英国语言文学论文.docVIP

The term English literature refers to literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; Joseph Conrad was Polish, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, Salman Rushdie is Indian, V.S. Naipaul was born in Trinidad, Vladimir Nabokov was Russian. In other words, English literature is as diverse as the varieties and dialects of English spoken around the world. In academia, the term often labels departments and programmes practising English studies in secondary and tertiary educational systems. Despite the variety of authors of English literature, the works of William Shakespeare remain paramount throughout the English-speaking world. This article primarily deals with literature from Britain written in English. For literature from specific English-speaking regions, consult the see also section at the bottom of the page. Contents [hide] 1 Old English 2 Renaissance literature 3 Early Modern period 3.1 Elizabethan Era 3.2 Jacobean literature 3.3 Caroline and Cromwellian literature 3.4 Restoration literature 3.5 Augustan literature 4 18th century 5 Romanticism 6 Victorian literature 7 Modernism 8 Post-modern literature 9 Views of English literature 10 See also 11 External links Old English Main article: Anglo-Saxon literature The first works in English, written in Old English, appeared in the early Middle Ages (the oldest surviving text is C?dmons Hymn). The oral tradition was very strong in early British culture and most literary works were written to be performed. Epic poems were thus very popular and many, including Beowulf, have survived to the present day in the rich corpus of Anglo-Saxon literature that closely resemble todays Norwegian or, better yet, Icelandic. Much Anglo-Saxon verse in the extant manuscripts is probably a milder adaptation of the earlier Viking and German war poems from the continent. When suc