History of english literature plan

Literary Features of the Period :

Influenced by the French writers of the time and in reaction against the puritanical suppression of the earlier ages, in this age there was an absolute departure from the literary tradition of the Renaissance Period (1500-1660). This age encouraged literary freedom and wild pleasures of this world. The liberty it allowed often turned indecent. Realistic drama was predominant. Writers widely used heroic couplet instead of blank verse. Mechanical perfection was the chief concern of the poets. The writers were more artificial rather than original. The age experienced a transition from renaissance ideals to neoclassical ideals. The main spirit of the age was satiric.

(b) The Augustan Age (1702- 1745)

This age is called Augustan Age because the writers of this period imitated the style and elegance of the writers who wrote in Italy during the reign of the Emperor Augustus (27 B.C - 14 A. D).This span of time is also called The Age of Pope because Alexander Pope was the best exponent of imitating Augustan literature. During these years England was ruled by Queen Anne (1702-14), George-I (1714-27) and George-II (1727-60). The important events of the period were :

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  Scotland was annexed to England.
  
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  Jacobite Rising continued. 
  
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  The first cabinet of England was formed.
  
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  The first English daily newspaper, The Daily Courant, appeared in London in 1702.
  
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  Number of coffee houses, pubs and clubs was multiplied and people learned the art of living together.
  
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  A number of literary associations started. Of them the most famous was The Scriblerus Club. The members of this club were Alexander Pope, John Gay, John Arbuthnot, Jonathan Swift and Thomas Parnell. The other clubs of this period were Kit-Cat Club and The Spectator Club.
  

Major Writers and Their Major Works:

 Alexander Pope (1688-1744) :

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  The Rape of the Lock (1712)
  
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  Dunciad (1728)
  
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  Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot (1735) 
  
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  "An Essay on Criticism"(1711)
  

 Jonathan Swift (1667-1745):

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  The Battle of the Books (1704)
  
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  A Tale of a Tub (1704)
  
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  Gulliver's Travels (1726)
  

[;
Joseph Addison (1672-1719):Wrote 274 out of total 555 essays published in The Spectator (1709-1712). The rest of the essays were written by Sir Richard Steele (1672-1729)

Daniel Defoe (1659-1731) :

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  Robinson Crusoe (1719)
  

Samuel Richardson (1689-1761) :Pamela or Virtue Rewarded (1740), the first modern novel.

Henry Fielding (1707-54) :Joseph Andrews (1742), a novel.