- •Contents
- •Before the Anglo-Saxons
- •Anglo-Saxon England
- •Early Anglo-Saxon Life
- •Cultural Influences key idea Early Anglo-Saxon literature reflected a fatalistic worldview, while later works were influenced by rapidly spreading Christianity. The Spread of Christianity
- •The Development of English: Old English (450-1150)
- •Unit 2. The medieval period
- •Historical Context key idea With the Norman Conquest, England entered the medieval period, a time of innovation in the midst of war.
- •The Monarchy
- •Conflict and Plague
- •The Development of English: Middle English (1150-1500)
- •Indulgences
- •Royalty and the People
- •Ideas of the Age key ideas This period became known as the Age of Reason, because people used reason, not faith, to make sense of the world. The Age of Reason
- •A Changing Language: Restoration English
- •War with France
- •A Changing Language: Late Modern English
- •Monarchy in the Modern Style
- •Progress, Problems, and Reform
- •Cultural Influences key ideas Writers clashed over Britain’s expanding imperialism. British Imperialism
- •A Changing Language: The Birth of Standard English
- •Old English Poetry
- •Early Authors: Histories and Sermons
- •Literature Focus II. The Epic and the Epic Hero
- •French Romance
- •Reading Check
- •The Age of Chaucer
- •The Beginnings of Drama
- •Literature Focus II. The Ballad Tradition
- •Literature Focus III. Miracle and Morality Plays
- •Renaissance Drama
- •The Rise of Humanism
- •Spiritual and Devotional Writings
- •Metaphysical and Cavalier Poetry
- •Literature Focus II. The Sonnet
- •Literature Focus III. Shakespearean Drama Shakespeare’s Influence
- •Shakespeare’s Theater
- •Shakespearean Tragedy
- •Literature Focus IV. The Metaphysical Poets
- •Literature Focus V. The Cavalier Poets
- •I could not force an artificial dew [tears]
- •If it prove fair weather.”
- •The Age of Johnson
- •Literature Focus II. Nonfiction of the 18th Century
- •Other Forms of Nonfiction
- •Literature Focus III. Satire a History of Mockery
- •Characteristics of Satire
- •I sing— . . .
- •Romanticism Evolves
- •The Late Romantics
- •Literature Focus II. Romantic Poetry
- •Romantic Poetry’s Defining Features
- •Literature Focus III. Form and Meaning in Poetry
- •Literature Focus IV. The Byronic Hero
- •Characteristics of the Byronic Hero
- •The Legacy of the Byronic Hero
- •Realism in Fiction
- •Victorian Viewpoints
- •Victorian Viewpoints
- •Literature Focus II. The Growth and the Development of Fiction
- •The Novel Comes of Age
- •New Forms Emerge
- •Reading comprehension Reading Assessment I. Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Poetry
- •Comprehension
- •Written response
- •Comprehension
- •Written response
- •Reading Assessment II. Anglo-Saxon Prose
- •Comprehension
- •Reading Assessment III. Renaissance poetry
- •Sonnet 97 by William Shakespeare
- •Comprehension
- •Written response
- •Reading Assessment IV. Renaissance prose
- •From “Of Cunning” by Sir Francis Bacon
- •Comprehension
- •Reading Assessment V. Restoration prose
- •From “The Battle of the Books” by Jonathan Swift
- •Comprehension
- •From “The Poor and Their Betters” by Henry Fielding
- •Comprehension
- •Written response
- •Reading Assessment VI. Romantic literature
- •From “a Vindication of the Rights of Woman” by Mary Wollstonecraft
- •Comprehension
- •From “The Prelude, Book VI” by William Wordsworth
- •From “Hymn to Intellectual1 Beauty” by Percy Bysshe Shelley
- •Comprehension
- •Written response
- •Reading Assessment VII. Victorian literature
- •From “The New Railway” from “Dombey and Son” by Charles Dickens
- •Comprehension
- •Neutral Tones by Thomas Hardy
- •From “Adam Bede” by George Eliot
- •Comprehension
- •Written response
Other Forms of Nonfiction
Letters and diaries often provide personal details of everyday life at the time they were written. Most are private and not intended to be shared, but some are published because they are well written or concern famous historical or literary figures. The Diary of Samuel Pepys is an important historical record written by someone who observed life in its smallest details and then meditated on the meaning of what he had witnessed. Other examples include Fanny Burney’s journal and collected letters.
Biography is nonfiction in which a writer recounts the events of another person’s life. Autobiographies and memoirs are works in which people recall significant events in their own lives. James Boswell’s The Life of Samuel Johnson is an example of a biography about a great literary figure.
When you are reading nonfiction, use the following strategies:
• Take note of the type of document you are reading. Is it a formal essay, or is it an informal work with a loose structure?
• Draw conclusions about the author’s purpose. Is the writer addressing a social problem? If so, what solutions does he or she suggest?
• Consider the historical context and the value of the work at the time it was written or published. Ask yourself if the work is still of value today.
• Summarize the main ideas of the work in your own words.
Literature Focus III. Satire a History of Mockery
Satire is a literary technique in which behaviors or institutions are ridiculed for the purpose of improving society. What sets satire apart from other forms of social and political protest is humor. The use of satire began with the ancient Greeks but came into its own in ancient Rome, where the “fathers” of satire, Horace (1st c. BC) and Juvenal (2nd c. AD), were inspired by the decadence of the Roman Empire to write scathing critiques of their society.
The next great flourishing of satire began in Europe in the second half of the 17th c. and continued throughout the 18th c. In England, this “golden age” of satire encompassed the talents of the Restoration dramatists as well as John Dryden, Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift, and Samuel Johnson.
The 18th c. was dominated by satiric poetry, prose, and drama. Satirists, as guardians of the culture, sought to protect their highly developed civilization from corruption by attacking hypocrisy, arrogance, greed, vanity, and stupidity. “The satirist is to be regarded as our physician, not our enemy,” wrote 18th c. novelist Henry Fielding.
With a few notable exceptions—namely, the writings of Lord Byron, William Makepeace Thackeray, and Samuel Butler in England and Mark Twain in the United States—satirical writing faded in the 19th century. Literary satire in the 20th c. has been somewhat scarce, but other forms of media, such as political cartoons and television shows, have shown a resurgence of satire.
Characteristics of Satire
For the most part, a satirist attempts to bring about change by exposing an oddity or a problem in an imaginative, often humorous, way. The target is often a social or political one. Typically, satirists use irony and exaggeration to poke fun at human faults and foolishness in order to correct human behavior.
The two basic types of satire are named after the great Roman writers Horace and Juvenal, who perfected satire in different ways. Horatian satire is playfully amusing and urbane. It seeks to correct vice or foolishness with gentle laughter and understanding. A famous example of Horatian satire is Alexander Pope’s brilliant mock epic The Rape of the Lock (page 600). The poem, which satirizes the trivial pursuits of the idle wealthy, echoes the openings of ancient epics in its famous first lines.
What dire offense from amorous causes springs,
What mighty contests rise from trivial things,