History of English Literature: Chart, Books & Notes PDF

The history of English literature spans over a thousand years, evolving from Old English (Anglo-Saxon) literature to the modern literary forms we recognise today. Starting with epic works like Beowulf, literature reflected the language and cultural shifts of England. The Middle English period, marked by Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, saw the influence of Norman French and Latin. The Renaissance, with figures like Shakespeare and John Milton, brought a flourishing of drama and poetry.

The Victorian era highlighted social issues, while the 20th century embraced Modernism, challenging traditional narrative forms. Postcolonial, feminist, and contemporary literature further diversified the landscape, addressing themes of identity, power, and inequality. Each literary period contributed uniquely to the development of English literature, shaping language, storytelling, and the exploration of human experience. Let’s understand in detail all about the history of English literature with this blog.

What is English Literature?

English literature refers to the body of written work in the English language, including poetry, drama, novels, essays, and short stories. It not only represents artistic expression but also reflects the history, culture, and values of English-speaking societies. 

Also Read: History of Indian English Literature

What Are the 8 Periods in the History of English Literature?

The oldest English literature was written in Old English, the earliest form of the language, comprising a set of Anglo-Frisian dialects. The history of English literature, as detailed in resources like History of English Literature by Edward Albert (provided below for reference), unfolds across numerous eras. These include Old English or Anglo-Saxon, the Renaissance, the Victorian Era, the Modern Era, and the Postmodern Era, among others.

Each era reflects the social, cultural, and linguistic transformations of its time, making English literature a rich tapestry of human expression and thought. The most important 8 periods of English Literature are:

1. Old English (Anglo-Saxon Period): 450–1066
2. Middle English Period: 1066-1500
3. Renaissance: 1500-1600
4. Neoclassical Period: 1600-1798
5. Romantic Period: 1798-1837
6. Victorian Age: 1837-1901
7. Edwardian Period: 1901-1914
8. Georgian Period: 1910-1936
9. Modern Period: Early 20th century
10. Postmodern Period: Mid-20th century

Periods of English Literature Chart with Features and Authors

The history of English literature is a fascinating journey through centuries of creative expression and cultural evolution. Spanning from the oral traditions of the Anglo-Saxon era to the fragmented narratives of the postmodern period, it is divided into distinct periods, each with its unique characteristics, themes, and influential authors.

These periods reflect the societal, political, and intellectual changes of their time, showcasing how literature has evolved to mirror human experiences and aspirations. Below are the periods of English Literature that highlight the major periods of English literature, offering a concise overview of this rich literary heritage.

Periods of English Literature Chart	Time Frame	Key Characteristics	Notable Authors
Old English (Anglo-Saxon Period)	450–1066	Heroic and religious themes; oral tradition; poetry like Beowulf.	Anonymous (Beowulf), Caedmon, Cynewulf
Middle English Period	1066–1500	Courtly love, chivalry, religious allegories; a shift towards written literature.	Geoffrey Chaucer (The Canterbury Tales), William Langland, Sir Thomas Malory
The Renaissance	1500–1600	Revival of classical learning, humanism, and exploration; drama and poetry flourished.	William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Edmund Spenser, John Donne
The Neoclassical Period	1600–1785	Order, reason, classical ideals, satire, and moral instruction dominate.	Themes of morality, social reform, industrial progress, realism, and gothic influences.
The Romantic Period	1785–1832	Focus on nature, emotion, imagination, and individualism; reaction against industrialisation.	William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lord Byron, John Keats
The Victorian Age	1832–1901	Themes of morality, social reform, industrial progress, realism, and Gothic influences.	Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Thomas Hardy, the Brontë sisters
The Edwardian Period	1901–1914	Transition from Victorian morality; themes of social class and industrial change emerge.	E.M. Forster, H.G. Wells, Rudyard Kipling
The Georgian Period	1910–1936	Pastoral themes in poetry; reflection on pre-WWI nostalgia; bridge to modernism.	Siegfried Sassoon, Rupert Brooke, John Masefield
The Modern Period	Early 20th century	Experimental forms, disillusionment after WWI, focus on inner psychology and urbanisation.	T.S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, W.B. Yeats
The Postmodern Period	Mid-20th century	Fragmentation, intertextuality, metafiction, and diverse global voices.	Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood, Don DeLillo, Kazuo Ishiguro

The infographic below presents the English Literature Chart, illustrating how literature has evolved to reflect humanity’s journey through history.

The History of English Literature PDF

The History of English Literature PDF serves as a concise yet comprehensive guide to understanding the evolution of English literature. Covering major periods, influential authors, and iconic works, it provides readers with a structured timeline and insightful analysis.

Whether you’re a student or an enthusiast, this PDF is a valuable resource for exploring the rich legacy of English literary traditions.

An Outline History of English Literature

Here is a detailed outline of the History of English Literature from its beginning, from the Classical Period to the Post-Modern Age:

Major Periods	Highlights
The Classical Period (1200 BCE-455 BCE)	Homeric or Heroic Period (1200-800 BCE) Classical Greek Period (800-200 BCE) Classical Roman Period (200 BCE-455 BCE) Patristic Period (c.70 CE-455 CE)
The Medieval Period (455 CE-1485 CE)	The Old English (Anglo-Saxon) Period (423-1066 CE) The Middle English Period (c.1066-1450 CE)
The Renaissance and Reformation (1485-1660 CE)	The Postmodern Period (1945 onward)
The Enlightenment (Neoclassical) Period (1660-1790 CE)	Restoration Period (1660-1700) The Augustan Age (1700-1750) The Age of Johnson (1750-1790)
The Romantic Period (1790-1830 CE)	Romantic poets & Gothic writings
The Victorian Period and the 19th Century (1832-1901 CE)	Sentimental Novels & Intellectual Movements like Aestheticism and the Decadence.
The Modern Period (1914-1945 CE)	Modernist Writers, Realism, etc.
The Postmodern Period (1945 – onward)	Metafiction, Multiculturalism, Magic Poetry, etc.

Old English Literature: 5th-14th Century

The history of English Literature starts with the Germanic tradition of Anglo-Saxon settlers, which was around the 5th to 11th century AD, and the first long narrative poems in the history of English Literature were Beowulf and Widsith. These two were highly narrative poems of this early period of the history of English Literature.

Beowulf is considered the first English Epic poem, and some of the other famous works produced during Old English Literature include Genesis, Exodus, The Wanderer, Wife’s Lament, Husband’s Message, The Battle of Maldon, etc. Earlier, to understand the temperament of readers, writers would make use of alteration rather than a rhyming scheme. Moreover, some of the famous writers of Old English literature were Cynewulf and Caedmon.

Medieval English Literature: 14th to 15th Century

During the era of Medieval English Literature, the most esteemed works also include morality plays, miracle plays and interludes. ‘Everyman’ was a noted Morality play of the time, and Miracle plays were taken from the Bible and were frequently performed in churches.

Elizabethan Age a.k.a. The Golden Age of English Literature: (16th Century to Early 17th Century)

Bringing a distinctive paradigm shift in the history of English Literature, the Elizabethan Age represents the brilliant century of all the periods and is also known as the Golden Age. Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard (Earl of Surrey) made a massive contribution to this age. Thomas introduced Sonnets to Great Britain, and the Earl of Surrey brought the use of blank verse, which was later utilised by celebrated Elizabethan writers like Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, and John Milton, to name a few. ‘Tottel’s Miscellany’ is considered the first printed book amongst the different poetry works of this period.

The Golden Age in the history of English Literature brought a gallery of authors of genius and literary masterpieces. It was a dynamic age filled with intellectual and religious revolutions and upheavals. As the new humanism surged, there were many significant works like Sir Thomas Hoby’s Castiglione and Sir Thomas North’s Plutarch. Edmund Spenser is another prolific name in the Golden Age who is also known as the poet’s poet. His famous poem in 1579, ‘The Shepherd’s Calendar’, with 89 sonnets, became highly popular. Sir Philip Sidney’s ‘Arcadia’, ‘Michel Drayton’, Sir Walter Raleigh’, ‘Ben Johnson’ are some of the important names in medieval English literature. There was a famous group in the Golden Age, which was known as the ‘University Wits.’ This group would include noted alumni writers from the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford. John Lyly, Christopher Marlow, Thomas Nashe, and George Peele were some of the celebrated names under this group.

John Donne also played a greater role in metaphysical poetry and beautiful sonnets of the Elizabethan age. Sir Francis Bacon popularised the scientific method of analysis and wrote many intellectual and analytical essays during this period. Moreover, Literary Dramas have a crucial role to play in making this age Golden. The first comedy play under this age was ‘Ralph Roister Doister’ by Nicholas Udall. From ‘Hamlet’, ‘King Lear’, ‘Othello’ and ‘Julius Caesar’ to ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, ‘As You Like It’ and ‘Romeo and Juliet’, William Shakespeare contributed many historical dramas and tragedies as well as romantic plays and comedies to the Golden Age. Notable writers of the Elizabethan era also include John Milton, John Webster, Thomas Kyd, George Peele, Ben Jonson, among others.

Restoration Age (17th-18th Century)

Another revolutionary change in the history of English literature was brought forward by the Restoration Age, which immensely reflected the political conflict of the late 17th century. John Dryden emerged as one of the prominent literary figures of this age. He wrote a famous heroic poem, ‘Astra Radix’ and was also known for ‘Mac Flecknoe’. To attack his contemporaries, he wrote mock poems and wrote an ‘essay on criticism’. Oliver Goldsmith’s The Traveller and the Deserted Village were highly popular in this era.

Another prominent writer for the Restoration Literature was John Milton, a well-known controversialist who wrote the famous Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes. Thomas Grey, William Blake, and Robert Burns are unavoidable names whose literary work has been highly acclaimed. The eminent philosopher of this era was John Locke, who wrote many essays like ‘The Essay Concerning Human Understanding’, and most of his works delved deeper into unravelling the workings of civil society, as well as debates and explorations on human intelligence.

The 18th-century English Literature

Concluding the Restoration period of the history of English Literature, the 18th century witnessed the publication of political literature as well as the advent of novels. Robert Harley, Daniel Defoe and Jonathan Swift were amongst the major political writers of this era. During the mid-18th and late 18th centuries, novels were introduced in the world.

Daniel Defoe experimented with the prose narrative and wrote a novel called ‘Robinson Crusoe’. He was one of the esteemed and prominent writers to introduce novel writing to the literary world. In prose writing, Richard Steele and Jonathan Swift are also some of the popular names in prose writing as they were renowned for their satirical style of writing.

The Romantic Period: From the 19th Century

The Romantic age of the history of English literature experimented with the earlier forms of poetry and brought many interesting genres of prose fiction. The key feature of the poetry of this period was the emphasis laid on individual thought and personal feeling. William Blake, William Wordsworth, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge were the brilliant poetry geniuses of this era as they curated glorious works rooted in nature, love, romance, as well as contemporary thought. The later Romantics were Shelley, Keat,s and Byron, who carried on the legacy in the 20th century.

The novels of this era were written as a form of entertainment to the now literate public and were a stern commentary on many prominent events, such as the French Revolution. The Gothic novel is an important invention in prose fiction, and some of its prominent writers were Horace Walpole, Matthew Lewis, Ann Radcliffe, and Mary Shelley. On the other hand, Jane Austen stood by the conservative form of prose fiction through popular romantic novels like Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Persuasion, and Northanger Abbey, to name a few.

20th Century Literature

After the end of the Victorian age, the modern history of English literature began with the beginning of the 20th century. Rudyard Kipling is considered one of the greatest writers of this century. He was born in India and then moved to Lahore, and was a supporter of colonisation. His main works include Kim, Life’s handicap, apart from the significant book ‘The Jungle Book’. Some prominent contributions to 20th-century literature were EM Foster’s ‘A Passage to India’, H.G. Wells ‘ The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, First Man on the Moon, etc.

D.H. Lawrence has made the greatest contribution to this century. James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, George Orwell, William Golding, John Galsworthy, George Bernard Shaw, Harold Pinter, T.S. Elliot are some of the prolific names who were popular for their 20th-century dramas. In the poetry literature of the 20th century, William Butler Yeats, T.S. Eliot, W.H. Auden, Thomas Hardy, G.M. Hopkins, Dylan Thomas, are some of the resounding names of the poetry landscape in this era of the history of English literature. Some of the prolific war poets include Rupert Brooke, Siegfried Sassoon & Wilfred Owen.

Also Read: Top 10 English Literature Interview Questions and Answers

History of English Literature Books

There are many prominent texts to study the history of English Literature and understand its different literary periods and historical timeline. Here are some of the best History of English Literature Books:

History of English Literature Books	Author	Link
The Routledge History of Literature in English	Ronald Carter	Buy here
History of English Literature	Edward Albert	—
The Cambridge History of English Literature	George Sampson	Buy here
The Short Oxford History of English Literature	Andrew Sanders	Buy here
History of English Literature	Legouis & Cazamia	Buy here
A Critical History of English Literature	David Daiches	Buy here
A History of English Literature	Michael Alexander	Buy here
The Pelican Guide to English Literature	Boris Ford	Buy here
English Social History	G M Trevelyan	Buy here

History of Indian English Literature

The history of Indian English literature originally started with poets and writers like Henry Louis Vivian Derozio, Rabindranath Tagore, and Sri Aurobindo. While most of the Indian writers continued to write in their native languages, these authors adopted English and marked a beginning to what we can now call the history of Indian English literature. Here are some of the key features of the history of Indian English literature:

• The history of Indian English literature gets a bit complicated, especially during the period that marked the freedom struggle for independence and the period following independence. English being the language of colonisers, the Indian writers who adopted English were highly criticised for their choice.
• During these conflicts, many writers came forth to justify the use of English. One such writer was Sujit Mukherjee, who said that English acts as a “link language” in the Indian subcontinent. What he meant by this is that India is a linguistically diverse land not many people understand the regional languages. Hindi was not understood by the majority of people from the southern and northeastern parts of India. In such a scenario, a language was needed that could connect the masses, and English became that language. As a result, Indian English literature started gaining the prominence that it has today.
• Writers like R.K. Narayan and Salman Rushdie brought out their own version of English by incorporating certain Indian words into their otherwise English texts. Later, this came to be known as “chutnification”. And this is how Indian writers made a foreign language into their own.
• With time, Indian English literature became the lens through which the outside world looked at India. They become carriers of a collective history. For instance, in “Malgudi Days”, R.K. Narayan paints the picture of the Indian rural community with all their beliefs and traditions.
• Writers like Salman Rushdie and Khushwant Singh tried to capture the horrors of partition in their writings. In a sense, with time, Indian English writing became the common ground on which various histories were inscribed. And this process continues even today.
• One other significant part of the history of English Literature in India is the period when writers started translating their works. For example, Rabindranath Tagore decided to translate “Gitanjali”, which was written in Bengali, into English. And this translation process leads to the creation of a separate branch called Indian writing in translation.
• When we look at contemporary Indian English fiction like that of authors like Arundhati Roy, Aravind Adiga, to name a few, we realise that Indian writing in English still remains a cultural artefact that tells compelling stories about the various cultures of India. It still is a medium through which we could get a better understanding of the cultures and beliefs of the people of India.

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The history of English literature is a journey through time from heroic tales like Beowulf to modern novels that address global issues. Each period contributed unique styles, themes, and voices that continue to influence writers and readers around the world. Whether you are a student, researcher, or literature enthusiast, studying English literature helps you connect with the past and understand the evolution of human thought and creativity.

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