Literary Foundation

The Age of Milton Literary features:- (a) During this period, it is clearly apparent the decline of Elizabethan standards in several ways- (1) the fashion of shorter poems, especially the lyrics of a peculiar type. (2) Decay in the high poetical arduous. (b)This age has few great writers among Milton stands the very great. His prose is among the finest controversial writing and his poetic achievements are considered to be second to that of Shakespeare. (c) There is a group of poets who have the influence of Donne called the "Metaphysical Poets" by Dr Johnson. Their poems are full of imagery and striking conceits, revealing great psychological insight and delicacy of thought development. It includes poets like- Crashaw, Georg Herbert, Vaughan, and Marvell. (d) There is another group of poets called "The Cavalier Poets". They dealt with the theme of Love. Henerck, Lovelace, and Suckling represent this group. (e) Prose made an expansion in the age. The output was excel...

The Puritan Age (1620-1660) Most broadly, The Puritan movement is a rebirth of the moral nature of man followed by the intellectual awakening of Europe during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Puritans were neither a religious sect nor narrow-minded as many Historians pictured. Pym, Hampden, Eliot and Milton were Puritans and were honoured. They struggled for human liberty. Cromwell and Thomas Hooker were also Puritans. Cromwell strongly supported religious tolerance while Hooker gave the world the first written constitution. That Puritan document is one of the greatest achievements in the history of government. Since Puritans were in favour of religious tolerance, Puritanism included all sheds of religious beliefs. Puritanism is the name given to the people who wanted change in worship in the reformed English churches. But this idea was opposed by the king, his evil counsellors and a band of intolerant churchmen. Later this Puritanism movement turned into a national movement. It ...

The Mother of Modern Indian English Poetry, a prominent voice of the colonial era, and an  Iconoclast, Kamala Das was born in a conservative Brahmin family on 31st March 1934. She, in her family, experiences patriarchial prejudice and its subjugation. Though her mother- Balamani Amma was a famous poet, her father was an editor and her Grand Uncle- Nalapat Narayana Menon, was a respected writer.   Culturally,  her childhood is very enriched. She is a multilingual writer who knows her mother tongue- Malayalam and English. She has two names  Madhavikutty - for her Malayalam readers and Kamla Das - for English readers. Her career began at the age of 06 when she started writing a manuscript which is a collection of her sad poems. However, at the age of 15, she married and moved to Bombay where she is always weighed down by the expectations of her husband, family and Society to be a good wife or mother.  Still, she continues her writi...

 The Age of Elizabeth and Playwrights University Wits refers to a group of  young men mostly belongs to Oxford and Cambridge. It includes George Peele, Robert Green Thomas Nash, Thomas Lodge, Thomas Kyd, and Christopher Marlowe.Their works were mainly centred on Heroic themes that were tragic in nature. The heroic theme needs heroic treatment with great fullness and variety, splendid descriptions, and long swelling speeches. Their style was also 'heroic', and the chief aim was to achieve solid, sound lines and a powerful declaration. Important playwrights of University Wits are- (a) George Peele (1558-98) was born in London and educated at Christ's Hospital and at Oxford. His play includes - "The Araygnement of Paris"( 1584 ), "The Famous Chronicle of King Edward the Frist"( 1593 ), "The Old Wives"( 1591-94 ), "The Love of King David and Fair Bethsabe"( published in 1599 ) . (b) Robert Greene (1558-92)   was born in Norwich, educated ...

Renaissance is a name commonly applied to the poetry of European History  following the Middle Ages. Generally, It is said to have begun in Italy in the late fourteenth century and has continued in Italy and other Western European countries. In this period European art of painting, sculpture, architecture, and literature reached at its peak.  The development came late to England in the sixteenth century and its flowering started from the Elizabethan age and has influenced to later period also. R enaissance started from-1500 and lasted until 1660 including ages such as - Elizabethan Age (1558-1603) Jacobean Age (1603-1625) Caroline Age (1625-1649) Commonwealth period (1649-1660) Elizabethan Age  (1558-1603):-    This age is named after Queen Elizabethan  I , and the term Elizabethan  is used to refer to the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century. This was the age that saw the development in English commerce, maritime power, and nationalist feeli...

THE AGE OF CHAUCER (1350-1400) Historical Background- The fourteenth century is a remarkable period in England. It is known for two great movements. First is   Political which sees the growth of the national spirit following the victories of a hundred years of war. A wave of patriotic enthusiasm swept away the jealousy and mutual distrust among people. Also, the French language lost its official position and English became the whole nation's speech. Second,  the movement  marks the growing discontent within the contrast between luxury and poverty, between idle wealthy and overtaxed people. It happened  during the reign of Richard  III. These two movements leave an impact on the literature of its time. Authors like William Langland, Wyclif, Gower,  Mandeville  and Chaucer mostly write about society, religion and its people. For instance-  William Langland voiced social discontent, preaching equality of man and the dignity of labourers, W...

The word Literature is derived from the Latin " litteraturae " meaning "writing". "Literature" is commonly used since the eighteenth century to designate   fictional and imaginative writings (poetry, prose, fiction, and drama). In expanded use, it designates that works have some essential qualities such as Artistic,  Universality, Emotion, Imagination, and Permanence. Characteristics of literature:- Artistic-  It is a significant quality of all literature. All art is an expression of life in the form of truth and beauty. Which remain unnoticed until brought to our attention by some sensitive human soul.                                     Suggestive-  It is the second quality. Its appeal to our emotions and imagination.  e.g.- When Faustus in the presence of Helen asks, "was this the face that launched a thousand ships"? He does not state a fact rather he opens a door ...