Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, 1375-1400
Medieval Literature
Geoffrey Chaucer He is regarded as the father of English poetry. The Canterbury Tales is his masterpiece. He presents, for the first time in English literature, a comprehensive realistic picture of the medieval English society and creates a whole gallery of vivid characters from all works of life. It was Chaucer who made London dialect the foundation for modern English speech. His characterization is vivid.
Reading British literary works can enable us to gain deeper insights into its culture.
Different stages of British Literature
1. Medieval Literature (approximately from 500 BC to 1485) Beowulf Beowulf, a typical example of Old English poetry, is regarded as the greatest national epic of the AngloSaxons. The epic describes the heroic deeds of a Scandinavian hero, Beowulf, in fighting against the monster Grendel, his revengeful mother, and a fire-breathing dragon. The poem conveys a hope that the righteous will triumph over the evil.
3. 17th Century British Literature
John Bunyan He is a religious novelist whose style was modeled after that of the English Bible. His language is concrete and vivid. His masterpiece, The Pilgrim's Progress, is the most suish Literature during Renaissance Period
Francis Bacon He is a philosopher, a scientist and the first English essayist. He lays the foundation for modern science with his insistence on scientific way of thinking and fresh observation rather than authority as a basis for obtaining knowledge. He is best known for his Essays that is the first example of that genre in English literature.
General Introduction to British Literature
What does literature consists of?
Novel Poem Drama Prose
Literature works are all about beauty-appreciation.
2. British Literature during Renaissance Period
Edmund Spenser He is acclaimed as "the poet's poet" in English literature. His poetry is noted for such qualities as a perfect melody, a rare sense of beauty, a splendid imagination, a lofty moral purity and seriousness, and a dedicated idealism. He created the Spenserian stanza. His masterpiece is The Faerie Queene.
2. British Literature during Renaissance Period (late 15th century -- early 17 century)
Renaissance and Humanism The word "Renaissance" means "rebirth". It meant the reintroduction into Western Europe of the full cultural heritage of Greece and Rome. The essence of the Renaissance is Humanism which emphasizes the dignity of human beings and the importance of the present life. Humanists voiced their beliefs that man was the center of the universe and man did not only have the right to enjoy the beauty of the present life, but had the ability to perfect himself and to perform wonders.
3. 17th Century British Literature
John Donne He is the leading figure of the "Metaphysical School". The most striking feature of Donne's poetry is his frequent use of conceit. He is a religious poet obsessed with death. The Songs and Sonnets is probably his best-known lyrics. Love is the basic theme. Donne holds that the nature of love is the union of soul and body.
British literature is the quintessence of British culture made by its people throughout years of process of development,
and most precious jewel of world literature.
2. British Literature during Renaissance Period
William Shakespeare He is the greatest of all Elizabethan dramatists. His literary career falls into four periods. He wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets. His sonnets represent the finest poetic craftsmanship of Elizabethan poetry. The themes of his sonnets are about love, friendship, the destructive effects of time, the quickness of physical decay, and the loss of beauty, vigor, and love.
4. British Literature during the Enlightenment Movement Period (late 17th century -- mid 18th century) The Enlightenment Movement Enlightenment Movement was a progressive intellectual movement which flourished in France and swept through Western Europe in the 18th century. The movement was a furtherance of the Renaissance from 14th century to the mid-17th century. Its purpose was to enlighten the whole world with the light of modern philosophical and artistic ideas. It celebrated reason or rationality, equality and science. It advocated universal education. Literature at the time became a very popular means of public education. Famous among the great enlighteners in England were those great writers like John Dryden, Alexander Pope, Joseph Addison and Sir Richard Steele, the two pioneers of familiar essays, Jonathan Swift, Richard Bringsley Sheridan, Daniel Defoe, Henry Fielding and Samuel Johnson, etc.