Literature
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A- Poetry B- Drama C- Prose
Literature: most generically, is any piece of written works. More restrictively, literature is writing considered to be an art form, or any single writing considered to have artistic or intellectual value, often due to using language in ways that differ from ordinary usage. It can be divided into three main types:
A- Poetry: is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and rhythmic qualities of language—such as structural, sense and sound devices— to suggest meanings in addition to, or in place of, the ordinary apparent meaning.
B- Drama (play): is a story enacted onstage for a live audience.
C- Prose: is a form of language that exhibits a natural flow of speech and grammatical structure rather than a rhythmic structure as in traditional poetry, where the common unit of verse is based on meter or rhyme. It is divided into three main kinds: descriptive, narrative, argumentative.
An argumentative prose is to give the reader opinions, facts, and presents the reader with a claim and support for the claim. It demands that the writer should carefully consider an issue which has two sides and to prove that one side has more merit than the other.
Literary Periods of British & American Literature
Periods of British Literature:
1- Old English (or Anglo-Saxon) Period 450-1066: The Old English Period or the Anglo-Saxon Period refers to the literature produced from the invasion of Celtic England by Germanic tribes in the first half of the fifth century to the conquest of England in 1066 by William the Conqueror. During the Old English Period, written literature began to develop from oral tradition, and in the eighth century poetry written in the vernacular Anglo-Saxon (also known as Old English) appeared. There are two types of poetry:
A- The Heroic Poetry : one of the most well-known eighth century Old English pieces of literature is Beowulf, a great Germanic epic heroic poem.
B- The Religious Poetry: Two poets of the Old English Period who wrote on biblical or religious poetry were Caedmon and Cynewulf.
2- Middle English Period, middle ages, medieval period 1066-1500: The Middle English Period consists of the literature produced in the four and a half centuries between the Norman Conquest of 1066 and about 1500, when the standard literary language, derived from the dialect of the London area, became recognizable as "modern English." Prior to the second half of the fourteenth century, vernacular literature consisted primarily of religious writings. The second half of the fourteenth century produced the first great age of secular literature. The most widely known of these writings are Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, the anonymous Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and Thomas Malory's Morte d'Arthur.
3- The 16th century, The Renaissance, Elizabethan Age 1500- 1603: While the English Renaissnace began with the ascent of the House of Tudor to the English throne in 1485, the English Literary Renaissance began with English humanists such as Sir Thomas More and Sir Thomas Wyatt.
The Elizabethan Age of English Literature coincides with the reign of Elizabeth I, 1558 - 1603. During this time, medieval tradition was blended with Renaissance optimism. Lyric poetry, prose, and drama were the major styles of literature that flowered during the Elizabethan Age. Some important writers of the Elizabethan Age include William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Edmund Spenser, and Sir Walter Raleigh.
4- The 17th century 1603-1660:
A- The Jacobean Age of English Literature coincides with the reign of James I, 1603 - 1625. During this time the literature became sophisticated, sombre, and conscious of social abuse and rivalry. The Jacobean Age produced rich prose and drama as well as the King James translation of the Bible. Francis Bacon, and Thomas Middleton and Jonson wrote during the Jacobean Age, as well as the metaphysical school of poetry of John Donne
B- The Caroline Age of English Literature coincides with the reign of Charles I, 1625 - 1649. The writers of this age wrote with refinement and elegance. This era produced a circle of poets known as the "Cavalier Poets" and the dramatists of this age were the last to write in the Elizabethan tradition.
C- The Commonwealth Period, also known as the Puritan Interregnum, of English Literature includes the literature produced during the time of Puritan leader Oliver Cromwell. This period produced the political writings of John Milton, Thomas Hobbes' political treatise Leviathan, and the prose of Andrew Marvell. In September of 1642, the Puritans closed theatres on moral and religious grounds. For the next eighteen years the theatres remained closed, accounting for the lack of drama produced during this time period.
5-The Neoclassical Period 1660-1798: The Neoclassical Period of English literature (1660 - 1785) was much influenced by contemporary French literature, which was in the midst of its greatest age. The literature of this time is known for its use of philosophy, reason, skepticism, wit, and refinement. The Neoclassical Period also marks the first great age of English literary criticism. Much like the English Literary Renaissance, the Neoclassical Period can be divided into four subsets: the Restoration, the Augustan Age, the Age of Sensibility and Pre Romantic age.
A-The Restoration (or Age of Dryden) 1660-1700: The Restoration is marked by the restoration of the monarchy and the triumph of reason and tolerance over religious and political passion. The Restoration produced an abundance of prose and poetry and the distinctive comedy of manners known as Restoration comedy. It was during the Restoration that John Milton published Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained. Other major writers of the era include John Dryden, John Wilmot 2nd Earl of Rochester, and John Locke.
B-The Augustan Age (or Age of Pope) 1700-1744: The English Augustan Age derives its name from the brilliant literary period of Vergil and Ovid under the Roman emperor Augustus (27 B.C. - A.D. 14). In English literature, the Augustan Age refers to literature with the predominant characteristics of refinement, clarity, elegance, and balance of judgement. Well-known writers of the Augustan Age include Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, and Daniel Defoe. A significant contribution of this time period included the release of the first English novels by Defoe, and the "novel of character," Pamela, by Samuel Richardson in 1740.
C-The Age of Sensibility (or Age of Johnson) 1745-1784: During the Age of Sensibility, literature reflected the worldview of Enlightenment and began to emphasize instict and feeling, rather than judgment and restraint. A growing sympathy for the Middle Ages during the Age of Sensibility sparked an interest in medieval ballads and folk literature. Another name for this period is the Age of Johnson because the dominant authors of this period were Samuel Johnson and his literary and intellectual circle. This period also produced some of the greatest early novels of the English language, including Richardson's Clarissa (1748) and Henry Fielding's Tom Jones (1749).
D-Pre-Romantic age 1784-1798: it starts with the death of Johnson and ends with the publication of The Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth.
6-The Romantic Period 1798-1837.