Literary Periods
Old English Period (450-1066)
Time: 450-1066
Historical Context: Germanic tribes (the Angles, Saxons and Jutes) invaded Britain in the
5th century. Christianity spread.
Main Ideas: Heroism, Christian values.
Favourite Genres: Epics, elegies, charms and riddles.
Examples of Authors and Works:
o Beowulf (anonymous)
o The Wanderer (anonymous)
o The Dream of the Rood (anonymous)
Middle English Period (1066-1500)
Time: 1066-1500
Historical Context: The Norman Conquest, feudalism, the rise of chivalry.
Main Ideas: Courtly love, chivalry, religious themes, still mainly anonymous.
Favourite Genres: Chivalric romance, religious allegory, ballads.
Examples of Authors and Works:
o Geoffrey Chaucer - The Canterbury Tales
o I Sing of a Maiden (anonymous)
o The Three Ravens (anonymous)
o The Unquiet Grave (anonymous) —> “анкваіт”
o Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (The Gawain poet)
Tudor Period (1485-1603)
Time: Starts in 1485 and ends in 1603
Historical Context: Renaissance, Reformation, exploration.
Main Ideas: Humanism, individualism, religious turmoil.
Favourite Genres: Poetry, drama, prose.
Examples of Authors and Works:
o Sir Thomas More - Utopia
o William Shakespeare - Romeo and Juliet
Jacobean/Caroline Period (1603-1649)
Time: 1603-1649
Historical Context: James I and Charles I reigns, English Civil War.
Main Ideas: Metaphysical themes, political instability, exploration of human nature.
Favourite Genres: Tragedy, comedy, metaphysical poetry.
Examples of Authors and Works:
o William Shakespeare - Macbeth
o John Donne - Holy Sonnets
o Ben Jonson - Volpone
The Augustan Age (Enlightenment) (1700-1750)
Time: 1700-1750
Historical Context: Scientific revolution, political stability under Queen Anne,
George I and II.
Main Ideas: Reason, satire, social critique.
Favourite Genres: Satire, essays, novels.
Examples of Authors and Works:
o Jonathan Swift - Gulliver’s Travels
o Alexander Pope - The Rape of the Lock
o Daniel Defoe - Robinson Crusoe
Characteristics of Authors
Geoffrey Chaucer
Literary Period: Middle English
Biographical Facts: The Father of English literature/poetry. A writer, philosopher,
astronomer. Worked as a public servant, traveled extensively.
Main Features: Satirical, diverse social perspectives.
Literary Genres: Poetry, narrative poetry.
Important Works:
o The Canterbury Tales
o General Prologue to Canterbury Tales
o The Pardoner's Tale
Edmund Spenser
Literary Period: Tudor
Biographical Facts: Held government positions in Ireland.
Main Features: Allegorical, richly descriptive.
Literary Genres: Epic poetry.
Important Works:
o The Faerie Queene
o Amoretti
o Epithalamion
William Shakespeare
Literary Period: Tudor, Jacobean
Biographical Facts: Worked in London as an actor and playwright.
Main Features: Complex characters, poetic language.
Literary Genres: Drama, sonnets.
Important Works:
o Hamlet
o Macbeth
o Romeo and Juliet
Ben Jonson
Literary Period: Jacobean
Biographical Facts: Served as a soldier, worked as a playwright.
Main Features: Satirical, classical influences.
Literary Genres: Comedy, tragedy.
Important Works:
o Volpone
o The Alchemist
o Bartholomew Fair
John Donne
Literary Period: Jacobean
Biographical Facts: Became a cleric in the Church of England.
Main Features: Metaphysical conceits, religious themes.
Literary Genres: Poetry, sermons.
Important Works:
o Holy Sonnets
o The Flea
o A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning
George Herbert
Literary Period: Jacobean/Caroline
Biographical Facts: Anglican priest, known for religious poetry.
Main Features: Devotional, spiritual introspection.
Literary Genres: Poetry.
Important Works:
o The Temple
o The Collar
o Love (III)
John Milton
Literary Period: Caroline
Biographical Facts: Civil servant under Oliver Cromwell.
Main Features: Epic, complex syntax.
Literary Genres: Epic poetry.
Important Works:
o Paradise Lost
o Paradise Regained
o Areopagitica
John Dryden
Literary Period: Restoration
Biographical Facts: Poet Laureate of England.
Main Features: Satirical, heroic couplets.
• Literary Genres: Poetry, drama, essays, songs, elegies.
Important Works:
o Absalom and Achitophel– a story of revolt against father (read: the king;
connected with the Whigs’ action against Charles II).
o Mac Flecknoe (a discussion between two playwrights and literary critics) – the
first English mock-heroic poem (written in 1678)
o 1682 – The Medal
Daniel Defoe
Literary Period: Augustan Age
Biographical Facts: Worked as a journalist and pamphleteer.
Main Features: Realistic fiction, detailed narrative.
Literary Genres: Novel, journalism.
Important Works:
o Robinson Crusoe
o Moll Flanders
o A Journal of the Plague Year
Jonathan Swift
Literary Period: Augustan Age
Biographical Facts: Satirist, clergyman, Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin.
Main Features: Satirical, dark humor.
Literary Genres: Satire, essays.
Important Works:
o Gulliver’s Travels
o A Modest Proposal
o The Drapier’s Letters
Characteristics of Anonymous Writings
Riddles and Charms
Features: Metaphorical language, wordplay.
Examples: Exeter Book Riddles
Old English Religious Poems
Features: Christian themes, moral lessons.
Examples: The Dream of the Rood
Old English Elegiac Poetry
Features: Themes of loss and longing.
Examples: The Wanderer, The Seafarer
Old English Heroic Epic
Features: Heroic deeds, battles.
Examples: Beowulf
Medieval Lyrics
Features: Short, emotional poems, often about love or nature.
Examples: Cuckoo Song
Dream Visions
Features: Allegorical, often religious or moral messages.
Examples: Piers Plowman by William Langland
Ballads
Features: Narrative songs, often about folk tales or historical events.
Examples: The Ballad of Sir Patrick Spens
Chivalric Romances
Features: Adventures of knights, courtly love.
Examples: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Medieval Drama
Features: Religious stories, morality plays.
Examples: Everyman, The Second Shepherds' Play
