Periods-in-Literature-Literary-Periods-and-Genres-

Periods in Literature: Literary Periods and Genres

English Literature is divided into different periods and genres. These literary periods denote the periods for Literature that shares intellectual, linguistic, religious, and artistic influences. English Literature is a body of written works produced in the English Language by the inhabitants of the British Isles. Hence, the works of Literature present outside the British isles are treated under American Literature, Australian Literature, Canadian Literature, and New Zealand Literature. In this guide, you’ll walk through the different periods in Literature and their genres. 

 

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Period 1 # The Classical Periods (1200BCE – 455CE)

The oldest period in Literature is known as the classical periods present between 1200BCE to 455CE. Under this period, you’ll find three main periods as follows:- 

 

Homeric or Heroic Period (1200 – 800 BCE)

This literary period is a chaotic period of warrior-princes, wandering sea-traders, and fierce pirates. In this period, the Greek legends like Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey were passed orally. 

Classical Greek Period (800 – 200 BCE)

The classical Greek period includes playwrights and philosophers, including Gorgias, Aesop, Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Euripides, and Sophocles. Ranging between 800 – 200 BCE, the classical greek period is famous as The Golden Age of Greece. Main highlights of this period are the sophisticated era of the polis, individual City-State, and early democracy. Some of the world’s finest art pieces, poetry, drama, architecture, and philosophy originated in Athens. 

 

Classical Roman Period (200 BCE – 455 CE)

In this classical period, Roman culture took the upper edge after conquering Greece in 146 CE. During this period, the Roman Republic was traditionally founded in 509 BCE. The playwrights of this period were Plautus and Terence. At the same time, the Roman writers were Ovid, Horace, and Virgil. 

 

Patristic Period (C.70 CE – 455 CE)

Early Christian writers of this phase of the ear were Saint Augustine, Tertullian, Saint Cyprian, Saint Ambrose, and Saint Jerome. After compilation of bible in this period by Saint Jerome, Christianity spreads across Europe. 

 

Period 2# The Medieval Period (455 CE – 1066 CE)

The medieval period ranges between 428CE – 1066CE. Here are the two periods within the medieval period. 

 

The Old English (Anglo-Saxon) Period (428 – 1066 CE)

First sub-period in the medieval period is Anglo- Saxon period also known as “Dark Ages” occurring after the Rome fell and barbarian tribes moved into Europe. The early old English poems of these periods include Beowuld, The Wanderer, and The Seafarer. 

 

The Middle English Period (c.1066 – 1450 CE)

In 1066, the Normal French armies successfully invaded and conquered England under William 1, marking the end of the Anglo-Saxon hierarchy and the emergence of the 20th-century renaissance. The major works of French chivalric romances include works by Chretien de Troyes and French fables such as Marie de France and Jean de Menu. 

 

Period 3# The Renaissance and Reformation (1485 – 1660 CE)

This period of Literature took place in the late 15th, 16th, and early 17th century in Britain. The periods within the Renaissance period include:- 

 

Early Tudor Period (1485 – 1558)

This period marks the War of Roses, which ended with Henry Tudor claiming the throne. The sample poet of this period is Edmund Spenser. 

 

Elizabethan Period (1558 – 1603)

This period marks the reign of Queen Elizabeth along with her reign, which marked the early works of Shakespeare, Marlowe, Kyd, and Sidney. 

 

Jacobean Period (1603 – 1625)

Shakespeare’s later work marks the Jacobean period, including Aemilia Lanyer, Ben Jonson, and John Donne. 

 

Caroline Age (1625- 1649)

This literary period of Literature marks the works of John Milton, George Herbert, Robert Herrick, and the ‘Sons of Ben’. 

 

Commonwealth Period / Puritan Interregnum (1649 – 1660)

In this phase, under the Cromwell’s Puritan dictatorship, john Milton continued to write, but we find writers like Andrew Marvell and Sir Thomas Browne. 

 

Period 4# The Enlightenment Period (1660-1790 CE)

“Neoclassical” refers to the classical Literature upon these centuries. It is also called the “Enlightenment” due to the increased reverence for logic and disdain. 

 

Restoration Period (1660-1700)

This literary period marks the British king’s restoration to the throne post puritan domination in England. As a result, the symptoms mark the dominance of French and Classical influences on poetry and drama. The sample writers of this period include John Dryden, John Locke, Sir William Temple, etc. 

 

The Augustan Age (1700 – 1750)

The principal English writers of this age include Addison, Steele, Swift, and Pope. 

 

The Age of Johnson (1750 – 1790)

This literary period marks the works of major writer including Dr Samuel Johnsonm, Boswell, and Edward Gibbon. It includes colonial and revolutionary writers like Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Thomas Paine. 

 

Period 5# The Romantic Period (1790 – 1830 CE)

The romantic poets mainly include the works about nature, imagination, and individuality in England. Some of the major romantics include Coleridge, Blake, Keats, and Shelley. 

 

The second type of writings in this period included Gothic writings. This type of writing overlaps with the Romantic and Victorian periods. The major Gothic writers include Radcliffe, Poe, and Hawthorne. 

 

Period 6# The Victorian Period & 19th Century (1832 -1901 CE)

This period includes the writings of Queen Victoria’s reign, including the sentimental novels. Furthermore, there are various British writers, including Elizabeth Browning, Tennyson, and Dickens. The end of this era marks the writings of Walter Pater and Oscar Wilde. Also, there were many free verse poets, including Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. 

 

Period 7# The Modern Period (1914 – 1945 CE)

In Britain, the major modernist writers of this period include W.B. Yeats Seamus Heaney, Dylan Thomas, etc. The modernist writers in America are Robert Frost and O’Connor. Also, the famous writers of the Lost Generation include Hemingway, Faulkner, etc. There was also the advent of black writers such as Baldwin and Ellison. 

 

Period 8# The Postmodern Period (1945 – onward)

The last literary period of Literature is marked by postmodernity. The major writers of this era include T.S. Eliot, Morrison, Shaw, Stoppard, etc. The non-caucasian writers of the era included Hughes, Cisneros, and Hurston. Further, there were magic realists such as Gabriel Garcia, orges, Rushdie, etc.. 

 

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