Table of Contents

What is Survey of English and American literature?

What is survey of English literature?

What is the beginning of American literature?

What do we mean by American literature?

What do you learn in American literature?

What are the 5 characteristics of American Romantic literature?

How does Puritanism affect the American literature?

Where did American literature began?

Who is the most famous American writer?

Who wrote the first American novel?

What is the American voice in literature?

How has history affected literature?

What is the history of Anglo American literature?

Why is it called Anglo American literature?

Who is the first poet of English literature?

What are the five characteristics of Anglo-Saxon literature?

What are the characteristics of old English literature?

Why Anglo-Saxon literature is important?

What is the theme of Anglo-Saxon literature?

What is Survey of English and American literature?

A survey of American literature from its beginnings through the mid-19th century, focusing on
representative works in poetry, fiction, the essay, drama and/or oral traditions studied in the context of
the multicultural American experience.

What is survey of English literature?

Survey of English Literature 1 (ENG 201) This course is a chronological survey of English literature from
the beginnings through the Neoclassical Period. The emphasis is on major writers, whose works are
studied for their literary value and in their historical and philosophical contexts.
What is the beginning of American literature?

In its earliest days, during the 1600s, American literature consisted mostly of practical nonfiction written
by British settlers who populated the colonies that would become the United States. John Smith wrote
histories of Virginia based on his experiences as an English explorer and a president of the Jamestown
Colony.

READ: What is Blwyddyn Newydd Dda?

What do we mean by American literature?

American literature is literature predominantly written or produced in English in the United States of
America and its preceding colonies. Before the founding of the United States, the Thirteen Colonies on
the eastern coast of the present-day United States were heavily influenced by British literature.

What do you learn in American literature?

Through American literature courses, students read and learn to analyze literary works. In addition,
some courses address literature written in a certain time period, and students can study the short
stories, novels, poems and dramas written in that era.

What are the 5 characteristics of American Romantic literature?

Characteristics of American Romanticism Values feeling and intuition over reason Places faith in inner
experience and the power of the imagination Shuns the artificiality of civilization and seeks unspoiled
nature Prefers youthful innocence to educated sophistication Champions individual freedom to the
worth of …

How does Puritanism affect the American literature?

Puritanism in American Literature The Puritans had a large influence in American literature and still
influence moral judgment and religious beliefs in the United States to this day. Puritan writing was used
to glorify God and to relate God more directly to our world.

Where did American literature began?

As a specific discipline viewed through the lens of European literature, American literature began in the
early 17th century with the arrival of English-speaking Europeans in what would become the United
States. Learn more about Native American literature.
READ: What does writing data mean?

Who is the most famous American writer?

Edgar Allan Poe 1809 –1849. Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, editor, and literary critic.

Herman Melville 1819 – 1891.

Walt Whitman 1819-1892.

Mark Twain 1835 – 1910.

T.S. Eliot 1888 – 1965.

William Faulkner 1897 –1962.

Tennessee Williams 1911-1983.

Kurt Vonnegut 1922 – 2007.

Who wrote the first American novel?

William Hill Brown’s The Power of Sympathy: or, The Triumph of Nature was published 226 years ago
today, in 1789. It’s generally considered the first American novel, though you won’t find it on many
(any?)

What is the American voice in literature?

Over the centuries, American authors have shaped a vast body of work, often reflecting voices that are
distinctly American. American voice writers demonstrate the potential of literature to capture realities
of time, place and, above all, people. Uniquely American voices illuminate the power of language.

How has history affected literature?

So historical events and the study of history influence literature heavily, primarily through broadening
the range of topics for writing beyond the modern day and extending the understanding of a popular
audience of this new topic.

What is the history of Anglo American literature?

The Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections has considerable holdings in Anglo-American literature
from the 17th century onward, with notable strengths in the 18th century, Romanticism, and the
Victorian and modern periods.
Why is it called Anglo American literature?

ANGLO OR ENGLISH LITERATURE The word is derived from Anglia, the Latin name for England, and still
the modern name of its eastern region.

Who is the first poet of English literature?

Caedmon

What are the five characteristics of Anglo-Saxon literature?

Key Characteristics of Anglo-Saxon Poetry

Heroic poetry elements.

Christian ideals.

Synecdoche.

Metonymy.

Irony.

What are the characteristics of old English literature?

The work, written in characteristic Old English verse style, has artistic maturity and unity. It uses
alliteration (words beginning with the same sound), kennings (metaphorical descriptive phrases or
compound words), and internal rhyme (a word within a line rhyming with a word at the end of the line).

Why Anglo-Saxon literature is important?

Old English literature, or Anglo-Saxon literature, encompasses literature written in Old English, in Anglo-
Saxon England from the 7th century to the decades after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Anglo-
Saxon Chronicle has also proven significant for historical study, preserving a chronology of early English
history.

What is the theme of Anglo-Saxon literature?

The themes and techniques are all present in Anglo-Saxon works in order to give out a hidden message
of respecting the Anglo-Saxon’s way of life and views of ethics. The core values of Anglo-Saxon literature
can be seen such as values of loyalty, bravery, and generosity.

Difference Between English Literature and American Literature

September 16, 2014 Posted by Admin

22

English Literature vs American Literature

 

As English literature and American literature plays an important role where the term literature is
concerned, identifying the difference between English literature and American literature is essential for
literature students. As you may already know, literature encompasses a wide variety of written works,
especially those with eternal artistic value and it is not confined to a particular geographical area, yet it
is rather spread in almost every country. For example, published literary works in France is termed
French literature while published literary works in India is called Indian literature. Hence, literature is
rather a scattered discipline in every nook and corner of the world. Although literature differs from one
country to another, the outcome of learning literature is just the same where it makes you a person with
critical thinking; a trait that is essential for growth of one’s character and personality. This article seeks
to explore two geographically parted sections of literature: English literature and American literature. To
begin with, just remember that one time, when America was a British colony, both terms meant the
same. It started to mean different since the early 17th century when America was no longer a British
colony literary works were just blooming.

What is English literature?

English literature refers to the collection of written literary work in the Great Britain and its colonies
since the 7th century to the present day. As may be apparent, it has a great and much-loved history
where it is chronologically categorized into several eras: Old English literature (c.658-1100), Middle
English literature (1100–1500), English Renaissance (1500–1660), Neo-Classical Period (1660–1798),
19th-century literature, English literature since 1901 which includes modern, post-modern, and 20th
century literature. Among the many writers from different parts of the English speaking world, those
who have immensely contributed to the development of English literature are, William Shakespeare,
Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Virginia Woolf, William Wordsworth, W.B. Keats, Robert Frost. As
literature is the presentation of writers’ expressions towards life in their socio-economic background,
any type of literature depicts a certain culture. English literature, by its all forms, genres, and stylistics,
reflects the culture of the British. The most known features of English literature include its wit, depiction
of manners, disparity between classes, themes being stressed on plots and characterization.
What is American Literature?

Comparatively, American literature is a notion that emerged in the recent past. It is the production of
literary work written in the context of America portraying American culture and themes. America,
originally being a British colony, was part of English literature until the country won independence and
every aspect of the country: economy, education, literature, arts, culture, and social aspects changed
and new brands brooded. The origin of the American literature dates back to the early 17th century.
American literature was largely shaped by the history of the country and revolutionary ideas emerged
during civil and revolutionary wars.

Major Periods in English and American Literature

1. 1. Major Periods of English & American Literature AN OVERVIEW

2. 2. What is meant by “period”?A period is a dominant mode, style, or type of literature within a
specific historical context.A period is usually indicative of the controlling philosophical
perspective of the time.As such, periods are not generally confined to the literature of the
time; rather, their characteristics can be seen in other art forms as well as non-literary
texts.Dates are approximations.

3. 3. ENGLISH LITERATUREliterature produced in England, from the introduction of Old English by

the Anglo-Saxons in the 5th century to the present. The works of those Irish and Scottish authors
who are closely identified with English life and letters are also considered part of English
literature.
4. 4. AMERICAN LITERATURELiterary works, fiction and nonfiction of the American colonies and
the United States, written in the English language from about 1600 to the present.This
literature captures America’s quest to understand and define itself. From the beginning America
was unique in the diversity of its inhabitants; over time they arrived from all parts of the
world.Although English quickly became the language of America, regional and ethnic dialects
have enlivened and enriched the country’s literature almost from the start.

5. 5. Old English or Anglo-Saxon Era (450-1066)This period extends from about 450 to 1066, the
year of the Norman-French conquest of England.The Germanic tribes from Europe who
overran England in the 5th century, after the Roman withdrawal, brought with them the Old
English, or Anglo-Saxon, language, which is the basis of Modern English.Few surviving texts
with little in common.Language closer to modern German than modern English.Frequently
reflect non-English influence.Beowulf, “The Wanderer”

6. 6. Old English or Anglo-Saxon Era (450-1066)Much of Old English poetry was probably
intended to be chanted, with harp accompaniment, by the Anglo-Saxon scop, or bard.Prose in
Old English is represented by a large number of religious works.

7. 7. Middle English (1066-1500)Extending from 1066 to 1485, this period is noted for the
extensive influence of French literature on native English forms and themeThe Middle English
literature of the 14th and 15th centuries is much more diversified than the previous Old English
literature.Works frequently of a religiously didactic content.Written for performance at court
or for festivals.Geoffrey Chaucer (The Canterbury Tales) “The Cuckoo’s Song”, mystery plays

8. 8. English Renaissance (1500-1660)Influence of Aristotle, Ovid, and other Greco-Roman

thinkers, as well as science and exploration.Primarily texts for public performance (plays,
masques) and some books of poetry.William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson,
Francis Bacon, John Fletcher, Francis Beaumont.

9. 9. Neoclassical Period (Enlightenment/Age of Reason) England 1660-1785 America 1750-

1800Reaction to the expansiveness of the Renaissance in the direction of order and
restraint.Developed in France (Moliere, Rousseau, Voltaire).Emphasized classical ideals of
rationality and control (human nature is constant through time).Art should reflect the universal
commonality of human nature. (“All men are created equal.”)Reason is emphasized as the
highest faculty (Deism).

10. 10. Neoclassical Period (cont.)Writing should be well structured, emotion should be controlled,
and emphasize qualities like wit.England: John Locke, John Milton (Paradise Lost), Alexander
Pope (Essay on Man), Jonathon Swift (Gulliver’s Travels), Henry Fielding (Tom Jones), Daniel
Defoe (Robinson Crusoe), Jane Austen (Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Pride and
Prejudice).America: Benjamin Franklin (Poor Richard’s Almanack, autobiography), Thomas Paine
(“Common Sense”), Thomas Jefferson (“The Declaration of Independence”), James Madison
(“The Constitution of the United States”).

11. 11. Romantic Period England 1785-1830 America 1800-1860Reaction against the scientific
rationality of Neoclassicism and the Industrial Revolution.Developed in Germany (Kant,
Goethe).“I felt before I thought.” -RosseauEmphasized individuality, intuition, imagination,
 idealism, nature (as opposed to society & social order).Elevation of the common man (folklore,
myth).Mystery and the supernatural.

12. 12. Romantic Period England 1785-1830 America 1800-1860romantic literature everywhere

developed, imagination was praised over reason, emotions over logic, and intuition over science
—making way for a vast body of literature of great sensibility and passion.This literature
emphasized a new flexibility of form adapted to varying content, encouraged the development
of complex and fast-moving plots, and allowed mixed genres (tragicomedy and the mingling of
the grotesque and the sublime) and freer style.

13. 13. Romantic Period England 1785-1830 America 1800-1860No longer tolerated, for example,
were the fixed classical conventions, such as the famous three unities (time, place, and action)
of tragedy.In English poetry, for example, blank verse largely superseded the rhymed couplet
that dominated 18th- century poetry.

14. 14. ROMANTIC THEMESLIBERTARIANISM-the desire to be free of convention and tyranny, and

the new emphasis on the rights and dignity of the individual.Political and social causes became
dominant themes in romantic poetry and prose throughout the Western world, producing many
vital human documents that are still pertinent.NATURE-Basic to such sentiments was an
interest central to the romantic movement: the concern with nature and natural surroundings.

15. 15. ROMANTIC THEMESNATURE-Delight in unspoiled scenery and in the (presumably) innocent

life of rural dwellers.THE LURE OF THE EXOTIC-In the spirit of their new freedom, romantic
writers in all cultures expanded their imaginary horizons spatially and chronologically.-They
turned back to the Middle Ages (5th century to 15th century) for themes and settings and to the
Asian setting of Xanadu evoked by Coleridge in his unfinished lyric “Kubla Khan.

16. 16. ROMANTIC THEMESTHE SUPERNATURAL- The trend toward the irrational and the
supernatural was an important component of English and German romantic literature.- It was
reinforced on the one hand by disillusion with 18th-century rationalism and on the other by the
rediscovery of a body of older literature—folktales and ballads—collected by Percy and by
German scholars Jacob and Wilhelm Karl Grimm and Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen.
From such material comes, for example, the motif of the doppelgänger (German for “double”).
Many romantic writers, especially in Germany, were fascinated with this concept, perhaps
because of the general romantic concern with self-identity.

17. 17. Romantic Period (cont.)England: Robert Burns (“To a Mouse”), William Blake (Songs of
Innocence, Songs of Experience), William Wordsworth (Lyrical Ballads, “Tintern Abbey,”
“Intimations of Immortality,” “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”), Samuel Taylor Coleridge (“The
Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” “Kubla Kahn”), Lord Byron (“Don Juan”), Percy Bysshe Shelley
(“Ozymandias”), Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (Frankenstein), John Keats (“Ode on a Grecian
Urn”), Sir Walter Scott (Ivanhoe).

18. 18. Romantic Period (cont.)America: Washington Irving (“Rip Van Winkle,” “The Legend of
Sleepy Hollow”), Edgar Allan Poe (“The Raven,” Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque, “The
Murders in the Rue Morgue,” “The Philosophy of Composition”), James Fennimore Cooper (The
Last of the Mohicans), Herman Melville (Moby-Dick, Billy Budd), Nathaniel Hawthorne (Twice-
 Told Tales, The Scarlet Letter), William Cullen Bryant (“To a Waterfowl”), Oliver Wendell Holmes
(“The Chambered Nautilus”), Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (“Paul Revere’s Ride”), James Russell
Lowell (“The First Snowfall”).

19. 19. Romantic Period (cont.)American Transcendentalism (Romantic philosophy)Named for the

core belief that our spiritual nature transcends rationality and religious doctrine; thus, it is found
in intuition.Developed in New England, influenced by Eastern philosophy.Pro-suffrage &
abolitionist.Ralph Waldo Emerson (Nature, “The American Scholar”), Henry David Thoreau
(Walden, “Civil Disobedience”), Walt Whitman (Leaves of Grass).

20. 20. Romantic Period (cont.)In New England, an intellectual movement known as

transcendentalism developed as an American version of romanticism.the transcendentalists
celebrated the power of the human imagination to commune with the universe and transcend
the limitations of the material world. The transcendentalists found their chief source of
inspiration in nature.

21. 21. Victorian Period (England 1832-1901)Named for the reign of Queen Victoria, Britain’s
longest reigning monarch.Period of stability and prosperity for Britain.British society
extremely class conscious.Literature seen as a bridge between Romanticism and
Modernism.Generally emphasized realistic portrayals of common people, sometimes to
promote social change.Some writers continue to explore gothic themes begun in Romantic
Period.

22. 22. Victorian Period (England 1832-1901)The novel gradually became the dominant form in
literature during the Victorian Age.English literature throughout much of the century, the
attention of many writers was directed, sometimes passionately, to such issues as the growth of
English democracy, the education of the masses, the progress of industrial enterprise and the
consequent rise of a materialistic philosophy, and the plight of the newly industrialized worker.

23. 23. Victorian Period (cont.)Charles Dickens (David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, Great Expectations),
George Eliot (Middlemarch), Thomas Hardy (Tess of the D’Ubervilles), Robert Louis Stevenson
(The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), Rudyard Kipling (Jungle Book), Lewis Carroll
(Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland), Charlotte Brontë (Jane Eyre), Emily Brontë (Wuthering
Heights), Alfred, Lord Tennyson (In Memoriam), Elizabeth Barrett Browning (Sonnets from the
Portuguese), Robert Browning (“My Last Duchess”), Matthew Arnold (“Dover Beach”), Oscar
Wilde (The Importance of Being Earnest).

24. 24. Realistic Period (America 1860-1914)Reaction against Romantic values (Civil

War).Developed in France (Balzac, Flaubert, Zola).Emphasized the commonplace and
ordinary (as opposed to the romanticized individual).Sought to depict life as it was, not
idealized.Mark Twain (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn), Ambrose Bierce (“An Occurrence
at Owl Creek Bridge”), William Dean Howells (A Modern Instance), Theodore Dreiser (Sister
Carrie).

25. 25. Realistic Period (America 1860-1914)Realist literature is defined particularly as the fiction
produced in Europe and the United States from about 1840 until the 1890s, when realism was
superseded by naturalism. This form of realism began in France in the novels of Gustave
 Flaubert and the short stories of Guy de Maupassant.an attempt to describe human behavior
and surroundings or to represent figures and objects exactly as they act or appear in life.

26. 26. Realistic Period (cont.)Naturalism – hyper-realismNamed for the belief that man is simply a
higher order animal, and thus under the same natural constraints and limitations as other
animals.Naturalism (literature), in literature, the theory that literary composition should be
based on an objective, empirical presentation of human being.Controlled by heredity and
environment.Stephen Crane (Maggie: A Girl of the Street, The Red Badge of Courage), Jack
London (“To Build a Fire”), Upton Sinclair (The Jungle).

27. 27. Edwardian Period (England 1901-1914)Named for King Edward.Some see as a

continuation of Victorian Period; however, the status quo is increasingly threatened.Distinction
between literature and popular fiction.Joseph Conrad (Lord Jim, Heart of Darkness), H.G. Wells
(War of the Worlds), E.M. Forster (A Room with a View, A Passage to India), George Bernard
Shaw (Major Barbara), A.C. Bradley (Shakespearean Tragedy).

28. 28. Modern Period (1914-1945)Reaction against the values which led to WWI.Influenced by
Schopenhauer (“negation of the will”), Nietzsche (Beyond Good and Evil), Kierkegaard (Fear and
Trembling), as well as Darwin and Marx.If previous values are invalid, art is a tool to establish
new values (Pound: “Make it new”).Writers experiment with form.Form and content reflect
the confusion and vicissitudes of modern life.Expositions and resolutions are omitted; themes
are implied rather than stated.

29. 29. Modern Period (1914-1945)During the 20th century a communications revolution that
introduced motion pictures, radio, and television brought the world into view—and eventually
into the living room. The new forms of communication competed with books as sources of
amusement and enlightenment. New forms of communication and new modes of transportation
made American society increasingly mobile and familiar with many more regions of the country.
Literary voices from even the remotest corners could reach a national audience. At the same
time, American writers—particularly writers of fiction— began to influence world literature.

30. 30. Modern Period (cont.)Poetry:Ezra Pound (The Fourth Canto), T.S. Eliot (Prufrock and other
Observations, The Waste Land, “The Hollow Men”), W.B. Yeats (The Wanderings of Oisin and
Other Poems, The Swans at Coole), H.D. (“Pear Tree”), Wallace Stevens (Harmonium), William
Carlos Williams (“The Red Wheelbarrow,” “This Is Just to Say”), Robert Frost (Mending Wall, The
Road Not Taken).

31. 31. Modern Period (cont.)Fiction:James Joyce (Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young
Man), Franz Kafka (The Metamorphosis, The Trial, The Castle), Ernest Hemingway (In Our Time,
The Sun Also Rises), William Faulkner (As I Lay Dying, The Sound and the Fury), F. Scott Fitzgerald
(The Great Gatsby), John Steinbeck (The Grapes of Wrath), Thornton Wilder (Our Town, The
Bridge at San Luis Rey), D.H. Lawrence (The Rainbow), Virginia Woolf (Mrs. Dalloway, To the
Lighthouse).

32. 32. Post-Modern Period (1945-?)Critical dispute over whether an actual period or a renewal
and continuation Modernism post-WWII.Influenced by Freud, Sartre, Camus, Derrida, and
Foucault.Deconstruction: Text has no inherent meaning; meaning derives from the tension
 between the text’s ambiguities and contradictions revealed upon close reading.Some believe it
leads directly to the counter-cultural revolution of the 1960s.

33. 33. Post-Modern Period (cont.)Samuel Beckett (Waiting for Godot), Gabriel Garcia Marquez
(One Hundred Years of Solitude), William Burroughs (Naked Lunch), J.D. Salinger (A Catcher in
the Rye), Kurt Vonnegut (Slaughterhouse Five), Thomas Pynchon (Gravity’s Rainbow), John
Updike (Rabbit Run), Phillip Roth (Portnoy’s Complaint, American Pastoral), J.M. Coetzee (Life &
Times of Michael K), Joyce Carol Oates (“Where Are Going, Where Have You Been?”), Margaret
Atwood (The Handmaiden’s Tale), Cormac McCarthy (Blood Meridian), Allen Ginsberg (Howl and
Other Poems), Charles Bukowski (The Last Night of the Earth Poems).

34. 34. Thank you…

What is the difference between English Literature and American Literature?

• Literary works written and published in Great Britain and British colonies are referred by the term
English literature while American literature refers to literary works written and published in America.

• English literature is written in British English while American literature is written in American English.
• English literature mainly reflects the English culture, English mannerisms while American literature
mirrors American culture, its history, and revolutionary concepts such as relationships with the church,
the state, supernatural elements that emerged in the country. E.g. Massachusetts battle.

• English literature is older than the American English.

• American literature is often known as a much more realistic in portraying characters while English
literature is known for its wit and portrayal of theme in plots and characterization.

Judging by the above distinct and subtle differences, it is comprehensible that English literature and
American literature are two different notions although American literature was once part of the English
literature.

The similarities and differences between English literature and American literature continues to
be a subject of continuous debate.

Aside from historical differences, English literature and American literature differ in style,
grammar, and language. Let’s explore each of these (and even more) differences below.

HISTORY
National literature is connected with national history. As we all know, English literature emerged
earlier than American literature, since America was a British colony.

Therefore, while American literature’s history dates back to the 17th century, English

literature emerged in the 10th century. The English style is therefore considered richer in this
respect.

WRITERS
When discussing this issue, many experts conclude that English literature is deeper; however, it’s
not always true.

There are many globally known US writers like J. F. Cooper, J.D. Salinger, Jack London, E.A.
Poe, Mark Twain, Scott Fitzgerald, W. Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, Ernest Hemmingway, and
Stephen King, to name a few. Many people are familiar with their works. Many generations
enjoy reading their stories.

English literature offers an even wider list of well-known writers, such as  Shakespeare, Bronte,
Lord Byron, Kipling, Dickens, Austin, Rowling, Woolf, Tolkien, Orwell, and Collins.
NARRATION
Differences in language are evident when reading novels by English writers and American
writers. British writers tend to use classical British English; their vocabulary is richer.

On the contrary, the language of an American writer is simultaneously simpler and more
accessible. This language is more modern than original British English.

STYLE
The common tendency of American literature is to be focused on politics, economics, and social
status. Satire, sarcasm, and cynicism can be also often find their way into the works of American
authors. For example, language functions as a vehicle of protest in “The Catcher in the Rye” and
“The Great Gatsby.”

On the contrary, British literature of the same period mostly invokes romance, human values,
ideals, and manners, although class differences are often discussed or referenced in some
meaningful way. There is a common thought that British writers’ works come “from the heart,”
while American writers are more cool-headed and cynical.

At the same time, there is much diversity within the wells of both British writers and American
writers, and this diversity should be acknowledged. In general, it’s perhaps most useful to
compare two novels within English literature or American literature that date back to the same
period or a stage of country development.

Otherwise, such a comparison doesn’t make sense.

GENRES & TOPICS

English writers mostly emphasize their culture and manners, while American writers discuss
American history and social issues. As well as early writings in the UK, early American works
involve topics related to religion and politics.

American writers of the 17th century invoked Puritanical morals. In the 18th century,

revolutionary topics prevailed in American style.

Also, American writers often described events that took place during the development of the
country. For example, the American Civil War is described in “Gone with the Wind” by
Margaret Mitchell, and theme of Slavery in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark
Twain.

It’s impossible to imagine English literature without William Shakespeare, who wrote historical
plays (Julius Caesar, Richard II, Antony & Cleopatra), tragedies (Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello), and
comedies (A Midsummer Night’s Dream). The Romanticism Period gave the world Robert
Burns (Halloween, The Jolly Beggars) and George Byron (Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage,
Manfred).

Later, the historical novel emerged as a genre, with Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe. English writers’
contribution to literature for children is prominent: “Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland” by Lewis
Carroll and the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling are known in each and every corner of the
world.

GRAMMAR
The English language is considered classic. In American literature, English is more modern.
Americans adopted the English language for their literature. However, there are certain
differences in grammar.

The following linguistic elements differ between American literature and English literature:

 US writers tend to simplify the English language by removing letters from words: they
write “color” instead of “colour” or “neighbor” instead of “neighbour.”  
 Concerning irregular verbs, Americans simplify again. Disregard the rules; they form
Past Simple Tense by adding –ed. In British English, the suffix –t is added.
 Americans use the end –iz rather than –is: “capitalize” instead of “capitalise” or
“summarize” instead of “summarise.”
 A singular conjugation is used in American literature, while British creators mostly pair
up collective nouns with plural verbs. This should be taken into account when writing for
different audiences.
These linguistic choices reflects not only American literature, but their way of living. The
tendency to shorten or abbreviate words is common in American style. Also, the writers,
especially modern, tend to simplify the language.

On the contrary, English creators follow classical, sometimes conventional traditions paths in
writing, but this doesn’t make English literature less interesting.

PUNCTUATION
Like grammar, punctuation is a critical technical aspect of English literature and American
literature. For example, using comma in listings is typical for American literature, but can be
rarely met in classic British literature.

Also, classical writers prefer to leave quotation marks outside, while the other ones place them
inside. Besides, in the UK, writers use single quotation marks rather than double marks used by
Americans. These are minor differences, but they still exist.

Both English literature and American literature offers a lot of interesting differences for
consideration. One can insightfully apply these differences to an exploration of the history and
culture of these two countries by reading the writing by their writers. Styles, narration, and topics
may differ, but one can recognize unmistakable habits and customs typical for both English and
American writers.

The pre-Chaucerian period lasted from 500 to 1340 A.D. This period covers the
entire historic period of Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman periods.

English is essentially a Teutonic language. The English of the fourteenth century

grows out of the Anglo-Saxon of the fifth by a regular course of evolution, and
that nothing occurred at any stage to break its continuity. For this reason, the
term Anglo- Saxon is now commonly dropped and ‘Old English’ used instead.

Here what was once called Anglo-Saxon is regarded as an early form of English
literature. According to this conception, English literature did not begin, as used
to be said, with Chaucer. It began far back with the beginnings of the history of
English people on the continent of Europe before bands of them had settled on
the little island which was presently had become the home of their race.

Before Chaucer, Caedmon’s Old English existed during this period. Caedmon’s
Old English is considered as a foreign language; whereas Chaucer’s Middle
English is full of words and idioms which puzzle us, we rightly feel that it is only
an archaic form of the same tongue that we use today.
Literature before Chaucer constitutes a special field of study, and that it is only
with Chaucer that modem English literature definitely begins.

Beowulf. Before the conquest, a considerable body of Anglo- Saxon poetry has

been preserved. Among them, one piece of immense interest is the epic
‘Beowulf. Nothing is known to us about this authorship. Moreover, its history is
still a matter of controversy. But it is probable that it grew up in the form of
ballads among the ancestors of the English in Denmark and South Sweeden,
that in this form it was brought by invaders to this country and that it was here
fashioned into an epic, perhaps by some Northumbrian poet, about the eighth
century. It is considered as the work of a Christian writer.
Contents. ‘Beowulf tells with rude vigor of the mighty feats of the hero whose
name it bears; how, first, he fought and killed the monster Grendel, who for
twelve years had wasted the land of the king of the Dames; how, next, he slew
Grendel’s mother; and how at last, a very old man, he went out to destroy a fiery
dragon receiving as well as giving a mortal wound. Added to these vivid pictures
of life in war and peace among our remote forefathers add greatly to the value of
a fine old poem.
Caedmon. We can cite some other works for old English poetry. They are the
works of Caedmon and Cynewulf. Caedmon who died about 680 was a servant
attached to the monastery of Whitby in Yorkshire.
According to a pretty tale told by the Venerable Bede, the power of verse came
to him suddenly as a divine gift. Suddenly on one night, he was able to sing very
beautifully due to the inspiration of an angel that appeared in his dream. Three
free paraphrases of scripture available to us have been attributed to him; one
dealing with the creation and the fall; the second with the exodus from Egypt; the
third with the history of Daniel. According to some scholars, some of these
poems are the work of his imitators.
Cynewulf. A miraculous element also enters into the story of Cynewulf’s career.
He was a wandering gleeman and a lover of pleasure. But he was converted by
a. vision of the cross. Henceforth, he dedicated himself to religious themes.
Cynewulf’s works include a poem called ‘Christ’, treating of the Incarnation, the
Descent into Hell, the Ascension and the Last Judgifient; ‘Elene’ an account of
the finding of the true cross, according to the legend, by Helena, the mother of
Constantine; and ‘Juliana’ a tale of Christian martyrdom.

The character of Anglo-Saxon Poetry. Anglo-Saxon poetry is generally sacred in

subject, and profoundly earnest is feeling. It is full of the love of adventure and
fighting. Sometimes its martial spirit bursts out into regular war poetry. It is found
in ‘The Battle of Brunanburh’ (937). Tennyson has given a spirited translation for
it. A fondness for the sea ingrained the English character very beautifully iS
another striking feature of it. Anglo-Saxon poetry flourished most in the north;
prose developed later in the south.
King Alfred (849-901). Though hardly more than a translator, King Alfred holds an
honorable place as the first to put the vernacular to systematic use. His most
famous work in this line was the Latin “Ecclesiastical History of the Venerable
Bede” (673-735), who wrote at Jarrow in the kingdom of Northumbria.
Under his guidance, the greatest movement Of Old English prose Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle was transformed into national history. It was continued till 1154 when it
closed with the record of the death of King Stephen.

From Norman Conquest to Chaucer. From the Norman Conquest till the beginning
of the reign of John many ups and downs took place in English literature. The
famous incident of Magna Carta shows some signs of interest among the people.
Now English literature assumes a certain historical interest.
During this period ‘Brut’ the first noteworthy production of the revival was
completed by Layamon in 1205. He was a parish priest of Worcestershire. No
wonder, this is an enormous poem. It contains some 30,000 lines. It is the
legendary history of ancient Britain, beginning with Aeneas, whose descendant
Brutus was the supposed ancestor of the British people ending with Cadwallader,
the last of the native kings, and including by the way, among innumerable
episodes, the stories of Lear and King Arthur.

‘History of Britain’ (1132) by Welsh annalist Geoffrey of Monmouth was based

on this great poem. Then came ‘Ormulum’ (1215) in short lines by Orm. He was
a priest of Lincolnshire. A prose treatise the ‘Ancren Riwle’ (1225), or ‘Rule of
Anchoresses’ was prepared by some unknown writer for the guidance of three
ladies entering the religious life.
‘The Owl and the Nightingale’ (1220) was a charming dialogue poem during this
period. The sum and substance of this poem is — the two birds discuss their
respective merits, is historically interesting because it discards alliteration and
adopts French end-rimes. Besides, many literary pieces came into existence
during the subsequent years.
Growth of English. So far as the English language is concerned the period
between the Norman Conquest and Chaucer is more important than that of
literature. During these three hundred years, while little was being produced in
prose or verse of any intrinsic value. Gradually modern English was evolving out
of the conflict of opposing tongues and assuming national rank as the speech of
the whole people.
Later on, Norman French was given decent good-bye and English occupied a
prime position in the proceedings of the law courts. Yet there was no standard
form of the new tongue to take its (French) place. English was broken up into
dialects. There was a Noman English, a Midland English, and Southam English.
They differed fundamentally from one another. Moreover, there were many sub-
divisions. In other words, there were numerous minor varieties.

In this chaotic condition little by little, East Midland English tended to gain
ascendancy, because it was the speech of the capital and of the two centers of
learning, Oxford and Cambridge. Then when Chaucer began to write, he chose
this, as his vehicle. On account of his influence, the only one of the several
provincial dialects attained the dignity of the national language.

READ ALSO: The Age of Chaucer (1340-1400) CONDITIONS

DURING THE AGE OF CHAUCER