LITERARY TIMELINE: OLD ENGLISH TO THE 20TH

CENTURY
1. Old English (Anglo-Saxon) Period (450-1066)

• Key Features: Oral tradition, heroic and elegiac poetry, Christian influence, use of
kennings and alliteration.
• Major Literary Works:
o Beowulf (Anonymous) – Epic poem about heroism and fate.
o The Seafarer (Anonymous) – Reflects themes of exile and spiritual journey.
o Caedmon's Hymn (Caedmon) – One of the earliest known religious poems.
o Ecclesiastical History of the English People (Bede) – Historical and religious
chronicle.

2. Middle English Period (1066-1500)

• Key Features: Development of vernacular English, feudalism, influence of the Church,

chivalric romance.
• Major Literary Works:
o The Canterbury Tales (Geoffrey Chaucer) – Collection of stories depicting
medieval society.
o Piers Plowman (William Langland) – Allegorical poem critiquing social issues.
o Le Morte d'Arthur (Sir Thomas Malory) – Compilation of Arthurian legends.

3. Renaissance (1500-1660)

• Key Features: Humanism, classical revival, vernacular expression, Elizabethan drama,

metaphysical poetry.
• Major Literary Works:
o Macbeth (William Shakespeare) – Tragic drama exploring ambition and fate.
o Astrophil and Stella (Sir Philip Sidney) – Sonnet sequence on love and desire.
o Paradise Lost (John Milton) – Epic poem on the fall of man.
o The Faerie Queene (Edmund Spenser) – Allegorical poem celebrating Queen
Elizabeth I.

4. Neoclassical Period (1660-1798)

• Key Features: Emphasis on reason, classical influence, satire and wit, moral instruction.
• Major Literary Works:
o The Rape of the Lock (Alexander Pope) – Satirical poem mocking aristocratic
society.
o Gulliver’s Travels (Jonathan Swift) – Satirical novel critiquing human nature and
society.
o An Essay on Man (Alexander Pope) – Philosophical poetry on human nature.
5. Romantic Period (1789-1837)

• Key Features: Emotion over reason, glorification of nature, celebration of artistic

creativity.
• Major Literary Works:
o Lyrical Ballads (William Wordsworth & Samuel Taylor Coleridge) – Launched
Romantic poetry.
o Frankenstein (Mary Shelley) – Gothic novel exploring science and humanity.
o Ode to a Nightingale (John Keats) – Poem reflecting on beauty and mortality.
o The Prelude (William Wordsworth) – Autobiographical epic poem.

6. Victorian Era (1837-1901)

• Key Features: Industrialization, realism, social criticism, moral dilemmas.

• Major Literary Works:
o Great Expectations (Charles Dickens) – Social critique of ambition and morality.
o Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë) – Novel exploring gender and class.
o The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde) – Novel about aestheticism and moral
decay.
o The Charge of the Light Brigade (Alfred, Lord Tennyson) – Poem honoring
military sacrifice.

7. Modernist Period (1901-1945)

• Key Features: Experimental forms, rejection of tradition, individualism, symbolism,

fragmentation.
• Major Literary Works:
o The Waste Land (T.S. Eliot) – Poem depicting post-war disillusionment.
o Ulysses (James Joyce) – Experimental stream-of-consciousness novel.
o Mrs. Dalloway (Virginia Woolf) – Novel exploring consciousness and social
roles.
o The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (T.S. Eliot) – Poem expressing modern
alienation.

8. Postmodern Period (1945-Present)

• Key Features: Irony, intertextuality, metafiction, questioning of truth and reality.

• Major Literary Works:
o One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel García Márquez) – Magical realist novel.
o Slaughterhouse-Five (Kurt Vonnegut) – Novel blending reality and fiction.
o The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood) – Dystopian critique of gender
oppression.
o The Road (Cormac McCarthy) – Post-apocalyptic survival novel.

9. 20th Century Movements

 • Key Features: Literary experimentation, political and social engagement, representation
of marginalized voices.
• Major Literary Works:
o Their Eyes Were Watching God (Zora Neale Hurston) – Harlem Renaissance
novel exploring identity.
o Howl (Allen Ginsberg) – Beat poetry challenging societal norms.
o Ariel (Sylvia Plath) – Confessional poetry on mental illness and feminism.
o Naked Lunch (William S. Burroughs) – Experimental novel critiquing control and
addiction.

STORIES
1. Old English (Anglo-Saxon) Period (450-1066)

Beowulf (Anonymous)

• Plot: Beowulf, a heroic warrior, travels to Denmark to defeat the monster Grendel, who
has been terrorizing King Hrothgar’s hall. After slaying Grendel and his vengeful mother,
Beowulf returns home and eventually becomes king. Years later, he faces a dragon
threatening his kingdom and dies in battle.
• Setting: Scandinavia (Denmark and Geatland).
• Themes: Heroism, fate, loyalty, good vs. evil.

The Seafarer (Anonymous)

• Plot: A sailor narrates his life at sea, reflecting on hardships, isolation, and his search for
spiritual meaning.
• Setting: At sea.
• Themes: Exile, suffering, faith.

Caedmon’s Hymn (Caedmon)

• Plot: A religious poem praising God as the Creator of the universe.

• Setting: Anglo-Saxon England.
• Themes: Divine inspiration, faith.

Ecclesiastical History of the English People (Bede)

• Plot: Chronicles the history of Christianity in England, including the conversion of

Anglo-Saxons.
• Setting: England.
• Themes: Religion, historical transformation.
2. Middle English Period (1066-1500)

The Canterbury Tales (Geoffrey Chaucer)

• Plot: A group of pilgrims travel to Canterbury, telling stories along the way. Each tale
offers insight into medieval society, from the noble Knight’s Tale to the bawdy Miller’s
Tale.
• Setting: England, en route to Canterbury.
• Themes: Social satire, human nature, morality.

Piers Plowman (William Langland)

• Plot: A vision-allegory following a man named Will as he seeks Christian truth. He

meets Piers Plowman, a Christ-like figure guiding him.
• Setting: Medieval England.
• Themes: Religion, corruption, social justice.

Le Morte d'Arthur (Sir Thomas Malory)

• Plot: A collection of Arthurian legends recounting the rise and fall of King Arthur and
the Knights of the Round Table. It includes Lancelot and Guinevere’s tragic love story
and Arthur’s final battle.
• Setting: Medieval Britain.
• Themes: Chivalry, loyalty, betrayal.

3. Renaissance (1500-1660)

Macbeth (William Shakespeare)

• Plot: Macbeth, a Scottish nobleman, receives a prophecy that he will become king.
Driven by ambition and his wife’s encouragement, he murders King Duncan but
descends into paranoia and tyranny. Eventually, he is overthrown and killed.
• Setting: Scotland.
• Themes: Ambition, fate vs. free will, guilt.

Paradise Lost (John Milton)

• Plot: An epic retelling of Satan’s rebellion, the fall of Adam and Eve, and the
consequences of sin.
• Setting: Heaven, Hell, Earth (Garden of Eden).
• Themes: Free will, divine justice, temptation.
The Faerie Queene (Edmund Spenser)

• Plot: Allegorical epic celebrating Queen Elizabeth I, featuring knights on chivalric quests
symbolizing virtues.

Themes: Morality, virtue, national pride.

Arcadia – Philip Sidney (1580s)

• Summary:
A pastoral romance blending political intrigue, love, and adventure. It follows Duke
Basilius, who withdraws to Arcadia after a prophecy warns of misfortune. His daughters,
Pamela and Philoclea, attract suitors, leading to mistaken identities, kidnappings, and
battles. Ultimately, order is restored.
• Analysis:
o Themes: Love, fate, identity, courtly values.
o Influence: Early example of English prose fiction.

Symbolism: Arcadia as an idealized pastoral world representing human desire for

harmony.

Gorboduc – Thomas Sackville and Thomas Norton (1561)

• Summary:
The first English tragedy, inspired by Seneca’s classical tragedies. King Gorboduc
divides his kingdom between his sons, Ferrex and Porrex. The decision leads to civil war,
betrayal, and the eventual downfall of the royal family and state.
• Analysis:
o Themes: Political order vs. chaos, ambition, family betrayal.
o Structure: Blank verse, five-act structure, early form of political tragedy.
o Impact: Influenced Shakespearean tragedies, highlighting the dangers of political
division.

4. Neoclassical Period (1660-1798)

The Rape of the Lock (Alexander Pope)

• Plot: A satirical poem about a noblewoman’s lock of hair being stolen, mocking
aristocratic vanity.
• Themes: Vanity, satire, social norms.

Gulliver’s Travels (Jonathan Swift)

 • Plot: Lemuel Gulliver embarks on voyages to fantastical lands, including Lilliput (tiny
people) and Brobdingnag (giants), critiquing human flaws and politics.
• Themes: Satire, human folly, society.

An Essay on Man (Alexander Pope)

• Plot: A philosophical poem exploring the nature of humanity and the universe.

Themes: Reason, order, divine providence.

A Modest Proposal – Jonathan Swift (1729)

• Summary:
A satirical essay proposing that poor Irish families should sell their children as food for
the rich, addressing poverty and overpopulation. The shocking suggestion critiques
British oppression and indifference to Irish suffering.
• Analysis:
o Themes: Satire, economic exploitation, moral blindness.
o Style: Uses irony and hyperbole to expose social injustice.
o Impact: A powerful critique of British policies towards Ireland.

5. Romantic Period (1789-1837)

Lyrical Ballads (Wordsworth & Coleridge)

• Plot: A collection of poems emphasizing nature and emotion, including "The Rime of the
Ancient Mariner."
• Themes: Nature, imagination, human experience.

Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)

• Plot: Victor Frankenstein creates a creature that seeks acceptance but is rejected, leading
to tragic consequences.
• Setting: Europe, Arctic.
• Themes: Science, ambition, isolation.

Ode to a Nightingale (John Keats)

• Plot: A meditation on the transient beauty of life, inspired by a nightingale’s song.

Themes: Beauty, mortality.

The Fall of the House of Usher – Edgar Allan Poe (1839)

• Summary:
The narrator visits his friend Roderick Usher, who suffers from a mysterious illness in his
decaying mansion. His sister, Madeline, dies (or appears to), and is buried in the house.
She later emerges alive, killing Roderick before the house collapses, symbolizing the end
of the Usher bloodline.
• Analysis:
o Themes: Madness, decay, supernatural horror, family doom.
o Symbolism: The house represents the Usher family's mental and physical
deterioration.
o Style: Gothic atmosphere, psychological horror.

The Castle of Otranto – Horace Walpole (1764)

• Summary:
The first Gothic novel, featuring supernatural elements, dark secrets, and a crumbling
castle. Prince Manfred's son dies mysteriously, prompting Manfred to attempt to marry
his son’s fiancée. Supernatural events and family revelations ultimately restore order.
• Analysis:
o Themes: Fate, power, supernatural forces, inheritance.
o Influence: Established Gothic conventions (haunted castles, family curses).
o Symbolism: The giant helmet crushing Manfred’s son represents divine justice.

To Autumn – John Keats (1819)

• Summary:
A three-stanza ode celebrating autumn’s beauty, abundance, and inevitable decline. The
poem moves from the ripeness of early autumn to the fading warmth of the season,
embracing change rather than mourning it.
• Analysis:
o Themes: Transience, beauty, nature’s cycles.
o Style: Rich imagery, personification of autumn as a figure harvesting crops.
o Symbolism: Autumn represents maturity and the passage of time.

6. Victorian Era (1837-1901)

Great Expectations (Charles Dickens)

 • Plot: Pip, an orphan, navigates life’s struggles and aspirations, discovering the true
meaning of success.
• Setting: 19th-century England.
• Themes: Social class, ambition.

Jane Eyre (Charlotte Brontë)

• Plot: Jane Eyre overcomes hardship, finding love and independence despite societal
restrictions.
• Themes: Feminism, class, love.

The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde)

• Plot: Dorian Gray stays young while his portrait ages, reflecting his moral corruption.
• Themes: Aestheticism, morality.

7. Modernist Period (1901-1945)

Among School Children – W.B. Yeats (1927)

• Summary:
The speaker visits a school and reflects on youth, age, and the nature of human existence.
He contrasts childhood innocence with the struggles of adulthood and philosophical
musings on art and meaning.
• Analysis:
o Themes: Aging, education, philosophy, human potential.
o Symbolism: The "Leda and the Swan" reference links beauty and destruction.
o Style: Meditative tone, blending personal and universal reflections.

Sea Garden – H.D. (Hilda Doolittle) (1916)

Summary:

"Sea Garden" is a poetry collection by H.D. that explores themes of nature, mythology, and
feminine identity. The poems depict the sea and coastal landscapes with vivid imagery and sharp,
minimalist language. H.D., associated with the Imagist movement, emphasizes precision,
clarity, and the power of natural forces.

The collection presents the sea as both beautiful and destructive, mirroring the struggles of the
human experience. H.D. often uses Greek mythology and feminine imagery to explore themes
of strength, transformation, and endurance.
Analysis:

• Themes:
o Nature and Power: The sea is depicted as both nurturing and violent, reflecting
the forces of life and change.
o Femininity and Strength: The poems often draw on mythological women and
goddesses, celebrating female resilience.
o Imagism and Clarity: The poems use sharp, precise language, stripping away
unnecessary words to create striking images.
• Style:
o Short, compact lines with intense imagery.
o Free verse, avoiding traditional rhymes and meters.
o Strong use of visual and sensory details, making landscapes feel alive.

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock – T.S. Eliot (1915)

Summary:

"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" is a modernist poem that presents the inner thoughts of the
speaker, J. Alfred Prufrock, a man plagued by self-doubt, insecurity, and indecision. He
contemplates approaching a woman at a social gathering but becomes paralyzed by overthinking
and fear of rejection. As he wanders through the streets and rooms of an unnamed city, he
reflects on his own shortcomings, the passage of time, and his inability to take action.

The poem captures the fragmentation and alienation of the modern individual, portraying
Prufrock as a man who is overwhelmed by his own introspection and inability to connect with
others.

8. Postmodern Period (1945-Present)

One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel García Márquez)

• Plot: This novel tells the multigenerational saga of the Buendía family in the fictional town of
Macondo. It blends magical realism with historical and political themes, illustrating the rise and
fall of a family and society over a hundred years.
• Themes: Magic realism, history.

Slaughterhouse-Five (Kurt Vonnegut)

• Plot: A soldier, Billy Pilgrim, becomes "unstuck in time," reliving moments of his life,
including the WWII bombing of Dresden.
• Themes: War, fate, free will.
The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)

• Plot: A dystopian society where women are forced into reproductive servitude. Set in the
dystopian, theocratic state of Gilead, the novel follows Offred, a "Handmaid" forced into sexual
servitude to produce children for the ruling elite

Themes: Gender oppression, authoritarianism.

On the Road – Cormac McCarthy (2006)

• Summary:
A post-apocalyptic novel following a father and son journeying across a barren,
devastated America after an unspecified catastrophe. They struggle to survive,
scavenging for food and avoiding violent gangs of cannibals. The father, protective and
determined, teaches his son moral values despite the bleak world. Eventually, the father
dies, and the boy is taken in by a kind family, offering a glimmer of hope.
• Analysis:
o Themes: Survival, love, morality in a cruel world, human resilience, father-son
bond.
o Style: Sparse prose with minimal punctuation, emphasizing bleakness.
o Symbolism: Fire represents hope and human decency.

9. 20th Century Movements

Their Eyes Were Watching God (Zora Neale Hurston)

Plot: The novel follows Janie Crawford, an African American woman in the early 20th century,
as she seeks love, self-discovery, and independence. The story is told in a frame narrative, with
Janie recounting her life to her friend Pheoby.

Janie goes through three marriages:

1. Logan Killicks – A marriage arranged by her grandmother for security, but Janie finds it
loveless and suffocating.
2. Joe "Jody" Starks – A charismatic businessman who becomes the mayor of Eatonville.
He silences and controls Janie, treating her as an accessory.
3. Tea Cake – A younger, free-spirited man who treats Janie as an equal. They move to the
Everglades, where she experiences love and adventure. However, Tea Cake is bitten by a
rabid dog and, in his madness, attacks Janie. She kills him in self-defense and is later
acquitted.

Janie returns to Eatonville, wiser and content with her journey of self-discovery.

• Themes: Identity, love, freedom.

Ariel (Sylvia Plath)

Plot: Ariel is a poetry collection that reflects Plath’s psychological struggles, feminist ideas, and
intense emotions. The poems often explore death, rebirth, personal trauma, and identity
through striking imagery and confessional style.

Notable Poems & Analysis:

1. "Ariel" – The titular poem describes a wild, ecstatic horseback ride that becomes a
metaphor for artistic inspiration, freedom, and possibly self-destruction.
2. "Lady Lazarus" – A dark, defiant poem about suicide, rebirth, and female power, where
Plath compares herself to the Biblical Lazarus rising from the dead.
3. "Daddy" – A deeply personal, intense poem about her complicated relationship with her
father, using Holocaust imagery to depict oppression and rebellion.
4. "Tulips" – A meditation on illness, detachment, and the desire for oblivion.

• Themes: Depression, feminism.

Naked Lunch (William S. Burroughs)

• Plot: A surreal, fragmented novel exploring drug addiction, control, and societal decay. The
book follows William Lee, an addict who flees the U.S. to Interzone (a hallucinated version of
Tangier, Morocco). The novel is a series of loosely connected, grotesque, and shocking vignettes
rather than a linear plot.
• Themes: Drug culture, reality distortion.