Part (3) main literary periods

1. Main
Literary
Periods
Part (3)Part (3)

2. Objectives:
By the end of this part, you will be able to:
List the main literary Periods in English literature.List
Recognize the historical setting of each period.Recognize
Explain the main characteristics of each period.Explain
Recognize the development from one period to another.Recognize
Name the main writers in each period.Name

3. Main Literary Periods
in English Literature
1- Old English Period
2- Middle English Period
3- Elizabethan era
4- Victorian era
5- Modernist Period
6- Postmodernist Period
7- Postcolonial Period

4. A Literary
Period!
A Span of time that
witnessed major
literary activities in
a particular
historical setting.

5. Question
• William Shakespeare lived in …………….
A. The period of Modernism.
B. The Elizabethan Era.
C. The Victorian Era.

6. Question
• …………… lived in the Victorian Era.
A. Charles Dickens.
B. T. S Eliot.
C. D. H. Lawrence

8. Old English Period
Old English period (c. 600–1066) is the
oldest literary period in English
literature. It is called the Anglo-Saxon
period and the form of language used
is called “old English” or “Anglo-
Saxon”. It ended with the Norman
conquest of England. Major writers are
not known, but Beowulf is considered
the most famous work of the period.

9. Middle English Period
Middle English period (c. 1100–1470) is an
early literary period in English literature. The
form of language used is called “middle
English”. It witnessed the influence of
Renaissance in England. Major writer is
Geoffrey Chaucer.

10. Question
• The Elizabethan era is named after ……
A. Queen Elizabeth I
B. Queen Victoria
C. Queen Elizabeth II
D. Queen Mary

11. Question
• A literary period that witnessed clashes between religion and science ……
A. The Enlightenment Period.
B. The Victorian Era.
C. The Elizabethan Era.

12. Question
• A literary period that witnessed flourishing English literature, particularly
drama ……
A. The Enlightenment Period.
B. The Victorian Era.
C. The Elizabethan Era.

13. The Elizabethan Era
Elizabethan era (c. 1558–1603)
is a major literary period in
English literature. It is a
flourishing period in English
literature, particularly drama,
that coincided with the reign
of Queen Elizabeth I.

14. The Elizabethan Era
Major writers are Francis
Bacon, Ben Jonson,
Christopher Marlowe,
William Shakespeare, Sir
Philip Sidney, and
Edmund Spenser.
William ShakespeareChristopher Marlowe
Sir Philip SidneyBen Jonson

15. The Victorian era
Victorian era (c. 1832–1901) is a
major literary period in English
literature. It refers to the period of
English history between the passage
of the first Reform Bill (1832) and the
death of Queen Victoria (reigned
1837–1901).

16. The Victorian era
It is remembered for strict social, political, and
sexual conservatism and frequent clashes between
religion and science. This period also saw prolific
literary activity and significant social reform and
criticism.

17. The Victorian era
• Major writers are Brontë sisters, Charles Dickens,
George Eliot, Matthew Arnold; Robert Browning, Lord
Alfred Tennyson, and Christina Rossetti.
Charles DickensGeorge Eliot Lord Alfred TennysonMatthew Arnold

18. Question
• Edward Said belongs to ……
A. The Period of Modernism.
B. The period of Postcolonial literature
C. The period of Postmodernism

19. Question
• Julian Barnes belongs to ……
A. The period of Postcolonial literature
B. The period of Postmodernism
C. The Period of Modernism.

20. Question
• Roland Barthes belong to ……
A. The period of Postmodernism
B. The period of Postcolonial literature
C. The Period of Modernism.

21. Modernist Period
Modernist period (1890s–1940s) is a major literary
period and movement in English literature. It is a
literary and artistic movement that provided radical
breaks with traditional modes of Western art,
thought, religion, social conventions, and morality.

22. Modernist Period
Major themes of this period
include the attack on notions of
hierarchy and experimentation
in new forms of narrative, such
as stream of consciousness.

23. Modernist Period
• Major writers are T. S. Eliot
(1888-1965), D. H.
Lawrence (1885-1930) Ezra
Pound (1885 – 1972) and
James Joyce (1882-1941).
T. S. Eliot
D. H. Lawrence
Ezra Pound
James Joyce

24. Postmodernist
Period
Postmodernist period (c.
1945–present) is a major
literary period and
movement in English
literature. It can be seen
as a response to the
elitism of high modernism
as well as to the horrors
of World War II.

25. Postmodernist Period
• Postmodern literature is characterized
by a disjointed, fragmented pastiche
of high and low culture that reflects
the absence of tradition and structure
in a world driven by technology and
consumerism.

26. Postmodernist
Period
Major writers are
Julian Barnes, Don
DeLillo, Toni
Morrison, Vladimir
Nabokov, Thomas
Pynchon and Salman
Rushdie.
Julian Barnes
Don DeLillo
Toni Morrison
Vladimir Nabokov
Salman Rushdie

27. Postcolonial Period
• Postcolonial period (c. 1950s–present) is a major literary
period and movement in English literature. It refers to the
literature by and about people from former European
colonies, primarily in Africa, Asia, South America, and the
Caribbean. This literature aims both to expand the
traditional canon of Western literature and to challenge
Eurocentric assumptions about literature, especially
through examination of questions of otherness, identity,
and race. Edward Said’s Orientalism (1978) provided an
important theoretical basis for understanding postcolonial
literature.

28. Postcolonial Period
• Edward Said’s Orientalism (1978) provided an important theoretical basis
for understanding postcolonial literature.

29. Postcolonial Period
• Major writers are Achebe Chinua, V. S.
Naipaul, and Salman Rushdie.

30. Questions on the Part
• What are the main literary periods in English literature?
• Write about: -
1. Old English Period
2. Middle English Period
3. Elizabethan era
4. Victorian era
5. Modernist Period
6. Postmodernist Period
7. Postcolonial Period

31. Online
Activities
Part (3)
Test-3: Main Literary Periods
Discussion (1): What is literature?