Throughout the history of the world, literature has always been relevant in some form. It began as a means of entertainment for the people, though as time went on, it evolved and gained the purpose of reform. This change enabled writers to speak out about social issues, allowing them to draw the attention of the audience to these issues to promote reformation. When looking into the history of literature, there are seven major time periods that have significance to the evolution of literature.
Old English Literature
English Literature was first started with the traditions of the Anglo-Saxon settlers where they wrote the first long narrative poems. These poems were named Beowulf and Widith. Instead of using rhyming patterns to understand the temperament of the readers. Some famous writers of this time were Cynewulf and Caedmon.
Medieval English Literature
During this period, most of the population of England were able to read and write which meant that literature was able to progress at a much larger scale than it had previously. To add to this, a considerable amount of those who were literate, were also bilingual and trilingual. One of the core political servants pf Britain’s court, Geoffrey Chaucer, was one of the most highly respected poets during this period. He produced poems such as ‘Canterbury Tales’, ‘The house of fame’ and ‘The book of the duchess.’
Similarly, William Langland represented another popular genre with his religious works such as ‘Piers Plowman.’ Alongside these poems and religious texts, some plays were being produced and they became widely known across households – for instance, certain miracle plays were taken from extracts of the bible and were performed frequently in churches.
Elizabethan Age
It is easy to come to the conclusion that the Elizabethan age was a great time for literature, this is true to the extent that we still study the works of Elizabethan playwright, William Shakespeare. However, Shakespeare was not the only person who was influential in this time, for instance, noted alumni writers from the University of Cambridge and Oxford were labelled university wits due to their high education level and popular contributions to the development of literature. These writers consist of John Lyly (Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit), Christopher Marlowe (The Tragicall History of D. Faustus), Thomas Nashe (Summers Last Will and Testament) and George Peele (The Battle of Alcazar.)
During this time, literary dramas played a crucial role in making this period feel like the Golden age that it has been dubbed. Ralph Roister Doister, was written by Nicholas Udall and was the first comedy play to have been written and performed during the Elizabethan age. Sir Francis Bacon also was an influential contributor during this time, he wrote several intellectual essays and popularised the scientific method of analysis.
Restoration Age
Literature during the restoration age usually reflected the political conflict that was present in the late 17th century. John Dryden was one of the influential literary figures, he wrote the famous poem ‘Astra Radix’ and he also wrote mock poems to attack other contributors to literature at this time. Alongside Dryden, John Milton was a well-known controversialist who wrote multiple pieces such as Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained.
Similarly, John Locke wrote many essays that talked about diving deeper into the workings of society as well as debate and the limits of human intelligence. One of his more popular essays was written under the title of ‘The Essay Concerning Human Understanding.’
The 18th Century
The 18th century was the time where novels were introduced into the world. Daniel Defoe experimented with prose narratives and ended up writing ‘Robinson Crusoe.’ Prose writing made way for many more authors, such as Richard Steel (The Spectator) and Jonathan Swift (Gulliver’s Travels) who were known for their sarcastic style of writing.
The Romantic Period
This period saw experimentation on older forms of poetry which led to the development of prose fiction. As a result of this, prose fiction gained many different genres. Rooted in nature, love and romance, William Blake, William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge found their spotlight as poetry geniuses of the romantic period. Literature during this period developed into being written as a form of entertainment to the public who were now entirely able to read and write. Authors such as Jane Austen however, stood by the
20th Century Literature
Modern English literature began at the end of the Victorian age. Rudyard Kipling was considered the greatest writer of the century with his main works consisting of Life’s Handicap and The Jungle Book. Alongside this, H.G Wells (The Invisible man) and EM Foster (A Passage to India) were considered prominent additions to the 20th century literature.
Overall, literature has developed significantly throughout the evolution of our society and will continue doing so as we grow as a planet. There are parts of literature that we are yet to discover, and only time will tell what we choose to do next. From this we can find one more question, will you be the start of a new era of literature?
- Ash Green
Comentários