Literary Studies

  Romantic age   The romantic period is the most fruitful period in the history of English literature. The period starts from 1798 with the publication of lyrical ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge and the famous preface which Wordsworth wrote as a manifesto of new form of poetry in opposition to classical poetry. The first characteristic of romantic poetry which was focused by Wordsworth and Coleridge was simplicity and naturalness of its diction.Wordsworth chose the language of common people because it is the most sincere expression of deepest feelings.Wordsworth also wanted the poets to become interested in rural life and simple folk living in the lap of nature. Romantics attached the supremacy of the heroic couplets as the only form of writing poetry and substituted it by simple and natural diction. Romantics diverted the attention from artificial town’s life to the life in the moods and religions and by emphasizing on imagination and emotions against dry inte...

  GEOFFREY CHAUCER(1304?-1400) Chaucer is known as the father of English poetry. It was in fact he who was the real founder of English poetry that has been read and enjoyed continuously from his own day to this. He disregarded altogether the old English tradition .He was not mere a bookman; he was the man of world and of affairs. The word Chaucer is derived from the French word “chaussier” which means a “maker of foot-ware”. This shows that Chaucer’s ancestors were shoe-makers. Chaucer may have attended the Latin grammar school of Saint Paul’s cathedral and it is possible that he studied law at Inns of Court. Chaucer’s life is known to us mainly through his long career as a royal courtier under three famous English kings Edward lll, Richard ll, and Henry lV. Chaucer was in fact with an army that Edward ll let into France during the 100 year war. He also travelled on several diplomatic occasions to France, Spain and Italy, where he encountered the works of Dante, Petra...

  ANGLO NORMAN AGE (1100-1500) The Normans who were residing in Normandy (France) defeated Anglo Saxon’s king at the battle of Hastings (1066) and conquered England. The conquest affected the wholesome awakening of national life. The people were suddenly inspired by a new version of a greater future. They became united in a common hope. In course of time the Anglo-Saxons lost their initial hostility to the new comers, and all became part and parcel of one nation. The Normans not only brought with them soldiers and artisans and traders, they also imported scholars to revive knowledge, chronicles to record memorable events, minstrels to celebrate victories, or sign of adventure and love. The great difference between the two periods Anglo-Saxon and Anglo Norman period is marked by the disappearance of old English poetry. The most obvious change in literary expressions appear in the vehicle employed .For centuries Latin had been more or less spoken or written by the cle...

  Anglo Saxon age (670-1100) The earliest phase of English literature started with Anglo-Saxon literature of the Angles and Saxons. English was the name and tongue of these tribes. Before they occupied Britain they lived along the coasts of Sweden and Denmark, and the land which they occupied was called Engle-land. The Anglo Saxons were migrants from northern Europe, who settled in England in the fifth and sixth centuries. They sailed across the North Sea in their long wooden ships. They were brave and powerful. Anglo Saxon tribes:- The Anglo Saxon and jutes are known as the Anglo-Saxons.The Angles and the Saxon tribes were largest tribes and are often known as Anglo-Saxons. They shared the same language but were each ruled by different strong warriors. The jutes: Jutes settled mainly in the Kent. They referred to themselves the kentings. The Angles: Angles settled in East Anglia. The Saxons: Saxons settled in areas of Essex (east Saxons), Wessex (west Saxons), ...

 What is literature? Literature Definition The word literature means "acquaintance with letters(as in arts and letters)." "Literature can be defined as a piece of writing that are valued as work of art, especially novels, play and poems." OR "Literature is the product of imagination , originality, style of expression, thoughts ,emotions and feelings, idea etc."   Types Pure literature "Pure literature is that literature which renders only aesthetic pleasure." In simple words, literature which is intended to provide pleasure and which is so, beautifully composed that it gives a sense of peace and pleasure. 2 . Applied literature It provides both pleasure and knowledge. Basically, knowledge is composed in such an attractive manner that gives pleasure in reading. Example: origin of species by Darwin. Purpose of literature Catharsis "Catharsis is the purification or purgation of the emotions(especially pity and fear) primarily through art."...

Still I Rise💫 BY MAYA ANGELOU  You may write me down in history  With your bitter, twisted lies,  You may trod me in the very dirt  But still, like dust,  I'll rise.  Does my sassiness upset you?  Why are you beset with gloom?  ’Cause I walk like I've got oil wells  Pumping in my living room.  Just like moons and like suns,  With the certainty of tides,  Just like hopes springing high,  Still I'll rise.  Did you want to see me broken?  Bowed head and lowered eyes?  Shoulders falling down like teardrops,  Weakened by my soulful cries?  Does my haughtiness offend you?  Don't you take it awful hard  ’Cause I laugh like  I've got gold mines  Diggin’ in my own backyard.  You may shoot me with your words,  You may cut me with your eyes,  You may kill me with your hatefulness,  But still, like air,  I’ll rise.  Does my sexiness upset you?  Does it co...