This document provides an overview of the literary characteristics of different historical periods in English literature, from the Age of Chaucer to the 20th century. It outlines key features for each named period, such as the standardizing of English in the 14th century, the development of drama in the 15th-16th centuries, the influence of French literature and formalism in the Restoration period, the dominance of prose and genres like satire in the 18th century, the growth of realism and intellectual developments in the Victorian era, and modernist and postmodernist experiments in the 20th century. It also includes a short quotation about Katherine Mansfield's writing process.

1. Prepared by: Khushbu Lakhupota
Batch: MA 2020-22
Paper no.:105(A) History of English Literature
Roll no.: 10
Enrollment no.: 3069 2064 2020 0011
Email ID: khushbu22jan93@gmail.com
To: Department of English, MKBU
Topic: GENERAL OR LITERARY
CHARACTERISTICS OF ALL AGES

2. The Age of Chaucer (1350-1450)
Literary Features of the Age
● The Standardizing of English
● A curious ‘modern’ note begins
● Prose
● Scottish Literature

3. From Chaucer to Spenser (1450-1550)
Literary Features of the Age
● Poverty of Material
● Scottish Poetry
● The Development of the Drama
● The Importance of the Period

4. Characteristics of the Elizabethan Age (1550-1620)
● Religious Toleration
● Social Contentment
● Enthusiasm
● The Drama

5. The Puritan Age (The Age of Milton) (1620-1660)
Literary Features of the Age
● The Reaction
● The Pressure of Historical Events
● Milton
● The Metaphysical Poets
● The Cavalier Poets
● The Expansion of Prose
● The Collapse of the Drama

6. Period of the Restoration (1660-1700)
The Age of French Influence
The Age of Dryden
Literary Characteristics
● French Influence
● New Tendencies
● Realism
● Formalism
● The Couplet

7. Eighteenth Century Literature (1700-1800)
Augustan or Classic Age
The Age of Pope
Literary Characteristics
● An Age of Prose
● Satire
The Predominance of Prose
● Political Writing
● The Clubs and Coffee houses
● Periodical Writing
● The New Publishing Houses
● The New Morality

8. The Age of Transition (1740-1800)
General Characteristics of the Age
● The Double Tendency
● The New Romanticism
● The New Learning
● The New Philosophy
● The Growth of Historical Research
● The New Realism
● The Decline of Political Writing

10. The Victorian Age (1850-1900)
The Modern Period of Progress and Unrest
Literary Characteristics
● An Age of Prose
● Moral Purpose
● Idealism
● The Revolt
● Intellectual Developments
● The New Education
● International Influences
● The Achievement of the Age

11. The Birth of Modern Literature (1890-1918)
Literary Features of the Age
● The Spread of Education
● Enormous Output of Books
● The Literature of Social Purpose
● The Dominance of the Novel
● The Rebirth of Drama
● Experiments in Literary Form

12. The Inter-War Years (1918-1939)
Literary Features of the Age
● The Breakdown of Established Values
● The Resurgence of Poetry
● Variety of Technical Experiment
● The Influence of Radio and Cinema
● The Speed of Life

13. Characteristics of Twentieth Century Literature
● Modernism
● Post Modernism
● Fragmented Structure
● Fragmented Perspective
● The Novel of the City
● Writing from the Margins

14. “I choose not only the length of every sentence, but
even the sound...After I'd written in I read it aloud-
numbers of times- just as one would play over a musical
composition (...) If a thing has really come off, it seems
to me there mustn't be a single word out of place.” In a
letter 17 Jan, 1921, This quotation demonstrates
exactness of Manfield’s art. Kimber G Article.

15. WORKS CITED
● Albert, Edward. History of English Literature. 2019 ed.,
Oxford University Press, 1979.
● Coodin, David. "Types of Literature in the Age of Reason."
Pen and the Pad, penandthepad.com/types-literature-age-
reason-8195425.html. Accessed 17 Apr. 2017.
● Long, William. English Literature, Its History and Its
Significance. 2018 ed., AITBS PUBLISHERS, INDIA, 2015.
● Maria Kimber, Geraldine. "Katherine Mansfield The View
from France." Apr. 2007,