Brian Boone - English Lit 101

English literature started when there was barely even an English language to use. Dating back a millennium or so, the epic Anglo-Saxon tale of Beowulf was the first thing written down in the very earliest version of what would become English. Various Anglo-Saxon groups migrated to the British Isles and brought with them different dialects that would eventually combine to form a single language. It would evolve to become a sophisticated language, and with it would evolve one of the worlds most important literary canons: English literature.

Which is to say British literature. Literature in the English language is among the most influential and vital in the world, spreading the mechanics of poetry, prose, film, and drama to every corner of the globe. But before there was American literature, or Australian literature, there was the written word of England. And thats what English Lit 101 is all about. Its a vast, thoroughbut simplified and easy to understandsurvey of England-based literature.

The authors, poets, and storytellers in the English canon have always tried to answer the big questions: What does it mean to be human? How can rational thought live comfortably with emotions and spirituality? What does it mean to be English?

Uniquely, English authors have approached those big questions by making them personal. Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice may have been about one woman bristling against the confines of society, but its really just a story about fitting in while being true to oneself. Charles Dickens wrote books that resonated with his Victorian-era audience because they called attention to the social injustices of his day. Personal accounts, whether written in Middle English or delivered in rhythmic verse, reflect universal themes.

In English Lit 101, youll get a glimpse of how major literary forms were created, as well as how theyve evolved... and amazingly, how theyve remained unchanged. (Shakespeare pretty much nailed how a play should be written, and childrens authors of today still owe quite a debt to Lewis Carroll, for example.) Here youll learn how forms change to reflect the prevailing political opinions of their erasuch as how poetry went from a way to tell stories and glorify a nation with much pomp and circumstance in the Elizabethan era to the simplified, bare-bones approach befitting the alienation widely felt after World War I. Or how the novel went from showcasing grand tales of adventure (Robinson Crusoe) to somber depictions of normal, real life (Middlemarch) to getting banned for being too real (heres to you, D.H. Lawrence). And through it all, English authors explored, altered, refined, and transformed the English language itself so as to better express the human condition.

English literature is a huge topic that encompasses a lot of material, so here youll find it broken down by era, and then by each eras major contributors. And with each entry youll find information on historical context, literary context, and specifically each authors contribution to the canon and why he or she is so important. So whether youre looking to fill in some holes in your knowledge, getting a refresher on what you learned in high school or college, or merely supplementing an English lit course youre taking at this very moment, English Lit 101 has got you covered.