Introductions to authors , English literature

1. Medieval Age
 Geoffrey Chaucer :
Chaucer was the first great poet writing in English, whose best-known work is 'The
Canterbury Tales'. He was born between 1340 and 1345, probably in London. His father
was a prosperous wine merchant. We do not know any details of his early life and
education. In 1387, he began his most famous work, 'The Canterbury Tales', in which a
diverse group of people recount stories to pass the time on a pilgrimage to Canterbury.
He disappears from the historical record in 1400, and is thought to have died soon after.
He was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Renaissance
Sir Thomas More :
Sir Thomas More, known to Roman Catholics as Saint Thomas More, was an English
lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman and noted Renaissance humanist.
Born: February 7, 1478, London, United Kingdom
Died: July 6, 1535, Tower Hill, London, United Kingdom
 William Shakespeare :
William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright and actor, widely regarded as the
greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is
often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon".
Born: 1564, Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom
Died: April 23, 1616, Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom
Edmund Spenser:
Edmund Spenser was an English poet best known for The Faerie Queene, an epic poem
and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognised
as one of the premier craftsmen of Modern English verse in its infancy, and one of the
greatest poets in the English language.
Born: 1552, London, United Kingdom
Died: January 13, 1599, London, United Kingdom
 Francis Bacon :
Francis Bacon was born on January 22, 1561 in London, England. Bacon served as
attorney general and Lord Chancellor of England, resigning amid charges of corruption.
His more valuable work was philosophical. Bacon took up Aristotelian ideas, arguing for

2. an empirical, inductive approach, known as the scientific method, which is the
foundation of modern scientific inquiry. He died on April 9, 1626.
Restoration Age , 17th century
 John milton
John Milton is best known for Paradise Lost, widely regarded as the greatest epic poem
in English. Together with Paradise Regained, it formed his reputation as one of the
greatest English poets. In his prose works he advocated the abolition of the Church of
England.
Born: December 9, 1608, Cheapside, United Kingdom
Died: November 8, 1674, Chalfont St Giles, United Kingdom
 John Bunyan
John Bunyan was an English Christian writer and preacher. He is the author of The
Pilgrim's Progress, arguably the most famous published Christian allegory.
Born: November 28, 1628, Elstow, United Kingdom
Died: August 31, 1688, Holborn, London, United Kingdom
 John Dryden
John Dryden was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who was
made Poet Laureate in 1668.
Born: August 9, 1631, Aldwincle, United Kingdom
Died: May 12, 1700, London, United Kingdom
Neo-Classicism
 Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope was an 18th-century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and
for his translation of Homer.

3. Famous for his use of the heroic couplet, he is the third-most frequently quoted writer
in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson.
Born: May 21, 1688, Kingdom of England
Died: May 30, 1744, Twickenham, United Kingdom.