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    Hist. of English Literature and Literary Terms 2024

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    Vlindertje

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Zz @ z S 8 2 # 9 z z 5 Old English ieee Cea (Cora ted sce eect uch Lictuhes ee ae eA) ‘These lines were written by Caxdmon, a poetic layman, whose nine-tine poem in praise of God is probably the first English literature on paper. He wrote it in Old English, or Anglo-Saxon, a language then spoken by the people who at the time inhabited the British Isles. The words can still be recognized, but probably better by Saxons from the Continent, such as the Dutch (‘Nu wij moeten prijzen, hemel-ik’s bewaarder’), the Danish (Angles) or the Germans than by the English of today. ‘Angles, Saxons and Jutes (from Denmark and Germany), together with some Belgians and Frisians (from the Low Countries), had occupied Great Britain. Celtic tribes had inhabited the British Isles for along time; they spoke ‘older languages (but they did not write a lot). Their languages are sometimes stil spoken: Gaelic, Welsh and Breton (= British) in French Brittany. They left traces oftheir languages in first names (Gwyneth, Gareth, in last names (Uoyd, Lewellyn) and in place names (Llandudno, Camaervan), Following the Angles and Saxons other conquerors came from the North of the European continent: Norsemen, vikings, Danes. They also left their traces in the language, especially in place names (Whitby, Derby), just as the Romans had done before that (Manchester, Lancaster). But for English literature these occupants were not very important, Old English poetry Most of the literature of the time was poetry, Rhyme was usually alliteration, and poems were meant'to be ‘ecited or sung. The subjects were heroic deeds (Beowulf, The Battle of Maldon), feelings of loss (The Wanderer), travels (The Seafarer) and religious feelings (Caedmon's Hymn). “Old English prose Prose was always non-fiction: religious subjects (ténslations of Bible books), mythological stories (from Greece ‘and Rome) and historic events (The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) Middle English eae ome myrthe or japes right anon. CaS Rar When William the Conqueror of Normandy occupied Great Britain in 1066, he imported ~ amongst other things ~ his own language: Norman French. Old English ~ which had developed from Germanic and Viking languages ‘was now invaded by French words. This period in literature (c.1066-c.1500) is called Midale English Middle English poetry ‘The most important poetry of the period was written by Geoffrey Chaucer, who wrote in a ‘modern’ London dialect, His most famous work, The Canterbury Tales, is in 17,000 rhyming couplets. His poetry and his themes were influenced by French and Italian poets. His command of the language is astonishing and always suited to the narrator (a pilgrim in the tales): offical, coarse, boring, funny, or vulgar ‘Along alliterative poem in a more rural dialect was written anonymously, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. a story about one of King Arthur's knights. ‘Another long allterative poem was probably written by William Langland, The Vision of Pers Plowman. This poem is a kind of religious dreamallegory. Midgle Enjlish was aso the period of ballads and les. These rhyming poems were often sung, The themes ‘were love afd hate, war and peace, wealth and poverty. Middle English prose #Malory collected stores and songs about King Arthur He published them as Le Morte arthur, ‘the inost complete collection of Arthurian legends for ages to come. ‘Moré Biblical stories anid books were translated into Middle English Middle English drama ‘Middle Endlish dramta was originally centred in and around the church. Biblical stories were visualised in Miracle Plays, the lives of saints were told in Mystery Plays. When the actors (assisted by the different guilds of a town) travelled from one town square to another, the plays became more worldly: Cycle Plays. Renaissance clauaes Cerna aise eee ete gia ae Ie am ne Cae rera eee Pe aed casio) Gradually English:became the language itis today. The London dialect became the norm, and the invention of the printing press (Caxton in England) brought about a widespread literature and an official spelling, which has. not changed much since Shakespeare used it (400 years ago!). The Bible translations ~ especially the ‘official” translation ordered by King James I, the King James’ Bible or Authorised Version (1611) ~ was another milestone in the history of the English language. Literature was also influenced by the political power of England: King Henry Vill and ~ especially ~ Queen Elizabeth | (1558-1603) strengthened their empire: new lands were discovered and conquered (such as the East and West indies). Poetry There were many great lyricists in Renaissance England, usually influenced by Greek and Roman (Latin), and by contemporary Italian literature (Petrarch). They were often about love and (the brevity of life. ‘An important poet was Edmund Spenser (1552-1599), who wrote a famous mythical poem The Fairie Queene, in which he praised Queen Elizabeth's power in stores and allegories. The most famous poet of the period was Wiliam Shakespeare, whose 154 sonnets became a standard for many poets to come. KATERN 12, TELLING TALES & LOVING LINES © conve am pres poe Drama Except for The Authorised Version ofthe Bible ot much important prose was written during the Renaissance. Drama became the art frm. After Christopher Marlowe had written some exciting plays (Doctor Foustus), Willian shakespeare surpassed him with his comedies, rages and historical pays ‘The Middle English play had developed from a religious performance into a rather static drama farm, where playwrights had to stick to fied rules. The tree nites for drama had tobe kept in mind: the unity of time (tall had to take place within 24 hours, the unity of place (there was only ane location) and the unity of action (the introduction of subplots was not allowed). Shakespeare didnot stick to these unites: probably another reason why he became so succesfl fut Shakespeare ad to deal with imitations as wel: only men and boys were allowed to act (remember Juliet”), the play had tobe performed inthe daytime (how to explain that night has fallen), there were no curtains (what to do with people killecton the stage?) and no background scenery (wheres the action taking place?) Plays could not be performed within the city-wall (actors wete considered lower lass people) and close-ups of actars were not posible (how can an actor inform the auience of his wicked plan without also taling the victim’). 50 Shakespeare made jokes about the beauy of his female” actors, he had the actors describe what time of doy it was and where they were, he built theatre ouside the city gates of London (the Globe) and he had his actors ‘walk among the audience on a plank to have them speak their thoughts within earshot ofthe listener hdd Bi he sg RHA sit ox ie atte TOIT one Great Britain consolidated its power. The country was ruled by Scottish kings, a politcal eader (Oliver Cromwell) and a Dutch Prince, who married the King’s daughter: King Wiliam Ill and Queen Mary Il Wiliam became king of England, Scotland, ireland and Normandy. In literature this was the century of Metaphysical Poetry, religious poetry and prose. The period immediately following Shakespeare's death is known as the Restoration: writers went back to older forms and morals. Poetry Metaphysical poetry used many ideas from modern science and technology to create unique and excellent, but often artificial poems. Great poets ofthis kind of poetry were John Donne, Andrew Marvell and George Herbert. But other poets were successful as well: Ben Jonson, Thomas Campion, Robert Herrick, Richard Lovelace and John Dryden. The greatest of them all is John Milton, his most famous work being Paradise Lost. * Prose Prose was still not very important, but there were a few exceptions: Francis Bacon (The New Atlantis) and ‘Thomas Hobbes (Leviathan). In 1678 John Bunyan wrote a book which some people consider the first novel in English, and millions stil see it as the most important religious book after the Bible: The Pilgrim's Progress. Drama After Shakespeare's death in 1616 drama slowly declined. Religious leaders, such as Oliver Cromwell, made laws against the performance of plays. William Congreve was a playwright of some importance, The eighteenth century en ea eek ede of mankind is man.” Ce ee aa Le) In this century the English developed and cultivated their numerous colonies and they subdued the inhabitants: the American East Coast, India, Australia, and many Aftican and Asian lands were controlled by the British. Novel writing was invented and perfected. in this so-called Age of Reason many clever, but also dull works of art were created. Towards the end of the century the more exciting Romantic Period in poetry began. ° Poetry ‘Alexander Pope was a poet and essayist, whose satirical works were feared as well as admired by the English. There were writers who wrote poetry, prose and/or drama: Oliver Goldsmith, Samuel Johnson. ‘The end of the century showed a tremendous emerge of original ~ usually romantic ~ poets: Robert Burns (on Scotland, nature, and love), Thomas Gray, William Blake (a visionary poet) and Samuel Teylor Coleridge (talented, tormented and addicted to drugs). Prose tt was the beginning of the rise of the novel and the novelists: Daniel Defoe, Jonathan Swift, Henry Fielding and Samuel Richardson, A (post?imodern novel was written by Laurence Sterne, ristram Shandy. Pope wrote essays, Samuel Johnson made a dictionary of the English language and wrote about literature, and Mary Wollstonecraft defended the'rights of women. The frst magazines (by Addison and Steele) and newspapers (Tie Times in 1785) were printed. James Boswell wrote journals about his travels. Drama Richard Sheridan and Oliver Goldsmith wrote mainly comedies (of manners). A famous play was written by John Gay, The Beggar's Opera. The nineteenth century, “A thing of beauty isa joy forever: pea The nineteenth century produced great romantic poetry, but it was especially the century when prose (the novel) became the most important type of literature. The period is often called the Victorian Period, after Queen Victoria (1837-1901), when many moral dilemmas were discussed in literature: the rights of women, workers, children, non-British citizens, and love and marriage. Poetry William Wordsworth described nature in the English Lake District. Wiliam Blake wrote his enigmatic poems, but the first half of the century was dominated by Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron, and especially their mutual friend, John Keats. They were succeeded by poets such as Alfred, (Lord) Tennyson, Robert Browning, Emily Bronté and Matthew Arnold Towards the end of the century some poets (the so-called Pre-Raphaelites) went back to romantic themes and forms: Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Christina Rossetti, Algernon Charles Swinbumme. At the same time Gerald Manley Hopkins wrote his unique ~ and often religious ~ poems, far from the artistic crowd, Prose [Although important non-fiction was written in this century (Thomas Carlyle, John Stuart Mill, the nineteenth century will be remembered for its great novelists: Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, Sir Walter Scott and their frst great female authors: Jane Austen, Emily Bronte, Charlotte Bronte, Elizabeth Gaskell and George Eliot (eseudonym of Mary Ann Evans). Drama Drama was the least important literary form of the century. Oscar Wilde was the playwright who could still American Literature to 1900 ‘The situation in the United States of America with regard to literature can be compared to the situation in early Britain: people who fight for their lands and rights have litle time to write and read literature, Only when the American continent was ‘settled’ had artists the time and energy for creative works, Poetry Early American literature produced great and still vry influential poets: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Edgar Allan Poe, Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. . Prose ‘This century saw the beginnings of the great American novel. The subjects were all there: travelling across the continent (Mark Twain, Jack London), fighting for land or food (James Fenimore Cooper, Herman Mehille) and dealing with the unknown (Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne). rust erica English since 1900. Wi ea aoe oe With perfectly avful things in it, Tena Re age trees lane Gousen ene Re KATERN 12. TELLING TALES & LOVING LINES : {tis impossible to describe the literature of the 20th century in a few words. in genera, it could be said that prose became the most important literary form, while drama was increasingly writen for flm, and much poetry ‘was no longer published in books, but set to music “American itrature became more important than British literature, while other English iterstures (ksh, ‘Australian, Canadian, Indian, South African and Caribbean) have finaly found their well-deserved place in the English canon Female and non-Britsh authors have become more and more important. Literature is no longer writen by "White ‘Anglo-Saxon Protestants. Important literature in the 20" century — The poety of the Great War (1914-1918): the War Poets. ‘World War I had an enormous impact on English literature, especially on poetry. Impressive poems were written, by soldiers as well as by civilians, by men fighting in the trenches as well as by women back home: Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, Isaac Rosenberg, wor Guey, Rupert Brooke. ~ Prose of the Bloomsbury Group in the first decades of the 20° century. Intellectual Londoners discussed and wrote literature (their name, Bloomsbury Group, came from the part of London where they met). They revolted against the restrictions of Victorian society. Among them were Virginia Woolf, Lytton Strachey and EM. Forster. ~The Interbellum:; the period between World War I and World War I Prose: The nineteenth-century novel was further perfected (.R.R, Tolkien, Graham Greene, Evelyn Waugh, Henry James, Wiliam Somerset Maugham, Christopher Isherwood, J.8. Priestley), new experiments in novel ‘writing were tried (James Joyce, Aldous Huse) and society was criticized (O.H, Lawrence, George Orwell. Poetry: clever and intricate poems were written (TS. Biot, W.B. Yeats, Ezxa Pound), while other poets went their own, original way (Dylan Thomas, D.H. Lawrence) 32 Novels about changes in the United States of America "Americans deseribed the change to their country and to ther people: the Great Depression ohn Steinbeck, ‘Wiliam Faulkner, Arthur Mill), the setlers (Ernest Hemingway, Henry Roth), the migrations (Upton Sineait, Zane Grey), equal rights movement Zora Neal Hurston, Ralph Elison) and the ways of the rich (Scott Fitzgerald, Sinclar Lewis, Raymond Chancler) The Fifties in Great Britain ‘The Angry Young Men protested the fate of the workers and ridiculed the standoffishness of the uppér lasses Uohn Osborne, Alan Silitoe, Keith Waterhouse, Kingsley Amis, John Braine). At the same time there were gifted playwtights, whose enigmatic plays expressed the emptiness of modern ife (Harold Pinter, Samuel Beckett The loss of British colonies and the independence of Aftcon and Asian countries ‘Some —expécially white Anglo-Saxons ~ mourned the loss of power in the British Empire, while others ‘specially the non-white, non-English Commonwealth inhabitants tried to come to terms with their new tvorlds in South-Africa André Brink, Doris Lessing, Alan Paton, 1M. Coetzee, Nadine Gordimer, Breyten tretenbach), in other parts of Africa (Chinua Achebe, Joyce Cary, Wiliam Boyt, VS. Naipaul, Ben Oke, in ‘sia (Salman Rushdie, Paul Scot, ang Chang, Ha in), in the Caribbean (Derek Walcott, Benjamin Zephaniah) and in Australia and New Zealand (Peter Carey, Ker Hulme), The Sbrties: a period of change and protest “The changing world influenced literature in Great Britain (ris Murdoch, Anthony Burgess) and in the United states (.0. Salinger, Joseph Heller, Maya Angelou, Ken Kesey, Toni Morrison, Jerzy Kosinst, Kurt Vonnegut, John Updike, James Baldwin, Richard Brautigan) The rise of the American contemporary novel, especialy in the Seventies. ‘thors produced bestselling page-turner (exciting, but not always very ‘iterary’: John ing, Ia Levin Lisa Alther,€L- Doctorow, Erica Jong, Anne Rice, Stephen King, Marl French, Dean Koontz Robert Ludlum, Torn Clancy. : The later holf of the century: a period in which reader response become just as important as the artists opinions. Readers became almost as important as writers: the story becomes the reader's after it has been written, and there are many interpretations of a work (as in postmodernism, one of the more important developments rear the end of the 20th century: John Fowles, Graham Swift, Martin Amis, Bret Easton Ells, Peter Ackroyd, Paul Auster, Julian Barnes, Don Detillo, Michael Cunningham, Yann Martel, Douglas Coupland, Michael Ondaatje The origins ofa new word literature, where English is considered the ingua franca for writers from many continents Fora long time authors have been writing in English, despite of it not being their native tongue Uoseph CConvad, Karen Blxen), but since the end of the Second World Wer many non-native speakers of English have found ways to express their thoughts in the universal language which English has become Uohn Fante, Jerzy Seth Yahp, Manik Bandopadhyaya, Lauretta Ngcobo). Tis has made English literature les simple, bout atthe sare time it has enriched the language tremendously. Coed Careers aff vs 53 See aCe 38 KATERN 12. TELLING TALES & LOVING LINES sa ‘A.word arrangement, often 3 poem, in which the first (or the first and last) letters of the lines make a word or words. Example A favourite literary devi Ce is the one whe Re the firs letter Of each line spell S out the subject the poe Twishes to write about. | must admit, 1 Can't see the point myself Roger McGough, An Acrostic Act A play is usually divided into part, called acts. This division was made to structure the action of the play. In the sixteenth century plays were divided into five acts. Since the beginning of the twentieth century most plays have had usually three acts see drama, scene Adventure novel ‘Annovel in which action is more important than literary quality, character development or theme. Allegory ‘A literary work in which the story has an extra, often symbolic or metaphorical, meaning. In The Pilgrim's Progress, for example, the main character Christian is not just a man, but also the average Christian believer, who has to fight sin and evil in order to get to heaven, Alliteration ‘The repetition of speech sounds in a sequence of words, Alteration of consonants in older literature was the way in which poets used thyme. Example In a somer seson, whan soft was the sonne... (Piers Plowman) Ambiguity Sometimes words and phrases have more than one meaning. This makes the phrase richer and mate can be read “etween the lines’ Example My boby at my breast That sucks the nurse asleep (Cleopatra speaking of the snake that will bite and kill her in Shakespeare's Anthony and Cleopatra) Angry Young Men A group of British novelists and playwrights in the 1950s, who reacted strongly against traditions, religion and the establishment. centinued fom previous page Antagonist see plot Apologue ‘A moral fable, usually featuring personified animals or inanimate objects acting like people to allow the author to comment on human behaviour, Often the apologue highlights the irationality of mankind, Animal fables and ‘Aesop's fables are examples. ‘Autobiographical novel ‘A novel based on the author's life experience. Ballad Originally a song which tells a story. Ballads are often about exciting subjects, such as love, war, deceit, bravery and evil. There is often a refrain or a repetitive line. Biography ‘An account of a person's life - written by someone else — involving the person's character, relationships and tires. Blank verse ‘Unchymed iambic pentameter. A form of poetry that closest resembles the natural rhythms of English speech, See iambic pentameter. Burlesque ‘A work designed to ridicule a style, literary form, or subject matter either by treating the exalted in a trivial way Cr by discussing the trivial in exalted terms. Burlesque concentrates on derisive imitation, usually in exaggerated teims. Literary genres (such as drama) can be burlesqued.. see parody, travesty Caesura ‘A pause, metrical or rhetorical, occurring somewhere in a line of poetry. The pause may or may not be ‘ypographically indicated. canon Jn literature it indicates those works generally accepted as the great ones. A battle is now being fought to change or throw out the canon for three reasons. First, the ist of great books has traditionally been dominated by DWEMs (dead, white, European males), and the accusation is that women and minorities and non-western writers have been ignored. Second, there is pressure in the literary community to throw out all standards as the ribilism of the late 20th century made itself felt inthe literature departments of the universities. Third, the canon has always been determined, atleast in part, by politcal considerations and personal philosophical biaises. Celtic Renaissance Also called the irish Literary Revival. This was a creative period in rsh literature from about 1885 to 1939 (the death of the poet William Butler Yeats). Most ofthe literature was written in English, sorme was waitten in Irish, Character ‘The person in a literary work, whose qualities are expressed in what they say (the dla/ogue) and in what they do {the action). Characters may temain stable throughout the work, or they may change, but always consistency in a ‘characteris required: the character should not suddenly break off and act in a way which does not fit the temperament as we have come to know it. Children’s novel ‘Annovel waitten for children about a child character or a character a child can identify with, a theme or themes ‘aimed at children, and vocabulary and sentence structure available to a young reader, Many ‘adult’ novels, such 25 Gulliver's Travels, are read by children, especialy in simplified forms. The children’s novel has become very successful (with books ike Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, The Wind in the Willows, Peter Pan, Winnie~ the-Pooh, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) and many waiters of today write exclusively for children. Chivalric romance or Medieval romance A narrative about a courtly and chivalric age, often about a knight on a quest. These romances were originally about ancient Rome, France (Charlemagne and his knights) oF Britain (King Arthur and his knight), chorus Originally from Greek tragedy, where a group of people wearing masks sang and danced and commented on the action of the pay. Inthe siteenth century the chorus in English plays was usually one person, who commented i i | Chronicle ‘Accounts in prose or verse of national or world-wide events over a considerable period of time. The most famous ‘chronicle in English is The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which covered a period of over 200 years, for instance

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