Lesson 2

Key Features and

Genres of Anglo-
American Literature
 1 Analyze literature as a
means of discovering the
self (EN9LT-Ib-14);
Learning
Competencies Identify the
2
distinguishing features of
notable Anglo-American
lyric poetry, songs,
poems, sermons, and
allegories (EN9LT-Ia-14.1).
Objectives

● identify the distinguishing features of Anglo-

American literature; and
● analyze Anglo-American literary texts by
looking into their key characteristics and
features.
Essential Question

How does a country’s literary genres reflect its

country’s historical development?
 Vocabulary Words
epic (noun) - a long narrative poem that
1 recounts the adventures and the
triumph of a hero
An epic typically features a mythical hero
who is larger than life.
heroic tales and romances (noun) -
2 works of literature that depict chivalry
and the adventures of knights
Heroic tales and romances make me
dream of being a knight in the Medieval
Ages.
lyric poetry (noun) - poetry, like
3 sonnets, that expresses personal
sentiments
William Shakespeare wrote lyric poetry
that has touched hearts for centuries.
pastoral poems (noun) - poems that
4 depict the rural life
Pastoral poems portray a simple,
peaceful kind of life.
 Vocabulary Words

comedy of manners (noun) - a comedy

5 that satirizes a specific group in society,
usually the upper class
A comedy of manners must be written with
gothic fiction (noun) - features
wit and clarity to denounce oppression.
7 grotesque, gloomy, and mysterious
settings, characters, and situations
People with a darker sense of humor
satire (noun) - a text that uses humor to would likely find gothic fiction appealing.
6 attack a social issue
It is sometimes difficult to distinguish satire
from legitimate news.
 Learn about It!

Ancient Times (before 5th century AD)

Key Features Genres

● Stories are passed down from ● Epics

one generation to another
through oral ● Religious poems
tradition.

● Poems written are laden with

biblical and religious themes.
 Learn about It!

The Middle Ages/Medieval Times (5th–15th Century)

Key Features Genres

● Works were written in what was ● Heroic tales and

called as “Modern English” and romances that tackle
not in Latin anymore. chivalry and adventures
of knights
● Vernacular literature, religious
writings, and secular texts ● Anthology of tales
emerged.
 Learn about It!

The Renaissance Period (1300s–1500s)

Key Features Genres and Representative Writers
● Texts show more optimism ● Lyric poetry
despite staying true to the ● Prose or essays written by Francis
medieval tradition. Bacon, Benjamin Franklin, and
● Texts became sophisticated, Cotton Mather
serious, and concerned with ● Tragedies and comedies of William
social abuse and rivalry among Shakespeare and Christopher
groups. Marlowe
● Texts are centered on religious,
practical, or historical themes.
 Learn about It!

Age of Enlightenment/Reason/The Restoration

(1685–1815)
Key Features Genres

● Literary works are known for their ● Comedy of

use of philosophy, reason, skepticism manners
towards institutions/authorities, wit, ● Epic
and refinement. ● Play
● Writers wrote with clarity and ● Essay
balance of judgement. ● Satire
 Learn about It!

Romantic to Realistic Period (around 1770–1890)

Key Features Genres

● Focused on the true, ● Gothic fiction

the good, and the beautiful, as ● Lyric poems
well as the expansion of
imagination.
● Portrayed societal problems
accurately.
 Learn about It!

Romantic to Realistic Period (around 1770–1890)

Key Features Genres

● Produced one of the most ● Political documents

important documents of ● Novels
American history. ● Satirical novels
● American writers produced
original and high-quality pieces
that make them unique from
English writers.
 Learn about It!

Modern to Contemporary (1900–Present)

Key Features Genres
● Writers make commentaries on the social ● Novels
injustice and the selfishness of upper class
society.
● Naturalist works portrayed a darker yet
more realistic view of life.
● Writers experimented with subject matter,
form, and style.
● The Lost Generation writers fled to Europe
and wrote about their moral crisis and
 Learn about It!

Modern to Contemporary (1900–Present)

Key Features Genres

● Juxtaposing genres and styles ● Poems

characterize postmodern ● Harlem Renaissance
literature poems
● Drama
 Analysis

Read the following poem and answer the questions

that follow.

The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd

Sir Walter Raleigh
 Analysis

Guide Questions

1. What is likely to be the genre of the selection? What makes

you think so?
2. How is figurative language used in the poem?
3. What ideas in this poem directly respond to which ideas in
“The Passionate Shepherd to His Love”?
4. What thematic statement does the poem seem to convey?
5. How do you feel about this response? What real-life
experiences are relatable to the sentiments of the poem?
Analysis