Grade 11, An Outline of English Literature

Periods of British English Literature 1.      The Old English/ Anglo-Saxon/Anglo- Norman Period (450 AD-1066/1100 AD) 2.      The Middle English Period (1066/1100AD-1485/1500 AD) 3.      The Renaissance Period (1558 AD-1660 AD)                                                               i.      The Elizabethan Period (1558 AD-1603 AD)                                                             ii.      The Jacobean Period (1603 AD-1625 AD                                                           iii.      The Caroline Period (1625 AD-1649 AD)                                                           iv.      The Puritan Age /Common Wealth Period (1649 AD-1660 AD) 4.      The Neoclassical Period/Age of reason (1660 AD-1785 AD)                                                               i.      The Restoration Period (1660 AD-1700 AD)                                                             ii.      The Augustan Age (1700 AD-1745 AD)                                                           iii.      The Age of Johnson/the age of sensibility (1745 AD-1785 AD) 5.      The Romantic Period/ Romanticism/Age of Revolution (1785/89/98 AD-1832 AD) 6.      The Victorian Period (1832/37 AD-1901 AD) 7.      The Modern Period (1901 AD-1945 AD) 8.      The Post Modern Period (1945 AD -present)

Lesson -1                     Old English Literature / Anglo-Saxon literature

  o  The Old English language, also called Anglo-Saxon, was the earliest form of English. Old English was spoken from about A.D 600 to about 1100. Old English language cannot be read now except by those who have made a special study of it.

  o  Major poets of this period were CAEDMON and CYNEWULF. It is difficult to say which work belongs to Caedom. But Cynewulf certainly wrote four poems which are Juliana, The Fates of the Apostles, Christ, and Elene. His poems are religious and were probably written in the second half of the 8^th century. Poetry was written in alliterative tradition.

  o  Many lyric poems were also written in this period. They are, The Husband's Message, The Wanderer, The Wife's Complaint, and Doer's Complaint. Deor is a singer who has lost his lord's favour. So he complains, but tries to comfort himself by remembering other sorrows of the world.

  o  Many heroic epics were also written in this period. These poems glorified a real or imaginary hero and tried to teach the values of bravery and generosity. The greatest heroic epic is Beowulf which belongs to the 7^th century.

  o  Many poems of this period were religious in theme often influenced from the Bible. Among them are Genesis A, Genesis B, Exodus,Daniel, Christ and Satan and The Dream of the Rood. The Genesis B is about the beginning of the world, the fall of the angles and God's punishment to Satan. The Exodus describes how the Israelites left Egypt. Similarly another poem Christ and Satan deals with the events in Christ's life and His struggle with Satan.

  o  The important prose writers of this period were King Alfred and Aelfric. King Alfred translated a number of Latin books into Old English, so that his people could read them. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is the first important prose works in English literature which contains the early history of the country. King Alfred ordered the collection of this early history and number of early writings and brought them into order. He brought back learning to England and improved the education of his people. Similarly, Aelfric wrote mainly religious prose such as Homilies and Lives of Saints. He also wrote out in Old English the meaning of the first seven books of the Bible.

Beowulf Beowulf is the greatest and the first Old English epic poem, which belongs to the 7thcentury. Beowulf, a brave young man of southern Sweden goes to Denmark to help King Hrothgar and his people. Hrothgar is in trouble because his great hall- Heorot- is visited at night by a terrible creature, Grendel. Grendel lives in a lake and comes to eat Hrothgar's men. One night Beowulf waits secretly, and when it comes to attack the people, he pulls its arm off. Grendel escapes to the lake but dies there. Then, its mother comes to the hall for revenge. Terrible fight begins between Grendel's mother and Beowulf. Beowulf follows her to the bottom of the lake and kills her there. The King Hrothgar rewards Beowulf with lots of treasures. Fifty years later Beowulf, now king of his native land, fights a fire-breathing dragon that has devastated his people. He kills the animal but is badly wounded in the fight, and dies. The poem ends with a sorrowful description of Beowulf's funeral fire. The verse of this epic follows alliterative tradition. Metaphors are abundantly used: For example, whale's road is used for ocean; sea soldier is used for a sailor.

Important questions:

 1.Anglo-Saxon  2. Beowulf    3. Show your acquaintance with Old English Literatute.

Lesson- 2         Middle English Literature

The period from 1100 up to 1500 is termed as Middle English period. Since the rulers of England at this period were of French descent, English language was highly influenced by French literature, vocabulary, forms and themes. French was considered as the language of aristocracy and Latin maintained its role as the language of learned works.

The literary works in this period were religious in theme- mainly influenced from Bible. These works taught moral lessons and religious way of life.

Poets / Poetry

1. Geoffrey Chaucer :Chaucer is the first original genius in the history of English literature. He is often regarded as the father of English poetry. He was the son of a wine merchant but later became duke, diplomat and then the personal attendant of the King. He had wide knowledge of Latin, French and Italian books.

His works:

a). The Canterbury Tales: It is a realistic piece of literature that gives the picture of the 14^th century England more clearly than any laborious history. The Characters in this poem are from all sectors of life- rich and poor, good and bad. It contains 17,000 lines-about half of Chaucer's literary production. It is a series of different kinds of stories told by a group of pilgrims who are on their way to Canterbury (The church in which Thomas Beckett is burried). It contains 22 tales told by different pilgrims in verse. Among the pilgrims are monk, the nun, the priest, the friar (the begging monk), the merchant, the lawyer, the doctor, the cook, the sailor, the carpenter, the knight and the most enjoyable character known as the Wife of Bath.

The Wife of Bath has had five husbands and had travelled to Jerusalem and Rome. She is a woman who desires to tightly control her husbands. She is like a modern woman with her firm sexuality and independence. The Monk and The Friar do not live religious life. The Monk has the passion for hunting and loves roasted swan while the Friar is corrupt, married many times. He asks people to give him money so that people would go to heaven. The Farmer and the Knight are good, helpful and honest. The characters are like real people with both good and bad sides.

b). Troylus and Crysede: It is a story of love and betrayal with moral overtones. It is about a faithless woman Crysede. The background is Trojan War. Troylus falls in love with widow Crysede and wins her love. But later she falls in love with Greek Diomede and betrays Troylus. Troylus becomes bold and cruel in battles and is eventually killed by Achilles.

c). The Legend of Good Women: It gives accounts of loving and faithful women- including Cleopatra, Philomela, etc.

2. William Langland:  Historians know very little about William Langland, however they claim that he wrote 'The Vision of Piers the Ploughman'. This poem is famous example of old alliterative verse. In such lines the repitition of certain sounds helps create a mood.

                          " In a somer seson, whan  soft was the sonne…"

It is sadly concerned with the religious, social and economic problems of his time. It is a work in the form of dream visions describing the sorrows of the poor people, the greed of the powerful, and the sinfulness of all people. Langland sadly describes how most people prefer the false treasures of this world to the true treasures of heaven. The emphasis is placed on a Christian vision of the life of activity, of the life of unity with God.

3. Anonymous writer:

a). Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: This is a story about King Arthur. Green Knight asks King Arthur to send a knight to strike him a blow with the heavy axe. But the bet is that a year and a day later the knight would come and receive the similar blow from that Green Knight. Sir Gawain, one of the knights of King Arthur strikes off the Green Knight's head, but the Green Knight simply picks his head up and goes. Sir Gawain goes to find Green Knight. On the way he meets a lord and a lady. The lady gives him the magical girdles that will save him from death. Later Green Knight gives him a severe blow with the axe but Gawain is saved. This is a tale of a knight who has to struggle against the enemies with magical powers with all his honour.

b). Pearl: It is a poem about the poet's daughter whose name is pearl and who died at the age of two. The poet sees her in heaven living with angles. This comforts him.

Prose

1. Richard Rolle: Richard Rolle wrote 'The Form of Perfect Living' which is full of religious teachings. It gives detailed moral lessons on how to work, dress, live, talk and behave in society.

2. John Wycliffe: He was a priest who attacked many religious ideas and the church of his times. He believed in direct relationship between humanity and God, without priestly mediation. He believed that by closely reading the Bible, Christians would govern themselves without the help of popes and other religious teachers. He arranged the production of Bible in English and also translated some parts of it. Before this, Bible was only available in Latin. After he was dead and burried, his opponents dug up his bones and threw them in the River Avon.

3. Thomas Malory:

Sir Thomas Malory was a violent man, who was several times in prison. He wrote "Arthur's Death" while he was in prison. This book is a collection of various tales about King Arthur and his knight-adventurers, who followed the Christian way of life, bravery, love and justice to right people by defeating the wrong ones. Guinevere, the wife of King Arthur falls in love with Lancelot. Their love affair is the major cause of Arthur's ruin and death. It also contains King Arthur's search for the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper.

Dramas

1. Miracle plays or Mystery plays: The subject matter of miracle or mystery plays were the miracles performed by the saints. The stories were mainly from the Bible. Miracle plays, also known as Saint plays, were presented at Easter (festival commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ) and on other holy days. During those days very few people could read the Bible which was then written in Latin. So, the clergy (religious teacher) managed these types of plays in order to teach and explain the doctrinal truths of religion to the ignorant peasants These plays were performed in movable stage that could be moved from one place to another in wheels. These plays were in four main groups, according to the city where they were acted: Chester, Coventry, York and Wakefield. Often several miracle plays were performed at the same time in different places.

2. Morality plays: These plays were popular in the 15^th and early 16^th centuries. The characters of these plays are not people, but they are abstractions (good qualities and bad qualities) such as beauty, flesh, lechery, strength, pride, envy, hope, charity, sin, strength, etc. These are designed to instruct people in the Christian way of life and the Christian attitude towards death. The general theme is the conflict between good and evil in the human soul. However, the play always ends with the saving of the soul and the triumph of good over evil.

The best known of the morality play is Everyman, which probably was derived from a Dutch source. In the play, the protagonist (main character, hero) Everyman learns that everything material he has gained in life deserts him as he journeys into the Valley of Death. When Death calls him away from the world, all the characters like Beauty, Knowledge, Strength, Pride leave him but only Good Deeds follow him.

2. Interludes: Interludes were short plays that provided comic relief in between the acts of long morality plays or in the middle of meals. They were intended to cause laughter among the audiences. They were short plays only with two or three actors that would excite the audiences and remove the boredom. They were not acted in churches but in colleges, gardens and parties. The Four P's and The Play of the Weatherwere the interludes written by John Heywood.

Middle English literature Writer and their works Poetry 1. Geoffrey Chaucer  a).The Canterbury Talesb).Troylus and Crysede c).The Legen of Good Women 2. William Langland  a). The Vision of Pier's the Ploughman 3. Anonymous writer   a). Sir Gawain and the Green Knight  b). Pearl    c). Patience Prose 1. Richard Rolle   a). The Form of Perfect Living 2. John Wycliffe   - Translated part of Bible into English and helped it to publish in English. 3. Thomas Malory   a). Arthur's Death Types of Dramas 1. Miracle or mystery plays – about the lives of Saints, religious in themes, stories from Bible. 2. Morality plays – designed to teach moral lessons, abstractions were personified. 3. Interludes – used to provide comic relief between two acts of a play.

Important questions:  

1. The Canterbuy Tales     2. Morality plays     3. Miracle plays     4. William Langland.    5. Geoffrey Chaucer.      6. Show your acquaintance with the Middle English Literature.

Lesson-3 & 4              Elizabethan Period

Drama (V.V.I)	Poetry	Prose ( Not so important)
1. THOMAS KYD & The Spanish Tragedy: It is a tragedy of blood in which father takes revenge of his murdered son. A ghost of the son appears to his father demanding revenge. The father later kills his son’s murderer. It is a tragedy of blood that was popular at that time. Later Shakespeare wrote Hamlet based in this plot. 2. CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE & Tamburlaine the Great: It is about Tamburlaine who is blood thirsty and violent. For him even love is a war. Tamburlaine, a shepherd who later becomes a robber, has a terrible ambition to gain more power. He kills everyone who are his rivals. & Jew of Malta: It is about Barabas, a faithless man who poisons his own daughter and later tries to kill Turkish officers but is ultimately killed by them. & Dr. Faustus: This play is based on Faustus who sells his soul to devil Mephistopheles to gain power and more knowledge. He even asks the devil to bring beautiful Helen of Troy so that he can kiss her. & Edward the Second: This play deals with English history. It is about the fall of King Edward. 3. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: ( Next page) 4. BENJAMIN JONSON His plays are comic plays. The characters are walking humours and not really humans. His language is polished but not inspirational. He shows how in every one of us there is hidden foolishness. His comedies are called ‘comedy of humours’ & Every Man in his Humour: It is about of Kitely who suspects that his beautiful wife is having love affair with Knowell. & Volpone the Fox: Volpone, a childless but rich man pretends that he is about to die. Many people give him various gifts to please him and gain his wealth. One person even gives him his wife. & Sejanus: It is tragedy acted at Globe theatre by Shakespeare’s company. & The Alchemist: This plays shows how people are attracted towards gaining easy gold but are ultimately cheated by the Alchemist. Alchemist is a person who claims that he can turn iron into gold. & Every Man out of his Humour: 5. JOHN WEBSTER His plays are called ‘blood and thunder plays’. He shows lots of violence, murder and deceit in his plays. His famous plays are The White Devil andThe Duchess of Malfi.	1. EDMUND SPENSER His verses are musical. He wrote his poems in his own rhyme plan- ababbcbcc, which is called ‘Spenserian stanza’. He wrote many sonnets about love, nature and beauty. & The Shepherd’s Calendar: It is a pastoral poem because it deals with the lives of shepherds, and presents them as simple, honest and healthy. It is a poem in 12 books where each book represents the 12 months of a year. There are various subjects- praise of Queen Elizabeth, discussion about religion, the sad death of a girl and son on. & The Faerie Queen: This poem is about Queen Elizabeth or Glory as a person. He planned to write 12 books but could complete only six books. There are 12 knights who represent different virtues – holiness, chastity, justice, courage etc. Each knight has to overcome obstacles to prove his valour and courage. King Arthur is shown as a gentleman with great virtues. & Epithalamion: It is a marriage song expressing his joy after being married when he was over forty. & Prothalamion: It is a lyric expressing his joy when his two daughters were married at one time. 2. JOHN DONNE He is a metaphysical poet. He uses irony, and conceit in his poems. He wrote both religious and love poems. His poems are highly intellectual and difficult to understand. His poems are The Flea, The Ecstasy…. 3. SIR PHILIP SYDNEY & Astrophel and Stella 4. CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE & The Passionate Shepherd to his Love 5. BEN JONSON & To Celia 6. THOMAS WYATT & EARL OFSURREY They wrote fine sonnets which were influenced from Italian. Surrey was the first to bring sonnet into England. Surreywas the first to write poems in blank verse.	1. FRANCIS BACON & Essays & A History of Henry VII & The Advancement of Learning & The New Atlantis 2. BEN JONSON & Timber (Discoveries) 3. RICHARD HAKLUYT & The Principal Navigations & Voyages and Discoveries of the English Nation 4. SAMUEL PURCHAS & Purchase his Pilgrims 5. JOHN LYLY & Euphues 6. THOMAS NASH & The Life of Jacke Wilton 7. WILLIAM TYNDALE He translated the New Testament from the Greek, and part of the Old Testament from the Hebrew.

Christopher Marlowe

He was both a dramatist and a poet of Elizabethan period. He is the first great dramatist of Elizabethan period. His writings set an example for other dramatists in the Elizabethan period in two important ways – the use of powerful blank verse and the development of characters to heighten the sense of tragedy. His plays are tragic plays with lots of violence and murder. His characters are ordinary people who are full of passion and desire. He was killed in a quarrel at an inn when he was 29 years old.

His dramas are:

& Tamburlaine the Great: The first part deals with the rise to power of Tamburlaine, a shepherd who later becomes a robber. He captures Zenocrate and marries her. For him even love is a conquest. His terrible ambition drives him ever towards more power and cruelty. His ambition is to become the ruler of the whole world. So, his armies capture Bajazet, ruler of Turkey, whom Tamburlaine takes from place to place in a cage.

In the second part, Tamburlaine becomes more blood-thirsty. He goes to capture Babylon in a carriage which is pulled by two kings. He whips the kings and curses them. If they become tired, he orders to kill them. He orders his armies to drown all the people of Babylon. He cuts his own arm to show his son that a wound is unimportant. He even kills his own son when he finds him enjoying instead of going to war.

&  Jew of Malta: The Governor of Malta is cruel towards the Jews and taxes them. But Barabus, a rich jew, refuses to pay the taxes. The governor takes away his house and money. So, Barabus begins his life of violence. He poisons his own daughter and makes her lover to die too. He helps the Turks when they attack Malta, so they make him the governor of Malta. He wants to become more powerful. So he makes a plan to kill all the Turkish officers. He invites the officers to have meal with him and arranges that the room would fall suddenly whey they come. But this secret is known by the Turkish. They throw him below the floor into a vessel of boiling water.

& Dr. Faustus: This play is based on Faustus who sells his soul to devil Mephistopheles to gain power and more knowledge. The devil has to serve him for 24 years and provide him what he wants. He even asks the devil to bring beautiful Helen of Troy so that he can kiss her.

&  Edward the Second: This play deals with English history. It is about the fall of King Edward.

William Shakespeare

He was born in Statford-on-Avon. His career developed from a curtain puller to actor, then a playwright and later a dramatist. He understood the sentiments of all class of people. He perfected blank verse in his dramas. He is the true representative of Elizabethan period. He studied previous poems, stories, legends, folklores and coloured them anew with his unique imagination and mastery of language.

Three Roman Tragedies	Five Great Tragedies		His Comedies	Romances:	Historical Plays
Julius Caesar     Antony and Cleopatra      Coriolanus		King Lear            Macbeth              Othello                   Hamlet                  Romeo and Juliet	As You Like It                              Comedy of Errors             Two Gentlemen of Verona          A Midsummer Night’s Dream    Twelfth Night                             All’s Well That Ends Well   Much Ado About Nothing	Cymbeline          The Winter’s Tale          The Tempest	Richard the Second    Richard the Third    King Henry the Fourth                 Henry the Fifth            Henry the Sixth.

Romeo and Juliet

It is a story of two teenaged lovers, Romeo and Juliet. Their families are enemies. Romeo and his friends, in a disguise, attend the mask ball given by Juliet’s father. Romeo and Juliet fall in love in their first meeting and decide to marry. The next day they get married secretly by Friar Lawrence. Returning from the wedding, Juliet’s cousin meets Romeo and quarrels with him. Juliet’s cousin kills Romeo’s friend, so Romeo stabs him to death. Romeo is exiled from the city. Juliet’s father tries her to marry her cousin because he does not know that she is already married. Friar Lawrence gives her a drug which will put her into death-like sleep for 42 hours. He then sends a messenger to tell Romeo about their plan of escape. But Romeo does not receive the message. He falsely hears that Juliet is dead. He hurries to the tomb where she has been placed. There he takes poison and dies by her side. Juliet awakens to find her husband dead. She stabs herself. The discovery of dead lovers convinces the two families that they must end their feud.

Macbeth

Macbeth, who is returning from a battle, meets three old witches. They tell him that he will receive high honors and then become the King of Scotland. The first part of witches’ prophecy comes true. Then Macbeth has an ambition to become the King of Scotland. Encouraged by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan of Scotland, who has come to his castle as his guest. But King Duncan’s sons escape. The three witches had also prophesied that Banquo’s descendents would be the kings of Scotland. So Macbeth orders to kill Banquo and his sons. Banquo is killed but his son escapes. Macbeth becomes more violent and kills everyone whom he does not trust. Lady Macbeth dies because she is burdened by her guilt. At the end of the play, Macbeth is also killed and King Duncan’s son becomes the king of Scotland. Macbeth’s weakness is his terrible ambition.

King Lear

This tragic play shows how people are open to flattery. King Lear has three daughters. His two daughters are wicked while his youngest daughter is truthful. The two wicked daughters try to show their love to King Lear but inwardly they want his kingdom. The youngest daughter always tells the truth. He gives his kingdom to his two wicked daughters but gives nothing to his youngest daughter who loves him the best. His wicked daughters neglect him and force him to spend a night outdoors during a storm. Later he becomes mad. His youngest daughter who has been living in France returns and finds him mad. Armies of two wicked daughters find King Lear and his youngest daughter and kill her. The two wicked daughters love the same man, so one of the sisters poisons her own sister and later kills herself. King Lear also dies of broken heart. This play shows the difference between appearance and reality. King Lear’s weakness is his openness to flattery.

Othello

It is a story of a brave commander Othello. He has a young and beautiful wife named Desdemona. Othello raises the rank of Cassio, one of his soldiers. Iago, his another soldier, is jealous of him and makes a plan to destroy him. He tries to make Othello believe that Cassio and Desdemona are lovers. Othello falls under the plan of Iago and kills his innocent wife with a sword. When Othello discovers the truth, he kills himself with the same sword. Othello’s weakness is his sexual jealousy.

Hamlet

When the story begins, Hamlet’s father, King of Denmark, is dead. His mother has married his uncle Claudius. Claudius has become the King. Hamlet suspects that his uncle murdered his father. The ghost of Hamlet’s dead father appears to him and tells him about his murder. Hamlet decides to take revenge but he wants to find the proof before taking revenge. He is too much a thinker. He asks a band of traveling actors to perform a play before Claudius whose plot is similar to his father’s murder. Claudius shows violent reaction during the play that makes Hamlet believe that Claudius is the murderer. He goes to kill him, but finding him in prayer, he changes his mind. At the same time when he sees someone is behind the curtain, he kills the man with his sword thinking that the man is Claudius. But he has killed Polonius. Claudius then sends Hamlet to England . In the letter to King of England he asks for the murder of Hamlet. Hamlet is saved because he had changed the letter. In the end, fighting is arranged between Polonius’s son and Hamlet. Both are badly wounded and are about to die. Hamlet raises and kills Claudius. Hamlet’s weakness is that he is too much a thinker, not a man-of-action.

THREE ROMAN TRAGEDIES

Julius Caesar

It is a political tragedy. The hero is Brutus, who joins with Cassus and other conspirators, to kill Julius Caesar. Before the body of dead Caesar, Brutus defends to the people of Rome that killing of Caesar was necessary for the good of country Rome. After the speech of Brutus, the clever and cunning Antony makes a speech before the crowd. He then describes the plotters with heavy sarcasm and praises the virtues of Caesar. The crowd is ready to kill and burn the conspirators. Brutus and his friends flee away. At last, Brutus commits suicide when he is defeated by Antony.

Antony and Cleopatra

The main subject of this drama is the Antony’s love for the Egyptian queen Cleopatra. Antony, the king of Rome has a wife named Octavius. But he lives in his captured state Egypt with a mistress Cleopatra. Death of his wife forces him to return to Rome. Back in Rome, he marries Octavius’ sister Octavia; but he returns to Egypt because of his love towards Cleopatra. His wife Octavia wages a battle with him but Cleopatra does not help him. Cleopatra deceives Antony and makes him think that she is dead. Antony stabs himself with the sword. Before he dies, he learns that she is still alive. He then goes to her and dies in her arms. Later Cleopatra also dies after pressing a poisonous snake to bite her.

Coriolanus

This play is about the life and death of Coriolanus, a proud Roman commander who leads his armies against the Volscians and beats them. On his return to Rome, he wishes  to become one of the rulers of the city. To succeed in his aim, he must ask the people for votes. His pride makes this impossible, he can not beg for votes or for anything else. He is driven from Rome for insulting the people. He comes back with the Volscian army to attack his own city. There he meets his wife and mother who persuade him to lead the army away. The Volscians then kill him for failing in his duty.

John Donne and Metaphysical poetry

Metaphysical poetry is the term given to the poems written by John Donne and other 17^th century poets like Andrew Marvell, George Herbert. In metaphysical poems, the poet uses clever tricks of style and unlikely comparisons. These poems are complex, paradoxical and with twisting ideas. They blend emotion with intellect. The poems are filled with bold conceits.

John Donne is the most important metaphysical poet. He wrote both love and religious poems. In his poems, he often puts the main beat on words of little importance. In his poem The Flea, the man asks his beloved not to kill the flea. He says that the flea has sucked the blood of both of them, so the flea has become their marriage bed. Similarly in his another poem The Ecstasy, the poet claims that love is the combination of both soul and body.

Lesson-5          John Milton and His Times

John Milton lived a pure life, believing that he had a great purpose to complete. At college he was known as the The Lady of Christ’s. He was the advocator of democracy. He supported the Parliament during the English civil war between the King and Cromwell. He was a Christian humanist. He was a studious person. He had wide knowledge of Greek, Latin, English, French and Italian literature. He also had great affection for music. His literary career can be divided into three phases.

First phase

He wrote shorter poems. His poems are:

·           L’Allegro (the happy man): In this pastoral poem the poet describes the joys of life in the country in the spring season. This poem describes beautiful scenery of the fields in the morning and the carefree life of farmers and shepherds.

·          I L Penseroso (the thoughtful man) : This poem is set in autumn season. He describes the activities of a man who has to do his moral duty. The duties include visiting the church, listening to the music and studying books.

·          Comus : It is a masque i.e. a dramatic presentation with music.

·         Lycidas: It is a pastoral on the death of Edward King, his fellow student at Cambridge. He had died by drowning.

·         Arcades

Second phase

In the second phase he mainly wrote prose works supporting Cromwell and the parliament. He wrote pamphlets attacking the King. He also wrote articles about church affairs, freedom and divorce. His language was violent in this phase. His main work is Areopagitica that advocates the freedom of press. When the parliament passed an act requiring all books to be licensed by an official censor, Milton was against it. In this book he argues that there should be freedom for writers and printers.

Third phase

This phase began when Milton became totally blind by 1651. When Charles II became the King, Milton turned into a quiet life and wrote his finest poems. This was his most productive phase. His works include:

 Paradise Lost: This epic is his masterpiece, which is written in 12 books. The story of the book is taken from the Bible. It is simple and common story of the fall of Adam and Eve from the grace of God due to their disobedience. Satan who lives with God in heaven leads a revolt against God. After the terrible war between Satan and God, he is thrown into hell. Satan then decides to take revenge on God by spoiling God’s latest creation – the humans. Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, created by God live in Eden. They live a carefree life without any work, boredom or pressure. God asks them not to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. But Satan, disguised as a serpent encourages Eve to eat the fruit. Eve eats the fruit. Encouraged by Eve, Adam also eats the fruit. After eating the fruit, they begin to feel sexual passion and know shame for the first time. God curses Eve that her life would always be sorrowful by bearing children and helping her husband. God curses Adam that he would eat bread only by hard work and sweating.

Paradise Regained: It deals with the conflict between God and Satan but is less splendid.

   Samson Agonistes : It is a tragedy on Greek model that describes the last days of Samson, a character from the Bible. Samson, in his last days, is the prisoner of Philistines. They make him blind and force him to provide entertainment to the Philistines lord. Samson pulls down the columns of the building and the whole building collapses killing all the Philistines and himself.

Cavalier Poets

A group of poets of mid-17^th century who wrote in favour of King Charles I are called Cavalier poets. These poets wrote witty and light-hearted poems. They wrote short, light, and elegant lyric that appeal ‘carpe diem’ meaning ‘seize the day’. These poets emphasize on the mortality of human life and briefness of physical beauty. These poets usually wrote love poems and poems about nature. The poets belonging to this group are Robert Herrick, Andrew Marvell, Richard Lovelace and Sir John Suckling.

ROBERT HERRICK: His poems are musical, polished and addressed to beautiful ladies. He also wrote about English country, its flowers and nature. In his poem ‘To the Virgins to Make Much Time’, he asks the lady to love him when she is still young because the time is running in speed. Otherwise, time will turn her old and nobody will love her. In his another poem, ‘Upon Julia’s Clothes’, he praises the woman’s beaty.

RICHARD LOVELACE : His best love poems are ‘To Althea, from Prison’ and ‘To Lucasta, on Going to the Wars.

Lesson- 6         Restoration Period

The period after the restoration of King Charles II in 1660 upto 1700 is known as restoration period. During this period two types of dramas were written- comedy of manners and heroic tragedies.

Comedy of manners:

After restoration of King Charles into the throne, a new taste in dramas emerged which is termed as comedy of manners. These plays are hard and bright, witty and heartless. These dramas focused on the manners and ideals of high class society. The common themes concerned marriage, sex and fashion. The characters are people of fashion, fops, cunning people and beautiful ladies. The plot concerned battle between male lust and female thoughtfulness.

The important dramatists were:

a). Sir George Etherege: He introduced comedy of manners. His play ‘The Man of Mode’ gives the picture of immoral manners of the society at that time. The play presents the war on sex.

b). William Wycherley: He is a satirical dramatist. In his play ‘The Country Wife’, Mr. Horner shows himself to be respectable but inwardly he is full of lust. Another character Mr. Pinchwife does not let his wife meet other people because he fears that she may fall in love with other man. But he lets Mr. Horner to come to his house because he looks very simple. Later Mr. Horner seduces the wife of Mr. Pinchwife through his cunning simplicity. Similarly, in his another play ‘The Plain Dealer’ the protagonist shows hatred towards his corrupted society but later becomes corrupted himself.

c). William Congreve: He is a mature dramatist. His comedy ‘The Old Bachelor’ is about and old fellow who pretends to hate women. Later he marries a bad woman. His another comedy ‘The Way of the World’ presents the love intrigue of high class people. This play is finer than any other plays of that time.

d). R.B. Sheridan: In his drama ‘The Rivals’ he presents a comic character Mrs. Malaprop who talks too much to show her superiority. But most of her words are wrong and out of context. For example she says, ‘pineapple’ for pinnacle and ‘geometry’ for geography. His another drama ‘The School for Scandal’ introduces three characters whose love for scandal is so great that they strike the reputation of another character at every words they speak.

Heroic Tragedies / Heroic plays of Restoration period:

The tragic dramas of this period were made up mainly of heroic plays. In heroic plays, men are very brave and the women are splendidly beautiful. These plays are called heroic plays because they are written in heroic couplets, a form of meter perfected by John Dryden. Heroic plays rhyme in pairs eg, - aa bb cc ……The subjects of heroic plays are love and battle for good purpose.

The important dramatists were:

a). John Dryden: He wrote some of the finest heroic plays. His play ‘All for Love’ is based on the love affair between Antony and Cleopatra and their tragic death. His play ‘Aurengzebe’ is based on a struggle for empire in India. His other heroic plays are ‘The Conquest of Granada’ and ‘Don Sebastian’.

b). Thomas Otway: His three tragedies are best. They are ‘Venice Preserved’, ‘Don Carlos’ and ‘The Orphan’.

Restoration Prose

a). John Bunyan: His two major works are ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress’ and ‘The Holy War’. These works are religious in themes and are influenced from the Bible.

b). John Locke: He is important because his works contain simple and clear language. His works helped to spread democratic philosophies in the world. His major essay is ‘Essay on the Human Understanding’.

Eighteenth Century Literature

Eighteenth Century is often called as Age of Reason because writers of this period focused their work on social concern. They thought that reason is more important than emotion or imagination. For them, order was important in men’s thought. Comfortable towns were usually preferred to the wild mountains. The writers of this period attacked the follies and evils of the society in harsh and direct language. Many journals like ‘The Tatler’ and ‘The Spectator’ were published. Similarly, people gathered in coffee houses and debated about religion, politics and literature openly.

Eighteenth Century Poets:

a). Alexander Pope: He used mock-heroic poems as a means of satire to attack the social foolishness. He said that the proper study of mankind is man. His health was bad. He thought of life as a long illness. He also translated the Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer.

His important works are:

Essay on Criticism: In this book, Pope suggests that writer should follow the classic rules of Homer and Virgil. He says that to copy Homer is to copy nature.

Essay on Man: This poem claims that the proper study of mankind is man. He claims that poets should study man and his society.

The Rape of the Locke: This mock-epic poem satirizes on the fashions, norms, laziness, and double standards of the ladies of 18^thcentury England. Belinda is a fashionable girl. Lord Petre cuts her hair in a theatre sitting behind her. The quarrel begins from home to whole of London.

The Dunciad: This mock-heroic poem attacks the dull writers of his times who wrote to earn their breads.

b). William Blake: He is also one of the Romantic poets. His poems have hidden meanings that are hard to understand. He did not believe in the reality of matter, or in the power of earthly rulers, or in the punishment after death. His best knows poems are included in ‘Songs of Innocence’ and ‘Songs of Experience’. The poems in ‘Songs of Innocence’ are simple, lyrical and easy to understand. The poems included in ‘Songs of Experience’ are difficult, paradoxical and symbolic.

c). Churchyard Poets / Graveyard Poets: The poets of the late 18^th century who chose death for their subject are grouped as Graveyard poets. These poets are Edward Young, Robert Blair and Thomas Gray.

* Thomas Gray: His ‘Elegy Written in a Country Graveyard’ is one of the most beautiful and famous poem. It describes his thoughts as he looks at the graves of country people buried near the church at Stoke Pages. He wonders what they might have done in the world if they had better opportunities. His ode ‘The Bard’ is a sad song which curses King Edward I, who had put all the Welsh poets to death.

* Edward Young: His ‘Night Thoughts’ is about life, death, the future world and God. It is written in blank verse.

* Robert Blair: He also wrote his poems in blank verse. In his poem, ‘The Grave’, he begs the dead to come back and tell something about the grave.

Eighteenth Century Prose Writers

a). Daniel Defoe: He began his career as a writer by writing pamphlets, essays and poems and later wrote his most famous novel ‘Robinson Crusoe’. The story of this novel is based on real event but the characters are fictional. The main character Robinson Crusoe is left alone in an uninhabited island after a shipwreck. He spends almost 28 years in that island rearing goats, birds and doing domestic activities. Another novel ‘Moll Flanders’ is about a beautiful girl whose thirst of money corrupts her. She ultimately becomes a prostitute.

b). Jonathan Swift: He was a bitter satirist. He attacked discrimination and the evils of the society. His ‘Tale of a Tub’ attacked religious ideas. In ‘A Modest Proposal’ he suggests that the poor, who need money should sell their children to the rich as food. This is a severe attack on the wealthy people and government of England that was responsible for poverty in Ireland. Another of his famous satire is ‘Gulliver’s Travels’

c). Samuel Richardson: His novels examine the human hearts and show the human’s character, attitude, feelings and emotions. His novel ‘Pamela’ is about a girl named Pamela who is the maid of Squire B’s mother. Squire B tries to seduce her. He treats her badly. But Pamela resists him. Due to her virtue, his lust changes to love. He offers her a marriage. Another novel ‘Clarrisa’ is about a beautiful and talented girl Clarrisa. She is forced by her family to marry Solmes because every family members would get something in return from Solmes. In revenge she later marries a rake who sell her to a brothel.

d). Richard Steele and Joseph Addison: These two worked together in producing ‘The Tatler, a

paper of  essays on various subjects. A more famous paper ‘The Spectator’ followed. They

were educators. They were mild satirists. They exposed the evils and follies of the society. The visible feature of 18^th century was the appearance of coffee houses. The coffee houses became the place for exchange of news and ideas. These two newspapers were born in coffee houses.

e). Novel of Terror / Gothic Novels : The novels of terror of gothic novels are about ghosts, witches, supernatural elements and dead persons. The plots are mysterious and frightening. They show impossible events. The writers include:

*Horace Walpole: His ‘The Castle of Otranto’ is a novel about the 12^th and 13^th centuries. It is about a ghost that lives in an old building and haunts beautiful ladies.

*William Beckford: His ‘Vatek’ is about a man Vatek who visits the hell and is punished for his crimes.

*Ann Radcliffe: Her greatest novel ‘The Mysteries of Udolpho’ is set in mountains. It describes the life of a girl Emily who is held by her aunt’s husband in a dark castle.

[Similarly, Mary Shelley’s novel ‘Frankenstein’ is also a gothic novel]      

Nineteenth Century Literature
Novelists	Poets	Prose Writers
1). Early Nineteenth Century Novelists a). Jane Austen b). Mary Shelley c). Sir Walter Scott 2). Victorian 2). Victorian Novelists ( Later Nineteenth Century Novelists) a). George Eliot b). Emily Bronte c). Thomas Hardy d). Charles Dickens e). Oscar Wilde f). William Makepeace Thackeray g). Charlotte Bronte	1). Romantic Poets (Early Nineteenth Century Poets) a). William Wordsworth b). S.T. Coleridge c). P.B. Shelley d). John Keats e). Lord Byron 2). Victorian Poets ( Later Nineteenth Century Poets) a). Robert Browning b). Alfred Lord Tennyson c). Matthew Arnold	a). Charles Darwin: He is one of the greatest scientists of the world. His scientific works brought heated debate in England. His works are : & A Naturalist’s Voyage Round the World: This book gives account of his journey in the ship named Beagle. & The Origin of Species: His famous book that puts forward the principle of natural selection. He claimed that species are not formed by God but by natural selection. Nature brings variation in plants and animals. & The Descent of Man: This book claims that human’s ancestors are apes. Thus it attacked the Christian notion that God created humans. This book was highly criticized at that period. b) William Hazlit: He was an important essayist of his time. He was a quarrelsome man. His most important essays are on literary criticism. His language is violent and filled with political ideas. His works are ‘Characters of Shakespeare’, ‘Lectures on English Poets, and ‘English Comic Writers’. c). Water Pater: He claimed that the main aim of art is to search beauty- not to teach social or moral lessons. Poetry should not contain ideas but should please the senses. His main work is ‘Conclusions to Studies in the History of the Renaissance’.

ROMANTIC POETRY/ROMANTICISM/ EARLY NINETEENTH CENTURY POETS

Romanticism is a literary movement that came against the 18^th century Age of Reason. Romantic poets were against established rules of poetry. They thought that the poems should be written in simple language or the language of common people. For them, imagination is more important than scientific reality. They wrote about nature, village, common people and about mythical characters. For them, the aim of poetry is to please the sense.

Main Romantic Poets:

a).  William Wordsworth: He was the poet of nature. He wrote poems about ordinary and common things. He said that the language of poetry should be the same as the language of common people. He praised rural life. His important works are:

The Lyrical Ballads: This important work gave the signal of the beginning of Romantic age. It was in fact a joint work of Wordsworth and Coleridge. The publication of the first edition of the Lyrical Ballads came as a shock because it violated many established rules of that time. Its major subjects were common people, farmers, and shepherds. Even the language used was simple everyday language of common village people. The poems praised nature. They saw God in nature. In Lyrical Ballads, Wordsworth said that the subjects of poetry should be incidents and situations from common life and should be written in ordinary language understood by common people. His poem ‘Tintern Abbey’ was collected in this book. In this poem, the poet visits River Wye and remembers his boyhood days. He thinks that nature is far more superior to the corrupt human society.

& London: This poem is a cry for help in the troubles of the world.

& Ode on Intimations of Immortality : In this poem the poet realizes that childhood period is better than the laborious adult days. This poem also praises nature.

b). S.T. Coleridge: He wrote about mysterious things. He makes ordinary things seem wonderful. His treatments to supernatural themes and meditative dimensions made him a true Romantic poet. His major poems are:

Kubla Khan: This poem gives the imaginary description of the castle of Kubla Khan, the emperor of ancient China. The description of the castle produces strange and magical pictures.

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner: This poem appeared in the first edition of Lyrical Ballads. An old sailor describes some strange misfortunes that happened to the ship. He shot a bird when he was in a ship in the ice of the South pole. A curse fell for this crime, water-supply ended and all the sailors died of thirst. At last, the mariner blesses the creatures of God and the curse is broken. He is saved. The moral of this poem is that crime against nature is crime against God.

c). P.B. Shelley: He was a true revolutionary poet because he was against the accepted religious ideas. He saw goodness in the whole of nature, and he wanted all men to be free. His poems are:

Adonais: It is one of his finest poems, is an elegy on the death of John Keats. The poet claims that John Keats lies in heaven while his critics are the fools of the world.

The Cloud: The cloud is personified in this poem.

Promethus Unbound: It is a poetic drama on the Greek Prometheus myth. It shows the victory of love over hatred and revenge. The poet says that God are selfish, they hide secret from the world.

 The Revolt of Islam : This poem is a cry of impatience at the cruelty of the world.

d). John Keats: He wrote poems about mythical characters and mythical themes. He died at the age of 25 because of tuberculosis. He thought that the aim of poetry is the appreciation of Beauty. His poems give pleasure to the senses.

 Ode on a Grecian Urn: The main theme of this poem is that art escapes from death, time and change. In this poem the poet claims ‘Beauty is truth, truth beauty.’

Ode to a Nightingale:  The poet wants to run away with the nightingale but he thinks that imagination is the best medium to escape from this human world.

Endymion:  This early poem is based on old ideas: the old gods, the love of moon-goddess for a shepherd, Venus and Adonis. He treats old myths in a strange way.

e). Lord Byron: He was a revolutionary poet. He went to fight for the freedom of Greece. He satirized many sides of English life and hated all false and insincere ideas. His poems are about adventure, love and rebellion. His major poems are:

Don Juan:  It is an adventurous poem which describes the life of rebellious and moody Don Juan. Don Juan falls in love with the friend of his mother. He has to run away because the society cannot tolerate this type of love. This poem is the expression of free sexuality.

Childe Harold:  This poem is written in Spenserian stanza. It is about the story of a man who goes off to travel far and wide because he is disgusted with life’s foolish pleasures.

Difference between 18th Century Age of Reason & Romanticism
18th Century / Age of Reason/Neoclassical poetry	Romanticism/Age of revolution
ü  The writers wrote polished heroic poems caring poetic rules. ü  For them, reasoning was necessary to find truth. ü  They wrote poems about kings, soldiers or courtiers and praised them. ü  These writers preferred comfortable towns to the wild mountains. ü  They thought that poetry comes from the mind. ü   For them, the aim of poetry is to teach.	ü  The poets wrote simple poems without caring poetic rules. ü  For them, imagination was more important that reason. ü  They wrote poems about shepherds, farmers and common people. ü  These writers preferred wild mountains and nature to the comfortable towns. ü  They thought that poetry comes from the heart. ü  For them, the aim of poetry is to give pleasure.

Victorian Poets           (Later Nineteenth Century Poets)

1.Alfred Lord Tennyson: He is one of the most excellent Victorian poets. His works are serious and thoughtful as well as musical. He wrote about nature, God, men and meaning of life. His poems are often sad and pessimistic. He was worried about the modern science and about Darwin’s theory. He experimented with new meters and his stanza’s rhyme plan is often – abba. His poems study myth and mythical characters from a new perspective.

His major poems are:

The Lotos Eaters:  This poem is about the soldiers of Ulysses, who on their way to home from Trojan war, happen to eat the flower of a ‘Lotos’ plant. After eating the plant, the soldiers feel that all the troubles of life, work, war and ambition are meaningless.

The Idylls of the King:  This poem is based on Arthurian legend where the love story of Guinevere (Arthur’s wife) and Lancelot is shown.

In Memorium:  This is an elegy on the death of his friend who died at the age of 22. Later, the sorrows for the death of his friend changes into an expression of a wider love of God and man.

The Princess:

Ulysses:

2. Robert Browning: He thought that idea was more important than music in poetry. While Tennyson’s poems were pessimistic in tone, his poems are optimistic. He married Elizabeth Barret Browning, a Victorian poetess. He is especially famous for the development of dramatic monologue, a literary composition in which the speakers reveal their own character. His major poems are:

Andrea del Sarto :  This poem studies Renaissance artists.

 The Ring and the Book:  This book is his masterpiece. It is about the events of a 17^th century Italian murder trial. The characters in the poem are studied with psychological depth.

 The Pied Pipers of Hamelin:  It is about a Piper who gets rid of all the rats of a town called Hamlin by playing his musical pipe. When the mayor of the town does not give him money that he had earlier promised to give, the Piper then plays his pipe and takes all the children of the town and hides them in a cave.

 My Last Duchess: This poem also presents the psychology of the rich Duke of Ferrara. He kills his wife when he thinks that she is immoral.

Early Nineteenth Century Novelists

1. Jane Austen: Her novels are calm pictures of society. She understood the importance of family in human affairs. Though her two brothers were in navy (army), she paid little attention to the violence of nations. Her novels are novels of manner. She brought the novel of family life to its highest point of perfection. Most of her characters correct their faults from the lesson learnt from the life’s hardship. In every of her work, she highlights the need of friendship and respect for a happy family. Her major novels are:

Sense and Sensibility:  It is a novel about two sisters- Elinor and Marianne. Elinor is balanced, reasonable and has too much sense while her sister Marianne possesses too much sensibility. Marianne is too much emotional. These two sisters are betrayed by their lovers. The novel ends with both of them getting married. Elinor gets the man whom she loved dearly. But Marianne marries an old man who helped her when her first lover betrayed her.

Pride and Prejudice:   The book focuses on Bennet family and the search of the Bennet daughters for suitable husbands. The story follows Bennet and her lover, who have to give up their personal pride and prejudice before they enter into a happy marriage.

Emma

Northanger Abbey

2. Mary Shelley: She was the wife of P.B. Shelley. She wrote novels of terror. Her main novels are:

Frankenstein:  This book can be considered as the first attempt at science fiction. Frankenstein, a college student, collects bones, builds a human body and then gives life to it. The creature is ugly but good. Everyone hates it for its ugliness, so it leads a lonely and violent life. This monster demands a female being like him who will become his companion. Frankenstein makes a female monster but immediately destroys it before giving it life. The monster then promises to take revenge. It kills Frankenstein’s brother, friend and his wife. Frankenstein goes in search of the monster but dies in the North pole. The monster is the symbol of modern scientific invention.

The Last Man:  It is a story of the slow destruction by disease of every member (except one) of the human race.

3. Sir Walter Scott:

Victorian novelistsOr Later Nineteenth Century Novelists

1. Charles Dickens: He is one of the greatest English novelists. He wrote novels based on social issues. He is a realist novelist. He bitterly attacked the social evils, the money-minded rich people, and the industrial society. In his novels, he presents the lives of poors, their miserable condition and the cruel treatment of society to the poors. He attacked the bad effects of Industrial revolution that caused poverty, diseases, injustice and many other ills. He shows how true man is surrounded by villains, social climbers, criminals and cheats. In his different novels he describes and attacks many kinds of unpleasant people and places- bad schools, school teachers, government departments, bad prisons and bad houses. His characters include thieves, murderers, men in debt, stupid, hungry children and cheats. His major novels are:

Hard Times:  Thomas Gradgrind is a scientific man who teaches his children about facts and scientific reasoning. Emotion and imagination are never allowed in the lives of children. Consequently, his son robs the bank of his own relative while his daughter becomes a fragmented woman. Later Gradgrind understands his foolishness. This novel is an attack on science and scientific reasoning.

A Christmas Carol:  The main protagonist Scrooge does not celebrate Christmas and he gains pleasure by behaving other people badly. He is greedy and selfish. Three ghosts remind him his past, present and future and his coming death. Scrooge then becomes helpful, warm, loving and leads a religious life.

Nicholas Nickleby:  This is a tale of a boy who is left poor on his father’s death. He is sent to work in a school, Dotheboys Hall. There the master, Squeers, treats forty miserable students cruelly, and teaches them nothing. Nicholas beats the criminal Squeers and then escapes.

Oliver Twist:  Oliver Twist is an orphan. He runs away from his workhouse and joins a band of pickpockets. He leads a criminal life because of hunger and poverty. Twist gets caught stealing from a wealthy man. The man finds that Twist is his nephew. This novel presents the cruel treatment of poor by the society.

David Copperfield

Bleak House

Pickwick Papers

2. William Makepeace Thackeray: He was born and raised in a wealthy family. He is famous for his humourous and ironic description of the middle and upper classes of his time. He attacked the behaviours, duplicity and falsity of upper class society of his time. He gave the honest view of life. He knew that men and women are complex and humans have both good and bad qualities. His novels are realistic, colourful and lively. He understood that weak and innocent people are not rewarded but pushed to the wall. His major novels are:

Vanity Fair:  This novel is about an ambitious woman named Becky Sharp, poor but of noble birth. She uses her wit, cunningness and duplicity to become successful. She has to change according to the society’s worldly standards. This novel satirizes the values of upper class English Society. Duplicity and double-standard are essential to succeed in life.

The Newcomes:  This novel is based on the life, love and marriage of Clive Newcome, the son of an honourable officer who loses all his money.

 The Pendennis

3. Emily Bronte: Her characters are passionate but cruel. She was too much imaginative and passionate than her sister Charlotte Bronte. Her most successful novel is:

 Wuthering Heights:  In this novel, passionate Heathcliff falls in love with Catherine. When Heathcliff hears Catherine saying that she could not marry such a low man, he leaves the house. Three years later he returns becoming rich but finds Catherine married to Edgar, a man of weak character. Heathcliff buys neighbouring estate Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff then begins a life of cruelty and revenge. Catherine dies, and Heathcliff marries Edgar’s sister, and treats her badly.

4. Charlotte Bronte: She lived in poor surroundings. Her poverty and unhappy life frequently appear in her novels. Her novels are able to develop strong feelings and emotions on the readers. Her novels are realistic. Her main novels are:

Jane Eyre:  It tells the story of an orphaned girl who falls in love with a married man. Jane Eyre is a poor and unbeautiful girl who is brought up by a cruel aunt and sent to a miserable school. She goes to teach the daughter of Mr. Rochester. Although she is not beautiful, Rochester falls in love with her. When she discovers that his mad wife is still alive, she runs away. Later the house of Rochester is on fire and his mad wife is burnt to death. Rochester tried to save her but could not. He becomes lonely and depressed. On hearing all of this, Jane Eyre marries him.

Villette:  It reflects the personal experiences of the writer when she was in Brussels; without beauty or money. She then becomes a teacher and wins respect by her good character.

The Professor: It describes the events in the life of a schoolmaster.

5. Thomas Hardy: In his novels, nature plays an important part. Almost all of his novels are set in Wessex, among farms, trees, fields and low hills. His novels are darker and pessimistic in tone. The characters are controlled by fate, chance and natural forces. The characters work hard but cannot fight with the fate or natural force and they die a miserable death. Most of Hardy’s characters cannot control their passion, greed and lust, so they are destined to fall. All of Hardy’s major works deal with unhappy relationship, several with divorce. He thought that in this meaningless world  people only suffer and surrender to fate. His major novels are:

Far from the Madding Crowd:  In this novel, Gabriel, a shepherd, loves Bathsheba with a true heart. He serves her faithfully for many years. But Sergeant Try, an attractive but cruel soldier, marries her and treats her badly. He is murdered by an angry farmer, and after many troubles Bathsheba marries Gabriel. This is the story of patient love on one side and selfish passion on the other.

The Mayor of Casterbridge:  This novel is about Michel Henchard. He sells his wife and daughter when is drunk for a few pounds. He promises that he will not drink alcohol for twenty years. He then goes to Casterbridge, becomes mayor and wealthy person. He falls in love with Lucetta. But when his wife and daughter arrive, he changes his mind. Lucettamarries Henchard’s enemy. Henchard then loses all his wealth and starts drinking again. At the end, he dies a miserable death.

Jude the Obscure:  It is a story of Jude Fawley – a poor stone-worker. Since childhood he longed to become a religious teacher, but could not escape the problems caused by his own sexual desires and heavy drinking. Fate is against him. His marriage is a failure, and he falls in love with a clever teacher. Sorrows follow their life together; their children die, then  Jude begins to drink heavily that causes his death.

Tess of the D’Urbervilles:  It is a tale of a poor girl, Tess, who is seduced by D’Urberville. She marries another man Angel Clare who abandons her on learning of her misfortune. Tess later murders her seducer D’Urberville to free herself from him. She is arrested and hanged.

The Return of the Native

6. George Eliot: She wrote with sympathy, wisdom, and realism about English country people and towns. She wrote seriously about social and moral problems. She wrote calmer books which are full of moral lesions. She wanted to teach through her novels. Her novels are set in domestic and rural environment. Her major novels are:

Middlemarch:  The story revolves around moral choices in an imperfect world. It is considered to be her masterpiece and one of the greatest English novels.

Adam Bede: It is about Adam Bede, a carpenter, who dearly loves Hetty Sorel. Sorel is interested only in Captain Donnithorne. Marriage is arranged between Adam and Hetty, but she escapes in search of her lover Captain Donnithorne. She does not find him. She gives birth to a child but leaves it in the woods. The child dies. She is sent to prison.

Daniel Deronda

 Silas Marner

Twentieth Century Literature

Drama / Plays	Novels (and Prose)	Poetry
1. Absurd Theatre a). Samuel Beckett b). Harold Pinter 2. Serious Political and Social plays a). G.B. Shaw b). John Galsworthy 3. Comic plays a). Oscar Wilde b). Tom Stoppard	1. Women Novelists a). Virginia Woolf b). Iris Murdoch c). Doris Lessing d). Margaret Drabble 2. Detective Novelists a). A.C. Doyle b). Agatha Christie c). John Le Carre 3. Science Fiction a). Arthur Clarke b). George Orwell c). H.G. Wells d). Doris Lessing 4. Other Novelists a). Rudyard Kipling b). E.M. Forster c). D.H. Lawrence d). James Joyce e). George Orwell f). Joseph Conrad	1. War Poets First World War Poets: a). Rupert Brooke b). Siegfried Sasson c). Wilfred Owen d). Isaac Rosenberg 2. Second World War Poets: a). Roy Fuller b). Keith Douglas 2. Poets who attacked modern civilization: a). W.B. Yeats b). T.S. Eliot c). W.H. Auden 3. Poets who wrote about nature and natural life: a). Dylan Thomas b). Ted Hughes

Main features of 20^th Century Literature   [ Literary Creativity of 20^th Century England.]

·         Many women writers like Virginia Woolf, Iris Murdoch and Margaret Drabble wrote about female experiences. They attacked male dominated codes, norms and themes. Their main characters are women and they write from female point of view. They wrote about the lives, problems and special concerns of women in the modern world.

·         Many writers wrote psychological novels examining the deep and hidden psyche of the characters.

·         Writers wrote about taboo subjects like lesbianism, gay, sex openly. The works of modern writers had no fixed themes. They were to open to many interpretations.

·         Since this century faced two World Wars, the writers wrote against war, violence and barbarism. Patriotism began to be thought as absurd and meaningless.

·         Writers invented new forms and techniques, breaking away the established literary rules. James Joyce, Virginia Woolf and D.H. Lawrence introduced stream of consciousness technique. Similarly many absurdist writers introduced the theme of meaninglessness of human existence.

·         In this period, the marginal groups raised their voice in their works. Writers such as G.B.Shaw and John Galsworthy attacked the social and political corruption of England.

·         Writers like T.S. Eliot, W.H. Auden and W.B. Yeats wrote about religious awakening. These writers thought that modern world has gone mad because man has lost faith in religion and God.

·         Science fiction and detective novels also emerged in this period.

Twentieth Century Drama

1. Theatre of the absurd / Absurdist dramatists:

Samuel Beckett is considered as the grand master of theatre of the absurd. The other dramatist belonging to this group are Harold Pinter and Tom Stoppard. The writers belonging to this group show their anguish at the absurdity of human condition. For them, the man’s existence on earth is meaningless. We do the same thing day after day. There is no newness or growth. They claim that our life is boring, dull and monotonous. The characters in their plays are often handicapped and like priosers. They cannot communicate with other individuals. There is no proper plot and there is action without any purpose.

a). Samuel Beckett: He was born in Ireland. His plays are despairing plays. His characters refuse love and relationship with other person. He sees the language as building a wall between human beings which stops them communicating. His major dramas are:

Waiting for Godot:  This play shows two tramps, Vladimir and Estragon, waiting for Godot whom they haven’t known. Godot never comes to meet them, and may not even exist. They do a lot of talking but their communication is meaningless and without any logical reasoning.

Krapp’s Last Tape: It has only one character, an old man sitting in a closed room with the tape-recorder, in which he hears his previous recordings and compares to his present situation.

Happy Days :

b). Harold Pinter: The central theme of his plays is every people is stranger to the other. Humans can not communicate meaningfully with others. Humans are trapped in their own world. His major plays are:

The Caretaker:  The main themes of this play is that no one takes care of others. There are only three characters and each characters are empty. Their words and actions do not match.

No Man’s Land: This play shows the meeting of two old men who had known each other when they were young. One is now rich and successful while the other man is in many ways a failure. In a sense, they are enemies. Although on the surface they meet as friends, there is always a feeling of danger between them. In some ways it is the rich and successful man who is the real failure, because in his heart he is living in the ‘no man’s land’ of no feelings and no hope.

 The Birthday Party:

2. Serious plays on social and political criticism:

a). G.B. Shaw: He was born in Ireland. He gave new points of view and way of looking at themselves and the society they lived in. He delighted in showing the opposite of what his audiences expected. Several of his plays show in various ways the working of his theory of the ‘Life Force’, the power that drives people to value life as a great gift and fight for a better world, and that leads women, in particular, to want to have children so that life can be continued. He did not believe in Christianity but the life force. He uses comedy to expose the social evils. Shaw wrote more than 50 plays during his lifetime. His major plays are:

Man and Superman: This drama shows that a women’s real aim in life is to find the man that nature tells her is the right father for her children.

The Apple Cart: This is a political play which shows that he was in favour of monarchy rather than democratic leaders.

The Devil’s Disciple: In this play, the man whom conventional society has thought of as evil and selfish is willing to sacrifice himself for others, while the minister of religion discovers that he should have been a soldier.

Major Barbara:  In this play, the heroine, a woman of strong personality and ideals, exchanges her belief in Christianity for that in the Life Force.

Arms and the Man: He presents a soldier as a sympathetic figure who does not want to fight.

Pleasant and Unpleasant:

a). John Galsworthy: He criticizes the social and political evils of the society and shows great sympathy towards poor and helpless people. His major novels are:

Strife: In this play, he shows how the strike troubles the poor and working class people.

Justice: This is about a poor man who signs a false cheque and later is sent to jail by the judge. Hopelessly he kills himself.

3). Comic plays:

a). Oscar Wilde: His most famous play is ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ which is filled with witty language. Two girls in this play fall in love with the name Earnest. They are in search of the man named Earnest. Two men pretend themselves to be Earnest and trap those girls in their love. This shows the difference between appearance and reality. The characters are shallow and cunning with double standards.

b). Tom Stoppard: He chooses characters from earlier plays and places them under different situations to provide audiences with new insights. His play ‘Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead’ is about two minor characters of Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. Similarly, his another play ‘Travesties’ contains the characters of Wilde’s play ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ but they are analysed from different point of view.

20^th Century Poetry

1. War Poets: The poets who participated in the war or whose poems are about war are termed as war poets.

► First World War poets: These poets participated in the First World War from England.

a). Rupert Brooke: He had a Romantic and patriotic view on war. In his poem ‘Soldier’, he glorifies England and says that he will be proud even if he dies for England.

b). Siegfried Sasson: He attacked the war lords or officers who ordered soldiers to kill other soldiers. He thought that war is destructive, pointless and inhuman because it turns humans into beasts. He also hated the patriotic satisfaction of the people at home who believed the heroic stories that the government told them about war. He also hated people who glorified war without understanding the misery and sufferings of people who went into the battlefield. In his poem ‘Everyone Sang’ he writes how the end of war brings comfort to everyone.

c). Wilfred Owen: His poems show very sorrowfully the discomfort, danger and pain of the soldiers, and the permanent damage which the war did to their minds and happiness. For him the soldiers who fight from different countries are all humans and their suffering is same. No one can become a hero by killing fellow humans. In his poem ‘Strange Meeting’ he imagines a meeting in hell with an enemy soldier he had killed who reminds him of their common humanity. His another poem ‘Anthem for the Doomed Youth’ shows the waste of many young men in the First World War who died as cattles.

d). Isaac Rosenberg: He also shows the brutality of war in his poem ‘Returning We Hear the Larks’.

► Second World War Poets: These poets saw the destruction caused by the Second World War. The heroic patriotism was lost for ever. War did not only kill soldiers it also killed their hopes and future. The poets wrote demanding the end of all sorts of war. The poets of the Second World War are: Roy Fuller and Keith Douglas.

2. Poets who attacked Modern Civilization:

a). W.B. Yeats: He was an Irish poet. In his earlier days he wrote poems about Ireland, its people and traditions. In later days, his poems became more universal in theme. He was disturbed by the brutality, loss of values and fragmentation caused by modern civilizations. His major poems are:

An Irish Airman Forsees His Death:  In this poem, the Airman knows that he will die in war which won’t leave any positive effect for his country. Though he is fighting for the people, actually it won’t benefit the people and his village.

The Second Coming:  He thought after every 2000 years, the earth gets destroyed and a new era begins. He envisions that the modern civilization is very near to destruction because it is about to pass 2000 years and new monotonous types of creatures will rule this world.

Sailing to Byzantium:  The theme of this poem is that art never dies, it escapes old age, decay and biological change.

b). T.S. Eliot:  He is one of the pioneers of modern poetry. He was disturbed by the damage, loss of hope, and fragmentation caused by the two world wars. He thought that belief on Christianity and submission to God are only means to escape from fragmentation caused by modern civilization. For him, modern man is sexually impotent, hollow, fragmented and destroyed. His major poems are:

The Waste Land:  This is a long, complex poem which brings together a group of characters form different parts of the world and from different times. It gives a true picture of western civilization where people suffer from emptiness, barrenness, loss of values, cultural decay. Here Hindu philosophy, Buddhist philosophy and Christian philosophy are brought together to make people aware that modern man should find solace from these ancient philosophies. He used fragmentary technique to show the fragmented man. The ending of this poem is :

                                Datta.Dayadhvam.Damyata.

                                                Shantih.  Shantih.  Shantih.

Four Quartets:  In this poem collection, he claims that God is the only source that will provide wholeness and purpose to man’s life. Modern people are depressed and fragmented because they have forgotten the values of religion and God.

c). W. H. Auden: His earlier poems show a concern for the important political and social events. He thought that the present situation of politics and social systems need to be changed. He thought that literature should help social and political change. He wrote directly about political events and their effect on private lives. His poems are about depression, unemployment and indifference of human kinds towards others sufferings. He also hated modern civilization that made humans like a machine without love and affection. In his poem ‘Museum of Fine Arts’ he shows how people are indifferent towards others sufferings. In his later years his poems show that spirituality and belief in Christian values can help humans to overcome anxiety, loss and depression. He was also like Yeats because he believed that modern civilization has gone mad because humans have lost faith in God.

3). Poets who wrote about nature and natural life:

a). Dylan Thomas: The language of Dylan Thomas is completely different: full of life, energy and feeling with great strength and power. His works praise and delight in natural forces: the life of nature and the countryside, the forces of birth, sex and death. His poems raise issues completely different from others.

b). Ted Hughes: He is considered as an animal poet because his most poems are about animals and their uniqueness. He thought that violence is unconsciously hidden in human and animal world. He describes the beauty and brutality he saw in nature. Some of his fine poems are ‘The Pike’ and ‘The Cave Birds’.

20^th Century Novelists

1. Women Novelists

a). Virginia Woolf: She is the leading figure of modern experimental novel. She also used stream of consciousness technique in her novels to reveal the true psyche of her characters. Her novels are about loneliness and love. She was the supporter of women’s rights. Her novels show the psyche of characters rather than sequences of events in the external world. Her famous novels are:

To the Lighthouse: This play presents a family holiday in an island. The youngest son wants very much to go by boat to the lighthouse but is prevented by his father. The son becomes very sad. After 10 years the same family goes to visit the same island. The son visits the lighthouse as ordered by his father. But this time also he is sad and hates his father. This novel shows the conflict between factual truth and more deeper truth.

Mrs. Dalloway:  In this novel, Mrs. Dalloway invites people to her party, but the people who come there seem lonelier in the crowd.

 Orland:  This presents a main character who begins as a man in the 16^th century and ends as a woman in 1928, still only thirty six years old. On the surface, the story is fanciful and amusing but it is highly symbolic.

b). Iris Murdoch: Her characters face difficult moral choices in their search for love and freedom and are often involved in complex networks of love affairs. Her novels are complex. Her characters struggle with the society but at last they think that they can not change themselves and their society. Her major novels are ‘The Bell’, ‘A Severed Head’ , ‘Under the Net’ and ‘The Black Prince’.

c). Doris Lessing: She is one of the most politically conscious women novelists of 20^th century. Her characters are unable to distinguish between the way things appear to be and the way they really are. Much of her works are concerned with the everyday and inner lives of sensitive women. She wrote psychological novels exploring the madness of characters and their deeper self-analysis. Her major novels are:

The Grass is Singing: This novel is set in southern Africa. It explores the mind of the wife of a poor white farmer and her difficulties that lead to her destruction.

& Children of Violence: This novel is about Martha Quest who tries to isolate herself from the old ideas of the society, politics and religion. She lives by her own beliefs and ideals.

The Golden Notebook: It is a powerful attempt to write honestly about women’s lives and beliefs and the pressures that political and social events in 20^th century life and society put on them. The male characters in the novel often try to hurt females because they themselves are weak.

d). Margaret Drabble: Her main characters are always women, and they are often women who are studious and intelligent. Before joining literary career, she had been an actress on the theatre. She is often called the “women’s novelists”. She explores the theme of feminism, search for identity, equal rights, freedom and justice. Her characters are confused women who try to integrate the family life and her career. Her major novels are:

The Milestone: It is about a girl who has avoided any deep feelings or close relationships with other people. She finds that she is brought into the world of human feelings by her love for her child.

The Waterfall: It is about a poetess, who is unable at the beginning of the novel to connect body and mind. She is saved from the coldness of her life by sexual love, and is at last able to understand herself and her personality as a woman.

The Ice Age: This novel presents a wider picture of an unhappy world in which the coldness of the spirit and the feelings that comes when people only live in one part of their personalities is shown as a danger to the whole society.

2). Detective novelists ( Spy novelists):

The detective novels are based on mystery, suspense and murder. The main character goes in search of finding the murderer, robber or something lost. The main character has to disguise in order to find the murderer or to solve the mystery. The detective novelists are Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie and John Le Carre. Agatha Christie’s famous detective novel is ‘The Mysterious Affair of Styles’ and John Le Carre’s famous novel is ‘The Spy Who Came in from the Cold’.

3). Science fiction:

Science fiction is generally described as stories based on developments in science or technology, either existing developments or fictional developments of the future. Early science fiction falls into three main areas/ themes / categories:

 Pessimistic View: Some writers were afraid of the rapid developments of science and technology. They thought that scientific developments puts in danger to future of man and this world.

Neutral View: Some writers thought that developments of science are both boon and curse. They raised the question what may happen after man has defeated the problems of war, disease and poverty. They may go beyond the limits of human body and gain some qualities of machines.

Optimistic View: Some writers were in favour of rapid advancement in science and technology. They thought that although man may have lost something of natural life on earth, they can explore the world of space.

a). Arthur Clarke: His books take an optimistic view of technological progress. His novels and stories often focus on space travel and other ways in which technology will shape the future. In his novel, ‘The City and the Stars’, the struggle between man and the machine is shown. His another novel ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ takes up the subject of exploration in space.

b). George Orwell: His ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ is also a science fiction in which he shows how the advancement of all watching T.V would help to limit the freedom of people.

c). H.G. Wells: He was very interested in the scientific advances of his age and looked ahead to imagine what the results might be in future. He was optimistic about scientific advances although he was conscious of possible dangers. He also shows the struggle between humans and non-humans.

d). Doris Lessing: Her most of the novels are science fiction. She describes the world after it has been almost destroyed. Her famous science fiction is ‘The Four-Gated City’.

4). Other Novelists:

a). Rudyard Kipling: He was born in India and spent much time there but later moved to England. His novels project his ideas that English and England are superior to others. His novel ‘Kim’ presents an Indian boy named Kim who is born of foreign parents. Kim helps the agent of British Empire to acquire some secret papers from the Russians. His another novel ‘The Jungle Book’ is about a boy who is raised by wolves. He lives in the remote areas of India but later leaves the jungle in order to become a man.

b). E.M Forster: He presented new ideas about people and society. He was a humanist writer. Though he was a British, he attacked the British government for its inhuman treatment to Indians. He attacked the false and pretentious behaviour of people. He thought that society should be free from materialistic attitude to achieve harmony and understanding. His famous novels are:

Where Angles Fear to Tread:

Howard’s End: This novel shows the conflict between spirituality and materialism. He attacks the people who are running towards wealth and false appearance. The people are judged by society as failure may indeed be more successful than others. Success is not marked by money and wealth but by goodliness, humanity and spirituality.

c). D.H. Lawrence: His works express the inner qualities of human nature. His novels have an influence of psychological theories of Sigmund Freud. His works analyze the human relationship in depth. He shows how the relationship between people is always changing. He analyzes the relationship between man and his environment, the relationship between the generations, the relationship between man and woman, the relationship between instinct and intellect. His major novels are:

Sons and Lovers:  This is a thinly autobiographical novel. This novel deals with the conflict between Paul’s working class father and his middle-class mother. The mother turns towards her son for the emotional fulfillment denied to her by her husband. The novel ends with the death of the mother which gives relief to the son.

The Rainbow:  This novel tells the story of a family through three couples who are of three generations:

First generation: (Lydia and Tom): They have a deep and loving understanding of each other and also communicate with the outside world.

Second generation: (Anna and Will): They have physical passion for each other but their souls remain separate.

Third generation: (Ursula and Anton): They do not love each other but try to force their own wishes on the other.

d). James Joyce: He was born in Ireland. He created a completely new style of writing which is termed as ‘stream of consciousness technique’ or ‘interior monologue’. This technique allows the reader to move inside the minds of the characters, and presents their thoughts and feelings in a continuous stream. It breaks all the usual rules of description, speech and punctuation. The works of Joyce are complex, paradoxical with no fixed themes. He brings history and myth in his novels to give new insights. He wrote realistic novels. His major novels are:

Ulysses:  This novel is about an artist named Stephen Daedalus who wants to free himself from this cruel world. The titles and characters of this novel are connected with and reflect characters and events from ancient Greece stories. This novel is funny, touching, satirical and paradoxical.

The Dead:  It is about a husband who realizes that his wife is in love with another man. But when he finds that her lover is dead, he finds satisfaction.

Finnegan’s Wake:

e). George Orwell: He was a political conscious novelist. He attacked all kinds of falsity, barbarism and corruption in British government. His major novels are:

Nineteen Eighty-Four:  This book describes a future world where word and action is seen and controlled by the government. The government has developed a kind of television that can watch the people in their homes. The government changes the language and teaches them to talk about only those  what the government want them to do. This book provides the pessimistic picture of future government where people’s feelings and emotions will be controlled by the government.

 Animal Farm:  It is a political allegory, which tells the story of political revolution that has gone wrong. The animals on the farm, led by pigs, drive out their master Jones and take control of the farm. Soon the purity of their political ideas is destroyed and they end by being just as greedy and dishonest as the farmer whom they had driven out.