LATER PERIOD IN ENGLISH LITERATURE - one of his famous odes is the Ode to Nightingale

(1819) which discusses the temporary status of

ROMANTIC PERIOD life and beauty.
- began roughly around 1798 and lasted until 1837 PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY
(39 years)
- political and economic atmosphere at the time - seen as a radical thinker for his religion atheism
heavily influenced this period and largely obstracized by his contemporaries for
- calls for the abolition of slavery, condition in which his political and social views.
a person is being made to perform a work - one of his famous works is Adonais (1821) which
- Romanticism is a criticism of the aristocratic social was a PASTORAL ELEGY, a poem combining
and political norms death and rural life.
- Romanticism was a reaction against the spread of - Adonais is written for John Keats. The poem
industrialism and a call for more attention to mourns the death of Keats and his contribution to
nature. poetry.
- writers during this time have the ability to capture - another of his well known works was Ode to the
the emotion and tenderness of man West Wind (1819)

ROBERT BURNS ELEGY

- considered the pioneer of the Romantic - a song or poem expressing sorrow or lamentation
Movement especially for someone who is dead
- died on 1796, but his lyricism and sincerity mark
him as an early romantic writer ELEGY vs. ULOGY
- he inspired the writers during the Romantic period ELEGY EULOGY
- one of his most notable works is Auld Lang Syne - might be written - written immediately
(1788) months or years following a death
Scholars say that the Romantic Period began with after a death
the publishing of occurs

LYRICAL BALLADS (1798) - can be monotone - carries more an

and is usually quite uplifting tone and
- by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor somber embodies
Coleridge. celebration
- one of the first collection of poems that strayed
from the more formal poetic diction of the - average length is
- might only be few
Neoclassical period (hard to understand, not in between 500-1,000
sentences long
the dictionary) words
- poets of Romantic period instead used everyday
words that the average person could understand
ODE TO THE WEST WIND
LYRICAL POETRY
- Written by Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1819
- a short poem
- He wrote the poem in the woods outside the
- usually written in first person point of view
Florence, Italy during autumn.
- expresses deep personal feelings
- West wind has become a symbol of the spirit. It
- may be sung or accompanied by music, but may
represents the spirit of breaking the old world and
not
the pursuit of the new order.
- lyrics often have a refrain or a line/ lines that are
- West Wind is called the destroyer as well as the
repeated throughout the poem
preserver, because while it destroys the leaves, it
JOHN KEATS preserves seeds to germinate later, and it
symbolizes the healthy change.
- aimed to express extreme emotion in his poetry
using natural imagery
- well known for his ODES, lyrical stanzas that are
typically written in praise of, or in dedication to,
something or someone that the writer admires.
I WANDERED LONELY AS A CLOUD VICTORIAN AGE

- one of the most famous and best-loved poems - Refers to English literature during the reign of
written in the English language. It was composed queen Victoria (1837-1901). During the Victorian
by Romantic poet William Wordsworth around period, Britain was a powerful nation with a rich
1804, though he subsequently revised it—the final culture. It had a stable government, a growing
and most familiar version of the poem was state, and an expanding franchise. It also
published in 1815. The poem is based on one of controlled a large empire, and it was wealthy in
Wordsworth's own walks in the countryside of part because of its degree of industrialization and
England's Lake District. its imperial holdings and in spite of the fact that ¾
- It is an example of lyric poetry. Considered one of or more its population working class. It also
the most significant examples of Romantic poetry, characterized by a class-based society, a growing
“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” explores the number of people able to vote, a growing state
relationship between nature and humanity. In and economy, and Britain’s status as the most
doing so, it makes two key points. Firstly, it argues power empire in the world
that humanity is not separate from nature, but - The novel today is considered one of the most
rather part of it. And secondly, it suggests that the important art forms in the English language. This
natural world—and a strong bond with it—is is because it affects grand aspects of the
essential to human happiness. Though the reader language and now considered an integral part of
might be fooled by the suggestion of solitude in the art.
the title, this is an optimistic poem with a positive - The 19th century is considered by some to be the
outlook on the world. This happiness is drawn Golden age of English literature, specially for
from the speaker’s interaction with nature, in turn British novels. It was in the Victorian era that the
encouraging the reader to appreciate the natural novel became the leading literary genre in
majesty that is all around them. English. Although poetry and plays were important
in Victorian Cultural life, the period is known as
ELEGY WRITTEN IN A COUNTRY CHURCHYARD the great age of the novel. The most popular
(Summary) novels of the Victorian age were realistic, thickly
- By Thomas Gray plotted, crowded with characters and long.
- The poem is set in the mid 1700s about a decade Describing contemporary life and entertainment
before the Industrial Revolution began in England. for the middle class. It was in the Victorian era
When Thomas Gray was writing this poem, the (1837-1901) that the novel became leading literary
world was going through a period of intellectual genre in English. A number of women novelists
development that thinkers of the time called the were successful in the 19th century.
Age of Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was a
philosophical movement that grew out of the great HISTORICAL NOVEL
advances made by scientists in the17th and 18th
centuries. One key example, which ended up - A novel that has its setting a period of history and
having great influence was Sir Isaac Newton’s that attempts to convey the spirit, manners, and
theory of universal gravitation. social conditions of a past age with realistic detail
- The setting of the poem “Elegy Written in a and fidelity to historical fact.
Country Churchyard” is a graveyard of church,
evidence indicates that the church is St. Giles’s VICTORIAN PERIOD
Churchyard, Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire in
southern England. Gray himself is buried there. - The Victorian period of literature roughly coincides
Gray’s “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” is with the years that queen Victoria ruled Great
noteworthy in that it means the death not of great Britain and its Empire (1837-1901).
or famous people but of common men. Gray did - Britain was transformed from predominantly rural,
not produce a great deal of poetry. The poem agricultural society into an urban, industrialized
“Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” however, one. New technologies united Britons both
has earned him a respected and deserved place physically and intellectually.
in literary history. It is often referred to as an - The Victorian Period is known as the great age of
exemplary graveyard poem. the novel.
- Although poetry and plays were important in
Victorian cultural life, the period is known as the
great age of the novel. Victorian books were
famously long. In part, this was because
 improvements in papermaking and printing rural life that offer, at the same time, complex
technology made printing books much cheaper. Contemporary ideas and a subtle tracing of moral
The rise of the lending libraries, which would issues.
individually lends out volumes of a book also
contributed to the great length of Victorian Novels. REALISM

EARLY VICTORIAN LITERATURE: THE AGE OF THE - continued to flourish, however sometimes
NOVEL encouraged by the example of European realist
and naturalist novelists.
- More than 60, 000 works of prose fiction were - The genre of Realism Literature was introduced
published in Victorian Britain by as many as 7,000 during the early stages of the Victorian Era.
novelists. - This form of literature is probably the most popular
- Several major figures of English Romanticism genre, compared to other genres before and after
lived on this period. Coleridge died in 1834, De the Victorian Period. Realism is dedicated to
Quincey in 1859, and Wordsworth succeeded identifying what's real and not. As literature
Southey as poet laureate in 1843 & held the post attempts to represent the reality, it simultaneously
until his own death seven years later. depicts the anxieties, desires, and achievements
- The deaths of Austen in 1817 and Scott in 1832 of the Victorian time period.
should perhaps have been seen as even more - Charles Dickens was one of the greatest novelists
significant, for the new literary era, has with of realism during Victorian period.
justification been seen as the age of novel.
- The three volume format (or three -decker) was
the standard mode of first publication; it was a HISTORICAL NOVEL BY CHARLES DICKENS
form created for sale to and circulation by lending - Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of ‘eighty
libraries. But only in the 1890s did the three- (1841)
decker finally yield to modern-single volume
format. In a case of mistaken identity, Barnaby Rudge, the
- A three volume book could be read by three intellectually disabled son of a murderer, is arrested as a
readers at the same time, while the one volume leader of a mob of anti-Catholic rioters.
book could only be read by one.
- A Tale of Two Cities (1859)
- Charles Dickens is considered the greatest
English novelist of the Victorian Era. The story is set against the conditions that led up
- Charles Dickens first attracted attention with the to the French Revolution & the Reign of Terror.
descriptive essays and tales originally written for
newspapers, beginning in 1833, and collected as A TALE OF TWO CITIES
Sketches by "Boz" (1836).
- a novel that became famous in the Victorian Age.
- Dickens contracted to write a historical novel in
- it was written by the famous novelist, Charles
the tradition of Scott. In February 1836, he agreed
Dickens.
to write the text for a series of comic engravings.
- It portrays the discrimination of the aristocrats to
The unexpected result was the Pickwick Papers
the lower class people. It also talks about the
(1836-37), one of the funniest novels in English
unjust and unlawful accusations that the
Literature. The sales exceeded 40,000 copies
protagonist encountered. It shows love to the
and his Victorian novel were simultaneously
family, friendship, marriage and doing sacrifices
established. His early novels have been attacked
for your beloved.
at times for sentimentality, melodrama, or
shapelessness. THE SHOEMAKER
LATE VICTORIAN LITERATURE - it is an excerpt from the novel "A Tale of Two
Cities".
- Late Victorian Literature may express doubts and
- it was the Chapter 12 in the novel.
uncertainties, but in aesthetic terms it display a
- It showcase the story of a reunited and
new sophistication & self- confidence.
unforgettable love of the shoemaker to her
- Example remarkable fiction Novels written by
daughter, Lucie.
Mary Ann Evans, better known as George Eliot
are – Adam Bede (1859), The Mill on the Floss
(1860), and the Silas Marner (1861). These
novels are closely observed studies of English
20th CENTURY LITERATURE -It is often considered an allegory for the innate evil
contained within mankind and how humanity is
- Literature of the 20th century refers to world
constrained from savage behavior by the fragile
literature produced during the 20th century (1901
concept of society.
to 2000).
Summary:
CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE
In the midst of a raging war, a plane
- is defined as literature written after World War II evacuating a group of schoolboys from Britain is shot
through the current day. down over a deserted tropical island. Two of the boys,
- Writers in contemporary world use social manners Ralph and Piggy, discover a conch shell on the beach,
and realism as their inspiration in their and Piggy realizes it could be used as a horn to
composition summon the other boys. Once assembled, the boys
set about electing a leader and devising a way to be
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE rescued. They choose Ralph as their leader, and Ralph
appoints another boy, Jack, to be in charge of the boys
- Written by Jane Austen
who will hunt food for the entire group.
- Jane Austen is a novelist and widely known
author in English Language Ralph immediately starts to lead the boys,
- published 6 completed novels and handful of short insisting that they create a fire to get attention from any
stories passing ships, and creates a group, led by Jack, to hunt
- She wrote novel of social manners for food. The boys are able to make a fire, but they are
- Pride and prejudice was first published in 1813 encouraged by Jack to focus on hunting rather than the
and its original title was "First Impression" fire. The fire spreads out of control. A young boy
- Genre: Comedy of manners disappears and is presumed to be dead.
- Time and place: England 1796-1813
- Narrator: Third Person Omniscient Another character, Piggy, becomes concerned
- POV: Elizabeth Bennet Pov that the boys are spending too much time and not
- Themes: Love, Reputation, Class maintaining the fire. Jack takes the boys to hunt for a pig,
- The story revolves around the first impression of and while they are gone, the fire goes out and a ship
Elizabeth to Mr Darcy. They gone through a lot of passes the island. Ralph confronts Jack and the two boys
challenges including Bennet Family debt. Her fight. When Jack hits Piggy, Ralph calls a meeting for all
impression and pride to Mr. Darcy leads them to the boys. The group is starting to fall apart. The younger
marriage and accepts each others differences. boys are scared and having nightmares, and many boys
- Mr Fritz William Darcy- Husband of Elizabeth. believe that there may be a beast on the island. Not long
5 SISTERS: after, the boys are sleeping and military planes fly over the
- Jane Bennet- Reserved island. A dead man falls to the island, and the boys
- Elizabeth Bennet - Intelligent/ protagonist believe that he is the beast. Ralph and Jack decide to go
- Mary Bennet – Bookish look for the beast and see the dead man but believe that
- Catherine Bennet- Peevish they have, in fact, found a beast. They return to camp and
- Lydia Bennet- Immature tell the others what they have found.

THE LORD OF THE FLIES BY WILLIAM GOLDING Jack begins to protest that Ralph should no longer
be leader, but the boys will not vote him out. Jack
- Written by William Golding becomes angry and runs away, calling for others to join
- He is a symbolic novelist. His first and well-known him, and some of them do. At the same time, another boy
novel Lord of the Flies has been probably the named Simon decides to explore the island and find the
most powerful English novel written since the war. beast. He finds the dead man and realizes that the beast
- His later novels also contain his sense of human is just the dead man.
inadequacy and his own vision of man.
- The new group of Jack’s boys immediately run
and graphically kill a pig. The group cuts off the pig’s head
Novel: THE LORD OF THE FLIES
and put it on a stick, offering it to the beast of the island.
- This book was written in 1953 in the wake of the This leads to chaos as the boys celebrate the sacrifice.
second World war and published in 1954. Ralph and the remaining boys join the others and they all
- It is the story told with clear realism and symbolic celebrate the beast of the island. When Simon returns to
meaning of a group of small children wrecked on the group, he is dirty and bloody, and the boys attack him.
a desert island. The group kills him savagely, just as they did to the pig.
 The next morning, Ralph and Piggy talk to each first page to last; sometimes they are collections of shorter
other and realize that they no longer wanted to be a part stories or individual comic strips. Ex: The Fantastic Four
of the group. Jack approaches them and orders the boys
to tie up Ralph. They fight and piggy is killed. Ralph is able Erotic Novel – this novel have romance as the main focus
to escape and hide, but the group continues to hunt for of the plot line, and they are characterized by strong, often
him. Jack decides to set the forest on fire knowing that explicit, sexual content. Ex: His to Possess by Opal
Ralph will have to come out. He does eventually run to the Carew
beach, and when he wakes up, he is greeted by a British Interactive Novel – is a form of interactive web fiction. Ex:
naval officer.At that moment, the rest of the group comes Harry Potter Series by J.K Rowling
out of the forest intending to kill Ralph. The officer is
shocked at the boys and asks Ralph what is happening. Fantasy Novel – stories involving paranormal magic and
Ralph starts to cry, as do the rest of the boys. Suddenly, terrible monsters have existed in spoken from before the
the boys are boys again. They are no longer the angry, advent of printed literature. Ex: The Hobbit by J.R.R
warring mob but a group of young boys crying to the Tolkien
officer. The officer turns away for the boys to gain
Adventure Novel – is a genre of fiction in which an
composure.
adventure, an exciting undertaking involving risk and
OTHER TYPES OF NOVEL physical danger, forms the main storyline. Ex: Robinson
Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
What is novel?
Children’s Novel – narrative fiction books written for
- A fictitious prose narrative of book length, typically children, distinct from collections of stories and picture
representing character and action with some books. Ex: Charlotte’s Web by E.B White
degree of realism.
Mystery Novel – a type of fiction in which a detective , or
Realistic Novel – a fictional attempt to give the effect of other professional, solves a crime or series of crimes. Ex:
realism. This sort of novel is sometimes called a novel of The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
manner. Ex: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Allegorical Novel- An allegory is a story with two levels of
Historical novel – is a novel set in a period earlier than meaning-surface meaning and symbolic meaning. Ex: The
that of the writing. Ex: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Lord of the Flies by William Golding.
Dickens
Detective Fiction- A sub-genre of crime fiction and
Gothic Novel – includes terror, mystery, horror, thriller, mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective--
supernatural, doom, death, decay, old haunted buildings either professional or amateur-- investigates a crime, often
with ghosts and so on. Ex: The Vampyre by John William murder. Ex: A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Polidori
Pulp Fiction- Term originated from the magazines of the
Autobiographical Novel – a novel based on the life of first half of the 20th century which were printed on cheap
the author. Ex: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath “pulp” paper and published fantastic, escapist fiction for
general entertainment of the mass audiences. Ex: The
Intellectual Novel – these sorts of novelists attempted to Spider
explore the intellectual responses of the intelligencia to the
world. Ex: Graham Greene’s The Power and the Glory. Sci-Fi- Science fiction often explores the potential
consequences of scientific and other innovations. Ex: The
Novel of Incident – in this novel, the narrative focuses on War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
what the protagonist will do next and how the story will
turn out. Ex: Star Wars by Anglo-Saxons - were a cultural group who inhabited
England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their
Novel of Character – focuses on the protagonist’s origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland
motives for what he/she does and how he/she turns out. Europe in the 5th century.
Ex: Emma by Jane Austen
Old English Literature - Old English literature consists of
Hypertext Novel – a genre of electronic literature, poetry, prose, charms, riddles, maxims, proverbs, and
characterized by the use of hypertext links which provide a various other wisdom sayings. It is a mixture of pagan
new context for non-linearity in literature and reader traditions, thoughts about life, the universe and nature, as
interaction. Ex: House of Leaves by Danielewski (2000) well as Christian thought and moral values. Some words
Graphic Novel – simply defined, book length comics. present in the Old English Literature are hard to
Sometimes they tell a single, continuous narrative from
understand and some words no longer exist or found King Arthur - King Arthur was a legendary Celtic Briton
in the new dictionary. who, according to medieval histories and romances, was
leader of the Celtic Britons in battles against Saxon
Folk Poetry - Folk poetry (sometimes referred to as invaders of Britain in the late 5th and early 6th centuries.
poetry in action) is poetry that is part of a society's folklore,
usually part of their oral tradition. When sung, folk poetry - Details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of Welsh
becomes a folk song. mythology, English folklore and literary invention, and
most historians of the period do not think that he was a
Beowulf - Beowulf is an Old English epic poem in the historical figure. Arthur is first recorded in sources which
tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 date to 300 years after he is supposed to have lived, the
alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most Annales Cambriae and the Historia Brittonum. His name
often translated works of Old English literature. also occurs in early poetic sources such as Y Gododdin.
Caesura - it is simply the pause of the poem, it is a pause - Arthur is a central figure in the legends making up the
that occurs within a line of poetry, usually marked by some Matter of Britain. The legendary Arthur developed as a
form of punctuation such as a period, comma, ellipsis, or figure of international interest largely through the
dash, or a two vertical lines, it's called the caesura line, it popularity of Geoffrey of Monmouth's fanciful and
denotes or marks a pause in the middle of the verse. imaginative 12thcentury Historia Regum Britanniae
Plural form of caesura is "ceasurae" (History of the Kings of Britain). In some Welsh and Breton
Kennings - is a special kind of metaphor considered artful tales and poems that date from before this work, Arthur
in Anglo-Saxon poetry. appears either as a great warrior defending Britain from
human and supernatural enemies or as a magical figure of
- It is used to describe an object in detail. folklore, sometimes associated with the Welsh other world
Annwn. How much of Geoffrey's Historia (completed in
- The two parts of a compound word represent a
1138) was adapted from such earlier sources, rather than
relationship between subjects and objects, which creates
invented by Geoffrey himself, is unknown.
associations in an abstract and concise way.
Canterbury Tales by G. Chaucer
Metrical Tales and Romances
TYPE OF LITERATURE – Frame Narrative
Metrical Tale - is a type of poem which follows a narrative
format. Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales is a frame
narrative, a tale in which a larger story contains. In frame
- It features characters, plot, setting, and theme. This kind
narratives, the frame story functions primarily to create a
of compositions conveys practical, apparent and
reason for someone to tell the other stories; the frame
straightforward storylines of both real life and fictional
story doesn't usually have much plot of its own.
event.
WHAT IS CANTERBURY TALES ALL ABOUT
Metrical Romance - is a type of narrative poem that deals
with the story of adventure, love, and chivalry. The Canterbury Tales (Middle English: Tales of
Canterbury)
- It is often called chivalric poem.
- It is a collection of twenty-four stories that runs to over
- They quite often contain an element of mystery and
17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey
supernatural.
Chaucer between 1387 and 1400.
- A popular form of entertainment from Middle Ages until
- Middle English was a form of the English language
19th century.
spoken.
- do not need to have a consistent rhyme or meter
- It is widely regarded as Chaucer's magnum opus – (Latin
although some do.
for 'great work'), considered the greatest work of a
Example: Roman de Troie (11th Century) person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill,
profundity, or workmanship.
Roman de la Rose (13th Century)
- The tales mostly written in verse, although some are in
The Rime of the Ancient Manner (1834) prose are presented as part of a story-telling contest by a
The Early Paradise (1868-1870) group of pilgrims as they travel together from London to
Canterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at
The Lady of Shalott (1852) Canterbury Cathedral.
- A pilgrim is a traveler who is on a journey to a holy place. His characters became as real to readers as their family,
friends, and neighbors, and the work was copied again
- The Canterbury Tales is considered Chaucer's and again long before it was published in c. 1476 CE.
masterpiece and is among the most important works of Although his earlier works had earned him fame and the
medieval literature for many reasons besides its poetic respect of his fellow poets and members of the court, The
power and entertainment value.
Canterbury Tales would make Chaucer immortal as the
Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1340s – 25 October 1400) was an author of one of the greatest works in English and grant
English poet, author, and civil servant best known for The him the honorable epithet of Father of English Literature.
Canterbury Tales. He has been called the "father of
English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English William Shakespeare - is known as the ‘Father of
poetry". English Drama’. He is known as England’s national poet,
and the “Bard of Avon”. His works, including
THEME OF THE CANTERBURY TALES collaborations, consist of 38 plays,154 sonnets, two long
- ‘Theme’ is a central idea present in a literary piece. It narrative poems, and some other verses, some of the
serves as an essential ingredient that makes a story uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into
appealing and persuasive. Themes in The Canterbury every major living language and are performed more often
Tales, a superb work of Geoffrey Chaucer is diverse and than those of any other dramatist.
unique. Shakespearean Sonnets
One of the major themes in The Canterbury Tales is: Lies - Shakespeare’s sonnets are poems of expressive ideas
and Deception and thoughts that are layered with multiple meanings, and
Lies and deception are one of the major themes in the always have two things in common:
prologue as well as individual tales. Most characters lie 1. All sonnets have fourteen lines
about their social status to maintain their respect. For
instance, the Merchant appears to be a wealthy man at 2. All sonnets are written in iambic pentameter-
first, but as the tale progresses, he reveals that he is in Shakespearean sonnet is one of the best known sonnet
debt. The Pardoner deceives people by selling fake relics, forms. Shakespeare used to with so much success in his
and the Miller also deceives others by selling his flour 154 sonnets published after his death it has become
again and again. It happens that when people try to synonymous with his name.
maintain their false standards, they often carefully plan
before lying and cheating. Structure of a Shakespearean Sonnet

MORAL VALUES AND LESSON IN THE CANTERBURY - The Shakespearean sonnet is fourteen-lines long, as are
TALES all traditional sonnets. These fourteen lines are usually
seen together in one stanza of text but throughout time
Moral values in Geoffrey Chaucer's 'The Canterbury Tales' poets have chosen to break the structure up into stanzas.
originate mainly from the lessons found in the stories each These are generally created with the basic form of the
character tells. The poet addresses lust, love, religion, sonnet in mind.
honor, and even honesty in this time-honored work.
- Rhyme Scheme and Meter of a Shakespearean Sonnet
MAJOR CONFLICT
- The poem follows a consistent rhyme scheme that
-The struggles between characters, manifested in the links conforms to the pattern of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. The
between tales, mostly involve clashes - a violent difference between the three quatrains and the couplet is
confrontation. clear. Additionally, as is the case in Petrarchan sonnets,
this sonnet form uses iambic pentameter. This means that
- It is between social classes, differing tastes, and each line contains five sets of two beats. The first is
competing professions. unstressed and the second stressed. It sounds something
like da-DUM, da-DUM.

What Does the Ending Mean? Critics segment the sonnets into three groups

- The Canterbury Tales ends with Chaucer’s Retraction those are:

(accusation), in which he begs readers’ forgiveness for his 1. The Fair Youth Sonnets (Sonnets 1 - 126): The first
work’s scandalous content, including that found in The group of sonnets is addressed to a young man with whom
Canterbury Tales and other past works. the poet has a deep friendship.
2. The Dark Lady Sonnets (Sonnets 127 - 152): In the Act II
second sequence, the poet becomes infatuated with a
mysterious woman. Her relationship with the young man is Romeo lingers near the Capulet house to talk with Juliet
unclear. when she appears in her window. The pair declare their
love for one another and intend to marry the next day.
3. The Greek Sonnets (Sonnets 153 and 154): The final With the help of Juliet's Nurse, the lovers arrange to marry
two sonnets are very different and draw upon the Roman when Juliet goes for confession at the cell of Friar
myth of Cupid, to whom the poet has already compared Laurence. There, they are secretly married (talk about a
his muses. short engagement).

Most famous sonnet of Shakespeare Sonnet 18: "Shall Act III

I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?"
Following the secret marriage, Juliet's cousin Tybalt sends
- Shakespeare uses Sonnet 18 to praise his beloved's a challenge to Romeo. Romeo refuses to fight, which
beauty and describe all the ways in which their beauty is angers his friend Mercutio who then fights with Tybalt.
preferable to a summer day. The stability of love and its Mercutio is accidentally killed as Romeo intervenes to stop
power to immortalize someone is the overarching theme the fight. In anger, Romeo pursues Tybalt, kills him, and is
of this poem. banished by the Prince.

Romeo and Juliet Summary Juliet is anxious when Romeo is late to meet her and
learns of the brawl, Tybalt's death, and Romeo's
An age-old vendetta between two powerful families erupts banishment. Friar Laurence arranges for Romeo to spend
into bloodshed. A group of masked Montagues risk further the night with Juliet before he leaves for Mantua.
conflict by gatecrashing a Capulet party. A young lovesick Meanwhile, the Capulet family grieves for Tybalt, so Lord
Romeo Montague falls instantly in love with Juliet Capulet, Capulet moves Juliet's marriage to Paris to the next day.
who is due to marry her father’s choice, the County Paris. Juliet’s parents are angry when Juliet doesn't want to
With the help of Juliet’s nurse, the women arrange for the marry Paris, but they don't know about her secret
couple to marry the next day, but Romeo’s attempt to halt marriage to Romeo.
a street fight leads to the death of Juliet’s own cousin,
Tybalt, for which Romeo is banished. In a desperate Act IV
attempt to be reunited with Romeo, Juliet follows the
Friar’s plot and fakes her own death. The message fails to Friar Laurence helps Juliet by providing a sleeping
reach Romeo, and believing Juliet dead, he takes his life draught that will make her seem dead. When the wedding
in her tomb. Juliet wakes to find Romeo’s corpse beside party arrives to greet Juliet the next day, they believe she
her and kills herself. The grieving family agree to end their is dead. The Friar sends a messenger to warn Romeo of
feud. Juliet's plan and bids him to come to the Capulet family
monument to rescue his sleeping wife.
Act I
Act V
Romeo and Juliet begins as the Chorus introduces two
feuding families of Verona: the Capulets and the The vital message to Romeo doesn't arrive in time
Montagues. On a hot summer's day, the young men of because the plague is in town (so the messenger cannot
each faction fight until the Prince of Verona intercedes and leave Verona). Hearing from his servant that Juliet is
threatens to banish them. Soon after, the head of the dead, Romeo buys poison from an Apothecary in Mantua.
Capulet family plans a feast. His goal is to introduce his He returns to Verona and goes to the tomb where he
daughter Juliet to a Count named Paris who seeks to surprises and kills the mourning Paris. Romeo takes his
marry Juliet. poison and dies, while Juliet awakens from her drugged
coma. She learns what has happened from Friar
Montague's son Romeo and his friends (Benvolio and Laurence, but she refuses to leave the tomb and stabs
Mercutio) hear of the party and resolve to go in disguise. herself. The Friar returns with the Prince, the Capulets,
Romeo hopes to see his beloved Rosaline at the party. and Romeo's lately widowed father. The deaths of their
Instead, while there, he meets Juliet and falls instantly in children lead the families to make peace, and they
love with her. Juliet's cousin Tybalt recognizes the promise to erect a monument in Romeo and Juliet's
Montague boys and forces them to leave just as Romeo memory.
and Juliet discover one another.
The Restoration and the 18th Century Literature

Puritan Period The Age of Wit

Puritans - is a group of members of the Church of - this age of wit is also the time when formal study of the
England who wanted to "purify" the church. They believed English language gains impetus— it’s the time of grammar
that the Church of England was very similar to the Roman books, histories of the language, and above all
Catholic and should eliminate ceremonies and practices dictionaries—so you wouldn’t use words improperly.
that are not found in the bible. Their efforts to purify the Grammar rules like shall/will and the prohibition of I show
church of the nation led to an English civil war and a move up in the grammar books for the first time in this period.
to America. When the Puritan faith began to grow in Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language is
England, the monarchy and church began exciling or in some ways the most representative work of the period.
killing Puritans. To escape the religious persecution in
England, the Puritans exiled themselves to different parts - It’s the age of diaries, of published collections of letters,
of the world. Most Puritans settled in America in 1630, in and of other reflections on the self. Pope announced that
the Massachusetts Bay Colony where Puritans set up "the proper study of man is mankind" and really meant it.
churches with deacons and preaching elders. - It is in this period that the term "domestic arts" begins to
The Puritan's Leader be used for a woman’s duties. It’s also the first period
where we see guidebooks for parents, children’s literature,
John Winthrop - was an American colonial leader and and manuals on how to run households. Education for
the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He women remained as it had been since the later Middle
moved to the Massachusetts Bay Colony on 1629. As the Ages—girls learned enough reading and writing and math
leader of the Puritans in the Bay Colony. His goal was to to run a household, were encouraged to read novels and
make their colony a "city upon a hill". He used this periodicals, but the schools and universities remained a
imagery of a city on a hill to beg the colonists to live male preserve.
honorable and piously.
- The concept of nature was also an important
Neoclassical Period characteristic of the Neoclassical age. By nature, they
never meant the forest nature, but for them, nature meant
- The first monarch of the period is Charles II. He the general human nature.
personifies the fiction and facades of the age. He
professed to support the Church of England but was - The Neoclassical literature considers man as a limited
secretly Roman Catholic. being, having limited power.

- Britain was involved in a series of commercial wars - The Restoration Age, drama rose in the form of Comedy
against the Dutch, French, Austrians, Spanish, and of Manners. But in the second phase, it declined as the
eventually its own American colonists over the lucrative Elizabeth dramas like those of Shakespeare were
trade opportunities with the New World and with the South reproduced and age itself did not produce drama. Thus,
Seas. the decline of drama happened.

-The Restoration is the time of the great privateer/pirate

trade and the celebration of British naval supremacy.

The Age of Complacency

- People were obsessed with proving they had ‘good

taste’. Gentlemen flocked to coffee houses in the City of
London to discuss the latest periodicals, while ladies
organized

elaborate rituals for drinking that expensive, bitter new

imported beverage, chocolate.

- This is the age of the rise of the newspaper and the

periodical, the return of the public theatre, and the birth of
the novel. People read in reading circles—early book
clubs—and men flocked to coffee houses to debate the
essays in that week’s fashionable periodical.