The Anglo-Saxon Era 449 - 1066

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The Anglo-Saxon Era449 - 1066
Glory in Battle
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The Anglo-Saxon Era449 - 1066

• Celts Britons original inhabitants of England
• Romans invaded in 55 BC (brought government,
  roads, villas and Christianity). Romans leave in
  410
• 449 Angles, Saxons Jutes invaded England from
  North Danes invaded later (Germanic)
• Alfred the Great defends England from Danish
  invaders and unites Anglo- Saxons
• Pagan worshipped Germanic gods and fate
• Oral tradition recorded by Christian monks

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Anglo-Saxon Culture

• Bravery in Battle
• Loyalty to King or leader
• Bards or poets were used to elevate heroes of
  tribes and were as important as warriors
• Faith in God to intervene with fate. Influence of
  paganism
• Warfare was the order of the day
• Amassing a fortune in battle

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Anglo-Saxon Poetry

• Subjects Glory, Battle, Treasure, Ocean Travel,
  Fate, Good vs. Evil
• Tone Heroic, Tragic, Bellicose
• Form Narrative, alliterative poetry (not
  rhyming) blank verse kenning two or three words
  in place of one (whale- road the pathless deep
  the prison house)

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Anglo-Saxon Literature
The Book of Kells
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The Invasions
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The Medieval Period
The Age of Chivalry
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The Medieval Period1066 - 1485

• 1066 Norman Conquest William the Conquerer
  brought French language, customs (chivalry) and
  government (feudalism)
• Feudalism 3 classes nobility, clergy,
  peasantry religion dominated
• Legends King Arthur and Robin Hood
• 1348-49 Plague killed 1/3 European pop.

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Medieval Legends
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The Medieval Ballad

• Form Narrative poem originated in oral
  tradition often set to music, usually quatrains
  (abcb)
• Subjects Loyalty, Christianity, battle,
  chivalry (focus is on plot only)
• Tone Usually tragic, often supernatural,
  dutiful, heroic

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The Renaissance1485 1660
Rebirth of Knowledge
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The Renaissance1485 1660

• Rebirth of classical knowledge moved north from
  Italy
• Tudor Dynasty patrons of arts and sciences
• Gutenburg and Caxton increased literacy
• Reformation split church Protestant / Catholic
• Highly structured stylized designs in art
  lit.
• Characteristics of poetry
• Form Lyric poem, highly stylized every
  syllable counts
• Subject Ideal love, classical allusions
• Tone Respectful, impassioned, dutiful

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Medieval v. Renaissance Art
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The Sonnet

• Most popular form of poetry in Renaissance
• Meter Iambic Pentameter
• Rhyme Scheme
• Petrarchan / Italian first form ABBA ABBA CDDC
  CC
• Octet First 8 lines, sets up the story
• Sestet Second 6 lines, tells feelings / actions
  / outcomes
• Adapted by Shakespeare to form English sonnet
  ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

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The Enlightenment1660 - 1798
The Age of Reason
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The Enlightenment1660 - 1798

• Out of the Dark Ages into the Light
• Discovery of Microscope and Telescope in 1600s
  The educated could see the world in a new light.
  Believed in the human ability to solve problems
  in a logical way using reason not religious
  beliefs.
• Focus on Rationalism, Science, Knowledge
• General belief that people are naturally good and
  must do good deeds Social reform, Restraint,
  Control, Order
• Neoclassicism influenced by classical cultures
• Satire (humor morality) flourished

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Characteristics of Enlightenment Poetry

• Tone Logical, reasonable
• Form Strict rhyme schemeoften couplets
• Subjects man and his role in the world,
• Classical allusions

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The Romantics1780 - 1830
Nature, Imagination the Common Man
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The Romantics1798 - 1832

• Lyrical Ballads written by Wordsworth and
  Coleridge
• 3 Revolutions Industrial, French, American
• Reaction against Enlightenment
• Poetry the spontaneous overflow of powerful
  emotions recollected in tranquility
• Characteristics of poetry
• Subjects Middle Ages, nature, mysterious and
  supernatural events, common man, rebellion
• Form Often lyric with looser rhymes
• Tone Spontaneous, rebellious, imaginative,
  mysterious

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Enlightenment v. Romantic Art
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The Victorian Age1830 - 1880
The Duty to Lead the World
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The Victorian Age1830 - 1880

• Optimism caused by strong navy, growing economy,
  technical progress
• Anxiety caused by Darwins theory geological
  discoveries that challenged religious thought
• Duty to enlarge the Empire led to
  self-discipline, strict control, stiff upper
  lip
• Characteristics of poetry
• Subjects Duty, modernization, imperialization,
  reform, British Empire
• Form Lyric, dramatic or narrative w/ strict
  rhymes
• Tone Controlled, disciplined

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The British Empire
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The Modern Era1905 - Present
Fragmentation and Globalization
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The Modern Era1905 - Present

• Things fall apart the center cannot hold
  (Yeats) a motto for the 2oth century
• Political and cultural institutions continue to
  fall apart and no longer provide stability
• 1905 Einsteins theory of relativity abolished
  absolutes, Darwinism theory of natural selection
  challenges Christian doctrine
• WWI, WWII, The Holocaust, Nuclear bomb, Great
  Depression, scandals of 60s and 70s,
  assassinations, riots and threat of nuclear
  annihilation
• Culture of Paranoia
• Womens Rights movement changed/ stressed the
  relationships between sexes
• Civil Rights movement sought to end racial
  oppression

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Characteristics of poetry

• Form Loosened forms, informal style,
  conversational tone, layered w/ meaning
• Subjects Consciousness, time, movement, nebulous
  modern life
• Tone angry, lonely, apathetic, rebellious
• Literature much less dominated by white men.

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Modern Art