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Also known as the Old English Era is the earliest phase of English Literature, mainly written in the Anglo-Saxon dialects. Most texts set this period from the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons in Britain to the Norman Coquest in 1066.

CULTURAL AND SOCIAL CONTEXT

Today known as Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark the anglo-saxons brought their germanic language and culture to England and as christianity began to spread all around Europe, all the literature was heavily influenced by the traditions of both anglo-saxons and the religion and beliefs brought by christian missionaries.

All of the stories and compositions were shared orally and only some works were written down later on by christian monks who preseved both pagan and Christian elements.

MAJOR WORKS

As seen in class one of the most famous works from this era is Beowulf, an epic poem about the battles of the hero Beowulf againsgt Grendel and Grendel's mother. Other renown productions are:

The Wandereer (elegy)

The Wife's Lament (elegy)

The Seaferer (elegy)

The Dream of the Road (christian poetry)

The Battle of Maldon (epic)

The themes often seen in pieces from this period are:

Heroism

Loyalty to one's Lord ( Comitatus Bond)

The inevitable fate (Wyrd)

The tension between pagan traditions and Christian beliefs.

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The Renaissance arrived at different countries at varying times, Italy was the first to experience this movement beginning in the 14th century while the it did not reach England until the sixteenth century. A general consensus among historians is that by the early 17th century, the Renaissance had come to an end.

CULTURAL AND SOCIAL CONTEXT

There are several important events which led to the emergence of the Renaissance. These include the discovery of the New World in 1492 ushering in the age of exploration; the Protestant Reformation; the invention of printing press by Johannes Gutenberg around 1440; and the revival of classical Greek learning first in Italy and then in Northern Europe.

In England, this period coincided with the reigns of the Tudor monarchs, notably Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. The flourishing of arts was fueled by the patronage of the monarchy and nobility. Literature became more focused on human experiences, emotions, and individual expression, blending religious themes with secular ideas.

MAJOR WORKS

As studied in class, one of the most celebrated authors of this period is William Shakespeare, known for his plays such as Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and Macbeth. Other renowned works from this era include:

THEMES

Common themes in Renaissance literature include:

The human condition and exploration of human nature

Individualism and the power of human agency

The conflict between fate and free will

The tension between religion and secular life

Courtly love and chivalric ideals

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This movement was borned in the late 18th to mid-19th century, and strongly influenced by the French Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, and Napoleonic Wars, the writers responded to the drastic social, political, and economic changes of the time.

THEMES

Romanticism was characterized by the intense emotion expressed by the authors, as they look for beauty within their freedom. Also, nature was seen as a symbol of beauty, so it was a common theme in the literature of this time. Authors wanted to break free from the rules imposed in their work, so they started to value the personal expiriences and stories more than the style of writing and the rules in them.

MAJOR WORKS

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1798) by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

The sorrows of the Young Werther (1774) by Johann Wolfgang Goethe

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During Queen Victoria's reign a new momevent started to arise, it followed the Georgian Era and was highly influenced with the technological advances that brought urbanization, but also social issues like poor working conditions and poverty, which many writers addressed. With the rise of a new middle class, Victorian literature often examined the gaps between the rich and the poor.

THEMES

Many works addressed the social class issues and the struggles of the working poor.

Questions of women’s rights, marriage, and family were central themes, especially later in the period.

As scientific discoveries challenged religious views, literature explored themes of doubt, faith, and existential questions

It was highly influenced by Romanticism, so they still were in the searched of beauty, truth and idealisms.

MAJOR WORKS

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

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Late 18th to 20th Century Early Feminist Literature

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Late 18th to 20th Century Early Feminist Literature

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The early phase of feminist British literature emerged in the late 17th and 18th centuries, as women began to challenge societal norms and advocate for gender equality. This era marked the initial literary exploration of women's rights and their place in society, with themes of female education, independence, and intellectual equality gaining prominence.

CULTURAL AND SOCIAL CONTEXT

The early feminist movement in Britain arose during a time of significant social, political, and intellectual upheaval. The Enlightenment, which emphasized reason, individualism, and critical thinking, encouraged a reevaluation of traditional gender roles. However, women were still largely confined to the domestic sphere, denied access to formal education, and excluded from positions of power.

Amidst this background, early feminist writers began voicing their critiques. Influenced by Enlightenment ideals, these women questioned the patriarchal structures that limited their rights and opportunities. At the same time, broader societal changes, such as the rise of the middle class and the spread of literacy, provided more women with the means to engage in intellectual and literary endeavors. Many early feminist works took the form of essays, pamphlets, and novels, using fiction as a tool to advocate for reform and to highlight the struggles of women.

MAJOR WORKS

As seen in class, one of the most influential figures of early feminist British literature is Mary Wollstonecraft, whose work A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) and is a foundational feminist text. A room of one's own by Virginia Woolf.

THEMES

Recurring themes in early feminist literature include:

Women's education and intellectual equality

Critique of marriage and the limitations placed on women's autonomy

The tension between personal freedom and societal expectations

The demand for political and legal rights for women

The role of women as moral guides within the family and society

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England eas going through some bif social and political changes, all due to the two world wars, the rise of socialism and more importantly the fall of the British Empire.

That is why authors challenged the traditional literary forms and created new techniques to tell their stories like the well-known "Stream of Consciousness" and fragmented storytelling, used to describe the mind of their stories' characters in a more humanly eay.

THEMES

A recurring theme was, of course, war ab its aftermath, literature question the morality of the war and how it impacted the life of individuals

Identity crisis we also a common thing, characters often struggled with their self during this time of change

Authors also questioned traditoional norms by challenging political and societal rules.

MAJOR WORKS

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

Ulysses by James Joyce

1984 by George Orwell

The Waste Land by T.S Elliot.

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Modernism emerged partly in response to World War I and the disillusionment with Western civilization’s progress narrative, it emerged in the late 19th and early 20th, and cosely connected to the bloomsbury group, literature in this time tried to break away from the traditional forms of art, literature and social norms, embracing innovation and invidualism, as well as an disillusionment with the modern world

CHARACTERISTICS

The works of the Bloomsbury Group, although very different, shared this characteristics:

Innovation in the use of language and narrative structure, techniques like stream of conciousness, non-linear storytelling and fragmentation of narrative were highly use by the authors.

It broke away from the 19th century realism

The authors explored subjective expiriences and the inner thoughts, focusing mainly on the way the mind and emotion works instead on what happened in the outside world

MAJOR WORKS

To the lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence