Old English Literature
The Old English language, also called Anglo-Saxon, was the earliest form of English. Old English was spoken from about A.D 600 to about 1100. Old English language can not be read now except by those who have made a special study of it.
Major poets of this period were CAEDMON and CYNEWULF. It is difficult to say which work belongs to condoms. But Cynewulf certainly wrote four poems which are Juliana, The Fates of the Apostles, Christ, and Elene. His poems are religious and were probably written in the second half of the 8th century. Poetry was written in alliterative tradition.
Many lyric poems were also written in this period. They are The Husband's Message, The Wanderer, The Wife's Complaint, and Doer's Complaint. Deor is a singer who has lost his lord's favour. So he complains but tries to comfort himself by remembering other sorrows of the world. Many heroic epics were also written in this period. These poems glorified a real or imaginary hero and tried to teach the values of bravery and generosity. The greatest heroic epic is Beowulf which belongs to the 7th century.
Many poems of this period were religious in theme often influenced by the Bible. Among them are Genesis A, Genesis B, Exodus, Daniel, Christ and Satan and The Dream of the Rood. Genesis B is about the beginning of the world, the fall of the angels and God's punishment to Satan. The Exodus describes how the Israelites left Egypt. Similarly, another poem Christ and Satan deals with the events in Christ's life and His struggle with Satan.
The important prose writers of this period were King Alfred and Aelfric. King Alfred translated a number of Latin books into Old English so that his people could read them. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is the first important prose work in English literature that contains the early history of the country. King Alfred ordered the collection of this early history and number of early writings and brought them into order. He brought back learning to England and improved the education of his people. Similarly, Aelfric wrote mainly religious prose such as Homilies and Lives of Saints. He also wrote out in Old English the meaning of the first seven books of the Bible.
Middle English Literature
The period from 1100 up to 1500 is termed as Middle English period. Since the rulers of England at this period were of French descent, the English language was highly influenced by French literature, vocabulary, forms and themes. French was considered as the language of aristocracy and Latin maintained its role as the language of learned works. The literary works in this period were religious in theme- mainly influenced by Bible. These works taught moral lessons and a religious way of life.
Poets / Poetry
Geoffrey Chaucer
Chaucer is the first original genius in the history of English literature. He is often regarded as the father of English poetry. He was the son of a wine merchant but later became duke, diplomat and then the personal attendant of the King. He had a wide knowledge of Latin, French and Italian books.
The Canterbury Tales
It is a realistic piece of literature that gives the picture of 14th century England more clearly than any labour history. The Characters in this poem are from all sectors of life- rich and poor, good and bad. It contains 17,000 lines-about half of Chaucer's literary production. It is a series of different kinds of stories told by a group of pilgrims who are on their way to Canterbury (The church in which Thomas Beckett is buried). It contains 22 tales told by different pilgrims in verse. Among the pilgrims are the monk, the nun, the priest, the friar (the begging monk), the merchant, the lawyer, the doctor, the cook, the sailor, the carpenter, the knight and the most enjoyable character known as the Wife of Bath.
The Wife of Bath has had five husbands and had travelled to Jerusalem and Rome. She is a woman who desires to tightly control her husband. She is like a modern woman with her firm sexuality and independence. The Monk and The Friar do not live a religious life. The Monk has a passion for hunting and loves roasted swan while the Friar is corrupt, married many times. He asks people to give him money so that people would go to heaven. The Farmer and the Knight are good, helpful and honest. The characters are like real people with both good and bad sides.
Troylus and Criseyde
It is a story of love and betrayal with moral overtones. It is about a faithless woman Crysede. The background is Trojan War. Troylus falls in love with widow Crysede and wins her love. But later she falls in love with Greek Diomede and betrays Troylus. Troylus becomes bold and cruel in battles and is eventually killed by Achilles.
The Legend of Good Women
It gives accounts of loving and faithful women- including Cleopatra, Philomela, etc.
William Langland
Historians know very little about William Langland, however, they claim that he wrote 'The Vision of Piers the Ploughman'. This poem is a famous example of an old alliterative verse. In such lines, the repetition of certain sounds helps create a mood.
" In a somer seson, whan soft was the sonne…"
It is sadly concerned with the religious, social and economic problems of his time. It is a work in the form of dream visions describing the sorrows of the poor people, the greed of the powerful, and the sinfulness of all people. Langland sadly describes how most people prefer the false treasures of this world to the true treasures of heaven. The emphasis is placed on a Christian vision of the life of activity, of the life of unity with God.
Anonymous Writers
Sir Gawain & the Green Knight
This is a story about King Arthur. Green Knight asks King Arthur to send a knight to strike him a blow with the heavy axe. But the bet is that a year and a day later the knight would come and receive the similar blow from that Green Knight. Sir Gawain, one of the knights of King Arthur strikes off the Green Knight's head, but the Green Knight simply picks his head up and goes. Sir Gawain goes to find Green Knight. On the way, he meets a lord and a lady. The lady gives him the magical girdles that will save him from death. Later Green Knight gives him a severe blow with the axe but Gawain is saved. This is a tale of a knight who has to struggle against the enemies with magical powers with all his honour.
Pearl
It is a poem about the poet's daughter whose name is pearl and who died at the age of two. The poet sees her in heaven living with angles. This comforts him.
Richard Rolle
Richard Rolle wrote 'The Form of Perfect Living' which is full of religious teachings. It gives detailed moral lessons on how to work, dress, live, talk and behave in society.
John Wycliffe
He was a priest who attacked many religious ideas and the church of his times. He believed in the direct relationship between humanity and God, without priestly mediation. He believed that by closely reading the Bible, Christians would govern themselves without the help of popes and other religious teachers. He arranged the production of the Bible in English and also translated some parts of it. Before this, Bible was only available in Latin. After he was dead and buried, his opponents dug up his bones and threw them in the River Avon.
Thomas Malory
Sir Thomas Malory was a violent man, who was several times in prison. He wrote "Arthur's Death" while he was in prison. This book is a collection of various tales about King Arthur and his knight-adventurers, who followed the Christian way of life, bravery, love and justice to right people by defeating the wrong ones. Guinevere, the wife of King Arthur falls in love with Lancelot. Their love affair is the major cause of Arthur's ruin and death. It also contains King Arthur's search for the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper.
Miracle plays or Mystery plays
The subject matter of miracle or mystery plays were the miracles performed by the saints. The stories were mainly from the Bible. Miracle plays, also known as Saint plays, were presented at Easter (festival commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ) and on other holy days. During those days very few people could read the Bible which was then written in Latin. So, the clergy (religious teacher) managed these types of plays in order to teach and explain the doctrinal truths of religion to the ignorant peasants These plays were performed on the movable stage that could be moved from one place to another in wheels. These plays were in four main groups, according to the city where they were acted: Chester, Coventry, York and Wakefield. Often several miracle plays were performed at the same time in different places.
Morality Plays
These plays were popular in the 15th and early 16th centuries. The characters of these plays are not people, but they are abstractions (good qualities and bad qualities) such as beauty, flesh, lechery, strength, pride, envy, hope, charity, sin, strength, etc. These are designed to instruct people in the Christian way of life and the Christian attitude towards death. The general theme is the conflict between good and evil in the human soul. However, the play always ends with the saving of the soul and the triumph of good over evil.
The best-known morality play is Everyman, which probably was derived from a Dutch source. In the play, the protagonist (main character, hero) Everyman learns that everything material he has gained in life deserts him as he journeys into the Valley of Death. When Death calls him away from the world, all the characters like Beauty, Knowledge, Strength, Pride leave him but only Good Deeds follow him.
Interludes
Interludes were short plays that provided comic relief in between the acts of long morality plays or in the middle of meals. They were intended to cause laughter among the audiences. They were short plays only with two or three actors that would excite the audiences and remove the boredom. They were not acted in churches but in colleges, gardens and parties. The Four P's and The Play of the Weather were the interludes written by John Heywood.
Christopher Marlowe
He was both a dramatist and a poet of the Elizabethan period. He is the first great dramatist of the Elizabethan period. His writings set an example for other dramatists in the Elizabethan period in two important ways – the use of powerful blank verse and the development of characters to heighten the sense of tragedy. His plays are tragic plays with lots of violence and murder. His characters are ordinary people who are full of passion and desire. He was killed in a quarrel at an inn when he was 29 years old.
His dramas are
Tamburlaine the Great: The first part deals with the rise to power of Tamburlaine, a shepherd who later becomes a robber. He captures Zenocrate and marries her. For him even love is a conquest. His terrible ambition drives him ever towards more power and cruelty. His ambition is to become the ruler of the whole world. So, his armies capture Bajazet, ruler of Turkey, whom Tamburlaine takes from place to place in a cage.
In the second part, Tamburlaine becomes more blood-thirsty. He goes to capture Babylon in a carriage which is pulled by two kings. He whips the kings and curses them. If they become tired, he orders to kill them. He orders his armies to drown all the people of Babylon. He cuts his own arm to show his son that a wound is unimportant. He even kills his own son when he finds him enjoying instead of going to war.
Jew of Malta: The Governor of Malta is cruel towards the Jews and taxes them. But Barabus, a rich Jew, refuses to pay the taxes. The governor takes away his house and money. So, Barabus begins his life of violence. He poisons his own daughter and makes her lover to die too. He helps the Turks when they attack Malta, so they make him the governor of Malta. He wants to become more powerful. So he makes a plan to kill all the Turkish officers. He invites the officers to have a meal with him and arranges that the room would fall suddenly when they come. But this secret is known by the Turkish. They throw him below the floor into a vessel of boiling water.
Dr. Faustus: This play is based on Faustus who sells his soul to the devil Mephistopheles to gain power and more knowledge. The devil has to serve him for 24 years and provide him what he wants. He even asks the devil to bring the beautiful Helen of Troy so that he can kiss her.
Edward the Second: This play deals with English history. It is about the fall of King Edward.
William Shakespeare
He was born in Stratford-on-Avon. His career developed from a curtain puller to the actor, then a playwright and later a dramatist. He understood the sentiments of all classes of people. He perfected blank verse in his dramas. He is the true representative of the Elizabethan period. He studied previous poems, stories, legends, folklores and coloured them anew with his unique imagination and mastery of language.
Romeo and Juliet
It is a story of two teenage lovers, Romeo and Juliet. Their families are enemies. Romeo and his friends, in a disguise, attend the masked ball given by Juliet’s father. Romeo and Juliet fall in love in their first meeting and decide to marry. The next day they get married secretly by Friar Lawrence. Returning from the wedding, Juliet’s cousin meets Romeo and quarrels with him. Juliet’s cousin kills Romeo’s friend, so Romeo stabs him to death. Romeo is exiled from the city. Juliet’s father tries to marry her cousin because he does not know that she is already married. Friar Lawrence gives her a drug that will put her into death-like sleep for 42 hours. He then sends a messenger to tell Romeo about their plan of escape. But Romeo does not receive the message. He falsely hears that Juliet is dead. He hurries to the tomb where she has been placed. There he takes poison and dies by her side. Juliet awakens to find her husband dead. She stabs herself. The discovery of dead lovers convinces the two families that they must end their feud.
Macbeth
Macbeth, who is returning from a battle, meets three old witches. They tell him that he will receive high honours and then become the King of Scotland. The first part of the witches’ prophecy comes true. Then Macbeth has the ambition to become the King of Scotland. Encouraged by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan of Scotland, who has come to his castle as his guest. But King Duncan’s sons escape. The three witches had also prophesied that Banquo’s descendants would be the kings of Scotland. So Macbeth orders to kill Banquo and his sons. Banquo is killed but his son escapes. Macbeth becomes more violent and kills everyone whom he does not trust. Lady Macbeth dies because she is burdened by her guilt. At the end of the play, Macbeth is also killed and King Duncan’s son becomes the king of Scotland. Macbeth’s weakness is his terrible ambition.
King Lear
This tragic play shows how people are open to flattery. King Lear has three daughters. His two daughters are wicked while his youngest daughter is truthful. The two wicked daughters try to show their love to King Lear but inwardly they want his kingdom. The youngest daughter always tells the truth. He gives his kingdom to his two wicked daughters but gives nothing to his youngest daughter who loves him the best. His wicked daughters neglect him and force him to spend a night outdoors during a storm. Later he becomes mad. His youngest daughter who has been living in France returns and finds him mad. Armies of two wicked daughters find King Lear and his youngest daughter and kill her. The two wicked daughters love the same man, so one of the sisters poisons her own sister and later kills herself. King Lear also dies of a broken heart. This play shows the difference between appearance and reality. King Lear’s weakness is his openness to flattery.
Othello
It is a story of a brave commander Othello. He has a young and beautiful wife named Desdemona. Othello raises the rank of Cassio, one of his soldiers. Iago, the other soldier, is jealous of him and makes a plan to destroy him. He tries to make Othello believe that Cassio and Desdemona are lovers. Othello falls under the plan of Iago and kills his innocent wife with a sword. When Othello discovers the truth, he kills himself with the same sword. Othello’s weakness is his sexual jealousy.
Hamlet
When the story begins, Hamlet’s father, King of Denmark, is dead. His mother has married his uncle Claudius. Claudius has become the King. Hamlet suspects that his uncle murdered his father. The ghost of Hamlet’s dead father appears to him and tells him about his murder. Hamlet decides to take revenge but he wants to find the proof before taking revenge. He is too much a thinker. He asks a band of travelling actors to perform a play before Claudius whose plot is similar to his father’s murder. Claudius shows a violent reaction during the play that makes Hamlet believe that Claudius is the murderer. He goes to kill him, but finding him in prayer, he changes his mind. At the same time when he sees someone is behind the curtain, he kills the man with his sword thinking that the man is Claudius. But he has killed Polonius. Claudius then sends Hamlet to England. In the letter to the King of England, he asks for the murder of Hamlet. Hamlet is saved because he had changed the letter. In the end, fighting is arranged between Polonius’s son and Hamlet. Both are badly wounded and are about to die. Hamlet raises and kills Claudius. Hamlet’s weakness is that he is too much a thinker, not a man-of-action.
Also Read
Three Roman Tragedies
Julius Caesar
It is a political tragedy. The hero is Brutus, who joins with Cassus and other conspirators, to kill Julius Caesar. Before the body of dead Caesar, Brutus defends to the people of Rome that killing of Caesar was necessary for the good of country Rome. After the speech of Brutus, the clever and cunning Antony makes a speech before the crowd. He then describes the plotters with heavy sarcasm and praises the virtues of Caesar. The crowd is ready to kill and burn the conspirators. Brutus and his friends flee away. At last, Brutus commits suicide when he is defeated by Antony.
Antony and Cleopatra
The main subject of this drama is Antony’s love for the Egyptian queen Cleopatra. Antony, the king of Rome has a wife named Octavius. But he lives in his captured state Egypt with a mistress Cleopatra. The death of his wife forces him to return to Rome. Back in Rome, he marries Octavius’ sister Octavia; but he returns to Egypt because of his love towards Cleopatra. His wife Octavia wages a battle with him but Cleopatra does not help him. Cleopatra deceives Antony and makes him think that she is dead. Antony stabs himself with the sword. Before he dies, he learns that she is still alive. He then goes to her and dies in her arms. Later Cleopatra also dies after pressing a poisonous snake to bite her.
Coriolanus
This play is about the life and death of Coriolanus, a proud Roman commander who leads his armies against the Volscians and beats them. On his return to Rome, he wishes to become one of the rulers of the city. To succeed in his aim, he must ask the people for votes. His pride makes this impossible, he can not beg for votes or for anything else. He is driven from Rome for insulting the people. He comes back with the Volscian army to attack his own city. There he meets his wife and mother who persuade him to lead the army away. The Volscians then kill him for failing in his duty.
John Donne & Metaphysical Poetry
Metaphysical poetry is the term given to the poems written by John Donne and other 17th century poets like Andrew Marvell, George Herbert. In metaphysical poems, the poet uses clever tricks of style and unlikely comparisons. These poems are complex, paradoxical and with twisting ideas. They blend emotion with intellect. The poems are filled with bold conceits.
John Donne is the most important metaphysical poet. He wrote both love and religious poems. In his poems, he often puts the main beat on words of little importance. In his poem The Flea, the man asks his beloved not to kill the flea. He says that the flea has sucked the blood of both of them, so the flea has become their marriage bed. Similarly in his other poem The Ecstasy, the poet claims that love is the combination of both soul and body.
John Milton and His Times
John Milton lived a pure life, believing that he had a great purpose to complete. At college, he was known as The Lady of Christ. He was the advocator of democracy. He supported the Parliament during the English civil war between the King and Cromwell. He was a Christian humanist. He was a studious person. He had a wide knowledge of Greek, Latin, English, French and Italian literature. He also had great affection for music. His literary career can be divided into three phases.
First phase
He wrote shorter poems. His poems are:
L’Allegro (the happy man): In this pastoral poem the poet describes the joys of life in the country in the spring season. This poem describes the beautiful scenery of the fields in the morning and the carefree life of farmers and shepherds.
I L Penseroso (the thoughtful man): This poem is set in the autumn season. He describes the activities of a man who has to do his moral duty. The duties include visiting the church, listening to music and studying books.
Comus: It is a masque ie a dramatic presentation with music.
Lycidas: It is a pastoral on the death of Edward King, his fellow student at Cambridge. He had died by drowning.
Arcades
Second Phase
In the second phase, he mainly wrote prose works supporting Cromwell and the parliament. He wrote pamphlets attacking the King. He also wrote articles about church affairs, freedom and divorce. His language was violent in this phase. His main work is Areopagitica which advocates the freedom of the press. When the parliament passed an act requiring all books to be licensed by an official censor, Milton was against it. In this book, he argues that there should be freedom for writers and printers.
Third Phase
This phase began when Milton became totally blind by 1651. When Charles II became the King, Milton turned into a quiet life and wrote his finest poems. This was his most productive phase.
Paradise Lost: This epic is his masterpiece, which is written in 12 books. The story of the book is taken from the Bible. It is the simple and common story of the fall of Adam and Eve from the grace of God due to their disobedience. Satan who lives with God in heaven leads a revolt against God. After the terrible war between Satan and God, he is thrown into hell. Satan then decides to take revenge on God by spoiling God’s latest creation – the humans. Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, created by God live in Eden. They live a carefree life without any work, boredom or pressure. God asks them not to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. But Satan, disguised as a serpent encourages Eve to eat the fruit. Eve eats the fruit. Encouraged by Eve, Adam also eats the fruit. After eating the fruit, they begin to feel the sexual passion and know shame for the first time. God curses Eve that her life would always be sorrowful by bearing children and helping her husband. God curses Adam that he would eat bread only by hard work and sweating.
Paradise Regained: It deals with the conflict between God and Satan but is less splendid.
Samson Agonistes: It is a tragedy on the Greek model that describes the last days of Samson, a character from the Bible. Samson, in his last days, is the prisoner of Philistines. They make him blind and force him to provide entertainment to the Philistine lord. Samson pulls down the columns of the building and the whole building collapses killing all the Philistines and himself.
Cavalier Poets
A group of poets of mid 17th century who wrote in favour of King Charles I are called Cavalier poets. These poets wrote witty and light-hearted poems. They wrote short, light, and elegant lyrics that appeal ‘To Scarpe Diem meaning ‘seize the day. These poets emphasize the mortality of human life and the briefness of physical beauty. These poets usually wrote love poems and poems about nature. The poets belonging to this group are Robert Herrick, Andrew Marvell, Richard Lovelace and Sir John Suckling.
Robert Herrick
His poems are musical, polished and addressed to beautiful ladies. He also wrote about English country, its flowers and nature. In his poem ‘To the Virgins to Make Much Time’, he asks the lady to love him when she is still young because the time is running at speed. Otherwise, time will turn her old and nobody will love her. In his other poem, ‘Upon Julia’s Clothes’, he praises the woman’s beauty.
Restoration Period
The period after the restoration of King Charles II in 1660 up to 1700 is known as the restoration period. During this period two types of dramas were written- a comedy of manners and heroic tragedies.
Comedy of Manners
After the restoration of King Charles into the throne, a new taste in dramas emerged which is termed as the comedy of manners. These plays are hard and bright, witty and heartless. These dramas focused on the manners and ideals of high-class society. The common themes concerned marriage, sex and fashion. The characters are people of fashion, fops, cunning people and beautiful ladies. The plot concerned the battle between male lust and female thoughtfulness.
The Important Dramatists
Sir George Etherege
He introduced the comedy of manners. His play ‘The Man of Mode’ gives a picture of the immoral manners of society at that time. The play presents the war on sex.
William Wycherley
He is a satirical dramatist. In his play ‘The Country Wife’, Mr. Horner shows himself to be respectable but inwardly he is full of lust. Another character Mr. Pinchwife does not let his wife meet other people because he fears that she may fall in love with another man. But he lets Mr. Horner come to his house because he looks very simple. Later Mr. Horner seduces the wife of Mr. Pinchwife through his cunning simplicity. Similarly, in another play ‘The Plain Dealer’ the protagonist shows hatred towards his corrupted society but later becomes corrupted himself.
William Congreve
He is a mature dramatist. His comedy ‘The Old Bachelor’ is about an old fellow who pretends to hate women. Later he marries a bad woman. His other comedy ‘The Way of the World’ presents the love intrigue of high-class people. This play is finer than any other play of that time.
R.B. Sheridan
In his drama ‘The Rivals’ he presents a comic character Mrs Malaprop who talks too much to show her superiority. But most of her words are wrong and out of context. For example, she says, ‘pineapple’ for pinnacle and ‘geometry’ for geography. His other drama ‘The School for Scandal’ introduces three characters whose love for scandal is so great that they strike the reputation of another character at every word they speak.
Heroic Tragedies / Heroic plays of the Restoration period
The tragic dramas of this period were made up mainly of heroic plays. In heroic plays, men are very brave and women are splendidly beautiful. These plays are called heroic plays because they are written in heroic couplets, a form of meter perfected by John Dryden. Heroic plays rhyme in pairs eg, - aa bb cc ……The subjects of heroic plays are love and battle for good purposes.
John Dryden
He wrote some of the finest heroic plays. His play ‘All for Love’ is based on the love affair between Antony and Cleopatra and their tragic death. His play ‘Aurengzebe’ is based on a struggle for empire in India. His other heroic plays are ‘The Conquest of Granada’ and ‘Don Sebastian’.
Thomas Otway
His three tragedies are the best. They are ‘Venice Preserved’, ‘Don Carlos’ and ‘The Orphan’.
John Bunyan
His two major works are ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress’ and ‘The Holy War’. These works are religious in themes and are influenced by the Bible.
John Locke
He is important because his works contain simple and clear language. His works helped to spread democratic philosophies in the world. His major essay is ‘Essay on the Human Understanding’.
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