Republic of Yemen

Sana’a University

Faculty of Arts & Humanities

Department of English, Junior

An Outline of English Literature Summary

( English Literature in Historical perspective)

By
Ali Ali Al-Aizari
And
Mohammed Al-Washali
 An Outline of English Literature

Some Information
 Before 449 England was inhabited by the Celts. Celts were innocent people. They were farmers,
and they don't know even how to fight.
 In 449 some west Germanic tribe came to the Celts and Anglo-Saxon tripe was one of them. They
live on killing and invasion. They were blood thirsty. They kill and steal the Celts. And the rest of
the Celts run away to Wales.
 Then the Anglo-Saxon called that place Englalond and the moment they came is the moment the
old English literature started and west Germanic dialect became old English language and it was
oral only. It has no writing system.
 597 A.D this is the year were Christianity came to England. The pope send some missionaries to
England. Old English people were pagan they don't believe in God they were living without
religion. By the year 700 A.D all England became Christianity. The missionaries brought the bible
with them and it was in Latin so they tried to learn Latin and Latin alphabet become English
alphabet and became there writing system.

1-Chapter one:

Old English (or Anglo-Saxon ) 449 - 1100

O.E. Poetry :

The greatest Old English poem is (Beowulf).

(Beowulf) is an epic which belongs to the seventh century, it's a story of about 3000 lines and it's the first
English epic. There was no RHYME in Old English , there was just an alliteration. The story consists of
three fights by Beowulf the hero :
1- with the monster Grendel and Beowulf pulls his arm and Grendel died.
2-with Grendel's mother when she came for revenge but Beowulf killed her.
3-with a fire breathing and Beowulf kills it and was injured then died.

O.E. Prose :

The most interesting piece of prose is (Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.) it describes the life at that time.

2-Chapter two:
Middle English Period (1100- 1500)

Some Information

 .1100 king Normandy they invaded England and the king of Normandy became the king of
England and French became the main language for 200 years and they control everything.
 English language deteriorated because only local people were spoken on it ( the poor one's) .
French language became the language of the palace, universities, courts...etc. and English people

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 have been victimized.
 And the thousands English words we have now that have their origins from French came at that
time.
 This age also known as the age of darkness, because the people must live with the law of Christian
Church.
M.E. Poetry:

1- Geoffrey Chaucer

(The father of English literature) was an educated man and he read Latin and French.
He wrote the (Canterbury Tales about (1387) his greatest work . They total altogether about17000
lines, and they are talking about a party of pilgrims. And the idea of telling the stories is to know more
about the pilgrims themselves. The RHYME takes place at that period.

**Thomas Becket: Saint of Roman Catholic Church archbishop of Canterbury from(1162-1170)

M.E. Prose

A good deal of Middle English prose is religious why? Because they affected by the church.

**The Ancren Riwle: teaches proper rules of life for anchoresses (religious women) Richard Rolle:
**the one who writes (The Form of Perfect Living)
**Sir Thomas Malory: the one who wrote Morte D'Arthur (Arthur's Death)the most important Middle
English prose work

M.E. Drama:

The first English plays

told religious stories and were performed in or near the church. The plays were called Miracles or
Mystery. There are many main groups according to the city where they were acted:
1-chester
2-Goventry
3-York
4- Wakefield

The subjects of Miracles Plays are many such as {the disobedience of Adam and Eve, Noah and the great
flood ……………,…………………..etc.

The second type of plays are Moralities Plays:

They aren't about people they are about virtues such as(Truth ) or bad qualities such as (Greed or
Revenge) One of the best-known 15th century Moralities is (Everyman ) it's a story of the end Everyman's
life when death calls him away from the world….

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 Chapter Three:

Elizabethan Poetry and Prose (1558-1603)

NOTE: in the year 1494 the printing machine was invented and the beginning of Renaissance age.

Elizabethan Poetry:

Before Elizabethan Age there were two poets wrote works of value. They both wrote sonnets, but
still there is difference :
1- Thomas Wyatt—the poet who first brought sonnet to England and followed the Italian poet
Petrarch. Petrarch--(1304-1374) is an Italian poet. the rhyme of his sonnet is (abbaabba (8)-2or 3
rhymes in the last six lines.
2- Earl Of Surrey—the poet who wrote the first blank verse in English.

The most famous poets in Elizabethan Age are:

1- Shakespeare: most of his sonnets refer to a young man of a good family or may be addressed to
William Herbert. His sonnet's rhyme is (ababcdcdefefgg)
2- Edmund Spenser : the one who introduced the Elizabethan Age proper and he produced (The
Shepherd's Calendar) , a poem in 12 books one for each month. His greatest work is (Faerie Queene
1589-1596) was planned in 12 books but he wrote little more than the first six. Faerie Queene verse has
nine lines of these the last six feet ,the other five. The rhyme plan is( ababbcbcc) and it also calls
Spenserian Stanza.
3- Sir Philip Sidney—was a true Elizabethan gentleman of many activities and accepted as the
pattern of nobility in his time. His book sonnet (Astrophel and Stella )was printed after his death.

Jacobean Age (1603-1625):

was less fresh more interested in the mind than in heart or eye.
A group of poets were known as the Metaphysical Poets, wrote verses which was less beautiful and less
musical and which contained tricks of style and unusual images to attract attention.

The most famous Metaphysical Poets are :

1-John Donne—was a lawyer and a priest and he wrote religious poetry. He wrote so many good things
,but no perfect poem. He considers the father of Metaphysical poem.
2-The dramatist Ben Jonson – known as Rare Ben Jonson. He was a quarrelsome man but fearless and
honest one of his best lyrics is (To Celia)
Elizabethan Prose:
The most important people in that time are:
- Richard Hakluyt:

In 1589 he collected and published the Principal Navigation, Voyages, and Discoveries of the English
Nation. It includes accounts of the voyages of the Cabots , Hawkins, Drake, and Frobisher, besides

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several others. And this type of writing is called (travel writing) or orientalist writing.
- Francis Bacon:

his Essays is important ( he has 57 essays talk about social thing like friendship, love, childhood. .etc.)
and some of the best known saying in English came from Bacon's book, and specially form the Essays.
- Ben Jonson :
he wrote two important works of the Elizabethan age (Timber or Discoveries) . He is the father of
English criticism. Jonson's ideas were much influenced by the classics (Greek and Romans writers)

Chapter four
Elizabethan Drama

The chief literary of the great Elizabethan age was its drama, but even before it began several plays
appeared which showed that a great development had taken place.

1- Nicholas Udall—

the one who wrote the first regular English comedy ( Ralph Roister Doister) 1553 --Nicholas Udall was
a headmaster of Westminster School and he wrote it for his boys to ac.

2- Lyly—

prose comedy( Campaspe) and his allegorical play (Endimion) are an improvement of this. They were
performed in the front of Queen Elizabeth.

3- Thomas Kyd—

the one who wrote (the Spanish Tragedy 1592) it was an example the tragedy of blood , popular at that
time. It in some ways rather like Shakespeare’s Hamlet. A ghost appears, demanding for revenge ; but it
appears to the father of the murdered son not to the son of a murdered father as in Hamlet.

Now let’s go the greatest dramatists in Elizabethan age:

1- Christopher Marlowe: the first dramatist of that time.

His first tragedy(Tamburlaine the Great-1587 or earlier)

It is in two parts. The first part deals with the rise of Tamburlaine. The second part Tamburlaine pulled to
Babylon in a carriage. In his arrival he gives orders to people. His life is violent in other ways. He cuts an
arm to show his son that wound are unimportant. He shouts for a map to see how much is left to conquer
the whole world.

2- The second play is (Jew of Malta)

It talks about the governor of Malta taxes the Jews there, but Barabas a rich Jew refuses to pay . They take
his money and house and in revenge he begins a life of violence. He poisons his daughter and kills his
lover. He helps the Turkey to attack Malta and the made him the governor. Then he decide to kill them
all. He arranges that floor of a big room can be made to fall suddenly while they are eating ,but they know

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his secret plan and he himself thrown down below the floor. The last words he said are:
Die life! Fly, soul! Tongue, curse thy fill and die

3-The third play is (Dr. Faustus)

It talks about a man who sold his soul to the devil so as to have a power and riches in his life. Faustus
agrees to gives his life to the devil ,Mephistopheles, in return of 24 years of splendid life. He orders so
many thing and one of which is to bring back from the dead the beautiful Helen Of Troy the cause of
Trojan war.

William Shakespeare

1564 – 1616 was the author of the most widely admired and influential body of literature by individual in
the history of Western Civilization. He was a poet, a dramatist, and actor. He is often called the English
national poet. His work comprises 36 plays, 154 sonnets and 2 narrative poems. Knowledge of
Shakespeare is derived from two sources: his works and those remains of legal and church records and
contemporary allusions through which scholars can trace the external facts of his life. Shakespeare was
born and died in Stratford-upon-Avon.

The most important of his plays that mentioned in the book are

1-Richard the Second (1595) History

2-Henry the Sixth) History
3- Richard the Third (1593) History
4- Romeo and Juliet ( 1594-5) Tragedy
5- The Merchant of Venice ( 1596-7) Comedy
6- As You Like It (1599) Comedy
7-Much Ado About Nothing (1598-9) Comedy
8-Twelfth Night ( 1600 ) Comedy
9-King Henry the Forth (1597-8) History
10- King Henry the Fifth( 1599) History
11-Julius Caesar (1599) Tragedy
12-Coriolaus( 1607) Tragedy
13-Hamlet( 1600-1 )Tragedy
14-Mechbeth (1605-6) Tragedy
15- King Lear( 1606 ) Tragedy
16-Othello (1604-5) Tragedy

The last plays of Shakespeare are usually called the Romance such as (Cymbeline 1609-10), the
Winter’s Tale (1610-11) and the last play is (The Tempest 16011-12)

Benjamin Jonson:
The greatest dramatist that followed Shakespeare , but who was far below him. His work is more learned
and less inspired( comes out of his reading rather than his talent) than Shakespeare’s. His beat known
play is ( Every Man In His Humor) 1598.

A humor meant a quality made into a person a special foolishness or chief strong feeling in a man. This
is one of Jenson’s weakness as a dramatist. His characters are walking humours ,and not really human. In

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his play (Kitely) a merchant has a pretty wife and his humour is jealousy. Knowell’s father also has
humour : it is anxiety about his son’s behaviour. Bobadill a cowardly solider is one of Jonson’s best-
drawn character.

He wrote about 20 plays alone and others with other playwrights. His tragedy play (Sejanus ) and the
comedy play ( Volpone the Fox) are acted at the Globe Theater.

Jonson , believed in the unities of place, time, and action. *The unity of place meant all the scenes ought
to be in one place or at last not too far from each other. *The unity of time meant that the events of play
ought not to be spread over more than 24 hours, and most of his plays follow this rule. *The unity of
action meant that nothing outside the main story should be allowed into the play.

Chapter five
John Milton and His Time

John Milton was born in London and educated at Christ’s College, Cambridge. After leaving the
university , he studied at home in Horton Buckinghamshire( 1632-7) and was grateful to his father for
allowing him to this instead of preparing for profession. He lived pure life believing that he had a great
purpose to complete. At college he was known as The Lady Of Christ’s.

It is convenient to consider his work I three division.

 Up to 1642
He wrote his shorter poem at Horton.

 From 1642 to1660( Puritan age)

- ( 1642 -1660 ) from the year 1642 there was political problems between the king Charles the
first and the parliament and most of the parliament were puritans they ask for a political power
but the king refused so they start the civil war. The puritans killed the king Charles the first and
his son run away to France and Cromwell becomes the king ( the head of the parliament). John
Milton at this period wrote only prose and they were political, social, and religious in support of
the puritans and he says that killing the king Charles the first is the first step to develop the
country. As a result of his support he was made the minister of the government. His eyesight
began to fail and by the year 1651 he was totally blind. His best prose work is probably( the
Areopagitica )(1643) a speech for the liberty of unlicensed printing. He also wrote an essay
justify why Charles the first killed. The only change that the puritans made is closing the theaters
they do this because the situation was unstable so they close the theaters to avoid any protest or
demonstration.

 After 1660(Restoration age)

He wrote his most important and greatest works one of which is Paradise lost

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 After1660 the Restoration age : Charles the second ( the son of Charles the first) came back to
England with the support from France and he had some followers in England. He had a fight with the
puritans and win and monarchy restored in 1660. After he wins he starts looking for John Milton, there
was another writer called -Andrew Marvell was close to the king Charles the second he also knows
Milton. He told him not to worry he will talk to the king and he was granted amnesty the king forgive
him. He was isolated at home and wrote his three best greatest poems on of which is:

- (Paradise Lost) which talk about the fall of angles, the story of Adam and Eve, and their failure to keep
God's commands and it was written in blank verse no rhyme.

The second poem is

-(Paradise Regained) they said that paradise regained by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

-(Samson Agonists) tragedy on the Greek model, describe the last days of Samson.

**There was no important drama produced in the years before 1660 because of the closing of the
theaters in 1642. It also called the theatrical eclipse.

Chapter six:

Restoration drama and prose 1660-1700

Drama in 17th century

When Charles II became king 1660, the change in English literature was almost as great as the change in
government. For one thing the theaters opened again and new dramatists appeared…

Drama divide into two parts (Tragedy –Heroic) and (Comedy- Comedy of Manners)

First tragic drama : was made up mainly of heroic plays. In these the men are splendidly brave and the
women wonderfully beautiful.

The most important dramatist in this hind was:

John Dryden: his best heroic plays are :

1- The Conquest of Granada (1670) it contains some good lyrics.

2- Aurengzebe (1676) which based on struggle for empire of India. It’s his last rhymed play.

Second Comedy of Manners: this kind of play is hard and bright, witty and heartless.

The most important dramatist in this hind were:

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1-Sir George Etherege: the one who introduced this kind of play. His play was (The Man of Mode-
1675) gives a picture of the immoral manners of the society of that day , but has no proper plot.

2- William Congreve : At the end of the century when he was writing ,the coarseness of the early day of
the Restoration was beginning to pass away.

His plays are:

1- The Old Bachelor 1693) it is about old man who pretends to hate women, but marries the bad one. An
amusing character in this play is a foolish knight ,Sir Joseph Wittol.

2-The Double Dealer 1695) is conceded angry lovers.

3-Love for Love 1695) is funnier and contains clever speeches and interesting , but foolish characters.

4-The Way of the World 1700) it has different style. It is finer than the other of that time. The drawing
of the characters especially the women is good and so is the prose. Unfortunately, it was not well
received. And Congreve stopped writing play in disgust

Drama in 18th century

Most important dramatist was:

1-Oliver Goldsmith- he produced ( She Stoops to Conquer 1773) a play which a private house is
mistaken for a hotel.

Res. Prose

The prose writers in that time were :

1- John Dryden- his critical works include( Essay on Dramatic Poesie 1668) in this work he did three
things:
1-compared English and French drama.
2-defended the use of rhyme in drama.
3-praised Shakespeare.

2- John Locke’s –his work (Essay on the Human Understanding 1609) is one of the most important
works of English philosophy. He explain who we learn things and we were born with minds like white
sheet of paper.

3- Samuel Pepys- a well-known dairy which opens January 1st 1660 and ends on May 31st 1669 when
his eyesight began to fail. The dairy was written in secret sings and remained unread at Cambridge
college until 1825, when it was successfully read. It gives details of many events about the life of that
time (Restoration Age.)

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 Chapter Seven:
English poets 1660-1798

In this time that time there were two movements

1-Restoration age 1660- 1700
2-Neo-classical age 1700- 1798

The first poet of the 17th century is:

John Dryden- his great satire (Absalom and Achitophel 1681 ) uses a Bible story as a basis on which to
attack politicians. Another of Dryden’s satires( MacFlecknoe 1682) attacks a rival poet Shadwell. A bad
poet whose name was Flecknoe had recently died , and in this poem Dryden treats his own enemy
Shadwell as Flecknoe’s son.

The poets in the 18th century:

1-Alexander Pope- his poem (The Rape of the Lock 1712)* the stealing of hair . The story of stealing
the hair is that ; Lord Peter had cut off some hair from Miss Arabella Fermor’s head and the two families
had quarreled violently. Pope tried to end this by writing a poem describes the event on details but he
make the quarreled worse.

The 18th century was called the age of reason and the poets can be divided into two parts;

1-Neo-classical – and the example of the poet is Alexander Pope.

Early romanticism- the example of the poet are:

1- James Thomson- his special study the (Seasons) which he wrote four poems in blank verses and they
are:
1- Winter 1726
2- Summer 1727
3- Autumn 1728
4- Spring 17230
these poems were very popular and drew the picture of woods , fields , birds, and so on. Yet Thomas was
unable to scape altogether from the poetic language of 18th century ( means the language he used, was neo-
classical )

And here are the poet of earl romanticism who chose death for their subjects :

1- Edward Young – his (Night Thoughts) was written in a blank verse and was at that time popular.

2-Robert Blair – he also used blank verse in his poem (the Grave 1743) he begs the dead to come back
and tell about the grave.

3-Thomas Gray- was the greater poet than these. His (Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard 1750)
one of the most beautiful and famous of English poems, describe his thoughts as he looks at the graves of
country people buried near the church at Stoke Poges. He wonders what people might do if the come back
from the death.

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4- William Blake – poet and artist illustrated the works of Young ,Blair, Gray and others. Most of his
poetry is hard to understand. He did not believe in reality of matter and in punishment after death. His best
works include (Songs of Innocence 1787) and (Song of Experience 1794). The second is darker and
heavier than the first ,but it does contain some good poems.

5-Robert Burns- was Scottish farmer whose lyrics became famous. He wrote hundreds of songs and lyrics
one of them (Mary Morrison, John Anderson, and The Banks of Doon). His love song ‘My Love is like
a red, red rose’

6-William Cowper- one of the 18th century poet and worth special notice. His verse shows the beginning
of the swing away from the formal classical style of Pope towards the simpler more natural expression
which we shall see in Wordsworth and Coleridge. His long poem is the (The Task 1784)

Chapter eight
Eighteenth Century prose

Note : this is the first time, novels appear-The new century threw a side the strange plots and ideas of
heroic tragedy and turned to reasonable things .

1-Daniel Defoe:

describe the great plague of London in his Journal of the Plague Year (1723). His Robinson Crusoe
(1719) is better and more famous book. This story is based on a real event. Alexander Selkirk, a sailor
who quarreled with his captain , was in fact put on the island of Juan Fernandez near Chile , and lived
there alone for four years. Defoe made a good story out of this event; indeed, his book is almost a novel ,
and one of the first in English

.
2- Jonathan Swift
was a bitter satirist. Swift's most famous satire, Gulliver's Travel (1726) is in four books. ( attached
English people and the government)

3-Dr Samuel Johnson

was always poor and therefore had to do all kind of literary work , even if he didn't like it. His famous
(Dictionary appeared in 1755 )and went into five edition in his life. late of his life he wrote his Lives of
The Poets ( 1778-81) with decision and clear expression.

4- Samuel Richardson.

-( Pamela) Novel written in the form of letters , and this appeared one after the other .when the letters
began to appear , the ladies at that time were excited.( Pamela a story of a good girl was working as
servant and her master was trying to seduce her but she refused his as reward for her virtue he married
her)

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5- Henry Fielding

began a novel (Joseph Andrews (1742) was a kind of satire in Pamela and Joseph is supposed to be her
brother.

Fielding's greatest novel, (Tom Janes (1742) appeared in eighteen book , each of which had an easy
before it. ( Tom is a boy found in Mr Allworthy house was a kind he loved Sophia the daughter if Squire
Western he does a several things and was driven out of the house , in London he has many adventures ,
but in the ends he meets Sophia there and all ends happily ).

6-Laurence Sterne

a fourth novel writer of importance at this time. His astonishing books are as confusing as life itself. His
(Tristram Shandy (1760-7) made him famous. We have to read about half of the book before the hero
Tristram is born. Sterne leaves the story whenever he likes and write opinions or essays he add a blank of
pages and rows of stars to confuse the reader as much as possible.

6-Oliver Goldsmith

Another important novel of the time was (The Vicar of Wakefield (1761-2) (a story of a good and
virtuous family which has a great misfortunes; but all comes right in the end. the novel contains some
famous short poems including the Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog. Which shows something of
Goldsmith humour

7-William Beckford

Vathek (1786) is a novel, this astonishing book tell us that Vathek was a grandson of Harun al-Rashid
and become the servant of Eblis, the devil. (It's an orientalist writing in which the the say bad things about
Muslims)

Chapter nine
Early nineteenth-century poets

19 century literature

1798-1832 Romantic Age 1832-1901 Victorian Era

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The main steam of poetry in eighteenth century had been orderly and polished without much
feeling of nature. Heroic couplets were used for verse, but various writers had broken away from the form
and the thought. In spite of this, the publication of the first edition of the (Lyrical Ballade 1798) came as
a shock. The critics find the language too simple and the change too violent. This book was the signal of
the beginning of the (Romantic Age) it was a joint work of (William Wordsworth , Samuel Taylor
Coleridge and Southey).

The most important romantic poets are:

1- Samuel Taylor Coleridge –

his poem (The Rime of the Ancient Mariner) appeared in the first edition of Lyrical Ballade. It is about
a sailor describes some strange misfortunate that happened to his ship. It was in the ice of the south Pole
when he shot a great bird ; for this crime the curse fell on the ship. The wind failed , the water-supply
ended , and all the other sailors died of thirst. The mysterious surrounding of silent ship are described in
Coleridge’s magic words. At least the mariner , seeing God’s creatures in the moonlight blesses them(
show love and respect ). This breaks the curse and able to return home.

2- William Wordsworth -his works include

1- (In Lives Written above Tintern Abbey) he returns to a scene of boyhood , sit under a tree and looks
at the lovely views which he used to remember when far away.

2 – the sonnet( Westminster Bridge) he describe London in the early morning. It an emotional view of
London asleep

3- (London 1802) it about the latter is a cry for help in the trouble of the word ‘ Milton’ thou shouldst be
living at this hour ( why Milton? Coz he was the first on who called for change)

4- well known among other short poems are ( The Daffodils , The Solitary Reaper and Lucy.)

5- (The Ode on Intimation of Immortality 1807) is important and more longer. The poet finds the basis
of faith in memories of childhood, before the( business of word- means everybody wants to get his work
weather in legal or illegal way) has shut off the view of heaven.

3-George Cordon, or called Lord Byron)

was romantic figure, but his poetry was much influenced by thee classical form of Pope. Byron dressed
splendidly , went to fight for freedom of Greece , satirized many side of English life and hated all false
and insincere talk. He died of fever at ( Missolonghi in western Greece) but his body was brought home
for burial.

1- (Childe Harold 1809-17) written in Spenserian Stanza, tells the story of a man who goes off travel far
and wide because he disgusted with life’s foolish pleasure.

2- the narrative poem about the East ( Arab) (The Giaour= the Christian 1813 ) it about a slave Leila is
thrown into the sea by his master Hassan. In revenge her lover the Giaour , kills Hassan.

3- Don Juan (1818-24) a long poem of astonishing adventure, is also a satire which attacks some of
Byron’s enemies.

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4- Percy Bysshe Shelly

was a great poet of good family , restless and rich . He struggled against the causes of human misery and
against accepted religious. He saw goodness in the whole nature and he wanted all men to be free. His
important poem are:

1- Alastor or The Spirit of Solitude 1816) is a blank verse and shows Wordsworth’s influence. It
expresses joy in the universe and sorrow for the violent feelings of men.

2- The Revolt of Islam 1818) is a cry of impatience at the curtly of world but it is too long (5,000 lines)

3- Adonais 1821) one of the best poem, is an elegy on the death of Keats.

4- Ozymandias ) one of the finest sonnets it expresses the uselessness and the shortness of all earthly
power.

5- Ode to the West Wind ) one of the famous work it gives expression to his wild and free imagination(
to advocate the change of poverty.)

5- John Keats

He loved the beauty and rest. A friend in 1813 gave him Spenser’s Faerie Queene to read and this awoke
his poetic powers. He studied the poet and nature too. He could write lines in Wordsworth’s manner, but
with more music such as’ A little noiseless noise among the leaves’. His works include

1- Ode on a Grecian 1819)

2- To a Nightingale( My heart ache)
3- To Autumn

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