Literary Ages Explained: Classical, Old English, and Middle English Periods

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Master Guide to English Literary Periods: Authors, Ages, and Masterpieces

📚 The Complete Journey Through English Literary Periods (From 1200 BCE to 1500)

Welcome to Target Towards! This detailed post is your one-stop resource for understanding the entire history of literature. We break down the complicated timeline into simple ages, highlighting the key authors and their essential works.

Why is this important? Understanding the timeline helps you see how writing styles, themes, and language itself have changed over centuries.

Table of Contents

Major Literary Periods: The Full Timeline 🗓️

This table shows the progression of literary ages, including the sub-periods of the Renaissance and the Neo-classical periods.

Time Span Period Name
1200 BCE – 455 CEThe Classical Period
450–1066 A.D.Old English or Anglo-Saxon Period
1066–1500 A.D.Middle English Period (includes Anglo-Norman)
1340–1400 A.D.The Age of Chaucer
1500–1660 A.D.The Renaissance or Early Modern Period
1558–1603 A.D. The Elizabethan Age
1603–1625 A.D. The Jacobean Age
1625–1649 A.D. The Caroline Age
1649–1660 A.D. The Commonwealth Age (Puritan Age)
1660–1798 A.D.The Neo-classical Period
1660–1700 A.D. The Restoration Period (Age of Dryden)
1700–1745 A.D. The Augustan Age (Age of Pope)
1745–1798 A.D. The Age of Transition (Age of Johnson)
1798–1837 A.D.The Romantic Period
1832–1901 A.D.The Victorian Period
1901–1945Modern Age (includes Edwardian & Georgian Periods)
1945–Present DayThe Post Modern Period

Note on Dating: AD stands for Anno Domini, Latin for "in the year of the Lord", and BC stands for "Before Christ". The modern terms are CE (Common Era) and BCE (Before the Common Era).

Phase 1: The Classical Period (1200 BCE – 455 CE) 🏛️

This is also known as the Greco-Roman Period and includes the Homeric, Classical Greek, Classical Roman, and Patristic sub-periods.

Key Authors and Works:

  • Homer (8th century BCE): Wrote the epic poems, Iliad and Odyssey.
  • Sappho (c. 630-570 BCE): Known for lyric poetry, like Ode to Aphrodite.
  • Aesop (c. 620-564 BCE): Famous for his short moral stories (Fables).
  • Aeschylus (c. 525-456 BCE): Wrote the Oresteia Trilogy (Agamemnon, The Libation-Bearers, The Eumenides).
  • Sophocles (c. 496-406 BCE): Known for Oedipus Rex.
  • Euripides (c. 480-406 BCE): Wrote tragedies like Medea and Electra.
  • Aristophanes (c. 446-385 BCE): The Father of Old Comedy, wrote The Clouds and Lysistrata.
  • Plato (c. 428-348 BCE): Wrote philosophical works like Republic and Symposium.
  • Aristotle (384-322 BCE): Wrote Poetics and Rhetoric.
  • Virgil (70-19 BCE): The Roman poet who wrote the epic Aeneid.
  • Horace (65-8 BCE): Wrote Ars Poetica (The Art of Poetry).
  • Seneca (c. 4 BCE-65 CE): Known for Revenge Tragedies.
  • Quintilian (c. 35-100 CE): Wrote Institutio Oratoria (Institutes of Oratory).

Phase 2: Old English or Anglo-Saxon Period (450–1066 A.D.) 🛡️

This period started with the invasion of Celtic England by three Germanic tribes: The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. The literature is primarily heroic poetry in Alliterative verses and is a mix of Pagan (oral) and Christian themes.

Key Figures:

  • Caedmon: Known as the First English poet. He wrote Paraphrase, transforming the whole Bible story into poetry.
  • Cynewulf: A well-known poet who wrote the poem The Christ.
  • Venerable Bede: Wrote Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum (Ecclesiastical History of English People) in Latin.
  • King Alfred: Known as the founder of the first English prose. He wrote the first Historical Record named The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.

The Beowulf Epic (Anonymous)

The most important work, Beowulf, is an Old English epic poem set in Scandinavia.

  • It consists of 3,182 alliterative lines.
  • It is written in the West Saxon dialect of Old English.
  • It survives in a single manuscript known as the Nowell Codex.
  • The Plot: Beowulf sails to Denmark to help King Hrothgar by defeating the monster Grendel. He then kills Grendel's Mother. Later in life, as king, he fights and kills a Dragon, but is mortally wounded. His loyal warrior Wiglaf aids him in the final battle.

The Four Major Poetic Manuscripts:

  1. The Junius Manuscript: Contains poems on biblical narratives like Genesis and Exodus.
  2. The Exeter Book: An anthology containing Christ poems (Christ i, II, III), saints' lives like Guthlac and Juliana, and short poems like The Wanderer and The Seafarer.
  3. The Vercelli Book: Contains both poetry and prose. Famous for the poem Dream of the Rood (story of the crucifixion).
  4. The Beowulf Manuscript (Nowell Codex): Contains the Beowulf epic.

Phase 3: Middle English Period (1066–1500 A.D.) 🏰

This age began with the Norman Conquest in 1066 under William-III, Duke of Normandy. The Normans defeated the last Saxon king, Harold, at the Battle of Hastings.

Key Changes:

  • The French language began to dominate the court and official life, adding many new words to English.
  • Old English Alliterative poetry disappeared.
  • Meter and Rhyme were introduced into English literature.
  • Early Works: Ormulum by Orm (c. 1200), a religious poem in verse. The Owl and the Nightingale, the earliest example of Debate poetry.

The Age of Chaucer (1340–1400) & 15th Century Prose 🖋️

This period is named after Geoffrey Chaucer, who is called "The father of English Poetry and Literature" and the "Morning Star of Renaissance".

Major Events of the Period:

  • Hundred Years War (1337-1453): Conflict between England and France.
  • Black Death / Bubonic Plague (1348-1349).
  • The Peasants' Revolt (1381).
  • John Wycliffe Bible Translation (1382): The first English translation of the Bible. Wycliffe is known as the Morning star of Reformation.
  • Printing Press: Invented in Germany (1450) and brought to England by William Caxton in 1476.
  • War of Roses (c. 1455-1485): Between the Yorks (White Rose) and Lancasters (Red Rose).

Geoffrey Chaucer's Works:

Chaucer's works are divided into three periods: French, Italian, and English. He was the first poet buried in "the Poet's Corner" in Westminster Abbey.

  • The Romaunt of the Rose: A translation of the allegorical poem Le Romaunt de la Rose.
  • The Book of the Duchess: An elegy for Blanche, Duchess of Lancaster, written in the dream vision structure.
  • Parlement of Foules: A Beast fable in dream vision, celebrating the marriage of Richard II with Anne of Bohemia. It is written in the Rhyme Royal stanza.
  • Troilus and Criseyde: A tragic love story of a Trojan prince and Criseyde, written in Rime Royale. Chaucer dedicated it to John Gower.
  • The Legend of Good Women: Features stories of faithful women. It is possibly the first work in English to use the Heroic Couplet (iambic pentameter/decasyllabic couplets).

Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales:

The collection of stories told by 31 pilgrims (including Chaucer and the Host) traveling from the Tabard Inn in London to the shrine of St. Thomas a Becket at Canterbury.

  • The Contest: Proposed by the Host, Harry Bailey, each pilgrim should tell two tales on the way and two on the return. The work remained unfinished, with only 24 stories completed.
  • Prose Tales: The Tale of Melibee and The Parson's Tale are in prose. The longest tale is the Knight's Tale, and the shortest is the Cook's Tale.

Key Pilgrims (Characters):

  1. The Knight: Highest in social rank and first storyteller.
  2. The Wife of Bath (Alisoun): A scandalous woman, professional weaver, married five times, and follows the rule of experience.
  3. The Clerk of Oxford: A poor, sincere scholar who values knowledge over wealth.
  4. The Prioress (Madam Eglantine): Has good table manners and wears a brooch with the Latin quote "Amors Vincit Omnia" (Love conquers all).
  5. The Monk: Loves hunting and good food, is fat, bald, and ignores the rules of his order.
  6. The Pardoner: A corrupt church officer who sells fake relics. His moral for his tale is "Love of Money is the root of all evil".
  7. The Miller (Robin): A big, vulgar drunkard and expert wrestler.

Key Middle English Authors (Contemporaries of Chaucer):

  • John Gower (Moral Gower): A friend of Chaucer. His major works include Confessio Amantis (known as 'Encyclopedia of Love'), a popular poem in octosyllabic English couplets, and Vox Clamantis (Latin poem on the Peasants' Revolt of 1381).
  • William Langland: Wrote Piers Plowman, a poem in unrhymed verse and theological allegory that explores the lives of Do-Well, Do-Better, and Do-Best.
  • The Pearl Poet (Gawain Poet): Unknown author, best known for the chivalric romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The story explores themes of honor and chivalry.

The 15th Century (English & Scottish Chaucerians) 📜

This is often called the Age of Transition, marked by the rise of prose and printing.

15th Century Prose & Printing:

  • William Caxton: The first English printer. He set up the printing press in England in 1476. The first book he printed was The History Of Troy.
  • Sir Thomas Malory: Wrote Morte d'Arthur (1485), the most popular story about King Arthur's death.

English Chaucerians:

  • Thomas Hoccleve: Works include La Male Regale.
  • John Lydgate: Wrote The Story of Thebes and The Fall of Princess.
  • John Skelton: Wrote Colin Clout and Magnificence (1516).
  • Alexander Barclay: The first to introduce the Eclogue (pictures of rural life) in English.

Scottish Chaucerians:

  • King James I: Wrote King's Quair (1430).
  • Robert Henryson: Wrote Testament of Cressida, a sequel to Chaucer's Troilus and Cressida.
  • Gavin Douglas: Known for The Palice of Honour and for translating 12 books of Virgil's Aeneid.

The Renaissance and Later Ages

The Renaissance (Early Modern Period 1500-1660):

A period of 'rebirth' of classical learning.

  • Thomas More: Wrote UTOPA (1516), a description of an imaginary, ideal world. It was originally written in Latin.
  • Roger Ascham: A tutor to Elizabeth I. He wrote Toxophilus (school of Shooting) and The School Master.
  • William Tyndale: Translated The New Testament Bible (1525) from Latin.
  • William Coverdale: Produced the first complete Bible (English) to be printed (1535).

Later Ages Overview:

The Neo-classical Period followed the Renaissance, emphasizing reason and order. It was replaced by the Romantic Period, which valued nature and emotion. This was followed by the Victorian Period, and then the Modern and Post-Modern Ages, which dealt with complex themes like world wars and technological changes.

❓ FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: What does the Latin phrase "Amors Vincit Omnia" mean, and where is it found in Chaucer's work?
A: It means "Love conquers all". It is inscribed on the golden brooch worn by The Prioress in The Canterbury Tales.
Q2: Who is known as the "Morning Star of Reformation"?
A: John Wycliffe is known as the "Morning Star of Reformation".
Q3: Which two of Chaucer's tales are written in prose?
A: Chaucer's Tale of Melibee and The Parson's Tale are written in prose, not verse.

📝 MCQs - Multiple Choice Questions

1. In which dialect of Old English is the epic poem Beowulf written?
(A) Kentish (B) Mercian (C) Northumbrian (D) West Saxon
2. Who wrote Institutio Oratoria (Institutes of Oratory)?
(A) Seneca (B) Plautus (C) Plutarch (D) Quintilian
3. Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde was written in which stanza form?
(A) Iambic Pentameter (B) Heroic Couplet (C) Rime Royale (D) Ottava Rima
4. The first book printed by William Caxton in England was:
(A) The Bible (B) Morte d'Arthur (C) The History Of Troy (D) Canterbury Tales

🌟 Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

Q: What is the answer to the riddle given to the Knight in The Wife of Bath's Tale?
A: The question is "What is that women most desire?". The answer is: "The thing most women desire is complete control over their husbands.".
Q: Name the four major poetic manuscripts of the Anglo-Saxon Period.
A: The four manuscripts are: The Junius Manuscript, The Exeter Book, The Vercelli Book, and The Beowulf Manuscript (Nowell Codex).
Q: Who is the author of Utopia and what language was it originally written in?
A: Thomas More wrote Utopia. It was originally written in Latin in 1516.

Thank you for exploring this detailed literary history with Target Towards! Keep learning and growing.

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