Survey of British Literature
The Historical and Social Context for Prominent Literary
Movements, Key Genres, Major Writers, and Notable Works
449-1066 A.D. – The Anglo-Saxon Period
1066-1485 A.D. – The Medieval Period
1485-1660 A.D. – The English Renaissance
1660-1798 A.D. – The Restoration & Enlightenment
Copyright 2014 - Peter S. Willis
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The Anglo-Saxon Period
449 A.D. – 1066 A.D.
Live fast, die young, and be a good
looking epic hero.
Copyright 2014 - Peter S. Willis
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The Romans Arrive in Britain
 Julius Caesar arrived
in 55 B.C.
 Romans established
towns and cities.
 Romans brought high
civilization to Britain.
 Romans withdrew
during the fifth
century and left
Britain on its own.
Copyright 2014 - Peter S. Willis
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The Anglo-Saxon Period
 Angles, Saxons, Jutes,
and other Germanic
tribes began invasions
around 449 A.D.
 They were pagan
warriors who believed
in “wyrd” (fate or
destiny).
 They eventually
became more settled
and accepted
Christianity.
Copyright 2014 - Peter S. Willis
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The Growth of Christianity
 Even though Roman
power collapsed in
Britain, Christianity
never truly faded.
 St. Patrick (of Ireland)
and St. Augustine
(founded Canterbury)
helped spread the faith
throughout the British
Isles.
Copyright 2014 - Peter S. Willis
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The Danish Invasions – Part I
 In the 790s, Danish
invaders (Vikings)
began raiding and
settling in Britain.
 King Alfred the Great
(Anglo-Saxon)
defeated the Danes
and forced them to
accept Christianity.
Copyright 2014 - Peter S. Willis
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The Danish Invasions – Part II
 Edward the Confessor
became king in 1042, but he
had little support. He named
Harold, earl of Wessex, as
his successor.
 William the Conqueror, who
was duke of Normandy in
France, killed Harold in
1066 at the Battle of
Hastings; William was the
last successful invader of
Britain.
 William’s invasion ended
the Anglo-Saxon Period.
Copyright 2014 - Peter S. Willis
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Literature of the Anglo-Saxons
 Beowulf
 The Seafarer
 The Wanderer
 The Wife’s Lament
 A History of the
English Church and
People
Copyright 2014 - Peter S. Willis
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The Medieval Period
1066 A.D. – 1485 A.D.
Welcome to the age of chivalry – and
be glad you’re not a peasant.
Copyright 2014 - Peter S. Willis
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Life Under William the Conqueror
 William the Conqueror
came from Normandy, so
he brought French ways to
the Anglo-Saxons.
 He established feudalism,
a political and economic
system.
 Anglo-Saxons were at the
bottom of the society.
 William’s barons fought
for control after his death.
Copyright 2014 - Peter S. Willis
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Henry II & Eleanor of Aquitaine
 Henry II was the
grandson of William
the Conqueror.
 He reformed the
judicial system.
 His wife, Eleanor of
Aquitaine, was French
and imported the idea
of chivalry.
Copyright 2014 - Peter S. Willis
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Richard the Lionhearted & King John
 Richard the Lionhearted
fought in the Crusades and
in France.
 John became king when
his brother, Richard, died.
 In 1215, John was forced
to sign the Magna Carta
(“Great Charter”), which
gave more power to the
nobles. The signing of this
document was an early
step toward democracy.
Copyright 2014 - Peter S. Willis
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The Decline of Feudalism
 The growth of towns
and trade led to a
decrease in the power
of nobles.
 Merchants became
more and more
important and
wealthy.
 Universities, such as
Oxford, helped
advance knowledge.
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Plague, War, and Death Stalks the Land
 War between England and




France lasted off and on for
more than a century.
The Black Death (plague) killed
1/3 of England’s population.
English King Henry V defeated
the French at Agincourt; the
female French war leader Joan
of Arc lifted the siege of
Orleans.
War of the Roses – Henry
Tudor (Lancaster) defeated
Richard III (York) in 1485 and
became Henry VII.
The Medieval Period comes to
a close in England.
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Literature of the Medieval Period
 Notable works
– The Canterbury Tales
– Sir Gawain and the
Green Knight
– Le Morte D’Arthur
– Various mystery,
miracle & morality
plays
Copyright 2014 - Peter S. Willis
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The English Renaissance
1485 A.D. – 1660 A.D.
Rebirth! Renewal! Reawakening! The
movement started in Italy, but it
didn’t stop there.
Copyright 2014 - Peter S. Willis
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Major Themes of the Renaissance
 Intellectual focus moved from religion and
the afterlife to life on earth.
 Art and literature flourished.
 Ancient Greek and Roman civilizations
served as models for European culture.
 Emphasis was placed on the individual – the
idea of the “Renaissance Man” was born.
Copyright 2014 - Peter S. Willis
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England – the Slow Learner
 The War of the Roses
delayed adoption of
Renaissance ideas.
 When the war ended,
Henry Tudor became King
Henry VII.
 Henry VII expanded
English holdings in the
New World, negotiated
favorable treaties, allied
with Spain, and married
his two sons to the same
woman…but not at the
same time.
Copyright 2014 - Peter S. Willis
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Henry VIII – A Renaissance Man
 King Henry VIII
succeeded his father,
Henry VII, in 1509
 Henry VIII was a true
Renaissance Man – an
athlete, poet, musician,
linguist, etc.
 At first, Henry VIII
remained a strong
Catholic, loyal to the Pope
in Rome. But…
Copyright 2014 - Peter S. Willis
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Henry VIII – The Dark Side
 Henry’s first wife,
Catherine, never gave
birth to a son, but she
did produce a
daughter, Mary.
 Hoping for a son,
Henry broke away
from the Catholic
Church and married
Anne Boleyn.
Copyright 2014 - Peter S. Willis
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Henry VIII – The Dark Side
 Henry founded the
Anglican Church, with
himself as the head.
 Anne produced a
daughter, Elizabeth. Henry
later had Anne executed.
 Henry married yet again,
and finally got a son,
Edward VI, who died at
15 after reigning for only
six years.
 Henry had six wives in
total.
Copyright 2014 - Peter S. Willis
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Elizabeth: Queen and True Diva
 Elizabeth’s older sister
Mary ruled until she died
in 1558.
– Mary tried to convert the
English back to
Catholicism.
– The English rejected
Mary’s efforts.
 The English people
welcomed Elizabeth as
queen after Mary’s death.
Copyright 2014 - Peter S. Willis
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Elizabeth I: A Modern Monarch
 Elizabeth was one of the
most effective English
monarchs.
 She excelled in politics,
management, diplomacy,
and warfare.
 She executed her rival,
Mary Queen of Scots, in
1587 and defeated the
Spanish Armada in 1588.
 She wrote poetry as well
as ruled England as queen.
Copyright 2014 - Peter S. Willis
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The Rise and Fall of the Stuarts
 Elizabeth died in 1603.
She was followed by
James I (James VI) of
Scotland, who united
Scotland and England and
is still known for his
version of the Bible.
 James’s son, Charles I,
became king in 1625.
 Neither James nor his son
were as effective as
Elizabeth.
 Charles plunged England
into civil war in 1637.
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The English Commonwealth
 Charles’s Royalist forces
were defeated by rebels
under Oliver Cromwell in
1645.
 Charles was executed in
1649.
 Cromwell ruled as “Lord
Protector” of the
Commonwealth.
 His son, Richard
Cromwell, followed him,
but was a terrible ruler.
Copyright 2014 - Peter S. Willis
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The Restoration of the Monarchy
 Richard Cromwell did
such a poor job ruling
England that
Parliament kicked him
out.
 In 1660, Parliament
invited Charles II, son
of Charles I, to return
and rule.
 This was known as the
Restoration.
Copyright 2014 - Peter S. Willis
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Literary Movements of the
Renaissance Period in England
 Poetry
• Lyric Poems – express the emotional aspect of the
poet’s feelings; often meant to be sung
• Followed a set form (sonnet form was common)
• Followed a set rhyme scheme
 Drama
• Shakespeare
• Marlowe
• Comedies, Tragedies, Histories
Copyright 2014 - Peter S. Willis
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Restoration & Enlightenment
1660 AD – 1798 AD
Reason and Intellectualism Influence Art,
Politics, Science and, of course, Literature
Copyright 2014 - Peter S. Willis
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Why “Restoration”?
 England hoped for a
prosperous and secure
time after its rocky
Civil War and demise
of a national church.
Copyright 2014 - Peter S. Willis
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Restoration More Than a Name
 This time in English
history had many names.
None of the names
completely described the
time period. But each
name described a
particular aspect of the
time: Neoclassicism or
Augustan Age; the
Restoration; the English
Enlightenment; the Age of
Reason; the Age of Satire.
Copyright 2014 - Peter S. Willis
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Inequality in Restoration Society
 A huge gap existed between the
wealthy and the poor.
 The wealthy wasted money
while London children and the
impoverished died of poor
nutrition and health.
 The writer Samuel Pepys’
secret diary allowed historians a
means to experience the
inequities and characteristics of
Restoration England. Daniel
DeFoe’s Journal of a Plague
Year documented the year
1665, which brought mass
destruction to England.
Copyright 2014 - Peter S. Willis
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Deism, Age of Reason, and
Enlightenment Thinking
 Renewed interest in
classical writers such as
Aristotle reminded
English thinkers of the
power of the scientific
method.
 Philosophers such as
Hume popularized a
“faithless” religion called
Deism.
 The Enlightenment’s
reach stretched to politics
as well.
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Creating a New Social Order
 The Restoration was a
time when leaders
attempted to create order
from chaos.
 Samuel Johnson accepted
the challenge to compile
an English dictionary.
 Writers like Alexander
Pope and Jonathan Swift
revealed social inequities
with their witty use of
satire.
Copyright 2014 - Peter S. Willis
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The Growth of Novels
 Daniel DeFoe’s
adventure novel
Robinson Crusoe
popularized the
English novel. Henry
Fielding’s Tom Jones
and Samuel
Richardson’s Clarissa
followed.
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Odes & Elegies Gain Prominence
 In poetry, the ode and the
elegy increased in
popularity. Odes are
formal tributes to an
honoured, absent subject.
Elegies are similar to
odes, but feature a tone of
mourning as they pay
tribute to someone who
has passed on. Thomas
Gray’s “Elegy Written in
a Country Churchyard” is
a famous example from
this period.
Copyright 2014 - Peter S. Willis
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The Theatre Experiences Rebirth
 Puritan disapproval of the
theatre faded in this
century, and theatre
became another outlet for
social satire. Restoration
comedies addressed social
issues like manners. The
works were sophisticated
in style and mature in
content.
 John Dryden’s “Essay of
Dramatic Poesy” brought
Shakespeare back to
center stage.
Copyright 2014 - Peter S. Willis
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Female Writers Gain a Voice
 Aphra Behn published
poetry and short novels,
ensuring her place in
history as the first
seriously respected female
English writer.
 Lady Mary Montagu was
a well-travelled and
sophisticated poet.
 These two writers
demonstrated skill in what
was once a male-only
profession.
Copyright 2014 - Peter S. Willis
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The End of the Restoration Becomes
the Beginning of the Romantic Period
 Like many artistic
movements, the pendulum
swung far toward rational
and scientific thought, but a
subsequent movement
emerged that took the
opposite approach.
 The interest in odes
continued, but the late 1700s
brought about a new
“Romantic” era that focused
on the individual, not
society, and praised direct,
emotional expression.
Copyright 2014 - Peter S. Willis
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