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History of English Literature

August 13, 2026 0

The history of English literature is thousands of years old. It spans over 1400 years. It is closely related to the history of English people. It began with the birth of English nation and developed with the social development of the nation.

The History of English Literature divided in the following major periods.

1. The Old English Period (450-1066)
2. The Middle English Period (1066-1500)
3. The Renaissance Period (1500-1660)
4. The Neoclassical Period (1660-1798)
5. The Romantic Period (1798-1832)
6. The Victorian Period (1832-1901)
7. The Modern Period (1901-1939)
8. The Postmodern Period (1939-Present)


Now, I will discuses about these major periods in the following.

1. The Old English Period:

The Old English Period has a another name. It is The Anglo Saxon Period. This period is also known as the dawn of English Literature. The duration of this period is from 450 to 1066. In this period, the Jutes, Angles and Saxons came to England from Germany. King Alfred The Great encouraged education in this period. They defeated the English people and started their reign. In this period,  The literature was oral. Heroic deeds, Love sea adventure, Wildness, Strong belief in luck are the major literature features in this period. 

Nothing can be definitely known about the writers of this period.

Major Writers and their major works of the Old English Period:

Following poets or writers may be in old English Period.

=> Caedmon
=> Cynewulf
=> Saint Venerable Bede
=> King Alfred The Great [849-899]
    
Following works may be in Old English Period.

=> Beowulf [Epic, First Monument in English Literature]
=> The wanderer
=> The husband’s message
 => Genesis
 => The Ecclesiastical history of the English

Literary Features of the Old English Period:
 => Savagery
 => Heroic deeds
 => Love of sea adventure
 => Strong belief in fate
 => Intense love for glory

2. The Middle English Period
The span from 1066 to 1500 is called Middle English Period. This period started with the Norman Conquest. There are three shorter ages in this period. These are
  1. Anglo-Norman Period (1066-1340)
  2. Age of Chaucer (1340-1400)
  3. The Dark or  Barren Period (1400-1500)
1. Anglo-Norman Period:
In 1066, The Norman of France defeated the German Saxons and took control England. For this reason, from 1066 to 1340 is called Anglo-Norman Period. During this period, the French language and culture were forcibly imposed on the English people. In this period, there are many changes in England. In June 1215, Magna Carta was passed. The famous Oxford and Cambridge Universities were established during the Anglo-Norman period to expand religious education. English Parliament was established in this period.

2. Age of Chaucer:
The age of Chaucer was started in 1340 and ended in 1400. It was very remarkable age in the history of English literature. It was a meeting ground between the middle age and the renaissance. It was an age of great political, social, religious and literary activity. In this period, trade and commerce grew rapidly. Women were thought inferior to man. Child marriage was in vogue among the rich and wealthy persons. Dowry was in practice and girls were sometimes sold. The invention of the church was remarkable. In this period, the English language was beautified and enhanced. The democratic tendency was risen in this period.

3. The Dark or  Barren Period:
The span from 1400 to 1485 is called the Dark Age because nothing can be definitely known about this period.

Literary features of the Middle English Period:
The English language reached a standard level in the end of this period.
 => Love
 => Religion
 => Chivalry
 => The spirit of romance

Major Writers and their major works of the Middle English Period:

1. Geoffrey Chaucer [1340-1400]
  • Canterbury Tales (A collection of 24 stories)
  • Nun Priest's Tale (Poem)
  •  Roman de la Rose or The Romance of Rose
  • Troilus and Criseyde (Poem)
  •  The House of Fame (Poem)
  • The Legend of Good Women (Poem) 

2. John Wycliff [1331-1384]

  • Translation of the Bible into English (Prose)
  • The New Testament 
  • The Holy Bible

3. Sir Thomas Malory [1415-1471]
  • Morte D' Arthur (First Romance in Pose)

4. William Langland [1332-1400]
  • Piers Plowman (Poem,1392)
5. Dante [1265-1321]
  • The Divine Comedy (Epic)

3. The Renaissance Period
The word "Renaissance" means rebirth or regeneration or revival. It is an Italian word. The Renaissance period is considered the bridge between the Middle Ages and  Modern history. Actually, the European Renaissance began in the 14th Century in Italy. Renaissance is also called the early modern era. The duration of this period is from 1500 to 1660.

There are four shorter ages in this period. These are
  1. The Elizabethan Period (1558-1603)
  2. The Jacobean Period (1603-1625)
  3. The Caroline Period (1625-1649)
  4. The Commonwealth Period (1649-1660)
The Elizabethan Period:
The Elizabethan Period is the Golden or Glorious era of English literature. This period is named after Queen Elizabeth. This age is called "A nest of singing birds". The duration of this period is from 1558 to 1603. There were no female writers in this period. First English Theatre was established in this period.

The Jacobean Period:
The Jacobean Period was started in 1603 and ended in 1625. This age was named after King James (I) who reigned England from 1603 to 1625. The word 'Jacobean is derived the Latin version of James, 'Jacobus'. The last 5 years of the Jacobean Period were included in the Puritan Period. The poets of this period were famous for metaphysical poetry.

The Caroline Period:
The Caroline Period was started in 1625 and ended in 1649. This age was named after Charles I who reigned over England from 1625 to 1649. Caroline is derived from "Carolous" which is Latin version of Charles. In this period, Drama was officially stopped. Because it was Puritan attack. In this period, Metaphysical poems were famous.

The Commonwealth Period:
The Commonwealth Period was started in 1649 and ended in 1660. This period belongs to The Puritan era. There was no monarch in England in this period. But English people realized that Monarchy was essential for them.

Literary features of the Renaissance Period:
  • Humanism
  •  Nationalism
  •  Science
  •  Free talking
  •  Individual dignity
  • Secularism
  • Classical and Mythological Tradition
  • Love
  • Revenge
Major Writers and their major works of the Renaissance Period:

1. Sir Thomas More [ 1478-1535 ]
  • Utopia (1516, Book)
  • Biographics
  • Discussion on Political Subject
  • Sublimation of souls
  • History of Richard The Third
2. Christopher Marlowe [1564-1593]
  • Doctor Faustus (Tragedy Play, 1592)
  • The Jew Of Malta (Tragedy Play, 1589)
  • Tamburlaine the Great (Tragedy Play, 1587)
  • Edward 11 (Historical Play, 1591)
3. Edmund Spenser [1552-1599]
  • The Faerie Queen (Epic, 1590)
  •  The Shepherds Calendar (Book, 1579)
  • Amoretti ( Collection of 89 Sonnets)
  • Astrophel (Pastoral Elegy)
4. Sir Philip Sidney [ 1554-1586 ]
  • An Apology for Poetry (Book, 1595
  • Arcadia (Book, 1590)
  • Astrophel and Stella (Sonnet Sequence, Collection of 108 Sonnets and 11 Songs)
5. Nicholas Udall [1505-1556]
  • Ralph Roister Doister (Frist Comedy in English, 1553)
6. John Webster [1580-1634]
  • The Duchess of Malfi (Revenge Play)
  • The White Devil
  • The Devil's Law Case
7. Ben Jonson [1572-1637]
  • Every Man in His Humour
  • The Silent Woman
  • Volpone
  • Every Man Out of his Humour
  • The Alchemist
8. Thomas  Norton [1532-1584] & Thomas Sackville [1536-1608] 
  •  The Tragedy of Gorboduc [Ferrex and Porrex]
9. Thomas Dekker [1572-1632]

 
10. Niccolo Machiavelli [1469-1527]
  •  The Prince (Book)
11. Francis Bacon [1561-1626]
  • Of Truth [Essay]
  • Of Marriage and Single Life [Essay]
  • Of Studies [Essay]
  • Novum Organum [Essay]
  • Advancement of Learning [Essay]
12. William Shakespeare [1564-1616]
  • All's Well that Ends Well (Tragi-Comedy Play)
  • The Merchant of Venice (Tragi-Comedy Play)
  • Measure for Measure (Tragi-Comedy Play)
  • Troilus and Cressida (Tragi-Comedy Play)
  • The Winter's Tale Timon of Athens (Tragi-Comedy Play)
  • Cymbeline (Tragi-Comedy Play)
  • The Tempest (Tragi-Comedy Play)
  • Hamlet (Tragedy Play, 1602)
  • Macbeth (Tragedy Play,1605)
  • Julius Caesar (Tragedy Play,1601)
  • Othello (Tragedy Play,1604)
  • King Lear (Tragedy Play,1606)
  • Antony and Cleopatra (Tragedy Play,1608)
  • Coriolanus (Tragedy Play,1609)
  • Romeo and Juliet (Tragedy Play,1592)
  • Titus Andronicus (Tragedy Play,1593)
  • As You Like It (Comedy Play, 1599)
  • All's Well That Ends Well (Comedy Play,1595)
  • The Comedy of Errors (Comedy Play,1591)
  • The Merchant of Venice (Comedy Play,1597)
  • The Tempest (Comedy Play,1611)
  • The Mid Summer Night's Dream (Comedy Play,1594)
  • The Taming of the Shrew (Comedy Play,1595)
  • Measure for Measure (Comedy Play,1604)
  • Love's Labour's Lost (Comedy Play,1590)
  • Twelfth Night (Comedy Play,1600)
  • The Winter's Tale (Comedy Play,1611)
  • King John (Historical Play,1593)
  • Richard II (Historical Play,1593)
  • Henry (Historical Play,1596)
  • Venus and Adonis
  • The Rape of Lucrece
  • The Sonnet
  • Under the Greenwood Tree
13. John Donne [1572-1631]
  • The Ecstasy (Poem)
  • A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning (Poem)
  • The Sun Rising (Poem)
  • The Canonization (Poem)
  • The Good Morrow (Poem)
  • The Flea (Poem)
  • The Undertaking (Poem)
  • Twicknam Garden (Poem)
14. Andrew Marvell [1621-1678]
  • To His Coy Mistress [Poem]
  • The Definition of Love [Poem]
15. George Herbert [1593-1633]
  • Easter-Wings (Poem)
  • The Collar (Poem)
  • On the Progress of Soul (Poem)
  • The Temple (Poem)
  • Affliction (Poem)
16. Cowley [1618-1667]
  • Constantia and Philetus (Poem)

17. Robert Herrick [1591-1674]

  • To Daffodils (Poem)
  • Delight in Disorder (Poem)
  • The Night Piece of Julia (Poem)
  • His Slitany to the Holy Spirit (Poem)
18. Thomas Hobbes [1588-1679]
  • Leviathan (Book)

4. The Neoclassical Period
The Neoclassical period was started in 1660 and ended in 1798. This period is known as The Enlightenment Period. This period is also known as 17th and 18th Century Literature. The Writes of this period imitated the ancient Greek and Roman Literary Tradition. The slogan of this was "Art for Humanity's Sake". This period has 3 shorter ages. There are given in below.
  1. The Restoration Period/Age of Milton (1660-1700)
  2. The Augustan period (1700-1745)
  3. The age of Sensibility (1745-1785)
The Restoration Period:
The Restoration Period was started in 1660 and ended in 1700. This age was named after Restoration of Monarchy. This age was also called the Age of Dryden. John Dryden was the main writer of the Restoration Period. Industrialization began in England in this age. There were two political party consist on this age. One was Whig. and another was Tory. Whig political party was against the king. But Tory political party was on the favour of king. In this period, the press was made free. That means everyone was given liberty to express his/her views.

The Augustan period:
The Augustan Period was started in 1702 and ended in 1745. This age was also called the age of Alexander Pope. Alexander Pope was the main writer in this period. Alexander Pope and the writers of this age imitated the style and elegance of the writers who wrote in Italy during the reign of the Emperor Augustus.

The age of Sensibility:
The Age of Sensibility was started in 1745 and ended in 1798. This age was also called age of Johnson. Dr. Samuel Johnson was the main writer in this period. The writers of this age mainly emphasized sense, reason, feeling, original genius. Also in this age, a sense that prefers instinct, feeling and original genius to New-Classical balance, restraint and perfection became dominant.

Major Literary features of the Neoclassical Period:
  • Satire
  • Literary Freedom
  • Realistic drama
  • Heroic Verse
  • Use of Heroic Couplet
  • Political Awareness

Major Writers and their major works of the Neoclassical Period:

1. John Milton [1608-1674]
  • Paradise Lost [Epic-1667]
  • Paradise Regained Epic-1671]
  • Samson Agonistes [Poetic Drama-1671]
  • Lycidas [Elegies]
  • Areopagitica [Pose]
2. William Congreve [1670-1729]
  • The Way of the World (Play)
  • Love for Love (Play)
  • The Double Dealer (Play)
  • The Old Bachelor (Play)
  • The Mourning Bride (Play)
3. John Bunyan [1628-1688] 
  • Pilgrim's Progress (Book)
  • The Holy War (Book
  • The Life and Death of Mr. Badman (Book)
4. Samuel Butler [ 1612- 1680 ]
  • Hubidras [ Mock heroic narrative poem ]
5. George Farquhar [ 1678-1707 ]
  • The Recruiting Officer [ 1706]
  • The Beaux' Stratagem [ 1707]
6. Aphra Behn [1640-1689]
  • The Rover [ Comedy ]
  • Oroonoko [ Pose Fiction ]
7. John Dryden [1631-1700]
  • All for Love (A Heroic Tragedy)
  • The Mistaken Husband
  • Absalom and Achitophel
  • The Indian Emperor
  • Mac Flecknoe
  • An Evening's Love
8. John Locke [ 1632-1704 ]
  • An Essay Concerning Human Understanding [ Essay-1690 ]
9. William Wycherley [1641-1716]
  • The country wife
  • The Plain Dealer
10. Alexander Pope [1688-1744]
  • The Rape of the Lock (Epic)
  • An Essay on Man (Poem)
  • The Dunciad (Poem) 
  • An Essay on Criticism (Poem)
  • Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot (Poem)
11. Jonathan Swift [1667-1745]
  • Gulliver's Travels (Novel, 4 books)
  • A Talk of a Tub (Novel)
  • A Modest Proposal (Novel)
  • The Battle of Books (Novel)
12. Daniel Defoe [1660-1731]
  • The True Born English Man (Novel)
  • Robinson Crusoe (Novel)
11. Samuel Richardson [1689-1761]
  • Pamela or the Virtue Rewarded (Novel)
  • The History of Sir Charles Granddison (Novel)
  • Clarissa (Novel)
12. Joseph Addison [1672-1719]
  • Cato [Tragedy]
13. Sir Richard Steele [1672-1729]
  • The Tender Husband [play]
  • The Funeral
14. Samuel Johnson [1709-1784]
  • Preface to Shakespeare [ Literary Criticism ]
  • The Tragedy of Irene
  • The Patriot
15. Samuel Richardson [1689-1761]
  • Hubidras [Mock heroic narrative poem]
16. Henry Fielding [1707-1754]
  • Tom Jones (Novel)
  • Amelia (Novel)
  • Joseph Andrews (Novel)
  • The Tragedy of Tragedies (Play)
  • Rape Upon Rape (Play)
  • The Temple Beau (Play)
  • The Modern Husband (Play)
  • The Mock Doctor (Play)
  • The Miser (Play)
17. Oliver Goldsmith [1728-1778]

  • The Citizen of the World ( A series of Letters)
  • The Vicar of Wakefield ( Satiric Novel)
  • The Deserted Village (Poem)
  • The Good Natured Man (Comedy)
  • She Stoops to Conquer (Comedy)
  • The Traveller (A Philosophical Poem)
  • An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog (Ironic Poem)
  • The Hermit (Poem, Romantic Ballad)
18. Thomas Gray [1716-1771]
  • Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard (Elegy)
  • The Descent of Odin
19. William Blake [1757-1827]
  • Songs of Innocence (Poem)
  • Songs of Experience (Poem)
  • Milton (Poem)
  • The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
20. Edward Gibbon [1737-1794]

  • The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
21. Edmund Burke [1729-1797]
  • Speech on East India Bill or Mr. Fox's East India Bill
22. William Collins [1721-1759]
  • Persian Epilogues
23. Richard Binslay Sheridan [1751-1812]
  • The Diana
  • The School of Scandal

5. The Romantic Period

The Romantic period was started in 1798 and ended in 1832. This period is known as The Golden Age of Lyric or Age of Revolution. The slogan of this period was "Art for Art's Sake".

Literary features of the Romantic Period:
  • High Imagination
  • Love for Nature
  • Supernaturalism
  • Use of common language
  • Love for common people
  • Love for freedom and liberty
  • Spontaneity
  • Revolutionary Zeal
  • Subjectivity. (Use of "I" in the poem)

Major Writers and their major works of the Romantic Period:

1.William Wordsworth [1770-1850]
  • Lyrical Ballads ( Books of Poem, Total 23 poems)
  • The River Duddon (Poem)
  • The Prelude and other Poems (Poem)
  • The Excursion (Poem)
  • Daffodils (Poem)
  • Tintern Abbey (Poem)
  • The Solitary Reaper (Poem)
  • Michael (Poem)
  • The Excursion (Poem)
  • The Lucy Poems (Poem)
  • Immortality Ode (Poem)
  • Written in March (Poem)
2. S. T. Coleridge [1772-1834]
  • Biographia Literaria (Book)
  • Dejection: An ode (Poem)
  • Christabel (Poem)
  • Kubla Khan (Poem)
  • The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Poem)
3. Lord Byron [1788-1824]
  • Hours of Idleness
  • Don Juan
  • The vision of Judgment
  • Heaven and Earth
4. P. B. Shelley [1792-1822]
  • Queen Mab (Poem)
  • The Spirit of Solitude (Poetry)
  • Adonais (Poetry)
  • The Revolt of Islam (Poetry)
  • Ozymandias (A Famous Sonnet)
  • Ode to a Skylark (Poem)
  • Ode to the West Wind (Poem)
  • The Cloud
  • Ode to liberty
  • A Defence of Poetry
  • Necessity for Atheism
  • Prometheus Unbound
5. John Keats [1795-1821]
  • Endymion (Book of Poem)
  • Hyperion (Book of Poem)
  • Isabella (Book of Poem)
  • Lamia and other Poems (Book of Poem)
  • Ode to a Nightingale (Poem)
  • Ode on a Grecian Urn (Poem)
  • Ode to Psyche (Poem)
  • Ode on Melancholy (Poem)
  • Ode to Autumn (Poem)
6. Jane Austen [1775-1817]
  • Pride and Prejudice (Novel)
  • Sense and Sensibility (Novel)
  • Mansfield Park (Novel)
  • Emma (Novel)
  • The Persuasion (Novel)
7. Sir Walter Scott [1771-1832]
  • Ivan Hoe (Novel)
  • The Abbot (Novel)
  • Old Mortality (Novel)
  • The Antiquary (Novel)
  • The Heart of Midlothean (Novel)
  • The Talisman (Novel)
  • Patriotism (Poem)
8. Charles Lamb [1775-1834]
  • The Essays of Elia (Book)
  • The Last Essays of Elia (Book)
  • Tales from Shakespeare (Book)
  • The Old Familiar Faces (Poem)
9. William Hazlitt [1778-1830]
  • The Spirit of the Age (Book)
  • The Dramatic Literature of the Age of Elizabeth (Book)
10. William Blake [1757-1827]
  • Songs of Innocence (Poem)
  • Songs of Experience (Poem)
  • Milton (Poem)
  • The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (A Theological Book)


6. The Victorian Period

The Victorian period was started in 1832 and ended in 1901. This age was named after Queen Victoria who reigned over England from 1837 to 1901. The right of the children and laborer was preserved in this age. Economic progress was noticeable in this period. The democratic tendency was risen in this period.

Literary features of the Middle English Period:

  • Symbolism
  • Medievalism
  • Simplicity
  • Truthfulness
  •  Sensuousness
  • Artificiality
  • Sensationalism
  • Strangeness
  • Egoism

Major Writers and their major works of the Victorian Period:

1. Alfred Lord Tennyson [1809-1892]

  • In Memoriam (Elegy)
  • Poems by Two Brothers (Book of Poem)
  • Death of Oenone (Book of Poem)
  • Timbuctoo (Book of Poem)
  • The Princess Bride (Book of Poem)
  • Ulysses (Poem)
  • Morte D' Arthur (Poem)
  • The Lotos-Eaters (Poem)
  • Locksley Hall (Poem)
  • Tithonus (Poem)

2. William Makepeace Thackeray [1811-1863]
  • Vanity Fair (Novel)
  • Pendennis (Novel)
  • The Newcomes (Novel)
  • 3. Robert Browning [1812-1889]
  • Dramatic Personae (Book of Poems)
  • Pauline (Book of Poems)
  • Dramatic Lyrics (Book of Poems)
  • Dramatic Romances (Book of Poems)
  • Dramatic Idols (Book of Poems)
  • The patriot (Poem)
  • My Last Duchess (Poem)
  • Fra Lippo Lippi (Poem)
  • Rabbi Ben Ezra (Poem)
  • Andrea Del Sarto (Poem)
  • A Grammarian's Funeral (Poem)
  • Christmas Eve and Easter Day (Poem)
4. Thomas Carlyle [1795-1881]
  • The French Revolution
  • Later Day Pamphlet
  • Past and Present
  • Sartor Resartus

5. Mathew Arnold [1822-1888]
  • Dover Beach (Poem)
  • The Scholar Gipsy (Poem)
  • Thyrsis (Poem)
  • The Rugby Chapel (Poem)
  • Sohrab and Rustom (Poem)
  • Culture and Anarchy (Essay)
  • Essays in Criticism (Essay)
  • The Study of Poetry (Essay)
6. Robert Louis Stevenson [1850-1894]
  • Treasure Island
  • Kidnapped
  • An Island Voyage
7. Charles Dickens [1812-1870]
  • David Copperfield
  • Oliver Twist
  • The Pickwick Papers
  • Hard Times
  • Great Expectations
  • A Tale of Two Cities
8. Robert Bridges [1844-1930]
  • The Testament of Beauty (Poetry)
  • Eros and Psyche (Poetry)
  • The Growth of Love (Poetry)
9. George Eliot [1819-1880]
  • Adam Bede
  • Silas Marner
  • Romola
  • Middlemarch
  • The Mill of the Floss
10. Oscar Wilde [1854-1900]
  • The Picture of Dorain Gray
  • Lady Winder's Fan
  • An Ideal Husband
  • A Woman of No Importance
11. Thomas Hardy [1840-1928]
  • Tess of the D'urbervilles
  • The Return of the Native
  • Under the Greenwood Tree
12. George Gissing [1857-1903]
  • A life's Morning
  • The New Grab Street
  • The Unclassed
13. Charlotte Bronte [1816-1855]
  • The Profession
  • Jane Eyre
  • Shirley
  • Villette
14. Thomas Babington Macaulay [1800-1859]
  • History of England
15. Emily Bronte [1818-1848]
  • Wuthering Heights (Only Novel)
16. John Stuart Mill [1806-1873]
  • On Liberty
17. Herbert Spencer [1820-1903]
  • System of Systematic Philosophy (book)
18. George Meredith [1828-1909]
  • The Egoist
19. Karl Marx [1818-1883]
  • Das Capital (Book)
  • The Holy Family (Book)
  • Communist Manifesto (Book)
20. Elizabeth Gaskell [1810-1865]
  • North and South
  • Wives and Daughters
21. Charles Robert Darwin [1809-1882]
  • The Origin of Species
  • The Decent of Man
22. Edward Fitzgerald [1809-1883]
  • The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (Famous Poem)
23. John Henry Cardinal Newman [1801-1890]
  • Loss and Grain (Novel)
  • The Idea of University (Book)

7. The Modern Period
The Modern period was started in 1901 and ended in 1939. The modern period includes two shorter ages. These are in the following.
  • The Edwardian period.
  • The Georgian.
The Edwardian Period: 
The Edwardian Period was started in 1901 and ended in 1910. This period was named after King Edward VII. It is the shorter age of The Modern Age. 

The Georgian Period:
The Georgian Period was the shorter age of the Modern Period. This Period was started in 1910 and ended in 1936. This age was named after George v.

Literary features of the Modern Period:
  • Individualism 
  • Absurdity 
  • Break with tradition 
  • Experimentation and innovation 
  • Symbolism and conceits 
  • Use of Stream of Consciousness  
  • Use of interior monologue 
  • literary Terms 
  • Psychological complexities and crisis 
  • Imperialism 
  • The breakdown of established values 
Major Writers and their major works of the Modern Period:

1. Thomas Hardy [1840-1928]
  • The Mayor Casterbrid
2. Joseph Conrad [1857-1924]
  • Heart of Darkness
  • The Secret Agent
  • Typhoon
  • Under Western Ages
  • Lord Jim: A Tale
3. Rudyard Kipling [1865-1936]
  • Plain Tales from the Hills
  • Kim
  • Puck of Pook's Hill
  • Limits and Renewals
4. G.B Shaw [1856-1950]
  • Immaturity ( Novel )
  • The Irrational Knot ( Novel )
  • Caesar and Cleopatra 
  • Arms and the Man
  • The Doctor's Dilemma Mrs. Warren's Profession
  • Joan of Arc
  • The Apple Cart (comedy)
  • An Unsocial Socialist ( Novel )
  • Love Among the Artists ( Novel )
  • Man and Superman (comedy)
  • The Man of Destiny (1895)
  • Pygmalion
  • You Can Never Tell
  • Candida
  • The Philanderer
5. J.M Synge [1871-1909]
  • The Shadow of the Glen
  • Riders to the Sea
  • The Well of the Saints
  • The Playboy of the Western World
  • The Tinker's Wedding
6. W.B Yeats [1865-1939]
  • The Tower
  • The Wild Swans at Coole
  • Easter 1916
  • Sailing to Byzantium
  • Leda and The Swan
  • The Rose
  • Lullaby
  • The Second Coming
7. D.H Lawrence [1885-1930]
  • Sons and Lovers
  • The Rainbow
  • Women in Love
  • The White Peacock
  • Lady Chatterley's Lovers
8. James Joyce [1882-1941]
  • A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man
  • Exiles
  • Ulysses
  • Finnegan's Wake
9. Virginia Woolf [1882-1941]
  • A Room of One's Own ( Essay )
  • To the Light House ( Novel )
  • Orlando ( Novel )
  • Mrs. Dalloway ( Novel )
  • The Voyage Out ( Novel )
  • The Waves ( Novel )
  • Pilgrimage ( Novel )
10. T.S Eliot [1888-1965]
  • Murder in the Cathedral
  • Ash Wednesday
  • The Hollow Men
  • The Dry Salvages
  • Four Quartets
  • The Waste Land
  • The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
11. W. Somerset Maugham [1874-1965]
  • Lady Frederick (1907)
  • The Sacred Flame (1928)
  • Cakes and Ale (1930)
  • The Razor's Edge (1944)
12. Dylan Thomas [1914-1953]
  • Twenty-five Poems (1936)
  • The Map of Love (1939)
  • Deaths and Entrances (1946)
  • Under Milk Wood (1954)
13. George Orwell [1903-1950]
  • Animal Farm (1945)
  • Nineteen Eighty-Four 1949
14. Samuel Beckett [ 1906-1989]
  • Waiting for Godot (1952; Eng. trans. 1954)
  • Endgame (1955)

8. The Postmodern Period
The period after 1939 is called the Postmodern Period. This period start after 2nd world war. From 1980, the post modern literature considered institutionally. This period is still ongoing.

Main features of the Postmodern Period:
  • Lack of Universal Truth
  • Break of any tradition
  • Paradox
  • Unrealistic Plot
  • Impossible Plot
  • Obstinacy of authority
  • Fragmentation

Major Writers and their major works of the Postmodern Period:

1. Earnest Hemingway [1899-1961]
  • A Farewell to Arms 
  • For Whom the Bell Tolls 
  • The Old Man and the Sea
  • The Sun Also Rises
  • Indian Camp
  • The Short Happy life of Francis Macomber
2. E.M Forster [1879-1970]
  • A Passage to India
  • A Room with a View
  • Howards Ends
  • Maurice
  • The Longest Journey
  • Where Angels Fear to Tread
3. Pearl S. Buck [1932-1973]
  • The Good Earth
  • A Bridge for Passing
4. Harold Pinter [1930-2008]
  • The Birthday Party (Play)
  • The Homecoming
5. John Osborne [1929-1994]
  • Luther
  • The Entertainer
  • Time Present
  • Inadmissible Evidence
6. Ted Hughes [1930-1998]
  • Window
  • Crow
  • Cave Birds
  • Flowers and Insects


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