english literature

english literature

The Evolution of English Literature: A Comprehensive Exploration

1. Introduction to English Literature

English Literature is a major genre, but it also includes other literary genres of English letters. It also includes many famous plays, tales, and poems and has roots in the 8th century and advanced up to the modern and present day literary works. It is famous throughout the world because of its scientific and artistic styles. In terms of definition, it is a kind of written material by which individuals can create magic using literary languages. It consists of verbal expression of certain events or feelings happened or experienced by certain people. Furthermore, it is an evocative of realistic illusions revealing magic truth. English literature is a portrait of the experiences of the world and has universal appeal for that reason.

Introduction to English Literature – The word literature is derived from the Latin littera meaning a letter of the alphabet. Well-informed or extensive reading is known as literature. Literature, thus, refers to the main branch of written works, which includes all information given in books and documents about a subject, in particular of a creative or artistic kind. It is knowledge or information that is contained in written or printed words. Literature itself has many types, most especially English one.

2. Key Movements and Periods in English Literature

The general emergence of the Anglo-Saxon writing was the Venerable Bede (673-735), mostly known for the Ecclesiastical History of the English People, an account of the early conversion of Anglo-Saxon England. Along with Bede’s theological writings, there existed a minuscule amount of secular writing such as poetry, with most of the examples such as “Cædmon’s Hymn” and “Beowulf” only having survived due to their transcription by scribes. More on the religious nature of Anglo-Saxon and Medieval English writing can be deduced from the fact that the vast majority of the writing were religious in nature such as “Cur Deus Homo” or “The Battle Of The Soul In Death” respectively, written in the 11th or 14th century. The latter, like those from the Anglo-Saxon period, were believed to have been written by anonymous writers which leads to the fact that although minuscule references appear to them, none of the writers are known which leads to uncertainty or informed speculation as to where some literature is to be placed. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles are an anomaly in the field as though religious in nature, they comprised of annals that covered the history of England mainly covering events such as wars, the various coronations, and the burning of the Candlewick Street in 1131.

The beginning of English literature is difficult to pinpoint as it gradually developed and grew over the years with a variety of external influences such as the Old English language, history, the Viking invasions, and Celtic traditions. Starting with oral literature and poetry from before English became English, Anglo-Saxon writing was largely before the invasion of the French language, therefore has little influence. The poetry typically covered Christian themes with its earliest example, “Cædmon’s Hymn,” which is praise to the Christian god. At this time, books and poetry were largely religious due to the inhabitants being pagan, which meant that the only stories that handed down are the religious tales of its large monasteries.

3. Notable Authors and Their Contributions

The Mathematical and Scientific Writers. It is possible that at the same time as the introduction of the Greek classical elements, there existed ancient and medieval scholarly writings dealing with the physical world. Such material was probably confined to medieval universities, and would be found in their manuscripts libraries which only the most privileged individuals would have had the opportunity of viewing. There were, however, dissenting movements which began pushing toward the modern physical world. One such movement was Neo-Platonism, which gained enough interest to be reborn in Florence, Italy, in the early renaissance. Neo-Platonism continued through and beyond the Renaissance period, influencing such luminaries as Sir Francis Bacon and Isaac Newton. Scientists who receive support from the English crown began producing original writings on physical subjects and conducting experiments during Elizabeth I’s and James I’s reigns. A surprising number of scientist-writers were also professional mathematicians, while others worked as part-time astronomers. The intellectual capability and surprisingly modern physical world views of these scientist-writers and their supporters, supported the preparation of a propitious environment for the scientific methodology which was established in the 18th century.

Authors During the 16th-Century Renaissance Period. Renaissance literally means “rebirth” and it originated in Italy. It was focused on reviving into the modern-day the art, music and writings of the Greek and Latin cultures. When it was brought to England by intrepid individuals who had traveled to Italy (and possibly to other European countries), these people were impressed by the posterity of works of these ancient cultures. The Renaissance period in England is generally considered a sixteenth-century era which effectively ended with the closing of the theaters that were brought on by the Puritans in 1642, and which continued through to the end of the seventeenth-century (which would be during the Restoration of the monarchy). The most outstanding authors from this period are Sir Thomas More, Sir Thomas Wyatt, Henry Howard (first Englishman to use the Petrarchan sonnet form), Sir Philip Sidney, John Foxe (acts and-monuments), Edmund Spenser, Elizabeth I, and William Shakespeare.

4. Themes and Motifs in English Literature

This is sort of like saying “I think Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is about Hitler.” You have a thesis for whatever it is Beethoven is talking about and then you find statements and tones that match your thesis. Nonetheless, here is a quick list of various themes and motifs associated with English literature. As you read about more pieces of literature, and as you come to your own understandings of what you have read, you will surely come up with your own more sophisticated list. The point of doing this little exercise on themes and motifs is to demonstrate how many possible approaches there are to literature, and how many ways there are to find importance and significance in this vast collection of writing we call English literature.

The list of possible themes and motifs in English literature is far too numerous to be comprehensively covered here. A theme is a general concept that is usually explored in a work of literature. For example, the theme of death has been explored in thousands of works. It turns out this is a tricky area. Scholars who study such things come up with certain ideas and then pick pieces of literature that supposedly have these themes in them. They then write articles and books in which they argue that such and such a theme is present, and that theme means such and such.

5. The Influence of English Literature on Society and Culture

Every type of public or private qualification involves the economy of language taken for granted by English literature. When we look closely at the works of popular authors and poets, showing a creeping deadly awareness of their literary power, we can see that the primary literary creations are not autonomous. They have a social existence and help to govern the conduct and experience of the generation that produces them. Literature provides sameness and social well-being, as well as realizing a significant shaping of society. Proper literature is intensively social in the sense that it presents a ritualistic pattern of human experiences in relationship to the individual lives of the people.

English literature has an impressive body of writers who are held in awe around the world. The way they portrayed characters in their fictions soaked into the mass observation of their time. The exact degree to which they reflected themselves within the mirror of the arts and literature is a matter of speculation. Nevertheless, it’s indispensable for any society to be nourished by proper literature to sustain and cultivate its living qualities. In this sense, the work of the authors and novelists stands for the genius of English literature, providing a penetrating insight into human life. For it is through literature that the discipline of style and accuracy, the control, and the results in their studies are developed.