Anglophone Literature

Cards (29)

  • Literature
    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 French Revolution
    • 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