6 history

Erbil International University
College of Languages and Humanities Studies

Department of English Language and Translation
Second year BA students
Academic year of 2024-2025
Introduction to Literature
Assist. Lect. Rayan O. Azeez
BA in English Language Teaching
MA in Applied Linguistics
History of literature
History of literature
The history of English literature started with the history of the English
race and kept on developing with the social development of the nation,
The major eight (8) periods in the history of English literature are:
1.The Anglo-Saxon or Old English Period (450–1066)

2.The Anglo-Norman or Middle English period (1066–1500)
3.The Renaissance Period (1500–1660)
4.The Neoclassical Period (1660–1798)
5.The Romantic Period (1798–1837)
6.The Victorian Period (1837–1901)
7.The Modern Period (1901-1945)
8.The Contemporary Period (1945–Today)
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1. Anglo-Saxon or Old English Period
(Early Medieval period) (450–1066)
 The Angles and Saxons were the ancestors of the English
race. After the fall of the Western Roman, three Germanic tribes—
the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes—saw an opportunity to fill in the
power gap and started migrating to Britain.
 The Anglo-Saxons were fearless, adventurous, and brave
people. they had occupied the major part of the country, and
the land of Anglos or Anglo land—present day England—became
their permanent abode.
 The Anglo-Saxon poetry was mostly sung instead of written. The first
English epic poem. Beowulf narrates a tale of the adventures of Beowulf. It
tells the story of a heroic warrior named Beowulf who battles various
monsters and dragons.
 After embracing Christianity, the Anglo-Saxon poets began to write religious
poetry. ‘Crist’ is the most popular one telling the event that occurred in the
life of Jesus Christ.
 Theme: heroic deeds, strength of arms, blood vengeance, with Christian
ideals of forgiveness, humbleness, charity, and heaven. loyalty, fate, and
the struggle between good and evil.
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2. The Anglo-Norman or Middle
English Period (1066-1500 AD)
 With the Norman conquest began a new era in the history of
England literature. The Normans brought with them their rich French
culture and language. The literature of this period comes under the
category of Norman-French Literature or Anglo-French Literature.
 The Norman Conquest brought a radical change in English culture,
law, language, and character. English became the language spoken
only by the poor and powerless. While Norman-French became the
language of the rich. It also became the symbol of social status and
prestige.
 John Gower also occupied a significant place in the English poetry.
 ‘The Age of Chaucer’ is the most significant time period in the
literary history of English literature. Chaucer became the ‘Father of
English literature’ as well as the ‘Father of English poetry’.
 Theme: religion, courtly love, and King Arthur.
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3. The Renaissance Period
(1500–1660)
 The Renaissance Period in the history of English
literature is also known as the Elizabethan Period or
the Age of Shakespeare. It is, in fact, the ‘golden age’ in
the history of English literature, meaning revival or
rebirth. As a result, the darkness of the middle ages was
replaced by the enlightenment of the human mind with
the ‘Revival of Learning’.
 John Milton was the most significant poet of the Puritan
Age.
 theme: love, beauty, nature, death, time, and mutability.
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4. The Neoclassical
Period (1660-1798)
 This time period is divided into two parts: the Restoration Period or the Age
of Dryden, and the Classical Age or the Augustan Age.
 The Classical Age is further divided into two distinct periods:
 1. Age of Pope, Alexander Pope was the dominating figure in that period.
 2. Augustan Age was dominated by Dr. Samuel Johnson called the Age of
Johnson.
 Theme: nationalism, realism, devotion to classism, objectivity, and style of
satire.
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5. The Romantic Period
(1798-1837)
 The most flourished period in the
history of English literature is the
Romantic Period. It was a revolt
against the Classical school.
 Theme: Nature, imagination,
emotion, solitude, and the sublime.
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6. The Victorian Period
(1837–1901)
 Victorian Period is divided into two further
periods:
 The Earlier Victorian Period.
 The Later Victorian Period:
 Themes: of social injustice, of
romantic love, and of the loss of
innocence.
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7. The Modern Period
(1901-1945)
 The main cause of this was the impact of
scientific thought on the people.
 T. S. Eliot is the chief representative of modern
poetry.
 Common themes in Modernist poetry are
society, disillusionment, collectivism vs.
individualism, and societal changes.
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8. The Contemporary Period
(Post

Modern) (1945–Today)
After World War II, new trends appeared in English literature.
Although poetry was the most memorable form to come out. This
was because mass media, cinema, newspapers, and radio had
changed the way of information and entertainment. There were
many writers who wrote about war.
 Theme: identity, social justice, environmentalism, love and
relationships, war, racism,, family, home and the human condition.
 Certainly, each decade in the history of English literature introduced
different ways of writing.
 The four main directions were:
• the focus on foreign and local regional voices.
• the focus on more female voices.
• the academic or campus novel.
• the coming of the kind of fantasy known as Magic Realism. 12

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Erbil International University

College of Languages and Humanities Studies

1.The Anglo-Saxon or Old English Period (450–1066)

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