ENGLISH LITERATURE LONG NOTES - 11 MAJOR ENGLISH - REFERENCE NOTES

OLD ENGLISH LITERATURE [ ANGLO - SAXON ] 

The old English language, also called Anglo - Saxon, was the earliest form of English. It was spoken from about 600 AD to 1100 AD.

The Greatest Old English poem is Beowulf which was written in the 7th C. It is a story about the heroic adventures of a hero, Beowulf in about 3000 lines. The story takes place in Denmark. Beowulf was a young warrior from southern Sweden who went to Denmark to help king Hrothgar's great hall Heorot, was troubled by a lake monster called Grendel. Beowulf fought with Grendel bare - handed and killed it. Grendel's mother came to take revenge, but Beowulf killed her in her home in a lake. Later's Beowulf became the king and ruled his country peacefully for fifty years. In the end, he died of wounds that he had received while fighting against a dragon.

Many of the Old English poem are related with religion and the Bible. ' Genesis A' and ' Genesis B' are related with the creation of the world and the fall of the angels. ' Exodus' and 'David' are related with the Bible stories. 'Christ' and Satan deals with events in Christ's life.

Caedmon and Cynewulf are the two important Old English poets. Caedmon was a poor, uneducated villager who was asked by a angle to sing the praise of God. Only a  part of his song remain. Cynewulf poems are religious and were  written in the 8th C. He wrote ' Juliana', ' The Fates of the Apostles', 'Christ', 'Elene'.

The oldest example of Old English prose are 'Laws', written at the beginning of the 7th C. Another example was an important prose writer of Old English. He brought learning to England, and educated the people. He also translated many Latin books into Old English. Another important prose writer was Aelfric, the writer of ' 'Honcilies' and 'Lives of Saints'. His works were mostly religious.

Middle English Literature

The middle English was spoke  in England from about 11 AD to about 1500 AD. It was much easier than the old English.

The greatest poet of the Middle English was Geoffrey Chaucer, often called the Father of English poetry. His great work was ' The Canterbury Tales', which is in about 17,000 lines. It is a collection of stories told by pilgrims on a pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral. There are more than twenty stories, but the descriptions of the characters are much more important than their stories. They represent the English life and the various professions. Some of the characters  and their stories are very interesting Chaucer also wrote ' Jroilus and Creseyde' and ' The Legend of Good Women'.

Another poet of Chaucer's time was William Langland, who wrote ' The Vision Of Piers The Ploughman' . It describes the sorrow of the poor in alliterative lines. This alliteration can be seen in other poems, as well, as in 'Sir Gwain and the Green Knight'. It is a story related with the legend of king Arthur and his knights of the Round Table.

Much of the Middle English prose is religious. John Wycliffe, who was a priest, made the Bible available for the common man. He translated the Bible from Latin to English. Another important prose word is ' Morte D' Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory. It is about the adventures of king Arthur and his Knights. It has two themes: one is the search for the Holy Grail, and the other is Arthur's against his enemies.

The first English plays told religious stories and were performed in or near churches. The Miracle or Mystery Plays were related with the Bible and the life of Christ. Later, they were performed on travelling stages that moved from one village to another. The Morality Plays had personified characters, suck as the virtues and vices. They taught Christian morality is the uneducated. The Interludes were funny and human plays which were acted away from the Church. This was purely for the entertainment of the people.

Elizabethan Poetry ( 16th Century)

The proper Elizabethan Literary age began in 1579, but before that year, Sir Thomas Wyatt and the Earl of Survey made their poetic contributions. Sir Wyatt brought the sonnet from Italy and made it popular in England. He followed the tradition of the Petrarchan sonnet with Octave and Sestet. This was later changed into English sonnet style by Shakespeare, who divided the sonnet into three quatrains summed up by a  couplet. The Earl of surrey wrote the first blank verse in English.

The poet to introduce the Elizabethan age was Edmund Spenser. In 1579, he wrote ' The Shepherd's', 'Calendar', a poem in twelve books, one for each months of the year. His greatest work was 'The shepherd Queens'.  Though it was planned to be written in twelve books, he could complete only six of them. It is an allegorical work with three themes: a political theme, a moral theme, and fairy tale. More than the story, their work is known for its magic feeling, wonderful music in verse, and the beauty of the sound. It is written Spenserian Stanza if nine lines, with the rhyme scheme ababbcbcc.


The Elizabethan age produced many beautiful lyrics. One of the five lyricists, was Sir Philip Sidney who was a countries, statesman, solider and a poet. His books of sonnets 'Astrophel 'and  Stella' was printed in 1591, after his death. Another great poet was Sir Watter Raleigh who was also a solider, sailor explorer, courtier and a writer.



Some example of the Elizabethan lyrics can be found in the plays of Shakespeare. His long poem 'Venus and Adonis' and 'The Rape of Lucrece' are rather cold and without feelings. But the occasional lyrics found in his drams are full  of feelings and passion.



Elizabethan Drama


Drama was the chief literary glory of the Elizabethan age. In the beginning, these dames was not so well- written, though the comedies were better than the tragedies, 'Ralph Roister Doister' is take as the first regular English comedy. It was a kind of force in rough verse written by Nichola Udal. Another comedy was 'Grammar Gurton's Needle' acted at Cambridge University in 1566. Lyly improved the comedy 'Compaspe' and 'Edimion'. 

' Gorboduc', written by Thomas Norton and Thomas Sackville Alarlowe. He developed the blank verse for the stage and some of his dramas contain fine poetry. His first tragedy ' Jamburlane' the Great the story of the rise and cruelty of Jamburlaine. The ' Jew of Malta' is a tragedy of Barabus, a rich Jew of Malta. Dr. Faustics is about the tragic ambition of a philosopher. His best play 'Edward the Second' is about the tragic weakness of king Edward II.

William Shakespeare is taken as the finest dramatist of all times. He began his career by writing historical plays like