Sintesi Storia Inglese

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CENTURY DATES/KINGS HISTORICAL HINTS CULTURAL & LITERARY CONTEXT

1ST b.C.-5TH a.C.

ROMANS APPROX54 B.C. 450 A.C

Celts were the first inhabitants of British Isles. WhenRomans invaded the isles they were pushed north- andwestward. Romans left the Islands during the 5 th centuryto consolidate their empire in the continued, threatenedby barbarian invasions.

0LD ENGLISH LITERATUREBEDE: An Ecclesiastical History of the English peopleBeowulfis the greatest of Germanic epics. It containsmuch evidently pre-Christian material.

5

th

11

th

450-1066KING ALFRED THEGREAT (871-899)

CANUTE,EDWARD THECONFESSOR

The Angles, Saxons and Jutes invaded England.597: The pope Gregory sent St. Augustine in Kent as amissionary in order to bring Christianity in that country.

The Anglo Saxon Chronicle, an extremely important prosework began under the reign of King Alfred, and continuedfor about 260 years after his death. In this chronicle the

English tell their history. This king was concerned abouteducation. There is a re-birth of intellectual activity.

11th

1066- 1087WILLIAM THECONQUEROR

William defeated the English in the battle of Hastings. Heand his sons were not much interested in the countrythey won.

English language seems to have fallen in disuse.Educated people used to write in Latin or in AngloNorman. Production in Latin is rather rich. In any caseuneducated people continued to compose - if not to write- in English. The cultural centre is now Paris.

12th

1100-1135HENRY I

He improved the administration of justice, and grantedthe Barons a Charterwhich was the beginning of theirliberties. He was called beau clerc as he was a learnedman.

12TH1154-1189HENRY II

First of Plqntagenet kings. During his reign peace andorder were restored. He conquered Ireland. Barons andindependent princes were drawn under the Crown.

12TH1189-1199RICHARD ILIONHEART

He Joined the 3rd Crusade, therefore his brother came tothe throne

13TH1199-1216

JOHN LACKLANDHe was a bad king, the barons disliked him. As a result ofhis bad government he was forced to sign the MAGNACHARTA LIBERTATUM in 1215.

13th1216-1272HENRY III

13th1272-1307

EDWARD I

Eward is the first national king, with purely national aims.

14th1307-1327EDWARD II

He was forced to abdicate as under his reign the Scotsinvaded England (Battle of Bannockburn, 1314)

SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT. The author isunknown. The theme is that of king Arthur. Fight betweencivilization and barbarism.

14th 1327-1377EDWARD III

During the first part of his reign the country becameprosperous and powerful. During his reign the 100 yearswar began. This is an intermittent war against France, for

GEOFFREY CHAUCER 1343ca-1400 POETHe was very close to the court of Edward III. He travelleda lot, and was often sent abroad for diplomatic missions.


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the most part caused by political rivalry, as England hadvast possessions in France and wanted to maintaincontrol over them.

The experience abroad left a profound trace in his literaryproduction so far influenced by French tradition (romande la rose).Early poems: The boke of the Ducchess, Troylus andCriseides,The Canterbury Tales 1386-1400 written in heroiccouplets, not completed. Novels told by some pilgrims ontheir way to Canterbury.With Chaucer English poetry so far of minor importance

in European contest reaches an higher level. Hepractically created the English verse, and succeeded inportraying the human comedy with vividness, vitality, butfar from introducing any metaphysical hint. Hisdimension is reality. He gives us a portrayal of medievallife.

14th1377-1399RICHARD II

He became a tyrant, therefore the English forced him toabdicate. 100 years war

15th1399-1413HENRY IV

Able and wise ruler. He placed England in a prosperouscondition. 100 years war

15th

1413-1422HENRY V

100 years war: He invaded North of France Battle ofAgincourt. He brought glory to England. when he died hisson was too young to rule, therefore the throne was heldby an uncle.

15th

1422-1461HENRY VI

Continuation of war against France, which was a mistake.In 1429 English forces were defeated. The English looseall their possession in France except for Calais.War of the two roses (30 ys: 1450-1500): internalstruggle between the house of York (white rose) and thehouse of Lancaster (red rose) for the possession of thethrone of England.

SIR THOMAS MALORY 1405-1471La Morte Darthur, printed by Caxton in 1485 (1st Englishprinted literary work). Subject of the poem is theArthurian saga. The structure of medieval romance isadjusting itself to real life and settings, getting rid ofmystical hints.

15th EDWARD IV

15THEDWARD V He was very young when he was sent to the Tower of

London where he was murdered by order of his uncle,Richard III.

15th.. 1485 Last of York Kings. He died in 1485 during the battle of

Bosworth, killed by Henry VII.15t

h 1486-1500 End of the war of the 2 roses. Henry was a Lancastrian EVERYMAN; the author is unknown. Main theme is the


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HENRY VII and married a princess of York, putting to an end thewar.

reaction of a Christian believer in front of death. Themain character, Everyman, represents the wholehumanity. When summoned by death he calls for help hisfriends Beauty, Knowledge, Five Senses, etc.) but none ofthem wants to follow him, but for Good Deeds.Psychological characterization is very accurate, though itis mainly allegorical.

16thTUDOR Tudor dynasty gave England power and independence,

though they ruled as absolute kings: Henry VII, Henry

VIII, Elizabeth I.

HUMANISMEmphasis on the dignity and potential of the individual

and the worth of life in this world.

16TH

1500-.HENRY VIII

Reformation: Henry VIII proclaimed himself chief ofEnglish church.

SIR THOMAS MORE 1478-1535, WRITERHe studied at Oxford, friend of Erasmus of Rotterdam.Famous lawyer. He was made Lord chancellor by HenryVIII, who held him in great consideration. When he deniedhis approval to Henry VIIIs decision of being madeSupreme head of the church of England, he wasimprisoned and beheaded.Utopia, 1516, written in Latin is the most importantexpression of English Humanism. There is the descriptionof political and social structure of a democratic country. Ifthe sovereign is becoming a tyrant he can be deposed.Furthermore religious tolerance is admitted in this idealdemocracy. Death penalty, war, private property are theworst issues: they have to be avoided. Denunciation ofcorruption and vice, work are the duties of the citizens.

16th

.. 1553EDWARD VI1553-1559MARY TUDOR

Mary was a Catholic and tried to restore Catholicism inEngland. She permitted horrible persecutions (bloodyMary)

16TH 1559-1603ELIZABETH I

She was appreciated by the English.Her fault was thepersecution of catholics. During her reign she permittedthe execution of Mary Stuart accused of having plottedagainst her.1588: defeat of Spain.

SIR PHILIP SIDNEY, 1554-1586, POETArcadia, pastoral novel witha political backgroundAstrophel and Stella, a collection of sonnets inspired byhis love for Penelope Devereaux (Petrarcas influence)A Defence of Poetry: here Sidney underlines the

important function of poetry (teaching, delighting andmoving the reader).EDMUND SPENSER, 1552-1500, POETHe was a great poet, he even improved Chaucers poeticverse.Very poor family. He had a sound knowledge of ancientand modern literature.


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The Faerie Queene, chivalry allegory. Dedicated to queenElizabeth I. Here we have moral teaching together withthe celebration of courtly virtues.The Shepherds Calendar, 12 eclogues are titled for themonths of the year. Each eclogue becomes a didactic orsatirical comment on contemporary affaires.CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE, 1564-1593, POET &PLAYWRIGHTThe most representative of the University Wits (Lyly,

Greene, etc.) who were much interested in words, formand conceits. Master in blank verse.Atheist, he admired Machiavelli. He died very young in atavern during a quarrel. His major works are:Tamburlaine the Great, The Tragical History of Life anddeath of Doctor Faustus, The Jew of Malta. With avigorous, rich and sometimes hyperbolic language herepresents these individuals (Tamburlaine, Faustus,Barabba) isolated from the context of real and social life.These characters are passionate, titanic. Tamburlaine istortured by the strong desire of dominion, cruel. Faustus,longs for knowledge, science, beauty; Barabba is seekingrevenge.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE 1564-1616He wrote sonnets as it was a fashion at that time, then heprincipally wrote plays.Juvenile phase: the genres in which S. tests himself arevarious: historical plays, tragedies, comedies. Even in thisearly production s. succeeds in creating great metaphors.He can put together the tragic, the pathetic, the comic,the bitter. Furthermore in phase S. is already showing hisability in portraying the negative hero, as Richard III.(Titus Andronicus, Richard III, Comedy of Errors, TheTaming of he Shrew, Henry IV, Romeo and Juliet, AMidsummer Nights Dream)

History plays: S. writes about English history: Richard II,King John, Henry V. In these plays S. portrays great men,with high ideals. Negative features have the same rightto be portrayed in these plays, as noble sentiments.Italian influence can be underlined in Much Ado AboutNothing, As You Like It, The Twelfth Night, Alls Well thatEnds Well: disguises, plots. Here S. represents also


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romantic feelings. The Merchant of Venice andMeasure for Measure are apart: in these plays S. portraysthe evil, the bad feeling one has in perceiving theviolence in the human relations.Tragedies: the historical scene is changed. The reign ofJames has brought insecurity and fear for the future.Comedy is no longer brilliant, but a sarcastic portrayal ofhuman vice. In tragedies heroes loneliness is led to thehighest point. In Julius Caesar and Anthony and

Cleopatra there is a coral dimension. The great lonelyheroes are represented in Hamlet, Othello, King Lear,Machbeth. The heroes live personal, private tragedies.Last period: the Tempest. In his last phase S. showsmaturity. There are no great contrast, no great passions,but serenity, sweetness. Contradictions have beensolved.

17th

1603-1625JAMES I OFENGLAND

James VI of Scotland, son of Mary Stuart. He ascendedthe throne as James I of England, thus uniting the reignsof England and Scotland. Very unpopular

JOHN DONNE 1572-1631, POETHe converted to Anglicanism, he became deacon of StPaul. His poetry was published posthumous.His poetry has been defined Metaphysical Poetry. Hecreated highly concentrated images, conceits elaboratingthem from tradition.

BEN JONSON 1572-1637, PLAYWRIGHT & POETHe was forced to abandon school by his stepfather, andbegan working as bricklayer, the as soldier and as actor.He did very many different things in the literary world:actor, playwright, poet, poet laureate, scholar, critic,translator, man of letters, and head of a literary school,sons of Ben .In 1599 he published his first play,Everyman in His Humour, a satirical comedy witheccentric characters. Then he wrote masques (elaboratesemitheatrical displays involving spectacle, allegory andcompliments to the queen or the king) for the court, (in1616 he was appointed Poet Laureate) until he fell in

disgrace. His most famous comedy is Volpone, a satireagainst avarice.He succeeded in making the fact of professionalauthorship somehow respectable.

17th 1625-1649CHARLES II

He was arrogant towards Parliament and became veryunpopular. In 1642 civil war broke out. The parliamentaryforces won, and the king was deposed. Oliver Cromwell

JOHN MILTON, 1608-1674, POETHe had a sound knowledge of Italian contemporarytradition (Petrarca, Dante, Bembo, Tasso). He travelled a


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took his place as Lord Protector. lot in Europe (France, Italy, Switzerland). He wrote a lot inLatin and in Italian.LAllegro, Il Penseroso are his first poems, which havebeen a great influence on the later Romantic poetsthanks to the theme of melancholy and to the evocativeway language is used.Major poems, published much later are Paradise Lost,Paradise Regained, and Samson Agonistes. The classicalinfluence is evident, but M. has always tried to conjugate

the perfection of Pagan forms with Christian thoughts.

17th1649-1658OLIVERCROMWELL

Establishment of Commonwealth. It proved to be a failuretherefore the Stuarts decided to bring Charles back fromthe continent.

17th

1660-1685CHARLES II

Restoration period, the monarchy was restored. Londonsuffered of pestilence and desease.

1660-1700: literature is considered gayness and frivolity.JOHN DRYDEN 1631-1700, POET & PLAYWRIGHTHe wrote for the court, becoming the official playwright ofthe Kings Company. He was appointed, as Milton, PoetLaureate. His most successful plays are The Conquest ofGranada, Marriage a la Page. His poetry is important forits rhythm, its satire, its use of language.JONATHAN SWIFT, 1667-1745, WRITERHe was born in Ireland, where he grew without his family

like an orphan. He decided on the church as a career andso took orders. He spent the major part of his life inLondon, where he attended political, religious and literarylife. He had an astonishing gift as a satirist. He was also amisanthrope, he attacked everyone, but he alwaysdefended the Irish against the abuses of Englishadministration.Gullivers Travels: condemnation of human genre.

17th 1685-JAMES II

He was a Catholic. He tried to restore Catholicism withthe consequence of an internal revolution.1688: glorious revolution. The king was forced to flee

from England.

JOSEPH ADDISON & RICHARD STEELEAddison was the founder of English literary journalism. Heworked with Steel in the Tatler, and the founded his own

journal, the Spectator. Addison represents the newilluminist and puritan middle class, of which he interpretsthe morality, the search for the equilibrium, the rejectionof any excess.DANIEL DEFOE, 1660-1731, WRITERHe travelled a lot in Europe, but in 1700 he settled inLondon, deciding on being a journalist as a career.


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Toward the end of his life he abandoned the politicalscene, which he actively attended, to concentrate onwriting. Robinson Crusoe had a great success. The secretlies in the simplicity with which the hero is represented,and in the fact that the readers recognize themselves inthe hero of the novel. In his novels Defoe gives us hiswide experience much more than his knowledge.

17th

MARY ANDWILLIAM OF

ORANGE

They were offered the throne. They were called fromHolland. (Mary was James IIs daughter). Constitutional

monarchy. The liberty of the citizens was safeguardedand protected.

ALEXANDER POPE, 1688-1744, POETAs a Catholic he was forced to study privately. Friend of

Jonathan Swift.Essay on Criticism, 1711: here Pope codified thosepoetical rules in which he himself showed to be a master:see The Rape of The Lock. Poetry and satire mixedtogether to represent an ephemeral world.

18th1702-1714ANNE

Last of the Stuarts. THE ROMANTIC PERIOD 1798-1827

18th1714-1727GEORGE I

He came from Hanover. He knew no English and tookvery little interest in his adopted country.

18th1727-1760GEORGE II

Establishment of British Empire in India and conquest ofCanada.

18th 1760-1820GEORGE III

60 years reign. During his reign:independence of USA in 1783Victory over Napoleon

WILLIAM BLAKE 1757-1827, POETHe began his career as a painter, he had a shop. Hismajor works are Songs of Innocence and songs ofExperience. Importance of imagination.ROBERT BURNS 1759-1796, POETScottish Poet. He wrote also in the Scottish dialect.Feeling of nature: in this feature he anticipates theRomantic poets.WILLIAM WORDSWORTH, 1770-1850, POETHe is one of the most representative of English poets.Lyrical Ballads, 1797-1798 written together Coleridge,but published in an anonymous way. It is the manifesto ofEnglish Romanticism. Poet laureate in 1843.SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE,1772-1834, POET

Romantic poet, very close to Wordsworth. He wrote TheRime of the Ancient Mariner, Kubla Khan.GEORGE GORDON, LORD BYRON, 1788-1824, POETChilde Harolds Pilgrimage and Don Juan represent 2different phases oh hid literary production: the former ispermeated with romanticism, the latter reminds to Italiantradition of burlesque poems. His life has been difficult


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and full of contradictions, which are reflected in hisworks. He goes from pure lyric to arrogant cynicism.PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY, 1792-1822, POETQueen Mab, a philosophical poem is his first literary work,published by himself. He had a strange and extravagantlife. He travelled a lot, and died in the sea. He knewByron, and admired him. Together they wrote the revoltof Islam. His best poem is Prometheus Unbound.Posthumous are Ode to the West Wind, A Defence of

Poetry.JOHN KEATS, 1795-1821, POETHis literary production is a perfect example ofRomanticism.Endymion, The Eve of St. Agnes, To A Nightingale, On aGrecian Urn.

19thGEORGE IV1820-1830

Improvement of tradeCatholic emancipation

19th

WILLIAM IV1830-1837

Reforms:1832: reform bill. It gave governmental control to thenewly powerful middle class and improved parliamentaryrepresentation1833: Abolition of slavery in British colonies

prohibition of the employment of small children infactories

19th

1837-1901VICTORIA

She became queen at 18. democracy reached its highestpoint.1851 first international exhibition1854-56 Crimean war against Russia1857 suppression of a revolt in Bengal: queen Victoriabecomes empress of India1896 conquest of Sudan1899 Boer war (1902: Victory of England)

THE VICTORIAN AGE 1837-1901ELIZABETH BARRET BROWNINGALFRED TENNYSONROBERT BROWNINGEMILY BRONTEGERALD MANLEY HOPKINSCHARLES DICKENSGEORGE ELIOT

19th

1901-1910EDWARD VII

The peacemaker, for his successful relations with hisneighbouring countries. Social and political reforms:

1906 working man compensation act19111 National Insurance act

OSCAR WILDERUDYARD KIPLING

THOMAS HARDYJOSEPH CONRAD

19th 1910-1936GEORGE V

1st world war.1928: right to vote extended to womenGrowth of Labour party

WILLIAM BUTLER YEATSE.M. FORSTERVIRGINIA WOOLFJAMES JOYCED.H. LAWRENCE


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T.S. ELIOTGEORGE ORWELLSAMUEL BECKETTW.H. AUDEN

19th1936EDWARD VIII

He abdicated for personal reasons

19th

1936-1952GEORGE VI

2nd world war DORIS LESSINGPHILIP LARKINTOM GUNN

HAROLD PINTERTOM STOPPARD

19th1952-ELIZABETH II

Still reigning

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