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British literature is one of the most illustrious literary traditions of the world displaying myriad genres of writing styles. Although literature in Britain is produced in the English language, Latin, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh and Manx, literature in English accounts for the maximum number of literary works. Literature in Britain has developed through various phases, with each literary era having its own characteristic traits.
History of British Literature
The era of Celtic Literature continued till the 4th-5th century A.D. This era mainly featured oral literary traditions and works documented in runic script. This period was followed by the era of Anglo Saxon Literature that was dominated by three types of literary genres; Religious Poems, Heroic Poems and Secular Poems. Caedmon and Cynewulf were the two of the major poets who specialized in Religious Poems. The Heroic epic Beowulf remains to be a classic from the Anglo-Saxon era.
Norman Conquest in the 12th century marked the beginning of the Gothic or the Medieval Age. Although the middle ages saw a comparatively lull in the world of literary production, yet the genius of Geoffrey Chaucer shone bright during this era. The popular works of Chaucer include Canterbury Tales, Troilus and Cressida, and Parliament of Fowls. Gower, the creator of Piers Plowman, was the other celebrated poet of this time.
The early 16th century ushered in the Renaissance era of British literature. The Renaissance Humanist movement coincided with the Elizabethan period to usher in the golden age of English literature. It was the time when British literary figures like William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlow, Sidney and Spenser dominated the scenario. In the following Jacobean period writers like Ben Johnson and John Milton rose to prominence.
The Restoration era commenced from the second half of the seventeenth century. Pope, Dryden, Swift, Samuel Johnson and Defoe were some of the popular figures belonging to this phase. It was towards the end of this era that the form of the novel started to take shape. The Romantic era that followed unfolded a new chapter in British literature. This period can be further divided into two halves; Early Romanticism and Later Romanticism. Wordsworth, Coleridge and Blake were the Early Romantic poets, while Keats, Shelley and Byron belonged to the Later Romantic era. 'Ossian' of Scottish writer James McPherson was a highly influential text of this time, and influenced a number of Romantic poets, particularly William Blake and Coleridge. Robert Burns of Scotland equaled the genius of any English Romantic poet, and his lyrics continue to be read and loved by poetry lovers all across the world.
The Victorian era unfolded in the beginning of the 19th century. Both fiction and poetry flourished in the Victorian age. Among the novelists of this era mention must be made of Dickens, Thackeray, Jane Austen and George Eliot, while the renowned poets were Tennyson, Browning, Arnold and Hopkins. Walter Scott from Scotland emerged as a master of the art of the novel during this era. The modern era in the history of British literature commenced with the dawning of the 20th century. Prominent poets of this phase feature T.S Eliot and W.B Yeats. The novelists of this era feature Virginia Wolf, James Joyce and D.H Lawrence.
English literature thereafter was carried forward by talents like Philip Larkin, Ted Hughes, Sylvia Plath. The stupendous genius of Dylan Thomas was Wales' greatest gift to the literary world in this period.
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