in the year 1066. The period derives its name from the fact it is sandwiched between the Old English period that precedes it, and the Renaissance that marks the dawn of the modern English era, which ensues it. The history of English Literature may be said to begin formally during this period, specifically in the fourteenth century, which was the century during which Geoffrey Chaucer lived and wrote. The period comes to an end in 1400, the year in which Chaucer passed away.

 

The English Renaissance (1476-1660)

    The Renaissance in England may be said to begin in 1476 with the establishment of Caxton’s printing press in Westminster Abbey. The printing press was a very crucial invention in that it was primarily owing to it, that the enlightenment triggered by the renaissance became accessible to even the common people. Before the printing press, there were no books, only manuscripts, which were quite far and few in number. They were therefore hard to come by, and only those pertaining to the elite class had the means to procure them with the material and political power they possessed. The commoners to a large extent remained ignorant masses, most of whom were actually illiterates. With the printing press, it became possible to publish books, tens and hundreds of them at a single go. This in turn made it possible for even commoners to buy them from the local book shops in which they were subsequently sold. It was during the renaissance in England that literature really took off, because it was during this period that England eventually settled down as a nation, becoming both socially and politically secured. The first significant sub- period within the renaissance is the Elizabethan age, the period during which Queen Elizabeth I ruled as the monarch of England. This period is generally regarded as the golden age of English literature, with some of the greatest writers ever in the English language such as Shakespeare, Marlowe, Spenser, Bacon, and Sidney, all belonging to this time. The Elizabethan age is followed by the Jacobean era, the time during which England was ruled by James I, who was originally the king of Scotland. He was subsequently made the ruler of England as Elizabeth I died unmarried leaving no heir to the throne of England, and James was her closest relative. The period is referred to as the Jacobean era because James in English is Jacobus in Latin. The Jacobean era is followed by the Caroline era, the time during which England was ruled by Charles I. The period is known as Caroline because Charles in English is Carolus in Latin. During Charles time as king, an irreparable rift broke out between the monarch and the parliament, which eventually boiled over as the English Civil War in 1642 between the faction who supported the king known as the royalists, and those called the puritans or the round heads who backed the parliament. The reason for the civil war was a power sharing disagreement between the king and the parliament, the former wanting absolute authority to make as law anything he deemed fit, the latter insisting that he consult it with the parliament and get its approval before anything could be legally passed. The civil war ended in 1649 with the execution of Charles I, which was followed by a span of eleven years during which England was without a monarch, and was ruled by a common wealth. The common wealth’s rule concluded in 1660, the year in which Charles II was crowned as the king of England, which marked the restoration of monarchy to the island nation. The year is generally taken to signal the close of the renaissance in England.

 

Neoclassical Period (1660-1798)

 

    The neoclassical period begins in the year 1660 with the restoration of Charles II to the throne of England. The period derives its name from the fact that it marks the beginning of a neo, that is, new era in English literature during which classicism took over as the prominent trend, supplanting romanticism during the renaissance. The period reached its high point during the first half of the eighteenth century, which is generally referred to as the Augustan era, derived from the name of the era in Roman history ruled by Augustus Caesar that represents the high point of classicism in Latin literature. The predominance of classicism however did not last for long, as by the middle of the eighteenth century, a thirst for the ideals of romanticism once again began to resurface. This sparked off what is known as the transitional period, during which time classicism steadily declined in influence, and romanticism slowly ascended. The critical thing to note is that though classicism was declining, and romanticism was rising, neither of them had fully materialized. This is to say, classicism was not yet fully dead, and romanticism was not yet fully born, so the literature of the transitional period came to be characterized by a distinct trait of being classical in structure and romantic in spirit. It is the only period in the entire literary history of England, during which both the trends of romanticism and classicism existed alongside each other exerting more or less an equal influence on English literature. The neoclassical period comes to an end in 1798 with the publication of the poetic anthology Lyrical Ballads.

 

    The Romantic Age/ Romantic Revival (1798-1850)

 

    The publication of the anthology Lyrical Ballads, containing poems by the poets Wordsworth and Coleridge, in 1798, heralds the inception of the romantic age, also dubbed the romantic revival. The period is referred to as romantic revival because it signals the resurrection of romanticism as the prominent trend in English literature, after being deposed by classicism during the neoclassical period. The period may be said to come to an end in the year 1850, in which the father of the romantic revival movement, Wordsworth passed away.

 

The Victorian Era (1850-1901)

 

    The romantic age in English literature is followed by the Victorian era, the period during which England was ruled by Queen Victoria. Though Victoria’s reign historically begins in 1832, in English literature we generally regard the Victorian era as beginning only in the year 1850, because from a literary point of view, the death of Wordsworth takes precedence over the ascendancy of Victoria to the English throne. Romanticism continued to remain as the prominent trend in English literature during this time, but towards the end of the period, a marked reorientation towards classicism could be discerned. The period comes to an end in the year 1901 with the death of Queen Victoria, who at the time held the record for being the longest ruler in English history.

 

The Edwardian Period (1901-1910)

 

    The Victorian era is followed by what is generally known as the Edwardian period, the time during which England was ruled by King Edward VII. The era comes to an end in the year 1910, in which king Edward died. Not much significance is associated with the period as far as literature is concerned, it is commonly considered as a brief interlude between the Victorian era, and the modernist period.

 

The Modernist Period (1918-1939)

 

    The modernist period begins in 1918 with the formal culmination of the First World War. The era is marked by a pervasive sense of disillusionment with the traditional values of order and security, which were shattered by the large scale damage wreaked by the war. This sense of disenchantment manifested itself in literature in the form of innovative modes of new literatures that consciously broke with traditional models that followed a set pattern. The modernist era may be said to come to a conclusion in the year 1939, with the outbreak of the Second World War.

 

The Postmodern Era (1961-1989/91)

 

    The postmodern era begins in 1961, the year formally considered as marking the beginning of the cold-war, signaled by the erection of the Berlin Wall. With the outbreak of the cold-war, the sense of disillusionment which took root during the modernist era became aggravated into a feeling of paranoia. Literature of the time gave vent to this sense of paranoia by being more innovative than ever before, utterly breaking with traditional modes of literary composition. The postmodern era may be said to come to an end in 1989, the year in which the Berlin wall came down, the event that marks the end of the cold-war. Sometimes the year 1991 is also taken as marking the close of the postmodern era, the year in which the Soviet Union formally dissolved. The period following the postmodern era is commonly taken as marking the contemporary era, primarily because no designated name or title has been given to this ensuing period in the context of literature.