British and Irish Literature

The English Literature can be divided into three stages:

Old English Literature (450 – 1150)

Middle/ medieval English Literature (1150 – 1500)

Modern English Literature (1500 – up to now)

Old English Literature

The oldest literature monument of the Anglo-Saxon period is the old Germanic legend called
Beowulf. It is a heroic poem about strong hero Beowulf and his fight with man-eating monster
Grendel. The other important piece from this period is the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, written by king
Alfred the Great and it describes the life, history and language of that time.

Middle English Literature

This period has two main streams in literature: religious literature and secular literature. The main
representative of the religious literature is John Wycliffe. He was a priest who criticized the greedy
church and he translated the Bible into English. He inspired Jan Hus.

The most significant writer of the secular literature is Geoffrey Chaucer, often called the Father of
English poetry. His Canterbury Tales are a series of 24 poems about a group of pilgrims who tell each
other stories to pass time on their journey from London to Canterbury.

Modern English Literature

In the 16th century, the Renaissance came to England. This period was linked with the development
of English drama, especially thanks to the world’s greatest playwright William Shakespeare (1564 -
1616). He was born in Stratford, but as a young man he moved to London and soon became popular.
He owned the Globe theatre. He wrote 37 plays and a large number of poems and sonnets. His plays
can be divided into four groups:

Tragedies: Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello

Comedies: Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Taming of the Shrew

Historical Plays: Richard III., Henry V., Julius Caesar

Romances: The Tempest

Shakespeare’s work was translated into numerous languages, the best Czech translations are by E.A.
Saudek, J.V. Sládek and Martin Hilský.

The 18th century is also known as the time of the Enlightenment. Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe is
still one of the most popular books among children.

Literature at the end of the 18th century turned to sentiments and traditions. We call it ‘Romantic
literature.’ Famous authors are George Gordon Byron and his work about freedom, Sir Walter Scott,
who used themes from Scottish and English history (Waverly, Ivanhoe). Finally, we must mention the
mother of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley.
In the 19th century, the British monarch was Queen Victoria, so this age is called the Victorian Age. In
their novels, writers are describing English society. There were many talented women writers like
Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice) and the Brontë sisters (Charlotte – Jane Eyre, Emily – Wuthering
Heights). Those books were original because they were fresh and unconventional. Charles Dickens
wrote novels where heroes and villains are taken from the hustle and bustle of Victorian London. His
most famous stories are Oliver Twist, A Christmas Story, David Copperfield and Great Expectations.

Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin. He was imprisoned for his homosexuality and he spent the rest of
his life in France. He wrote book The Picture of Dorian Grey, play The Importance of Being Earnest
and fairy-tales The Happy Prince or The Nightingale and the Rose.

From the 20th and 21st century, I picked few of my favourite authors:

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a Scottish writer and doctor and he is most noted for creating the duo
Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. Even today, many films and TV shows were based on his stories
about this consulting detective solving crimes.

If we stay in crime literature, we can’t forget Agatha Christie, the creator of Hercule Poirot or Miss
Marple. She also wrote one play called ‘The Mouse Trap.’

George Orwell is known for his dystopic novel 1984 and allegorical novel Animal Farm. Both books
are describing terrors of totalitarian regimes.

Last author, I must mention is J.K. Rowling, who became famous in 90s, when she published her first
book about young wizard named Harry Potter.

My reading experience