British Literature

~Genre(s)= Type of Classification~Look at Historical Genres~8 Genres (or historical periods)

Language and History of English(4 types of spoken English)

1. Old English (0 ad-1066 ad)BeowulfA. Germanic peoples. B. 60% GermanC. 1066 ad the Norman ConquestD. 40% Latin

2. Middle English 1070 AD-1800 AD

A. Medieval English 1070 AD-1500 AD 1. Chaucer’s Canterbury tales

B. Renaissance English 1500 AD-1750 AD 1. William Shakespeare

(Created 24,000 new words in 39

plays.)

3. Modern English 1750 AD-Present

Dictionary by Samuel Johnson 1755

4. American English 1828-Present

Noah Webster (1828)

The American Language Dictionary

Language and History of

English Cont.

2. Middle English 1066-1485

1066 AD: Norman Conquest

1170 AD: Thomas Becket Murdered

1215 AD: Signing of Magna Carta

1343 AD: Chaucer Born

1348 AD: Black Plague in England

1387 AD: Chaucer Writes Canterbury Tales.1400 AD: Chaucer Dies

1455 AD: Gutenberg press Developed

1485 AD: King Henry VII Crowned.

Age of Chaucer

He defines a style of English/British Writing

A. Wrote in London dialect

B. Wrote in unrhymed syllabic verse

1. Blank Verse- unrhymed iambic pentameter.

In Canterbury Tales (1387)

Chaucer portrays the common people- depicts England as well as individuals

Chaucer Influences

Edmund Spenser- Wrote 26,000 line poem, Fairie Queen.

William Shakespeare

In 1373-378, Chaucer Went to Italy and met Boccaccio (wrote the Decameron), who influenced Chaucer greatly.

Chaucer died on Oct. 25, 1400 AD

-buried in Poet’s Corner of Westminster Abbey

3. English Renaissance (=“re-birth”)

I. Old English (0 AD-1070 AD)

German Based Language

Today 60% German 40% Latin

II. Middle English (1070 AD- 1800 AD) =Norman Conquest

A. Medieval English (1066 AD-1515 AD)

B. Renaissance English (1515 AD- 1800 AD)

1. Shakespeare added 25,000 words to the English language

III. Modern English (1800- present)

3. Timetable of the English Renaissance (1485 AD- 1660 AD)

1485 AD: King Richard III Killed

1509 AD: King Henry VIII crowned

1517 AD: Martin Luther and 95 theses

1533 AD: Henry 8th head of Church of England

Henry VIII- 6 wives

1. Catherine of Aragon—daughter=Mary

2. Anne Boleyn—daughter = Elizabeth

Oct 31, 1517 Martin Luther nails the 95 theses to the Wittenberg Germany church door

Henry VIII appoints Thomas Cranmer as Archbishop of Canterbury

1535 AD-Sir Thomas More Executed

1547 AD-1553 AD- Edward VI

1553 AD-1558 AD- Reign of Bloody Mary

1558 AD- Queen Elizabeth 1

1564 AD- Will Shakespeare Born

1590 AD-1610 AD Shakespeare’s 39 plays

1599 AD- Globe Theatre

1611 AD- King James Bible

1658 AD- John Milton’s Paradise Lost

3. Timetable of the English Renaissance (1485 AD- 1660 AD)

Renaissance Theater 1580-1616 A.D.

Morality plays: originated in church“The Shepherd of Hills” play. Passion Story—Crucifixion of JesusDoctor Faustus(1580’s) by Christopher Marlowe TragedyRomeo & Juliet (1595) by Shakespeare movie: Shakespeare In LoveCreation of the Globe Theatre (1599)Seating capacity=3,000This was Shakespeare's TheaterIn 1613 the Globe Theater burns down

William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

April 23 Birth date

April 26? Death date

--born in Stratford-Upon-Avon

18 years old marries Anne Hathaway (26)

Daughter=Susanna

Has twins=boy=Hamnet and girl=Judith

-Last Play! 1603- The Tempest

-Wrote 39 plays and 154 sonnets

4. Restoration Period (1660-1800)

1660 Coronation of Charles II as king a “player”=“rake”

“dissemble”= ”dis” ability to dismantle your opponent with words

British WIT= Intelligence; ability to think on feet and has sense of humor

King Charles II:

-1660: Samuel Pepys’ Diary

-1665: Great London Plague kills 68,000 people 1/3 of population Fleas on Rats spread plague

-Sept. 1666: Great fire of London

4. Restoration Period Continued

--1690: John Locke Philosopher-1712: Alex Pope’s “Rape of the Lock”-1719: Daniel Defoe Robinson Crusoe=(1st Novel)

1755: Sam Johnson’s

1st English Dictionary

5. Restoration Period Continued

-1728: Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels

-1751: Thomas Gray’s “Elegy” Poem

-1755: Sam Johnson’s 1st English Dictionary

-1789: Blake and Burns (2 poets)

5. Elements of Romantic Period (1789-1832)

-love-nature-Adventure, have fun-innocence-Fantasy-Idealism-Optimistic-Hopeful-”carpe diem”

5. Romantic Period 1789-1832

Individual takes on Romance- adventure in nature -learns from nature 3 Poets: -William Wordsworth -William Blake -Robert Burns (Scottish)

Came Next: 3 Additional Poets: -Samuel Tyler Coleridge -(Rime of the Ancient Mariner) Lord Byron- inspires writing of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Percy Shelley

5. Romantic Period 1789-1832

Female Novelists:I. Jane Austen with Pride and Prejudice in 1813

II. Mary Shelley Frankenstein 1819

-Romance- Romantic love III. Bronte Sisters?

6. Elements of Victorian Period(1832—1901)

-pessimistic-harsh, cruel life-Horrible conditions in London-poverty-”realism”-Glass half empty-bleak-corsets-no skin showing, all clothing

covered everything-Undercover-undergroundDark, mysteriousMistresses

7. Timeline of Victorian Period

1832- Queen Victoria becomes Queen1837- Charles Dickens writes Oliver Twist1846- Poetry of Elizabeth Barret &

Robert Browning 1847- Emily (Wuthering Heights) and

Charlotte Bronte (Jane Eyre)1861- Civil war in U.S.1862- Victor Hugo publishes Les

Miserable (France)1887- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle starts

Sherlock Holmes Series1901- Queen Victoria Dies

7. 20TH Century Literature/Modern British Literature Timeline

1900- Freud’s Interp. Of Dreams published1901 Queen Victoria dies1913 Pygmalion performed (George

Bernard Shaw)1914-1918 WWI1922 “disillusionment” T.S. Eliot’s “Waste

Land” is published1930 W.H. Auden poetry published1939 Hitler’s rise WWII to power1945 George Orwell’s Animal Farm is

published1955 Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for

Godot is performed1989 Berlin Wall destroyed1991 Soviet Union dissolved

8. Fantasy Literature 1910’s-2007Early modern fantasy—early 1900’s.

George MacDonald, Scottish author of The Princess and the Goblin and Phantastes

Major influence on Tolkien and Lewis

William Morris’ The Well at the World’s End

1923 first all-fantasy magazine Weird TalesJ.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit 1937, then, Lord of the Rings in the

1950’s.

C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, 1950’s

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, 1990’s-2007