Brit Lit Final Preparation!

ANGLO-SAXONAND MEDIEVAL PERIODS

Anglo-Saxon and Medieval •Encompasses literature written in Old English during the 600-year period of England, from around 450 A.D. to the Norman Conquest of 1066. •Works include genres such as epic poetry, sermons, Bible translations, legal works, chronicles, riddles, and others.

Anglo-Saxon and Medieval• In all there are about 400 surviving manuscripts from the period, a significant corpus of both popular interest and specialist research. •Among the most important works of this period is the poem Beowulf, which has achieved national epic status in Britain.

ENGLISH RENAISSANCE1066-1660

English Renaissance •Sometimes referred to as "the age of Shakespeare" or "the Elizabethan era," taking the name of the time period’s most famous author and most important monarch, respectively; however it is worth remembering that these names are rather misleading.

English Renaissance •Shakespeare was not an especially famous writer in his own time, and this time period covers a period both before and after Elizabeth's reign.

English Renaissance • Important writers of the era include:• essayist poet Sir Phillip Sidney (Astrophel and Stella), • poet Edmond Spencer (The Faerie Queen), • playwright William Shakespeare (As You Like It; Hamlet; Macbeth;

King Lear; The Tempest).

ENGLISH RESTORATION AND ENLIGHTENMENT 1660 to around 1750

English Restoration and Enlightenment •An episode in the history of Britain beginning in 1660 when the English monarchy, Scottish monarchy and Irish monarchy were restored under King Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the English Civil War.

English Restoration and Enlightenment • The term may apply both to the

actual event by which the monarchy was returned to order, and to the period immediately following the accession of Charles II. • The period was ruled by literature

that was reasoned rather than passionate.

English Restoration and Enlightenment • John Milton wrote Paradise Lost.• Jonathan Swift notably wrote “A

Modest Proposal” and Gulliver's Travels.• The novel rose to prominence with

Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe.

ROMANTICISM

Around 1750 to early 1800s

Romanticism • Complex artistic, literary, and intellectual

movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe, and gained strength during the Industrial Revolution. • It was partly a revolt against aristocratic social

and political norms of the Age of Enlightenment, and was embodied most strongly in the visual arts, music, and literature.

Romanticism •The poet and painter William Blake is the most extreme example of this time period in Britain, epitomized by his claim “I must create a system or be enslaved by another man's.”

Romanticism• Blake, a poet, wrote Songs of Innocence and of Experience• Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein • John Keats, a poet, wrote "Ode to a Nightingale" and “Ode on

a Grecian Urn."

VICTORIANISM

1800s

Victorianism • It forms a link and transition between the

writers of the romantic period and the very different literature of the 20th century. • The 19th century saw the novel become

the leading form of literature in English. Charles Dickens and the Bronte sisters are leading examples of novelists of this time period.

Victorianism

•Charles Dickens wrote novels such as Great Expectations and Oliver Twist.• Emily Bronte wrote Wuthering

Heights.•Charlotte Bronte wrote Jane Eyre.

MODERNISM

1900s

Modernism •Describes an array of cultural movements rooted in the changes in Western society in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

Modernism •The term covers a series of reforming movements in art, architecture, music, literature and the applied arts which emerged during this period. • James Joyce was one of the most prominent writers of this time period.

Modernism • Joyce’s most important works include The Dubliners, A Portrait

of the Artist as a Young Man, and Ulysses.

Epic Poems•An “epic” is a lengthy narrative poem,

ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation.•A work need not be written to qualify as an

epic, although even the works of such great poets as Homer, Dante Alighieri, and John Milton would be unlikely to have survived without being written down. 24

Anglo-Saxon Literary Elements

•A “kenning” is a metaphorical phrase made of a compound word used to name a person, place, or thing indirectly.•Kennings typically create an image.

Anglo-Saxon Literary Elements• Examples of kennings from Beowulf:

Gold-shining hall = HerotGuardian of crime = GrendelCave-guard = dragon

Anglo-Saxon Literary Elements

Bone-box: grave of human bodyWhale-road: seaSky-candle: stars, moon, sunLight of battle: swordHelmet bearers: warriorsGiver of gold: KingStorm-of-swords: war, battle

Characteristics of the Epic• The hero is of imposing stature, of

national or international importance, and of great historical or legendary significance.

• The setting is vast, covering many nations, the world, or the universe.

• The action consists of deeds of great valor or requiring superhuman courage.

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Characteristics Continued

• Supernatural forces—gods, angels, demons—insert themselves in the action.

• A style of sustained elevation is used.

• The poet retains a measure of objectivity.

The Basic Premise:• A group of religious pilgrims are making their way to the shrine of

Saint Thomas á Becket, the martyred Archbishop of Canterbury who was assassinated in 1170 by knights of King Henry II.

• The shrine is the cathedral in Canterbury, 55 miles southeast of London, the scene of Becket’s murder.

Canterbury Cathedral

The result?The Canterbury Tales gives us . . .• A great understanding of English society at the time of Chaucer.• Rich portraits of some very different kinds of people and the roles

they play in society.• Many insights into human nature—the good, the bad, and the

ugly!• And some really hilarious stories (some quite racy), along with

other stories that are very instructive or full of adventure.

Literary Structure in The Canterbury Tales• The Canterbury Tales is an example of a “frame tale” (numerous

stories are found inside the “frame” of the basic premise).

• The Prologue serves to establish the frame and to introduce the various pilgrims.• The pilgrims are identified as to their vocations, backgrounds, and

personalities.• Their physical descriptions are given, as well, so that the reader can

see them clearly.

Carpe Diem and Pastoral PoetryCarpe Diem is a Latin phrase which means “seize the day.” Poets in the Renaissance were pushing for enlightenment and the concept of fleeting time/life being short meant more authors were generating poems with these themes: Live for today. Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.

Pastoral Poetry focuses on the idealized countryside and the simple life. With cities on the rise, there was a desire to get back to the simplistic things in life. Pastoral poetry idealizes a simple life.

RHYME scheme

•Petrarchan (Italian) rhyme scheme:• abba, abba, cd, cd, cd• abba, abba, cde, cde

English Sonnets

The rhyme scheme for the English sonnet is abab cdcd efef gg, with three quatrains (a set of four lines) and a final couplet (two lines). Notice that there are more rhymes in the English sonnet. Because so many Italian words end in vowels, it is easier to find four words that rhyme in that language than it is in English.

Lines 192-220• Epic Simile• Satan compared to a Titan of Greek mythology or a Leviathan sea

monster from the Bible.• Milton tells us why God really left Satan free:• While doing evil, see his evil turned to Good.• Wrath and damnation on Satan while mercy and goodness fall on

humanity.

Great Chain of BeingGodAngelsKings/QueensDukes/Duchesses/ThanesBishopsEarls/CountessesKnights/Local OfficialsLadies-in-WaitingPriests/MonksSquiresMessengersMerchants/ShopkeepersTradesmenYeomen FarmersSoldiers/Town WatchHousehold ServantsBeggarsActorsThieves/PiratesGypsiesAnimalsPlantsRocks

http://arnoldit.com/wordpress/2008/09/20/search-moving-up-the-buzzword-chain-of-being/

Disruption in the Chain could cause anything from storms to deaths to absolute chaos.

Imagination • Contrast to the supremacy of reason and the

Enlightenment• The creative mind is the human equivalent of the

creative powers of a deity• Allows humans to constitute or “create” reality

(we not only perceive the world around us but we, in part, create it)

• Focus on “intellectual intuition” and reconciliation of differences and opposites

Reminder of Enlightenment Thinking

Social Issues • The abuses of the past came under closer scrutiny• literature becomes the vehicle that helps to reform social

inequalities. • period was a time of sustained peace• domestic issues could be addressed.