Love through the ages eras

When was the Modernism era?

1880-1960

When was the Post-modernism era?

1960 onwards

When was the Modernism era?

1880-1960

When was the Post-modernism era?

1960 onwards

What key historical context do the Modernism and Post-Modernism eras have?

• WWI and WWII

• Women gained the right to vote (1918 and 1928)

• Rise in globalisation + international travel

• Rise in terrorism and other major issues like global warming

• Stereotypical gender roles were broken down further

What type of content defines Modernist literature?

• Rejection of Victorian traditions (exploration of industrial/real-life issues)

• Belief that previous religious beliefs, social norms and art conventions had been destroyed

• Literature was built out of fragments of myth, history, personal experience or earlier art

• Emphasis on a quest for meaning + mourning the chaotic world

• Lots of epiphanies/moments of realisation

• Loss of the hero in literature

What were the popular themes of Post-Modernist literature?

• Writers began to feel that meaning was an impossible quest and so began to embrace meaninglessness

• Intensified celebration of fragmentation and disorder

• Technology’s destruction of society

• Restlessness

• Destruction, fragmentation and loss

• Existentialism (problem of human existence and free will)

What typical styles/genres can be found in Post-Modernist poetry

• Written quite free form to reflect the thought process/organic speaking/stream of consciousness

• Hard to understand

• Key themes of meaninglessness or lack of reality, showing an existentialist pov

• Chaotic structure and line breaks, often with no specific meaning, erratic line breaks indicate chaotic shapelessness of the world

• Complicated/Difficult to understand word order, little consideration for the reader, reflects separation between poet and the audience

When was the Medieval era?

1066-1485

What key historical events happened in the Medieval era?

• The Norman Conquest, 1066, William the Conqueror brought French politics, fashion, architecture and language into Britain

• Black Death- summer of 1348, believed to have killed off a third of the population by 1350

• 1455, post-war economic and health stabilization meant the country could put more focus into literature and education

• Printing in England developed, popularized in 1476, standardised English language

What was popular content featured in Medieval literature?

• Plays instructing illiterate masses in morals and religion

• Chivalric code of honour/romance

• Courtly love

• Religious devotion

What were the typical styles/genres of Medieval literature?

• Oral tradition

• Folk ballads

• Mystery and miracle plays

• Morality plays

• Moral tales

• Frame stories

What is a Kennings poems and what era is it typical of?

• two word lines

• two words often hyphenated used instead of a noun

• typical of medieval era

What defines a sonnet?

• 14 lines

• specific rhyme scheme

• iambic pentameter volta

When was the Renaissance era?

1485-1660

Elizabethan era- 1586-1603

Jacobean era- 1603-1625

What is the key historical context of the Renaissance era?

• European cultural, artistic, political and economic “rebirth”

• Classical philosophy, literature and art were rediscovered

• Global exploration opened up new lands: discovery of the “new world”

• Humanism- man was the centre of his own universe and people should embrace human achievements in education, classical arts, literature and science

• Printing and communication meant that people like Petrarch could promote the renewal of traditional Greek and Roman culture and values

• Renaissance/Universal man was a new ideal, prompting men to embrace all knowledge and develop their own capacities as much as possible

When was the Restoration era?

166-1688

What was popular content of Renaissance literature?

• Stressing of human life on earth rather than religious afterlife

• Development of human potential

• Love: unrequited love, constant love, timeless love, courtly love, changeable nature of love

• By the 1590s, conventions of sonnets had become cliche and almost comical and insincere

What is metaphysical poetry?

works focussed on philosophical exploration, frequent use of conceits

What is pastoral poetry?

Poems that idealise rural life and simple living

What were the typical styles/genres of Renaissance literature?

• Cavalier poets: aims to express the joy and simple gratification of celebratory things such as: beauty, love, sensuality, drinking, honour, social life, etc…

• Sonnets

• Metaphysical poetry

• Pastoral poetry

• Conceits- elaborate/unexplained metaphors

• Drama written in verse

• Elegies (poetry that mourns a lover or recounts a tragic event)

What is the structure of a Shakespearean sonnet?

14 lines, 3 quatrains and a couplet, iambic pentameter, ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

What is the structure of a Petrarchan sonnet?

14 lines, octave and sestet, ABBA x2 + CDE x2 OR CDC x2

When was the Neoclassical period?

1660-1798

What was the key historical context of the Neoclassical period?

• The Restoration: reign of Charles II (1630-1660) after his restoration to the throne in 1630 following the English Civil War

• The Age of Enlightenment/Age of Reason: 17th/18th centuries, developed from the rise of Humanism, ideals included separation of the church and state, liberty, progress, tolerance, value of human happiness, pursuit of knowledge obtained through reason

• 50% of males were literate

• Industrial revolution begins

• Impoverished masses begin to grow as farming declines

What was the popular content of Neoclassical literature?

• Emphasis on reason and logic

• Stresses on harmony, wisdom and stability

What were the typical styles/genres of Neoclassical literature?

• 18th century satire (use of humour, irony, exaggeration or ridicule to expose/criticize people’s stupidity or vices)

• Restoration poetry, 1660-1700, a literary period dominated by themes of moderation, realism and reason instead of themes of judgment, morality and religion

When was the Romantic Period?

1798-1832

What was the key historical context of the romantic period?

• Industrial Revolution

• French Revolution: growing ideas of equality and liberty

• Rise of Romanticism: emphasis on imagination and emotions

• Damsel in distress ideas, helps woman incapable of independence

What was some of the popular content of Romantic literature?

• Introduction of Gothic elements

• Finding comfort and peace in nature

• Exploration of the Sublime, the meeting of the emotional and natural worlds: we should allow our emotions to overwhelm our rationality as we experience the wonder of creation, this is an experience to happen alone

• New role of individual thought and personal feeling in poetry

What were the typical styles and genres of Romantic poetry?

• Odes, lyrical ballads, sonnets- more direct and sincere

• Gothic writing

• Supernaturalism

• Sentiment: feelings over reason, glory in emotions like tenderness and compassion

When was the Victorian period?

1837-1901

What was the key historical context?

• Britain became the dominant Empire in the world

• New inventions, e.g. the telephone, car, changed the way people lived

• Boom in industry

• Emergence of women in literature

• Harmful stereotypes on women ‘angel in the house’

What is popular content of Victorian literature?

• Focus o sensory elements

• Themes of religion/science

• Interest in medieval fables/legends

• Reclaiming of past- links to classical literature

• Comments on realities of day: dangers of factory work, plight of lower class, treatment of women/children

What are the typical styles/genres of Victorian literature?

• Dramatic monologues

• Social/political commentary