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HISTORY of ENGLISH LITERATURE Edited by Dr * ( DENG202 3 7+ Edited by: Dr. Digvijay Pandya HISTORY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE Edited By Dr. Digvijay Pandya Printed by LAXMI PUBLICATIONS (P) LTD. 113, Golden House, Daryaganj, New Delhi-110002 for Lovely Professional University Phagwara DLP-7759-111-HISTORY OF ENG LITERATURE C-4692/012/02 Typeset at: Shubham Composers, Delhi Printed at: Saras Graphics Pvt. Ltd. SYLLABUS History of English Literature Objectives: • To acquaint the learners with the history of English literature. • To provide learners with essential knowledge of the various trends. • To enable the learners to interpret various literary terms. • To enable the learners to recognise distinguished features of various literary genres. Sr. Content No. 1 The Anglo-Saxon literature,The Norman French period, The age of Chaucer 2 The medieval drama; mystery plays, morality plays and the interludes, The early renaissance- beginning of the era: Age of Queen Elizabeth I, The Renaissance- Elizabethan Age, University Wits 3 The Renaissance- Contribution of Shakespeare to this age, The Puritan Age or Age of Milton: Milton as a poet and his contribution, The Restoration period or beginning of Neoclassicism, Comedy of Manners 4 The Restoration period or beginning of Neoclassicism ( Dryden's contribution, Glorious Revolution of 1688),The Augustan Age or the triumph of Neo-classicism (Age of Prose and Reason), The Augustan Age or the triumph of Neo-classicism (Pope and Heroic couplet, poetic diction and satire) 5 The Age of Johnson-the decline of Neo-classicism (Devotional verse, popularity of periodical essays, Gothic novel), The Eighteenth century-approach/ transition towards Romanticism (Progress of education, philosophical thought and science), The Eighteenth century-approach/transition towards Romanticism (Decline of novel, Agricultural Revolution, Industrial Revolution) 6 The triumph of Romanticism (social, economic, political ,cultural conditions, Renaissance of wonder and influence of French Revolution on poets of the Age) ,The triumph of Romanticism ( Elements of Medievalism, Escapism, supernaturalism and melancholy in poetry of the Age) , The Victorian Age (social, economic, political, cultural conditions) 7 The Victorian age (women novelists, pre-Raphaelite poetry, Oxford Movement), The Nineteenth Century (Reflection of changes in the English society due toIndustrial Revolution in the nineteenth century novel) , The Nineteenth Century (Feminist movement) 8 , The Nineteenth Century (Dickens, Hardy, women novelists), Twentieth century (modern novel-Lawrence, stream of consciousness), Twentieth century (poetic drama , Absurd drama and Problem play) 9 Realism and Naturalism, Imagism, Surrealism, Dadaism, Symbolism, Impressionism, Expressionism 10 Absurd Drama, Existentialism, Black Comedy, Angry Young man, Kitchen Sink Drama, Post Structuralism andDeconstruction, Cultural Studies: growth and development, importance, salient features etc. CONTENT Unit 1: The Anglo-Saxon Literature and the Norman French Period 1 Digvijay Pandya, Lovely Professional University Unit 2: The Age of Chaucer 8 Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional University Unit 3: Medieval Drama and the Early Renaissance: Age of Queen Elizabeth I 16 Digvijay Pandya, Lovely Professional University Unit 4: The Renaissance-Elizabethan Age 23 Digvijay Pandya, Lovely Professional University Unit 5: The Renaissance-University Wits and Contribution of Shakespeare to This Age 30 Jayatee Bhattacharya, Lovely Professional University Unit 6: The Puritan Age or Age of Milton: Milton as a Poet and His Contribution 36 Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional University Unit 7: The Restoration Period or Beginning of Neoclassicism, Comedy of Manners 42 Jayatee Bhattacharya, Lovely Professional University Unit 8: The Restoration Period or Beginning of Neoclassicism (Dryden’s Contribution, 49 Glorious Revolution of 1688) Digvijay Pandya, Lovely Professional University Unit 9: The Augustan Age or the Triumph of Neoclassicism (Age of Prose and Reason) 59 Jayatee Bhattacharya, Lovely Professional University Unit 10: The Augustan Age or the Triumph of Neoclassicism (Pope and Heroic Couplet, 67 Poetic Diction and Satire) Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional University Unit 11: The Augustan Age or the Triumph of Neoclassicism (Devotional Verse, Popularity of 75 Periodical Essays) Digvijay Pandya, Lovely Professional University Unit 12: The Age of Johnson-The Decline of Neoclassicism (Gothic Novel) 85 Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional University Unit 13: The Eighteenth Century-Approach/Transition Towards Romanticism (Progress of Education, 98 Philosophical Thought and Science) Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional University Unit 14: The Eighteenth Century-Approach/Transition Towards Romanticism (Decline of Novel, 104 Agricultural Revolution and Industrial Revolution) Digvijay Pandya, Lovely Professional University Unit 15: The Triumph of Romanticism (Social, Economic, Political and Cultural Conditions) 113 Digvijay Pandya, Lovely Professional University Unit 16: The Triumph of Romanticism (Renascence of Wonder and Influence of French Revolution 120 on Poets of The Age) Digvijay Pandya, Lovely Professional University Unit 17: The Triumph of Romanticism (Elements of Medievalism, Escapism and Supernaturalism) 130 Jayatee Bhattacharya, Lovely Professional University Unit 18: The Triumph of Romanticism (Melancholy in Poetry of the Age) 137 Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional University Unit 19: The Victorian Age (Social, Economic, Political, Cultural Conditions and Women Novelists) 143 Digvijay Pandya, Lovely Professional University Unit 20: The Victorian Age (Pre-Raphaelite Poetry) 151 Jayatee Bhattacharya, Lovely Professional University Unit 21: The Nineteenth Century ( Reflection of Changes in the English Society (Due to Industrial 158 Revolution in the Nineteenth Century Novel) Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional University Unit 22: The Nineteenth Century ( Reflection of Changes in the English Society (Due to Industrial 164 Revolution in the Nineteenth Century Novel) Jayatee Bhattacharya, Lovely Professional University Unit 23: The Nineteenth Century (Feminist Movement) 171 Digvijay Pandya, Lovely Professional University Unit 24: The Nineteenth Century (Dickens, Hardy, Women Novelists) 177 Jayatee Bhattacharya, Lovely Professional University Unit 25: Twentieth Century (Modern Novel-Lawrence, Stream of Consciousness) 184 Digvijay Pandya, Lovely Professional University Unit 26: Twentieth Century (Poetic Drama and Problem Play) 190 Digvijay Pandya, Lovely Professional University Unit 27: Realism, Naturalism, Imagism and Surrealism 199 Jayatee Bhattacharya, Lovely Professional University Unit 28: Didacticism, Symbolism, Impressionism and Expressionism 205 Jayatee Bhattacharya, Lovely Professional University Unit 29: Absurd Drama 211 Digvijay Pandya, Lovely Professional University Unit 30: Existentialism 218 Jayatee Bhattacharya, Lovely Professional University Unit 31: Black Comedy, Angry Young Men and Kitchen Sink Drama 226 Jayatee Bhattacharya, Lovely Professional University Unit 32: Post- Structuralism, Deconstruction and Cultural Studies 233 Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional University Digvijay Pandya, Lovely Professional University Unit 1: The Anglo-Saxon Literature and the Norman French Period Unit 1: The Anglo-Saxon Literature and Notes the Norman French Period CONTENTS Objectives Introduction 1.1 Extant Manuscripts 1.2 Old English Poetry 1.3 Old English Prose 1.4 The Norman French Period 1.4.1 Social Results of the Conquest 1.4.2 The Result for Poetry 1.4.3 The English Dialects 1.5 Summary 1.6 Keywords 1.7 Review Questions 1.8 Further Readings Objectives After studying this unit, you will be able to: · Define extant manuscripts. · Describe old english poetry and old english prose. · Explain the norman french period. Introduction Old English literature (or Anglo-Saxon literature) encompasses literature written in Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon) in Anglo-Saxon England, in the period from the 7th century to the Norman Conquest of 1066. These works include genres such as epic poetry, hagiography, sermons, Bible translations, legal works, chronicles, riddles, and others. In all there are about 400 surviving manuscripts from the period, a significant corpus of both popular interest and specialist research. Among the most important works of this period is the poem Beowulf, which has achieved national epic status in England. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle otherwise proves significant to study of the era, preserving a chronology of early English history, while the poem Cadmon’s Hymn from the 7th century survives as the oldest extant work of literature in English. Anglo-Saxon literature has gone through different periods of research—in the 19th and early 20th centuries the focus was on the Germanic roots of English, later the literary merits were emphasised, and today the focus is upon paleography and the physical manuscripts themselves more generally: scholars debate such issues as dating, place of origin, authorship, and the connections between Anglo-Saxon culture and the rest of Europe in the Middle Ages. A large number of manuscripts remain from the Anglo-Saxon period, with most written during the last 300 years, in both Latin and the vernacular. Old English literature began, in written form, as a practical necessity in the aftermath of the Danish invasions – church officials were concerned that because of the drop in Latin literacy no one could read their work. Likewise King Alfred the Great (849–899), wanting
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