[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-318714-105":59,"doc-detail-318714-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","history-of-english-literature-a-prologue-english-literature","History of English Literature - A Prologue - English Literature","","A conventional survey of English literature from the medieval period to the present, organized through categories, genres, and curated timelines. The work preserves original spellings to maintain stylistic flavor and explains key terminology such as “prose,” while grouping authorial ages by significance, contribution, and influence rather than strict chronology. It uses section timelines for contextual location, adds further reading lists and revisionist interpretive angles, and frames early texts—like Old English poetry and Beowulf—through cultural and linguistic formation, including the shift from Latin to local English identity.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":15,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/literature/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/history-of-english-literature-a-prologue-english-literature/318714/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/history-of-english-literature-a-prologue-english-literature/318714.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Noah","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-22","2026-09-20",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":39},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"How is the book’s survey of English literature organized?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"It surveys English literature from medieval times to the present, using categories, genres, and timelines, with boxed items focusing on particular “moments.”","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What purpose do the timelines and “Further Reading” lists serve in each section?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"The timeline at the beginning locates texts and writers within their age, while the “Further Reading” list at the end provides basic works for students to read for that specific period.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"Why are early English texts important according to the prologue?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"They matter because they are written in English rather than Latin, marking the creation of a distinct local cultural atmosphere and an identifiable English identity.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},318714,1790823850,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":14,"category_name":15,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":39,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145},8796095462418,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/80000253c1241d02b47?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1778826106357471780","Preface  \nThis is a conventional history of English Literature. The overall aim in this work is to survey English Literature from the medieval times tothe present. Categories, genres and timelines most frequently used in such studies have been retained with boxed items focusing on particular ‘moments’ in this history.  \nI have retained the original spellings of works so that the flavour remains unchanged. The term ‘prose’ isusedin order to describe extended non-verse writings before further classification into fiction and non-fiction. The individual ages are organized around authors not in order of a strict chronology (though by and large it is adhered to) but in terms of significance, contribution and influence (and conscious of the fact that, in the age of Theory, these are very debatable, even disreputable categories or criteria to invoke). Inmost cases, the women writers have been grouped together. This isnot intended to ghettoize them, but rather to draw attention to the large numbers of women writers in every age.  \nThe Timeline atthe beginning of each section istobe used asa contextual aid, to locate texts and writers in their age. The ‘Further Reading’ list atthe end of every section is aset of basic texts for the student to read for that particular age, and consists of worksIdeem indispensable for detailed exploration.  \nHowever, every section indicates, very schematically, points of departure should students want to explore further. Each section concludes with a brief account of new and revisionist readingsofthe age and select genres. This chapter suggests new ways of conceptualizing, analyzing and critiquing particular cultural, textual andpedagogicformationslikethecanon, agenreortheliteratureofthatparticular age. The footnotes are, inmost cases, about books that will be useful for further, more specialized readingsofthe age under discussion. The bibliography atthe end of the book also has a large section devoted to texts and critical material that would serve a student’s needs in this revisionist reading.  \nPramod K. Nayar  \nUniversity of Hyderabad and Cornell University  \n1. English Literature  \nA Prologue  \nThe opening moments of ‘English’ literature can be found in the writings of the Old and Middle English ages, 600–1485. Literature from these early times survives mainly in fragmented form. ‘Old English’ is the term associated with 5th century Britain – constituted by seven kingdoms – and with dialects as varied as West Saxon and Mercian. Numerous invasions between the 9th and 10th centuries defined and altered the linguistic and cultural structure of the islands. A rough chronology of the islands in this period would be as follows:  \n410 Roman legions leave Britain  \n450 Anglo-Saxon invasions from Germanic regions 590s Canterbury Christian mission established 793–95 Viking invasion  \n802 England united under King Egbert  \n885 Alfred the Great, partition of England 917–26 England regains Danish-held territories  \n1066 Edward the Confessor dies, Harold succeeds. William of Normandy defeats Harold (Battle of Hastings) .  \nThe oldest literary text from the region is known today as Caedmon’s Hymn and has been dated at around 680 AD. A song sung by a farmer in praise of God, it is the first Christian poem in English. Later hymns such as Deor’s Lament and The Seafarer are, like Caedmon’s Hymn, narratives of everyday life sung by common folk rather than specialist poets. These two texts, along with some other songs, are present in one manuscript called The Exeter Book and collectively date back to the 10th century. Another prominent Christian text in Old English  \n2 A Short History of English Literature  \nis The Dream of the Rood, dated at the 7th century. These constitute the first literary texts in English. They are important precisely because they are in English and not in Latin. The use of the local language marks the creation of a distinct local cultural atmosphere. Latin, it must be remembered, was the dominant ","cbCaihajGr9WxjBM","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaihajGr9WxjBM","pdf",20024193,433,"English","# Preface\n# 1. English Literature - A Prologue\n## Old and Middle English ages (600–1485)","[{\"question\":\"How is the book’s survey of English literature organized?\",\"answer\":\"It surveys English literature from medieval times to the present, using categories, genres, and timelines, with boxed items focusing on particular “moments.”\"},{\"question\":\"What purpose do the timelines and “Further Reading” lists serve in each section?\",\"answer\":\"The timeline at the beginning locates texts and writers within their age, while the “Further Reading” list at the end provides basic works for students to read for that specific period.\"},{\"question\":\"Why are early English texts important according to the prologue?\",\"answer\":\"They matter because they are written in English rather than Latin, marking the creation of a distinct local cultural atmosphere and an identifiable English identity.\"}]","History of English Literature - A Prologue - English Literature | PDF",1789941036,667]