Timeline of British Literature

This is a brief, and by no means comprehensive, overview of literature from the

major time periods of British literacy history. This is just to give students an
overall context. Any author or work with an asterisk beside it is included in the
assigned course readings.
Anglo-Saxon Period (449-1066)
Most of the storytelling in this time period was of the oral tradition. There are
few written manuscripts that still survive. The major themes of this time were
praise of heroes who triumph in battle and religious/moral instruction. The
predominant genre in this time period was epic poetry.
Work: Beowulf*
Medieval Period (1066-1485)
This was the time of knights and their ladies fair. The chivalric code of honor
was very important to literature of this time, and romances became popular.
Religion was still a major reason for literature, as well, and plays that
instructed the illiterate masses in moral codes, called morality plays, were
produced. One of the major genres of this period was the folk ballad.
Author: Geoffrey Chaucer*
The Renaissance (1485-1660)
This time period marks a shift in literature from a focus on religion and the
afterlife to human life on earth. Two of the most popular themes of the time
were love and human potential. Genres in use at this time included
metaphysical poetry, sonnets, and drama written in verse.
Authors: William Shakespeare*, John Donne, Christopher Marlowe, and
Andrew Marvell
The Restoration (1660-1798)

The Restoration was a time where the emphasis was on rules, reason, and
logic. This is the time period of grammarians, the men who created many of the
grammar rules that are still in use today. During this time some of the
predominant genres were: satire, essays and novels.
8Authors: Alexander Pope*, Daniel Defoe*, Jonathan Swift*, Samuel Johnson,

Romanticism (1798-1832)
The major theme of the Romantic period was nature. The Romantics saw
patterns and meaning in the natural world around them. This was a time of
lyrical ballad. Also, the Romantic period brought to popularity the gothic
horror novel.
Authors: Jane Austen*, Mary Shelley, William Blake*, William Wordsworth*,
Dorothy Wordsworth, Samuel Coleridge*, Lord Byron*, Percy Shelley*, John
Keats*
The Victorian Period (1832-1900)
It was in this time period that the novel began its rise in popularity. The
availability of cheap paper made mass publication possible. Serialized novels
and magazines were popular with the masses. Contrived plot twists such as
strained coincidences and romantic triangles were often utilized. This time
period also saw a heightened conflict between the rich and the poor. In poetry
elegies were extremely popular.
Authors: Charles Dickens*, Thomas Hardy, Rudyard Kipling, Robert Louis
Stevenson*, George Eliot, Oscar Wilde*, Alfred Lord Tennyson, The Bronte
Sisters
The Modern/Post Modern Period of Literature (1900-1980)
This era heralded the loss of the hero in literature. One of the major themes
was technologys destruction of society. Poetry began to be written in a style
called free verse. Many novelists began writing in a style called stream of
consciousness. Many works from this time period contain epiphanies.

Authors: James Joyce*, Joseph Conrad, D.H. Lawrence*, Dylan Thomas*,

George Orwell*, William Butler Yeats*, Virginia Woolf*

BRITISH LITERATURE MGP

The Multi Genre Research project for British Literature is your opportunity to research a
particular period in British Literature. You will be responsible for creating a magazine that gives
the reader a sample of what Britain was like during a specific period of your choice in British
Literature. You will create magazine that reflects important themes, ideas and facts from your
chosen era. Your magazine should include the following:
1) Design Planning - What is my topic? Describe what I know about my
topic? Tell what I want to learn about it. Describe the origins of your
research. What is interest in your topic? Why do you want to know
about it? List at least a dozen questions you have about it. Describe
plan for collecting information. Provide a preliminary bibliography.
2.) Magazines cover- In this activity, you should find an image and create
a logo you believe represents the ideals of the era you have chosen to study. Create a
name for your magazine that is interesting and intriguing. You should also create a logo.
Both should reflect the mood or tone of the magazine. Consideration should be given to
the audience you are attempting to reach. Your purpose (to entertain, to inform, to
persuade) should be evident in the design of your cover. Thoughtful and purposeful
consideration should be given to color choices, font choice and size and image
placement.
3.)You may Choose either of these activities

Editorial Page-

Literary criticism

This page will be a 3-5 page double spaced, 12 font,

Read, watch, or listen to a song,
paper written in MLA style. It is an argumentative
book or movie that was popular in the
paper in which you generate a claim about the time
era you have chosen. Use one of the
period and use evidence from your research to back up following critical lenses to write a three
your claim. You will start by researching your chosen -five page analytical essay about the
era and collecting information about that era. Your
text you have chosen. You must use at
research should include one article, one documentary
least two scholarly articles as
and one book that provide you with information about references for your paper. This paper
your chosen era. Based on the information, you will
should follow MLA formant and
generate a claim statement that you will use evidence
include a bibliography.
such as advertisements, songs, poetry, plays, literature
Use one of the following lenses
from the era, news stories or headlines, inventions,
to help you develop a claim statement
scientific findings, traditions, customs, or beliefs from and to structure your paper.
the era as evidence to support your claim. You may
Psychoanalytical lens Archetypal lens
find it helpful to use one of the literary lenses as a way Readers Response
Marxist lens
of examining the time period.
4.) Recipe Include a recipe for a popular dish, desert, candy or nonalcoholic
drink from the time period you have chosen to research. Include the recipe and an image
in the magazine. Include a brief explanation of why you choose the dish, and who may
have eaten the meal. Also be sure to include information about the origins of the dish.
(Extra credit will be given to all who actually cook the dish and bring a sample into class
to share.)
5.) You may choose from one of the following activities below.
Photo Story- Pick a
A Day in the Life- Choose an important figure from
song, poem, or significant speech the era in British Literature you are focusing on. Research
that person and then become him or her in an interview in
that was created during the era
which you respond to the questions the way you believe your
you have chosen. Find 15-20
chosen person would respond.
images you believe help to tell
the story or communicate the
1. Where did you grow up and what kind of influence
message of the piece you have
did that have on who you are today?
chosen. Use one of the following
2. Which of your writings do you believe has been the
Web 2.0 tools to develop a visual
most impactful on British Literature? Why?
movie or slide show which
3. What are some of the central themes in you writing?
combines both the images and
4. How does your writing reflect the era in which you
the words from the poem, song
became famous?
or speech. Click the following
5.
What hopes and dreams do you have for your
links to learn how to use these
country?
Web 2.0 tools. Prezi,
6.
Who have been some of the major influences on your
PowerPoint, Movie Maker
life and career?
Photos should fall into
7. How has your country been affected by your
the following categories
contribution to society?
a. Ethos-Three
8. What are two significant moments in your career?
photos should
9. Where there any challenges that you faced growing
make ethical

appeal
up?
b. Logos- Three
10. Does your family or culture play a role in your work?
photos should
How so?
make logical
11. If you had the power to change one thing in the
appeals
world, overnight, what would it be?
c. Pathos-Three
photos should
make emotional
appeals.
Click this link to get more
information about rhetorical
appeals.
(Extra credit points given to those who choose to narrate the project themselves.)
6.)You may choose either of the activities below

Travel Narrative

Brochure

The travel narrative should be

The brochure can be in the form
presented in the form of a map that
of a tourist brochure that expores
explains and highlights important
important places in Great Britain
places in England during your chosen
during your chosen era.
era.
Whether you choose the narrative or the brochure, they should both contain the same
basic elements. In this piece, you are to create a map or three panel brochure that highlights 1010 places in Great Britain that played an important role in the era you have chosen. Locales
should include homes of famous authors during that era, popular entertainment, and or cites of
important events of the period. Label each locale and write a brief description of the locale and
why it is a significant to the era you have chosen.

Additional Components
1) Presentation Component: Formal presentations will be required for the Presentation
components.
2) Pre and Post Notes for each of the requirements above, you will write a note before
and after you create to show your research (pre-note) and your reflection on your creation
(post-note). The pre-note is due with the component. The post-note is due at the final
portfolio. These notes should reflect the process Pre-Notes: Why did you choose your
research? How did you complete the research? Post-Notes: How did you feel about your
product? What did you discover that you will use in the future?
3) Works Cited Note, there should be one specific to your essay, and one for the entire
MGP. Works Cited should follow MLA format.

4) Portfolio This is due at the END as the Final Presentation it will include a Title Page,
Pre-Notes & Post-Notes, all of the assignments along with the Works Cited. It should be
in a paper pronged folder with two pockets.