British Literature Essay

This lesson is a continuation of the study of British literature and leave center on literature from the Neoclassical termination to today. This lesson is but an overview of close to of the beginnings and literary whole whole kit and caboodle produced in England during a p artificeicular limit. There be legion(predicate) separate authors that made burning(prenominal) contributions to the literature of this time breaker point. The periods of British belles-lettres argonClassical flow rate (1200 BC to 455 AD) Medieval Period (455 AD to 1485) Renaissance and the Commonwealth Period (1485 to 1660) Neoclassical Period (1660 to 1790) romantic Period (1790 to 1830) mincing Period (1832 to 1901) Edwardian Era (1901 to 1910) contemporaneity (1914 to 1945) Post-Modernism Period from 1945 to the birth Neoclassical Period (1660-1790) The Enlighten ment ( in like manner referred to as the Neoclassical Period or the Age of Reason) was based on the concept that slew could find ne plus ultra and happiness through reason and knowledge. This essentially humanist vision was characterized by a resistance to religious authority.The Enlightenment began during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Europe and eventually spread to America. The Restoration, the Augustan Age, and the Age of magic trickson were time periods that were let in in the Enlightenment. Literature from the colonial period and the beginning of the revolutionary period in American literature developed during this time. Two great(p) American authors of the era were Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine. During the Restoration, British monarch Charles II was restored to the hatful (hence the name of the era), marking the decline of the Puritan influence on British literature.Writers of the Neoclassical Period earth-closet Dryden Dryden (1631-1700) was an position poet and dramatist. near of his noted numberss complicate Astrea Redux, Absalom and Achitophel, and The Hind and the Panth er. He is also known for his play any for Love. Dryden was the British poet laureate from 1670 to 1689. John Locke Locke (1631-1704) was an slope philosopher who wrote the essay Concerning Human Understanding. He believed that the save way a person could put on knowledge was through experience. Lockes Two Treatises on Government promoted ideas about democracy.William Wycherley Wycherley (1640-1716) was an English dramatist whose working take Love in a Wood, The Country Wife, and The Plain Dealer. Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) was a government official and writer who lived in England. His noteworthy Diary is an all important(p) source of the lifestyles and history of the English hatful. Aphra Behn Behn (1640-1689) was an English newist and dramatist and the introductory distaff to make a living from her writing. Some of her workings involve Oroonoko, The coerce Marriage, The Rover, and The Lucky Chance.The Augustan Age (1700-1750), named for the Roman empero r Augustus, witnessed a overstep to the Latin literature of the ancient Roman Empire. British writers were influenced by the plant of the ancient Roman poets Horace and Virgil during this era. Writers of the Augustan Age Joseph Addison Addison (1672-1719) was an English poet, essayist, dramatist, and member of fantan. star of his well-known literary works was the poem The Campaign. Sir Richard Steele Steele (1672-1729) was an essayist and dramatist from Ireland. With Joseph Addison, he founded the journals The Tattler, The Spectator, and The Guardian.He was elected to Parliament and was later knighted. Two of his plays allow The Funeral and The certified Lovers. Jonathan Swift Swift (1667-1745) was an Irish satirist who used Juvenalian satire to criticise the society of his day in Gullivers Travels. Some of his other works include A tosh of a Tub and A grim Proposal. In 1694, he was ordained in the Church of England. Alexander pontiff Pope (1688-1784) was a poet and write r of satire who was famous for his use of the elevated couplet in his writings. Some of his works include The Rape of the Lock, The temple of Fame, An Essay on Man, and Moral Essays.Daniel Defoe Defoe (1660-1731) was a journalist who wrote Robinson Crusoe. Some of his other works include The True-Born Englishman, Moll Flanders, and A Journal of the Plague Year. he Age of Johnson, named for Samuel Johnson (an important figure in English literature in the late 1700s), lasted from 1750-1790. Writers of the Age of Johnson Samuel Johnson Johnson (1709-1784) was an English author famous for his Dictionary of the English Language, The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia, and The Lives of the English Poets. He is also remembered for forming a group of writers called the literary Club.Oliver goldsmith Goldsmith (1728-1774) was an English dramatist, essayist, poet, and invigoratedist and was a member of the Literary Club. Goldsmith wrote the novel The Vicar of heat upfield. other(a ) works include the poem The Deserted settlement and the play She Stoops to Conquer. Edmund Burke Burke (1729-1797) served as a member of Parliament during the American Revolution. He supported the rights of the colonists and urged the British government to compromise with the American colonies. Some of his writings were critical of the French Revolution. Robert Burns Burns (1759-1796) was a Scottish songwriter and poet.Two of Burns better known songs are Auld Lang Syne and Comin Thro the Rye. James Boswell Boswell (1740-1795) was a Scottish author who wrote the biography The behavior of Samuel Johnson. He was a member of Samuel Johnsons Literary Club, and the two men traveled together. Boswells Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides is an account of iodin of their trips. Edward Gibbon Gibbon (1737-1794) was a leading historian whose intimately famous work was the History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Thomas senile Gray (1716-1771) was an English poet whose style was used by many of the quixotic writers.His most famous work was Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard. Olaudah Equiano Equiano (c. 1750 c. 1797) was an African slave who was brought to the West Indies. He received nigh education and was later granted his freedom by his master. He was the first black to write an autobiography in England. He wrote The Interesting memorial of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African in 1789. Romantic Period (1790-1830) romanticism is the school of thought and period of literature in which emotion, passion, and imagination are considered more important than reason and intuition more important than logic.During the Romantic Period, most writers were discontented with commercial, inhuman, and standardized conditions. Many Romantic writers represent people in unrealistic situations. To escape from ultramodern life, the Romantics turned their interest to far and faraway places, the medieval past, folklore and legends, nature, and t he common people. Romantics glorified the individual and believed that people must be free from confining rules and able to develop individually. The Romantic novels expound exciting adventures, unexplained events, and the evil influences of obsessions. Writers of the Romantic Period William BlakeBlake (1757-1827) was an English poet, artist, and prominent figure of Romanticism. Some of his works include Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. Blake created the illustrations in some of his books such as The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. William Wordsworth Wordsworth (1770-1850) was a Romantic poet whose literary works cogitate on the beauty of nature. He teamed with Samuel Taylor Coleridge to write musical Ballads, marking the beginning of the Romantic impetus. Other works include The l integritysome(a) Reaper and the autobiographical poem Prelude. Samuel Coleridge Coleridge (1772-1834) was a poet and philosopher from England.He coauthored Lyrical Ballads with William Word sworth. His most famous works include The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla Khan. Percy Bysshe Shelly Shelly (1792-1822) was an English poet whose many poems contained political and religious themes. His works include Ode to the West Wind, The Cloud, and The Skylark. John Keats Keats (1795-1821) was a poet who focused on death, love, and beauty. His works include Ode to a nightingale and On a Grecian Urn. Sir Walter Scott Scott (1771-1832) was a Scottish novelist and poet who became a lawyer in 1792. He was credited with creating the historical novel.Scott became iodine of the leading literary figures of his day. Scotts works of poetry include The Lay of the Last Minstrel, Marmion, and The skirt of the Lake. His novels include Waverley, The Tale of Old Mortality, The Heart of Midlothian, Ivanhoe, The Talisman, St. Ronans Well, A subtitle of Montrose, and Quentin Durward. Jane Austen Austen (1775-1814) was an English novelist who incorporated her observations of the manner s and society of her time. Through dialogue and narration, she allowed her characters to be guided by common sense and traditional values. Her more famous works include Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice.black letter novel Gothic novels use detestation and medieval elements such as castles and dungeons. bloody shame Shelleys Frankenstein, and Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights are examples of Gothic novels. Writers of Gothic Novels Ann Radcliffe Radcliffe (1764-1823) wrote The Mysteries of Udolpho and The Italian. The panorama of most of her work involved innocent young women, dark confidential castles, and nobles with secret pasts. Horace Walpole Horace Walpole (1717-1797) wrote The Castle of Otranto, considered by some to be the first Gothic novel, as well as over 4,000 publish letters.Writers in the prim Period (1832-1901) wrote about the living conditions of the lower class. The nice Period was also marked by sentimental novels. The modern drama appeared toward the end of the capital of Seychellesn Age. Writers of the Victorian Period of Literature (1832-1901) Alfred Lord Tennyson Tennyson (1809-1892) served as the poet laureate of big(p) Britain from 1850 to 1892. Some of his works include Ulysses and The Charge of the Light Brigade. Robert brown Browning (1812-1889) used dramatic monologue in his writings.Some of his works include Pippa Passes, The Pied Piper of Hamelin, Bells and Pomegranates, and My Last Duchess. Anne Bronte Anne Bronte (1820-1849) was the youngest of the three Bronte sisters. Her novels include Agnes Grey and The tenant of Wildfell Hall. Oscar Wilde Wilde (1854-1900) was an Irish author who published only one novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. Wilde wrote many comedies, including A Woman of No Importance and The Importance of macrocosm Earnest. Thomas Carlyle Carlyle (1795-1881) was a Scottish historian and essayist who criticized the laissez faire doctrine that allowed people to do as they pleased.His works includ e Frederick the peachy. George Bernard Shaw Shaw (1856-1950) was an Irish dramatist and novelist and a member of the mixerist Fabian Society. He wrote over 50 plays including Pygmalion and won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Edward Lear Lear (1812-1888) was an English artist and author famous for his limericks and childrens poems. Lears first publication was A Book of Nonsense, and his most famous childrens poem was The Owl and the Pussycat. Charlotte Bronte Charlotte Bronte (1816 1855) was an English author best known for her novel Jane Eyre.With her sisters Emily and Anne, she published poetry written depicting their childhood fantasy world. The poems were published under the male pseudonyms of Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell. Emily Bronte Emily Bronte (1818 1848) was one of the English Bronte sisters famous for their literary style. Her only novel was the Gothic Wuthering Heights. Charles Dickens Dickens (1812 1859) gained fame as a writer of The Pickwick Papers. Many of his literary works were based on his life experiences and social conditions in England. His best known works include A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations.Pre-Raphaelite Poets The Pre-Raphaelite poets (named for the Italian painter Raphael) of the Victorian Age wanted to return the morality of the medieval era to the modern world. Dante Rossetti Rossetti (1828-1882) was considered a leading poet and painter in England during the 1800s. His poetry contained imagery and examples of symbolism, and his paintings included romantic scenes. His literary works included Sister Helen and The House of Life. William Morris Morris (1834-1896) was an English artist, poet, and social reformer whose work museed an interest in medieval art and Gothic architecture.His works include The Life and Death of Jason, The Earthly Paradise, A Dream of John Ball, and new-sprung(prenominal)s from Nowhere. Realism (1860 1914) Realist authors exposit life as it really existed. Writers examined and exposed t he social, economic, and political problems of society using the dialect or language of the people. Realists saw the corruption of the Gilded Age and called for reform. They rejected Romanticism, which portrayed people in unrealistic situations. Mark Twain, Bret Harte, and Henry James were writers of Realism. transcendentalism (1800s)Transcendentalism was a religious and philosophical movement in the earliest to middle 1800s. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) was the leader of the Transcendentalist movement in America. He believed that people could gain knowledge through the use of their intellect rather than from the experiences of their lives. The Transcendentalists rejected clod religious t all(prenominal)ings. Naturalism Naturalists represented the extreme element of the Realism movement of literature. They believed that family history and environment were the main influences on the development of a persons character and that people had no control over their fate.Political, eco nomic, social, and genetic endowment factors controlled the actions and fate of the people. Naturalist writers exposed the abuses and suffering of people in America. Upton Sinclair described in The Jungle, the plight of the workers in the meat packing plants in Chicago. Stephen unfold wrote about the sufferings of the soldiers during the Civil War in The Red Badge of Courage. Other Naturalist authors included Jack London, Theodore Dreiser, and Eugene ONeill. Edwardian Period (1901-1910) This period of British Literature refers to the reign of Edward VII, the eldest son of Queen Victoria and her husband Albert.Edward was interested in the arts and founded the Royal College of Music. Writers of the Edwardian Period H. G. Wells Wells (1866-1946) was a novelist, historian, and well-known author of science fiction. His literary works include The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, and The Shape of Things to Come. His Wealth and pleasure of Mankind addressed the social needs of people in general. Arnold bennet Bennet (1867-1931) was an English journalist, novelist, and playwright. The film The Madness of King George was an adaptation of one of his plays. One of his most famous works was A Private Function.Rupert carry Brook (1887-1915) was an English poet whose writings described the lives of people who suffered through the horror of World War I. One of his most famous works is The Soldier. John Masefield Masefield (1878-1967) was a novelist and poet laureate from England. His works of poetry include The Everlasting Mercy, Dauber, and Reynard the pull someones leg and the novels Sard Harker and The Bird of Dawning. Modernism (1914-1945) Modernism was a literary and ethnic movement that did not support the social, political, or economic values of the 1800s. disassociate of the reason for the movement away from the 1800s was due to the tremendous destruction and passing game of life that occurred during World War I. The Modernist movement included art, philoso phy, architecture, and literature in both Europe and America. Writers of the Modernism Period William B. Yeats Yeats (1865-1939) was an Irish playwright, poet, and dramatist who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923. Some of his works include the poem The Lake Isle of Innisfree and the plays The Countess Cathleen and The Land of Hearts Desire. Seamus HeaneyHeaney (1939-) is an Irish poet whose work focuses on the politics and culture of Northern Ireland. Some of his works include The pure tone Level and Wintering Out and North. Dylan Thomas Thomas (1914-1953) was a Welsh poet who focused on the themes of religion, death, and love. His works include Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog and Adventures in the Skin Trade. Virginia Woolf Woolf (1882-1941) was an English novelist. Her literary works focused on social and economic inde publishdence for women. Her novels include Mrs. Dalloway, The Years, and betwixt the Acts. Wilfred OwenOwen (1893-1918) was an English writer who wr ote about World War I. His poetry focuses on the theme that war is not a glorious venture. His works include Anthem for Doomed Youth. T. S. Eliot Eliot (18881965) was an American born English poet and playwright and one of the leading writers of the Modernist period of literature. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1948. Some of his work includes The Hollow Men, Ash Wednesday, Four Quartets, Murder in the Cathedral, and The Cocktail Party. David Herbert Lawrence Lawrence (18851930) was a novelist whose literary works focused on how men and women relate to each other.His most famous work was Lady Chatterleys Lover. His other works include The Rainbow and The Studies in Classic American Literature. Siegfried Sassoon Sassoon (18861967) was a British poet and author who wrote about the experiences of World War I. Sassoons literary works include The Old Century and Rhymed Ruminations. Aldous Huxley Huxley (18941963) was an English poet and novelist. His novel Brave New Wor ld criticized how science was destroying the morals of English society. His other works include Those Barren Leaves and Point Counter Point. Post-modernism Period (1945 to the present)Post-modernism includes some values and beliefs of the Modernism period. Its literature rejects traditional values of society and supports the anti-novel form. George Orwell Orwells (1903-1950) writings reflect his distrust of government and political and social ideologies. His works include cardinal Eighty-Four and the modern fable Animal Farm. Joseph Conrad Conrad (1857-1924) was a prominent British novelist of the Post-modernist period. Some of his works include Lord Jim and Under Western Eyes. Conrad was a naturalized British citizen, having been born in the Ukraine. James JoyceJoyce (1882-1941) was an Irish writer who used the stream of consciousness technique. Some of his works include Ulysses and Finnegans Wake and the short story collection Dubliners. Katherine Mansfield Mansfield (1888-1923) was a writer from New Zealand whose pen name was Kathleen Beauchamp. Her works include The Garden Party, Bliss, and In a German Pension. Doris Lessing Lessing (1919- ) is an English novelist and author whose works focus on the role of women in politics and society. Some of her works include The Grass is Singing, Children of Violence, Under My Skin, and paseo in the Shade.Nadine Gordimer Gordimer (1923- ) is a South African novelist and short story writer. She won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1991. Her literary works include no(prenominal) to Accompany Me and The House Gun. Robert Graves Graves (1895-1985) was an English poet and writer. His autobiography, Goodbye to All That, describes the horror of war. Graves other work include I Claudius and Claudius the divinity. Kingsley Amis Amis (19221995) was a novelist and poet from England. His literary works include Lucky Jim, The Old Devils, The Riverside Villas Murder, The potassium Man, and The Folks That Live on the Hill.Anth ony Powell Powell (19052000) was an English novelist and playwright. His plays include The Garden God and The Rest Ill Whistle. Powells novels include Afternoon Men, Venusberg, From a purview to a Death, and Agents and Patients. Powells autobiography, To Keep the Ball, was written in four volumes from 1976 to 1982. Muriel ignitor Spark (1918- ) is a Scottish novelist whose literary works include The fix of Miss Jean Brodie, A Far Cry from Kensington, and Aiding and Abetting. A. S. Byatt Byatt (1936- ) is an English novelist. Her literary works include Possession,The Shadow of the Sun, and Babel Tower. Martin Amis Amis (1949- ) is an English journalist and novelist. Some of his works include The Rachel Papers, London Fields, Night Train, and Henry Water. The information in this lesson will be a valuable resource for you in the study of incompatible periods of literature. Remember that this lesson is only an overview of some of the authors and literary works produced in Great Brit ain during this time period. There are many other authors that made important contributions to the literature of this time period that were not discussed in this lesson.