English Literature: Its Background and Development

 English Literature: Its Background and Development

English literature is one of the richest literature of the world. As literature is the reflection of society, the various changes which have come about in England society, from the earliest to the modern time, have left their stamp on English literature. Thus in order to appreciate properly the various phases of English literature, knowledge of English Social and Political History is essential.

When we study the History of English literature from the earliest to modern times, we find that it has passed through certain definite phases, each having marked characteristics. These phases may be termed as 'Ages' or 'Periods', which are named after the central literary figures or the important rules of England. Thus we have the 'Ages' of Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, Dryden, Pope, Johnson, Wordsworth,Tennyson,Hardy; On the other hand, the Elizabethan Age, the Jacobean Period, the Age of Queen Anne, the Victorian Age, the Georgian Period.

Some of these phases are named after certain literary movements, as the Classical Age, the Romantic age; while other after certain important historical eras, as the Medieval Period, Anglo-Saxon Period, Anglo-Norman Period.These literary phases are also named by some literary historians after the centuries, as the Seventeenth Century Literature, Eighteenth Century Literature, Nineteenth Century Literature and Twentieth Century Literature.These 'Ages' and ' Periods' naturally overlap each other, and they are not to be followed strictly, but it is essential to keep them in mind in order to follow the growth of English literature and its salient and distinctive characteristics during the various periods of its development.

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