Writing which is not literally true (fact versus fiction)
Literature is primarily a work of imagination rather than analysing or describing something in the real world
Willing suspension of disbelief
Phenomenon described by Samuel Taylor Coleridge where the reader accepts the implausibility of a fantastic narrative if the writer can infuse it with human interest and a semblance of truth
Literature is fiction, unlike a cookery book which is based on practical experience
Literary language
Deviates systematically from everyday speech because literature is an art form
Characterized by a clearly deliberate use of language
More striking and memorable phrases than everyday ways of writing
Something enigmatic or mysterious in quality
Literature does not privilege communication of message, but allows relationship between form and content to be figured in other ways
Literature is defined by context, rhythm, and deeper meaning beyond its pragmatic purpose
There is no 'essence' of literature and the category is not eternally given and immutable
The literary canon is a construct fashioned by particular people for particular reasons at a certain time
The idea or quality of literature is not inherent in works themselves but is related to the ways in which we read them
Mimetic understanding of literature
Text imitates reality (referential context)
Pragmatic understanding of literature
Text provides pleasure and/or profit for the reader
Expressive understanding of literature
Text expresses the author's inner self and imagination
Poetic understanding of literature
Text is a self-referential aesthetic object, creating its own world
Criteria for distinguishing literary genres
Form of communication
Mood or attitude
Content
Relation to reality
Aesthetic effect
Media of literary communication
Oral
Written
Audiovisual
Modern digital
Literary criticism involves interpretation, analysis, and evaluation of literary works
Major literary epochs
The Middle Ages
The Renaissance/Early Modern Period
The Restoration Period
The Age of Classicism
The Age of Romanticism
The Victorian Age
Modernism
The Postwar Period
Postmodernism
Major historical events (1)
1536 Anglican Church founded
1588 Spanish Armada defeated
1605 Gunpowder Plot
1649-1660 Civil War in England
1688/89 Glorious Revolution and Bill of Rights
1707 Union of England and Scotland
1776 America: Declaration of Independence
Major historical events (2)
1789 FrenchRevolution
1801 Union with Ireland
1815 Battle of Waterloo
1861-1865 American Civil War
1914-18 World War I
1939-1945 World War II
1949 Independence of India
1965-1975 Vietnam War
2001 9/11 attacks
The Middle Ages saw the rise of a culture of chivalry under King Edward III, but also the devastation of the Black Death plague
Major Middle Ages literary works
Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales and Troilus and Criseyde
Sir Gawein and the Green Knight
The Vision of Pier's Plowman
The Renaissance/Humanism period saw the founding of the Anglican Church and the 'Golden Age' under Queen Elizabeth I
Humanism focused on human values and matters rather than divine or supernatural, embracing the spirit of learning and the ability of humans to determine truth and falsehood
Major Early Modern writers
Christopher Marlowe
Ben Jonson
William Shakespeare
John Fletcher
John Ford
Thomas Middleton
Thomas Heywood
Sir Philip Sidney
Edmond Spenser
John Donne
Andrew Marvell
Michel Montaigne
The Restoration Period saw the return of the monarchy under King Charles II after the English Civil War
The Restoration Period saw the rise of Restoration Comedy as a new literary genre
The 18th century saw dramatic growth and change, including the Enlightenment, the rise of the natural sciences, and the development of Classicism in the fine arts
The 18th century saw the development of a 'literary public' with the growth of circulating libraries and the work of authors like Defoe, Swift, Addison, Steele, and female writers like Aphra Behn and Sarah Fielding