English literature
Old English: (650-1066)
History:
- Caedmon -> start of English Literature.
- Before Caedmon documents were written in Latin by Roman conquerors and clergymen in
Latin
- The majority of whom couldn't read or write at all, sproke different dialects and languages.
- Copyists were usually Monks. Books were expensive because everything was written by
hand.
Poetry:
- Except for Caedmon's hymn, poems were about travel, battles and religion.
- The most important work in Old English was a long poem that had its origins in Scandinavia,
Beowulf.
- The usual rhyme form in Old English poetry was alliteration
- Alliteration = The repetition of a first consonant sound in a word or phrase
Beowulf:
- Beowulf is a long Old English anonymous poem about a famous Scandinavian nobleman,
who fights and kills the monster Grendel. Later he also kills its vengeful mother.
- The poem was written somewhere between the 8 th and 11th century
- Beowulf was an alliterative poem about heroism, honour and loyalty.
Middle English (1066-1550):
History:
- Started when the Norman French nobleman William occupied England
Poetry:
- The middle English period in poetry is dominated by Geoffry Chaucer, a well-to-do London
courtier, diplomat and poet, who had travelled and worked in Europe.
Geoffrey Chaucher
- He was important for the English language, because he was the first one to write in English
and did not only talk about the upper class, but about all people.
- End rhyme was chosen above alliteration.
- The Canterbury Tales are a collection of stories about pilgrims travelling to Canterbury
- The Canterbury Tales is fun to read, because of the detail with which the narrator describes
each pilgrims.
- 'estates satire'= a collection of stereotypes about people based on what occupation they
had or what social class they belong to.
- 'anticlericalism'= a collection of stereotypes about friars (monks, priests, nuns)
- A typical device that he uses in his work is the allegory
- Allegory = a literary work in which the story has an extra (symbolic or metaphorical)
meaning. The allegorical figures exists on two levels of meaning, the literal one and the
symbolic level. An allegory may include among others the personification or abstract
qualities or of events
The Knight's Tale:
- 2 man fall in love with the same woman.
- Pact -> support each other in everything.
, - Chivalry was a system of knightly behaviour. A Knight was supposed to follow if he wished to
behave with honour.
- Courtly love, loyalty of knight to his 'lady love'. the woman is perfect in every way and
sweeps the knight right off his feet.
Drama:
- Middle English was the origin of drama:
- Cycle plays: depicting different scenes from the bible.
- Miracle plays: biblical miracles
- Mystery plays: about mysteries that happened to people, inspired by faith.
King Arthur :
- King Arthur was a legendary British leader who led the defence of Britain against Saxon
invaders in the late 5th centuries. Represented as a great warrior or magical figure.
- LEARN STUDY QUESTIONS 1!!
Ballads:
- Ballads are narratives, which were usually sung.
- Lady Isabel and the Elf knight a.k.a. the outlandish knight.
- Knight abducts the lady he is with. Takes her into the woods and tries to kill her. He admits
that he has killed at least 7 other women. She distracts him and kills him instead. Medieval
ballads were written for the unschooled and illiterate people. Modern ballads are composed
very freely and they are highly individual.
Renaissance (1550-1649)
History:
- After 1066 the different peoples in the British Isles (Celts, Saxons, Angles, Norman, French)
gradually became one nation: the English. --> printing press: one language, one uniform
spelling
- The publication of the Bible in English in 1611 can be seen as the start of Modern English
- The Renaissance: a rebirth of Greak & Latin culture (short but very important period for
literature, because the publication of the Bible and works of Shakespeare and his
contemporaries)
- This period was dominated by Queen Elixabeth I, who succeeded in strengthen the British
Empire and expanding it to America, Africa, Asia and Australia
Poetry:
- The most important and famous poet in English is William Shakespeare (1564-1616), who
worked the most of his life as an actor, theatre owner, playwright and poet in London
- He wrote 36 long poems, but he became famous with shorter poems: his 154 sonnets
- Before Shakespeare, Thomas Wyatt, Philip Sidney and Edmund Spenser wrote impressive
poetry
- Shakespeare's contemporaries were famous poets such as: John Donne and Ben Jonson
Prose:
- The Bible was translated into English for the first time, The Authorized Version.
- Because it was the Renaissance, many works from Greek and Latin were translated
Old English: (650-1066)
History:
- Caedmon -> start of English Literature.
- Before Caedmon documents were written in Latin by Roman conquerors and clergymen in
Latin
- The majority of whom couldn't read or write at all, sproke different dialects and languages.
- Copyists were usually Monks. Books were expensive because everything was written by
hand.
Poetry:
- Except for Caedmon's hymn, poems were about travel, battles and religion.
- The most important work in Old English was a long poem that had its origins in Scandinavia,
Beowulf.
- The usual rhyme form in Old English poetry was alliteration
- Alliteration = The repetition of a first consonant sound in a word or phrase
Beowulf:
- Beowulf is a long Old English anonymous poem about a famous Scandinavian nobleman,
who fights and kills the monster Grendel. Later he also kills its vengeful mother.
- The poem was written somewhere between the 8 th and 11th century
- Beowulf was an alliterative poem about heroism, honour and loyalty.
Middle English (1066-1550):
History:
- Started when the Norman French nobleman William occupied England
Poetry:
- The middle English period in poetry is dominated by Geoffry Chaucer, a well-to-do London
courtier, diplomat and poet, who had travelled and worked in Europe.
Geoffrey Chaucher
- He was important for the English language, because he was the first one to write in English
and did not only talk about the upper class, but about all people.
- End rhyme was chosen above alliteration.
- The Canterbury Tales are a collection of stories about pilgrims travelling to Canterbury
- The Canterbury Tales is fun to read, because of the detail with which the narrator describes
each pilgrims.
- 'estates satire'= a collection of stereotypes about people based on what occupation they
had or what social class they belong to.
- 'anticlericalism'= a collection of stereotypes about friars (monks, priests, nuns)
- A typical device that he uses in his work is the allegory
- Allegory = a literary work in which the story has an extra (symbolic or metaphorical)
meaning. The allegorical figures exists on two levels of meaning, the literal one and the
symbolic level. An allegory may include among others the personification or abstract
qualities or of events
The Knight's Tale:
- 2 man fall in love with the same woman.
- Pact -> support each other in everything.
, - Chivalry was a system of knightly behaviour. A Knight was supposed to follow if he wished to
behave with honour.
- Courtly love, loyalty of knight to his 'lady love'. the woman is perfect in every way and
sweeps the knight right off his feet.
Drama:
- Middle English was the origin of drama:
- Cycle plays: depicting different scenes from the bible.
- Miracle plays: biblical miracles
- Mystery plays: about mysteries that happened to people, inspired by faith.
King Arthur :
- King Arthur was a legendary British leader who led the defence of Britain against Saxon
invaders in the late 5th centuries. Represented as a great warrior or magical figure.
- LEARN STUDY QUESTIONS 1!!
Ballads:
- Ballads are narratives, which were usually sung.
- Lady Isabel and the Elf knight a.k.a. the outlandish knight.
- Knight abducts the lady he is with. Takes her into the woods and tries to kill her. He admits
that he has killed at least 7 other women. She distracts him and kills him instead. Medieval
ballads were written for the unschooled and illiterate people. Modern ballads are composed
very freely and they are highly individual.
Renaissance (1550-1649)
History:
- After 1066 the different peoples in the British Isles (Celts, Saxons, Angles, Norman, French)
gradually became one nation: the English. --> printing press: one language, one uniform
spelling
- The publication of the Bible in English in 1611 can be seen as the start of Modern English
- The Renaissance: a rebirth of Greak & Latin culture (short but very important period for
literature, because the publication of the Bible and works of Shakespeare and his
contemporaries)
- This period was dominated by Queen Elixabeth I, who succeeded in strengthen the British
Empire and expanding it to America, Africa, Asia and Australia
Poetry:
- The most important and famous poet in English is William Shakespeare (1564-1616), who
worked the most of his life as an actor, theatre owner, playwright and poet in London
- He wrote 36 long poems, but he became famous with shorter poems: his 154 sonnets
- Before Shakespeare, Thomas Wyatt, Philip Sidney and Edmund Spenser wrote impressive
poetry
- Shakespeare's contemporaries were famous poets such as: John Donne and Ben Jonson
Prose:
- The Bible was translated into English for the first time, The Authorized Version.
- Because it was the Renaissance, many works from Greek and Latin were translated
