A SURVEY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE
CONTENTS 1
PREFACE 2
1. BEFORE ENGLAND 3
2. THE OLD ENGLISH PERIOD: c. 500-1066 4
Historical context, Old English literature
3.THE MIDDLE ENGLISH PERIOD: 1066-1485 7
Historical context, Middle English literature
4. THE RENAISSANCE: 1485-1660 11
Historical context, The Renaissance, Early Tudor literature,
Elizabethan and Jacobean literature, Late Renaissance literature
5. THE RESTORATION AND THE AGE OF REASON: 1660-1789 21
Historical context, Restoration literature, Literature in the Age of Reason
6. THE ROMANTIC PERIOD: 1789-1830 27
Historical context, Romantic literature
7. THE VICTORIAN AGE: 1830-1914 32
Historical context, Victorian poetry, The Victorian novel
8. THE MODERN PERIOD: FROM 1914 TO THE PRESENT DAY 42
Historical context, Poetry of the Great War, Modernism, Post-Modernism
Postscript 49
LIST OF LITERARY TERMS 50
1
,PREFACE
The aim of this survey is to give Dutch students at VWO level a short overview of all the
various movements, individual authors and great pieces of writing that together form the
history of English literature. In my view, the study of a language cannot be complete without
reading and studying at least a number of literary texts written in that language. It is, after all,
in such texts that we often find the best and most impressive examples of how the language
can be used to express thoughts, ideas, beliefs and truths.
Literary texts, however, do not stand alone. I think that in order to fully appreciate them, one
needs to have at least some knowledge of their background, a vital part of which is formed by
the general history of the literature that the texts belong to. The purpose of this survey, then,
is to provide that background by giving a short account of the history of literature in the
English language. The survey follows the subdivision into literary periods common to most
literary textbooks, set against their historical context. It is meant to give an overview of the
most significant literary developments of those periods and includes short introductions to the
most important authors and their work.
The survey only deals with English literary history and leaves out the literature of all other
English-speaking countries, most notably that of the United States. The reason for this is
twofold. First, there is just not enough room in a short survey like this: if it also dealt with
American literature, wishing to do justice to its varied history, it would simply become too
long. Second, whereas one cannot deny that English literature has greatly influenced writing
in America, this is not necessarily true the other way round. In fact, English literature and its
history form the basis of all other literatures in English, including that of the United States.
In writing this survey, I was faced with a big challenge: I wanted it to be as short as possible,
but I also wanted it to cover the most important developments, authors and books of the rich,
1,000-year-long history of English literature. The goal that I set myself was to reduce that
history to no more than 15,000 words. This was not an easy task, and small wonder if one
considers that the writers of literary textbooks usually need several volumes and hundreds of
pages to do full justice to that history. Throughout, therefore, I had to make decisions about
what I thought had to be included at all cost, and what – although often important and
sometimes even essential – unfortunately needed to be left out in order not to exceed those
15,000 words.
My second big challenge, which at the same time served as an inspiration, was to write it all
down in such a way that it would help advanced Dutch secondary school students develop
an understanding and an appreciation of the width and breadth of English literature. I hope
that this survey achieves that aim.
Kees Kamp
Enschede
May 2012 (first edition)
July 2016 (third edition)
2
,1. BEFORE ENGLAND
From around 700 BC the island we now know as England or Britain was
inhabited by the Celts, with different tribes inhabiting different parts of
the country. In the year 43 AD the Romans successfully invaded the
island, defeated the Celts (or Britons, as they called them), and
established the new province of Brittannia as part of the Roman Empire.
The Romans, who stayed in Britain for about four hundred years, to
some extent mingled with the Celts (some of whom settled in the north,
i.e. present-day Scotland) and created an urban civilization. They were
the first to build towns (the history of London, for instance, goes back to
the Roman town of Londinium), and they constructed roads so the army
could move about quickly. These roads were also used to develop trade
between different parts of the province.
At the end of the 4th century, the Roman Empire began to fall apart and
in 410 AD the last remaining Roman legions left Britain to defend Rome
itself. The country then became an easy target for invading tribes from
present-day northern Germany and southern Denmark. From around
450 AD, these Germanic tribes (the Angles, Saxons and Jutes) settled
in their new homeland, which after some time came to be known as
Ængla lande or England. The original Celtic population was driven to the
west, to present-day Wales and Cornwall, where elements of their
language and culture have survived to this day.
th
Map of Roman Britain Anglo-Saxon invasions of the 5 century AD
3
, 2. THE OLD ENGLISH PERIOD: c. 500-1066
Historical context
Unlike Roman Britain, Anglo-Saxon England was divided into a number
of separate kingdoms. Together they formed a rather warlike society:
especially interested in plunder and power, these small kingdoms were
quite often at war with each other. Consequently, warriors held a special
position under the kings of each kingdom. Despite these continuing
struggles, Anglo-Saxon England enjoyed a period of relative peace and
prosperity until the 8th century. The country was gradually converted to
Christianity and monasteries became important centres of culture and
learning.
From about 800 on, Danish or Viking invaders began to first plunder and
then invade northern and eastern England. At first the Danes were only
interested in raiding rich monasteries and settlements, but gradually they
recognized the value of the land and started to settle. They built fortified
towns (such as York) from which they controlled large parts of England.
As a result, the Anglo-Saxon kings began to unite and during the reign of
King Alfred the Great (r. 871-899), the Anglo-Saxons were finally able to
call a halt to Danish expansion in 878. Over the next century, the land
conquered by the Danes gradually became part of the kingdom of
Anglaland (England).
Statue of Alfred the Great in Winchester
The Anglo-Saxon period came to an abrupt end in the year 1066, when
England was invaded by the French speaking Normans under the
leadership of William the Conqueror. The Norman Conquest completely
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