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Introduction to
English 12
Survey of
British
Literature
Literature
There are three types of literature:
Prose, Poetry, and Drama
Prose
(Ordinary Written Language)
Prose forms include novels, short
stories, and non-fiction works.
Poetry
(Heightened Language)
Poems often have a
meter/rhythm and/or
rhyme, but they do not
have to have these
elements.
However, all poetry is a
heightened form of
language.
Drama
(Performed by Actors)
Drama is literature
meant to be performed
aloud by actors, who
portray characters.
Types of dramatic
literature include plays,
speeches, and movie
and television scripts.
The British Islands
The “British” in
“British
Literature”
refers to written
works from the
British Islands,
Great Britain
and Ireland
The British Islands
These two
islands are made
up of the
countries of
Northern Ireland,
The Republic of
Ireland,
Scotland,
England, and
Wales.
The United Kingdom
All of these countries, with the exception of the Republic of
Ireland, are unified under the name “The United Kingdom”
Western Civilization
To understand the history of British
Literature, you must first understand the
history of Western Civilization.
The term “Western” in this case refers to
cultures of Western Europe and the
Americas, as opposed to Eastern Europe,
the middle East, and the Far East.
Western Europe
The Three Ages of
Western Civilization
The history of Western Civilization can be broken
down into three distinct ages:
 ANTIQUITY
c. 3500 B.C. to 449 A.D
 THE MIDDLE AGES
449 to 1485 A.D.
 MODERNITY
1485 A.D. to Present
Note: B.C. stands for “Before Christ,” and A.D. stands for
“Anno Domini,” or “in the year of our Lord.”
Antiquity
c. 3500 B.C. to 449 A.D.
The age of Antiquity is the period that
marks the birth and development of
Western culture, from the first recorded
history about 5500 years ago, to the Middle
Ages, which began about 1500 years ago.
Antiquity
c. 3500 B.C. to 449 A.D.
When scholars refer to “Classical Antiquity,” they
are most often making reference to two distinct,
but extremely influential cultures:
ANCIENT
GREECE
&
THE
ROMAN EMPIRE
The Middle Ages
449 to 1485 A.D.
The Middle Ages is
the period in which the
spoken and written
English Language
developed,
Christianity became
the dominant religion
in Britain, and British
cultural identities
began to be formed.
Modernity
1485 A.D. to Present
The Modern Age begins with the Renaissance
(or “Rebirth”), and continues into today.
Antiquity
There is no English Literature from the Age
of Antiquity, because the English language
did not yet exist.
However, you are probably already familiar
with some Greek and Roman literature and
history, much of which you may have read in
English language translations.
Antiquity
For example: The Odyssey by Homer . . .
Antiquity
Antigone by Sophocles . . .
Antiquity
the story of Julius Caesar . . .
.
or the gladiators of the
colosseum.
Middle Ages
We will therefore begin our study of British
Literature in the Middle Ages (449-1485
A.D.)
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages are split into two shorter
time periods:
The Anglo Saxon Period
449-1066
&
The Medieval Period
1066-1485
Middle Ages
These are also sometimes called the
“low” and “high” Middle Ages.
Anglo-Saxon Period
For the first few weeks of class, we will be
studying literature from the Anglo-Saxon
Period.
ANGLO SAXON 449-1066
MIDDLE AGES <
MEDIEVAL 1066-1485
The Anglo-Saxons
Prior to the 400’s, people in England
primarily spoke Latin, the language of The
Roman Empire.
Around 449, the Anglo-Saxons, who came
from what is now Germany, invaded the
British Isles.
By 476, the Roman Empire had fallen in
the West, and Britain was under control of
the Anglo-Saxons.
The Anglo-Saxons
DiscoveryEducation.com
The Beginning of English
The blending of Latin and the Germanic
language of the Anglo-Saxons led to the
formation of the English Language.
The Beginning of English
We refer to the version of English spoken
during the Anglo-Saxon Period as “Old
English” because, though it is the earliest
version of the language we speak today,
it is quite different from either “Middle” or
“Modern” English.
The Beginning of English
(Roman) Latin + (Anglo-Saxon) German =
OLD ENGLISH
The Beginning of English
Here is a sample of Old English
(from Beowulf):
Hwæt! We Gardena in geardagum,
þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon,
hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon.
http://faculty.virginia.edu/OldEnglish
/Beowulf.Readings/Prologue.html
<Hear me! praise of the prowess
of people-kings of spear-armed
Danes, in days long sped, how
courageously they performed.>
Middle English
The Anglo-Saxon Period
(during which Old
English developed)
lasted from 449 to 1066.
In 1066, William the
Conqueror led a group
of invaders called the
Normans (from what is
now France) into Britain.
Middle English
The French speaking Normans influenced
the English language:
Old English + French = MIDDLE ENGLISH
Middle English
Sample of Middle English (from The Canterbury Tales):
Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote
(So priketh hem Nature in hir corages),
The droghte of March hath perced to the
roote,
Thanne longen folk to goon on
pilgrimages,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth
And palmeres for to seken straunge
strondes,
To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry
londes;
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
And specially from every shires ende
Hath in the Ram his half cours yronne,
Of Engelond to Caunterbury they wende,
And smale foweles maken melodye,
The hooly blisful martir for to seke,
That slepen al the nyght with open ye
That hem hath holpen whan that they
were seeke.
http://sites.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/gp-aloud.htm
Middle English
Middle English
developed during
the Medieval Period,
from 1066 to 1485.
Middle English
Over the centuries, Middle English eventually developed into our Modern
English language.
Middle English
Our language continues to change and grow,
however. Consider, for example, our
everyday use of words like “ipod,” which
would have been meaningless to English
speakers even a few years ago.
Anglo-Saxon Literature
 During this unit, we will read works of
Anglo-Saxon literature, including
excerpts from
 The Exeter Book
 Beowulf
&
 Bede’s A History of the English Church
and People
Anglo-Saxon Literature
 Some reoccurring themes you will notice in
Anglo-Saxon literature are:
 The brutality of life in a damp, cold country
 The fear of the threat of foreign invaders
 The glory of war, and the triumph of good
over evil
 Death and loss
 The transition between Pagan (polytheistic)
religious beliefs and the emerging Christian
(monotheistic) church