Literary History V5 June 2026
Literature
Lesduur is: 120 minOnderdelen in deze les
Literature
Course goals
- A general understanding of historical and literary periods.
- Understanding a selection of works in context.
- The ability to analyse selected works.
- Some joy in reading these selected works.
Course programme
- A brief history of England and English up to 1066
- The medieval period (early, high, late middle ages)
- Early modern period (Chaucer)
-Renaissance (Shakespeare)
- Romanticism
- Victorian literature & Gothic Horror
- Modernism
- Postmodernism & counterculture
- A brief history of England and English up to 1066
...-43AD
Celts
Pagan
Roman invasion
-55, 53BC (Caesar)
-43AD (Claudius)
-Government
-Stability
- International trade
- Cities (London, Bath, -chester)
Romain Britain becomes
Anglo-Saxon England
AD 410: last Roman legions leave Britain
445-450: first Germanic settlers invited
to Britain to help defend the country
c. 450-500: Germanic tribes invade in large numbers
c. 500: Anglo-Saxon settlement completed
Romain Britain becomes
Anglo-Saxon England (2:16-..)
Anglo-Saxon England
- From pagan to Christian
- Collapse in learning and civil structure
- From oral traditions to written tradition (monks)
- Wars between the 7 main kingdoms
Converting the heathen Anglo-Saxons to Christianity
Anglo-Saxon England and Danelaw
- Wars between the 7 main kingdoms
- King Alfred pushes back/reaches treaty with Viking king Guthrum and the Great Heathen Army.
Anglo-Saxon England
Anglo-Saxon England and Danelaw
Caedmon's hymn
Nū scylun hergan hefaenrīcaes Uard,
metudæs maecti end his mōdgidanc,
uerc Uuldurfadur, suē hē uundra gihwaes,
ēci dryctin ōr āstelidæ
hē ǣrist scōp aelda barnum
heben til hrōfe, hāleg scepen.
Thā middungeard moncynnæs Uard,
eci Dryctin, æfter tīadæ
fīrum foldu, Frēa allmectig.
Caedmon's Hymn (modern English)
Now [we] must honour the guardian of heaven,
the might of the architect, and his purpose,
the work of the father of glory[a]
as he, the eternal lord, established the origin of every wonder;
he first created for the children of men[b]
heaven as a roof, the holy creator.
Then the guardian of mankind,
the eternal lord, afterwards appointed the middle-enclosure,
the lands for men, the Lord almighty.
Caedmon's hymn & Beowulf
Changes in English
Norman invasion
1066
The Battle of Hastings
Middle English
1066 - c. 1300: two languages side by side
Norman French: language of court, government, the law and trade
Old English: language of the common people (peasants, townspeople)
the two slowly merge into one language
c. 1300: Middle English
c. 1480: towards (Early) Modern English
Started with the battle of Hastings
The Middle English Period
1066-1485: (later) Medieval England
The Norman Conquest
Social change: the feudal system
A long war in France: the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453)
A bloody war at home: the Wars of the Roses (1455-1485)
1485: beginning of the Tudor Period
Linguistic change: a new language
Feudal system
Magna Carta
Investiture controversy
Canterbury Tales
- Henry II vs Thomas Becket
Renaissance
theocentric-->heliocentric
memento mori-->carpe diem
Renewed interest in the classics, a new interest in human emotions
Romanticism
18th/19th century (industrial revolution)
Romanticism as a reaction
-pollution
- urbanisation
- "filling in the map"
- Reason & science
The Romantic Period
the beauty and value of nature
idealization of the countryside and country people
the (idealized) past and distant and exotic cultures
senses and emotions over reason
the supernatural (horror/magic) and the sublime
Modernism
Modernism in art
What is the time span of the Middle English period?
1066 - 1340
1066 - 1485
800 - 1066
1340 - 1400
Which language was spoken at court?
French
English
Latin
What is the time frame of the Old English period?
c. 1200 to 1500 AD
c. 450 to 1150 AD
c. 400 to 800 AD
c. 1000 to 1200 AD
Which famous work was written in Old English?
Paradise Lost
The Divine Comedy
Beowulf
The Canterbury Tales
0
500 AD
1000 AD
Drag and drop the correct spot on the timeline.
< 0
48 AD
410 AD
793 AD
1066 AD
ROMANS
ANGLO-SAXONS
NORMANS
VIKINGS
CELTS
What language family does Old English belong to?
Celtic
Germanic
Slavic
Romance
What are the three characteristics of Old English poetry?
What does the knight seek to discover?
What women truly want
The secret to immortality
A magical sword
A treasure hidden in the forest
Who tells the knight's story?
The Knight
The Pardoner
The Wife of Bath
The Miller
What punishment does the knight initially face?
Death for his crime
A fine of gold
Exile from the kingdom
Imprisonment for life
What is the knight's ultimate choice?
To give women sovereignty
To fight for his freedom
To flee the kingdom
To marry for wealth
What theme is central to the tale?
The importance of chivalry
The value of wealth
Women's desires and autonomy
The power of fate
Explain the title of the Canterbury Tales.
What is the rhyme scheme of a Shakespearian Sonnet?
ABABCDCDEFEF
ABABABABABABABAB
AABBCCDD
ABABCDCDEFEFGG
How many lines are in a Shakespearian Sonnet?
14 lines
16 lines
12 lines
10 lines
What type of meter is used in a Shakespearian Sonnet?
Trochaic tetrameter
Dactylic hexameter
Iambic pentameter
Anapestic dimeter
Who is the author of 'Paradise Lost'?
John Milton
William Shakespeare
Geoffrey Chaucer
John Bunyan
What is the main theme of 'Paradise Lost'?
The fall of man
Redemption of angels
Life of Christ
Creation of the world
It is better to.......in Hell than to.....in Heaven. Fill in the missing words and explain the quote
How did Satan end up in Hell?
Paradise Lost is a metaphorical poem. What is Milton trying to say/teach us about humanity?
What is the main theme of 'Elegy'?
Political commentary
Celebration of life
Loss and mourning
Reflection on love
Who is the poet of 'Elegy'?
John Keats
Lord Byron
William Wordsworth
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Name at least 4 themes of Romantic poetry.
In La Belle Dame Sans Merci, there are two speakers. Who are they?
Describe what happens to the Knight in "La Belle Dame..."
Name 4 characteristics of Victorian Poetry.
What is the main theme of 'Vitai Lampada'?
The importance of duty
The beauty of nature
The spirit of sportsmanship
The joy of leisure
Who wrote 'Vitai Lampada'?
Alfred Lord Tennyson
William Wordsworth
Robert Browning
Sir Henry Newbolt
What does 'Vitai Lampada' translate to?
The light of knowledge
The lamp of life
The torch of hope
The flame of passion
