1. For this set of notes, create a table like this:
Period
Date
Content
Style/Genre
Historical
Key Literature/
Authors
Anglo-Saxon
Strong belief in fate
Juxtaposition between church and pagan worlds
Oral traditions
Poetry dominant
N/A
Beowulf
Exeter Book
Start w/ a basic frame like this and add to it as we go through the slides.

2. Anglo- Saxon Period: 449-1066 Content Style/Genres
strong belief in fate
juxtaposition of church and pagan worlds
admiration of heroic warriors who prevail in battle
express religious faith and give moral instruction through literature    
Style/Genres
Oral traditions
Poetry dominant
Key Literature/Authors
Beowulf
Bede
Exeter Book

3. Medieval: 1066-1485 Content Style/Genres Key Literature/Authors
Plays that instruct the illiterate masses in morals and religion
Religious devotion
Style/Genres
Oral tradition continues
Kennings
two-word metaphor
Key Literature/Authors
Geoffrey Chaucer

4. Renaissance Period: 1485-1660 Content Style/Genres Historical Context
World view shifts from religion and afterlife to human life on earth
Love: constant, timeless, courtly
Style/Genres
Poetry
Sonnet
Drama
Written in verse
Tragedies, comedies, histories
Historical Context
Printing press helps stabilize English as a language and allows more people to read a variety of literature
Key Literature/Authors:
William Shakespeare
John Donne

5. Neoclassical/Restoration: 1660-1798
Content
Emphasis on reason and logic
John Locke: social contract theory
Individuals surrender some freedoms in exchange for protection of remaining freedoms
Style/Genres
Satire
Poetry
Essays, novels
Historical
50% of men are literate (a dramatic rise)
Industrial revolution begins as farming declines
Key Literature/Authors
Alexander Pope
Daniel Defoe

6. Romantic Period: 1798-1832 Content: Style/Genres Historical Context
Introduction of Gothic/Horror Stories
Human knowledge consists of impressions and ideas formed in the individuals mind
Style/Genres
Poetry
Lyrical ballads
Historical Context
Railroads begin to run
Key Literature/Authors
Poets
William Blake
Lord Byron
Novelists
Jane Austen
Mary Shelley

7. Victorian Period: 1832-1900 Content Styles/Genres:
Conflict between those in power and common masses of laborers and the poor
Shocking life of sweatshops highlighted in literature to insist on reform
Heroines in physical danger
Aristocratic villians
Styles/Genres:
Novels become popular for first time
Detective novels (Sherlock Holmes)
Magazines
Historical Context
Paper becomes cheap, magazines and novels cheap to mass produce
Key Literature/Authors
Charles Dickens
Rudyard Kipling
Charlotte Bronte
Oscar Wilde

8. Modern/Post Modern: 1900-1980 Content Style/Genres
Loss of the hero in literature
Belief in situational ethics—no absolute values
Decisions are based on the situation one faces at the moment
Style/Genres
Speeches, memoirs
Novels
Key Literature/Authors
James Joyce
Bernard Shaw

9. See British Literature Period Assignment in Links