ENGLISH THE FINAL

• Old English Literature


  The Germanic tradition of the Anglo-Saxon settlers
• Beowulf


  The earliest and most popular work in Old English Literature
• Middle English


  Replaced Old English after the Norman conquest of England
• Geoffrey Chaucer


  The father of English Literature, wrote The Canterbury Tales
• William Shakespeare


  The most iconic and greatest writer in the history of English Literature, revered for his legendary plays and sonnets
• Hamlet


  The primary theme is the complexities of human nature and the concept of revenge
• Great Expectations by Charles Dickens


  A significant work in English literature that explores themes of social class and personal development
• Middle Ages


  • Great changes in the English language, leading to the writing of many classic works of literature
  • Literary genres that emerged include epic poem, romance, ballad, and courtly romance
• Prominent Works & Their Authors

  • Dante, The Divine Comedy
  • Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales
  • Marco Polo, Travels
• Epic poetry


  Long stories, often about heroes
• Tragedy


  Stories about noble people with tragic endings
• Comedy


  Funny stories
• Romance


  Love stories with knights
• Sonnet


  Short love poems
• Lyric poetry


  Poems about personal feelings and experiences
• Autobiography


  The personal story of a person's life as written by that person
• Diary


  Daily recordings of thoughts and events
• Journal


  Written reflections on personal experiences or ideas
• Historical novel


  Fictional prose narrative set in the past
• Mystery


  Literary genre in which the cause or causes of a mysterious happening, usually a crime, is gradually revealed by the hero or heroine
• Poetry


  Imaginative literary form, best suited for describing emotions and thoughts, and known for being highly compressed
• Concepts commonly explored in English narratives

  • Journey of personal growth and self-discovery
  • Nature of good and evil
  • Social class and its implications
• Reflection on the natural world and its beauty is a prominent theme in English poetry
• Omniscient narrator


  Narrative style frequently employed in English literature that provides insights into all characters' thoughts
• Classical English literature typically presents time in a linear fashion, following a chronological sequence of events from beginning to end
• The Enlightenment


  A historical period that took place between the late 17th and 18th centuries, characterized by the flourishing of scientific thought and emphasis on reason and rational thinking
• The Blazing World by Margaret Cavendish


  A 17th-century novel in which a young Lady becomes Empress of a fantastical parallel world, written to show how fiction helps to explore philosophical ideas and bring enjoyment
• Christophere Columbus was determined to find a direct water route west from Europe to Asia
• During the 15th and 16th centuries, leaders of several European nations sponsored expeditions abroad in the hope that explorers would find great wealth and vast undiscovered lands
• Alliteration is used extensively in A.E. Housman's "When I Was One-and-Twenty"
• The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin


  Published in 1894 in St. Louis, Missouri

  
• Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour"


  Relates to society by interrogating the legacy of colonialism and its effects, offering insight into the social norms and expectations of Chopin's time, particularly regarding gender roles and marriage
• Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart"


  Exemplifies the social norms and values of pre-colonial Igbo society by depicting the role of customs and traditions in Igbo life
• Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o's "A Grain of Wheat"


  Encapsulates the literary period by detailing the struggles of Kenyans during the Mau Mau Uprising
• The characters in Nadine Gordimer's "July's People"


  Represent the social changes in apartheid-era South Africa through the characters' experiences of societal upheaval and transition
• Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's "Half of a Yellow Sun"


  Portrays the cultural and historical aspects of post-colonial Africa by detailing the experiences of the Nigerian Civil War (Biafran War)
• The colonial and post-colonial African experience


  Reflected through the characters in Wole Soyinka's plays by critiquing the legacy of colonialism and its lasting impacts
• The setting of Tsitsi Dangarembga's "Nervous Conditions"


  Reveals about the social dynamics of 20th-century Zimbabwe through the portrayal of family dynamics and generational conflicts