Literature written in the English language spans a diverse range of countries, including the United Kingdom and its Crown Dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and many nations of the former British Empire. The English language itself has evolved over a period exceeding 1,400 years, beginning with the Anglo-Frisian dialects brought to Britain by Anglo-Saxon invaders in the fifth century. This earliest form, known as Old English, produced such works as Beowulf, which—despite its Scandinavian setting—has attained the status of England’s national epic.
Following the Norman Conquest of 1066, the use of written Old English declined, as French became the language of the royal court, parliament, and aristocratic society. The English that developed thereafter is termed Middle English, which remained in use until the 1470s. During this time, the Chancery Standard—a London-based form of late Middle English—began to gain prominence and helped establish linguistic consistency.
One of the most influential figures in legitimising Middle English as a literary language was Geoffrey Chaucer (1343–1400), whose Canterbury Tales demonstrated the expressive potential of the vernacular at a time when French and Latin still dominated England’s literary scene. The invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in 1439, alongside pivotal texts such as the King James Bible (1611) and linguistic developments like the Great Vowel Shift, further contributed to the standardisation of English.
The Early Modern English period saw the emergence of William Shakespeare (1564–1616), widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and one of the most important dramatists in world literature. His plays have been translated into every major living language and continue to be performed more frequently than those of any other playwright.
In the 19th century, writers such as Sir Walter Scott captivated audiences across Europe, with his historical romances inspiring artists, composers, and fellow writers alike. Concurrently, the global spread of the English language was propelled by the expansion of the British Empire. Between the late 16th and early 18th centuries, English travelled across continents, and by 1913, the Empire governed over 412 million people—23% of the world’s population at the time.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, both the United States and many former British colonies began developing rich literary traditions in English. From 1907 to the present day, numerous writers from Great Britain, the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, the USA, and Commonwealth nations have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for works written in English—more than in any other language.
Old English literature (c. 450–1066):
Old English literature, also known as Anglo-Saxon literature, comprises the body of written works composed in Old English in Anglo-Saxon England. This literary tradition emerged after the settlement of Germanic tribes such as the Saxons, Angles, and Jutes in England around 450 CE, following the withdrawal of the Romans. It continued until shortly after the Norman Conquest of 1066.
The surviving literature spans a range of genres including epic poetry, hagiography, sermons, Bible translations, legal texts, chronicles, and riddles. Approximately 400 manuscripts from this period have survived, offering invaluable insight into early English culture and thought.
One of the earliest notable poems, Widsith, found in the Exeter Book (late 10th century), is a catalogue of kings and tribes, ranked by their fame and historical significance. Attila, King of the Huns, heads the list, followed by Eormanric of the Ostrogoths. Some scholars believe Widsith may preserve one of the oldest surviving accounts of the Battle of the Goths and Huns, which is also referenced in later Scandinavian works such as Hervarar saga and Gesta Danorum. Lotte Hedeager suggests the poem could date back to the late 6th or early 7th century, due to its detailed and historically accurate references, although scholars like John Niles argue for a later, 10th-century origin.
Another significant work is The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a collection of annals written in Old English beginning in the 9th century, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxon people. Similarly, the poem The Battle of Maldon, although of uncertain date, commemorates the Battle of Maldon in 991, where Anglo-Saxon forces failed to repel a Viking incursion.
Oral tradition played a central role in early English culture, with most literary compositions originally intended for performance. Among these, epic poetry was particularly esteemed. The most celebrated example is Beowulf, widely regarded as the national epic of England, despite its setting in Scandinavia. It survives in a single manuscript, the Nowell Codex, which is generally dated to around 1000 CE. The poem’s composition is believed to date between the 8th and early 11th centuries.
Most Anglo-Saxon writers remain anonymous. Of the twelve known by name from medieval sources, only four are definitively associated with vernacular works: Cædmon, Bede, Alfred the Great, and Cynewulf. Cædmon, the earliest known English poet, is famed for Cædmon’s Hymn, which likely dates to the late 7th century. This poem stands as one of the earliest extant examples of Old English poetry and, along with the Ruthwell Cross and Franks Casket inscriptions, is a candidate for the earliest poetic record in any Germanic language. The Dream of the Rood, another early Christian poem, is partially inscribed on the Ruthwell Cross.
From the late 10th century, two deeply reflective and religiously-themed poems, The Wanderer and The Seafarer, also survive. Scholar Richard Marsden characterises The Seafarer as “an exhortatory and didactic poem, in which the miseries of winter seafaring are used as a metaphor for the challenge faced by the committed Christian.”
Classical influences persisted in Anglo-Saxon England, evidenced by Old English translations of philosophical works from antiquity. The most notable of these is King Alfred’s 9th-century translation of Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy, the longest such adaptation in Old English.
Middle English literature (1066–1500)
Following the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, the written use of the Anglo-Saxon (Old English) language diminished significantly. The new ruling aristocracy adopted French as the language of the court, parliament, and polite society. Over time, the language and literature of the Norman elite began to merge with that of the native population, resulting in a hybrid form known as Anglo-Norman.
From the late 11th to the 12th century, Anglo-Saxon evolved gradually into Middle English. As political power shifted away from native English hands, the West Saxon dialect—once dominant in literary use—lost its influence. Consequently, Middle English literature began to appear in various regional dialects, shaped by the geographical, cultural, and personal backgrounds of individual writers.
Religious and Historical Writings
Religious literature retained its popularity during this period. Hagiographies, or saints’ lives, were frequently written, adapted, and translated—such as The Life of Saint Audrey by Eadmer (c. 1060 – c. 1126). At the close of the 12th century, Layamon, in his Brut, adapted the Norman-French work of Wace to produce the first English-language narrative of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. This marked not only a literary milestone but also the first historiographical work in English since the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
Middle English Bible Translations
The Middle English Bible translations, particularly Wycliffe’s Bible, played a significant role in establishing English as a literary language. Compiled between 1382 and 1395, these translations—produced under the influence or direction of John Wycliffe—challenged the authority of the Church and inspired the Lollard movement, a pre-Reformation reformist campaign that criticised numerous doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church.
The Rise of the Romance Genre
From the 13th century onwards, romances emerged as a prominent genre in English, beginning with works such as King Horn and Havelock the Dane, both based on Anglo-Norman sources like the Romance of Horn (c. 1170). However, it was during the 14th century that the first major literary figures in English truly emerged: William Langland, Geoffrey Chaucer, and the anonymous Pearl Poet.
Langland’s Piers Plowman (c. 1360–1387), also known as Visio Willelmi de Petro Plowman (William’s Vision of Piers Plowman), is an allegorical narrative written in unrhymed alliterative verse. It offers a complex reflection on social and religious themes of the time.
Arthurian Poetry and the Pearl Poet
One of the finest examples of Middle English alliterative poetry is Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (late 14th century), attributed to the Pearl Poet. This Arthurian romance, built upon Welsh, Irish, and English traditions, presents the famous “beheading game” and explores themes of honour, chivalry, and moral integrity.
Preserved alongside Sir Gawain in the same manuscript are three other poems—Pearl, Patience, and Cleanness—believed to be by the same author. These works are written in a distinct Midlands dialect, noticeably different from Chaucer’s London English. Despite some French influence in the courtly scenes, many of the words and expressions reflect the Scandinavian-influenced dialects of northwest England.
Multilingualism and Literary Diversity
Literature in 14th-century England was notably multilingual, with significant works composed in Latin, Anglo-Norman French, and Middle English. A prominent example is John Gower (c. 1330–1408), a contemporary of Langland and a personal friend of Chaucer. Gower is remembered for three major moral and political works: Mirroir de l’Omme (Anglo-Norman), Vox Clamantis (Latin), and Confessio Amantis (Middle English).
Religious Mysticism and Women’s Writing
The 14th century also witnessed the emergence of significant religious and mystical literature. Julian of Norwich (c. 1342 – c. 1416), in her Revelations of Divine Love (c. 1393), wrote what is believed to be the first book in English known to have been authored by a woman. Another notable figure, Richard Rolle, also contributed influential religious texts during this period.
The Culmination of the Arthurian Tradition
The 15th century brought forth one of the most enduring English literary achievements: Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur, printed by William Caxton in 1485. Drawing on both French and English sources, Malory compiled and reshaped the Arthurian legends into a cohesive narrative. Among the earliest books to be printed in England, Le Morte d’Arthur had a lasting impact on the revival of Arthurian themes in English literature.
Medieval theatre:
During the Middle Ages, drama in the vernacular languages of Europe is believed to have emerged from liturgical enactments. Initially performed in the porches of cathedrals or by itinerant players on religious feast days, mystery plays developed into significant forms of religious theatre. Alongside miracle plays, which depicted the lives and miracles of saints, and morality plays—also known as “interludes”—these early dramatic forms gradually evolved into the more sophisticated styles seen on the Elizabethan stage.
Another notable form of medieval performance was the mummers’ play, an early form of street theatre often associated with Morris dancing. These folk dramas focused on legendary and heroic themes, such as Saint George and the Dragon or Robin Hood. Performed by travelling troupes, mummers’ plays were passed down orally, with actors moving from town to town, offering entertainment in exchange for food, lodging, or payment.
Mystery and miracle plays are among the earliest structured forms of drama in medieval Europe. Rooted in biblical stories, mystery plays were typically staged in churches as tableaux vivants—living pictures—accompanied by antiphonal singing. These plays flourished between the 10th and 16th centuries, reaching their peak popularity in the 15th century before declining due to the rise of professional, secular theatre.
Four complete or nearly complete collections of English biblical mystery plays have survived from the late medieval period. The most extensive of these is the York Cycle, comprising 48 individual pageants, performed in the city of York from the mid-14th century until 1569. In addition to these Middle English texts, three Cornish plays, collectively known as the Ordinalia, have also endured.
Emerging from the religiously rooted mystery plays, the morality play marked a transition towards more secular theatrical traditions in medieval and early Tudor Europe. These plays were allegorical in nature, where the central character (often an everyman figure) is confronted by personified moral attributes who attempt to influence his choice between good and evil, virtue and vice. Morality plays were especially popular during the 15th and 16th centuries.
A prominent example is The Somonyng of Everyman (The Summoning of Everyman), commonly referred to as Everyman, composed around 1509–1519. This English morality play, like John Bunyan’s later allegory Pilgrim’s Progress (1678), explores the theme of Christian salvation through symbolic characters and moral struggle.
English Renaissance (1500–1660):
The English Renaissance was a cultural and artistic movement in England, spanning from the late 15th century to the early 17th century. It was part of the broader pan-European Renaissance, which began in Italy in the late 14th century. However, as in much of northern Europe, the Renaissance’s influence reached England with some delay.
Many scholars trace the origins of the English Renaissance to the reign of Henry VIII, with the movement reaching its height during the Elizabethan era in the latter half of the 16th century. During this period, Renaissance ideas and artistic styles gradually gained prominence in English intellectual and cultural life.
The impact of the Italian Renaissance is notably evident in the poetry of Thomas Wyatt (1503–1542), one of the earliest English Renaissance poets. Alongside Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey (1516/1517–1547), Wyatt was instrumental in introducing the sonnet form from Italy into English poetry, marking a significant innovation in English literary tradition.
The introduction of the printing press to England by William Caxton in 1476 played a crucial role in the flourishing of vernacular literature. Furthermore, the Protestant Reformation spurred the creation of vernacular religious texts, most notably the Book of Common Prayer (1549), which had a lasting influence on the development of literary language in English.
Elizabethan period (1558–1603):
Poetry
The Elizabethan period saw a flourishing of English poetry, marked by elegance, formality, and rich allegorical content. One of the most significant poets of this era was Edmund Spenser (c. 1552–1599), renowned for The Faerie Queene (1590 and 1596), an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
Another major literary figure was Sir Philip Sidney (1554–1586), whose influential works include Astrophel and Stella, The Defence of Poesy, and The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia. His writing combined courtly elegance with philosophical depth, laying a foundation for later English Renaissance literature.
Poetry designed to be set to music—such as that of Thomas Campion (1567–1620)—also gained popularity during this time, especially as printed literature became more accessible to households. The lyrical quality and metrical precision of such poems reflected the Elizabethans’ love for harmony between verse and song.
John Donne, though more often associated with Jacobean poetry, began his career during the Elizabethan era and contributed significantly to its poetic landscape.
Drama
Elizabethan drama marked a turning point in English literature, evolving from the earlier morality plays to more complex, secular, and structured theatrical works. One of the earliest significant Elizabethan plays was Gorboduc (1561) by Thomas Sackville and Thomas Norton. It was notable for being the first English verse drama to employ blank verse and for its role in transitioning towards the structure of later tragedies.
Another milestone was Thomas Kyd’s (1558–1594) The Spanish Tragedy (written between 1582 and 1592), a hugely popular and influential play that effectively established the revenge tragedy genre in English theatre.
Undoubtedly, the towering figure of the period was William Shakespeare (1564–1616), whose unparalleled contribution spanned across genres. His histories (e.g., Richard III, Henry IV), tragedies (e.g., Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth), comedies (e.g., A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It, Twelfth Night), and romances or tragicomedies (e.g., The Tempest, The Winter’s Tale) exemplify the richness and range of Elizabethan drama. Shakespeare’s influence continued well into the Jacobean era.
Other notable dramatists of the time included Christopher Marlowe, celebrated for his powerful blank verse and overreaching protagonists; Ben Jonson, known for his satirical comedies; and the collaborative playwrights Thomas Dekker, John Fletcher, and Francis Beaumont, all of whom helped shape the golden age of English theatre.
Jacobean period (1603–1625):
Drama
The Jacobean era witnessed the maturation of English drama, with William Shakespeare continuing to dominate the stage in the early 17th century. During this time, he wrote several of his so-called problem plays as well as some of his greatest tragedies, including Macbeth and King Lear. In his final creative phase, Shakespeare shifted towards romances or tragicomedies, producing works such as The Tempest. Though less bleak than the earlier tragedies, these later plays are more solemn in tone than the comedies of the 1590s, often focusing on themes of reconciliation and the forgiveness of tragic errors.
Following Shakespeare’s death, Ben Jonson (1572–1637) emerged as the pre-eminent literary figure of the Jacobean period. Jonson’s work reflected a return to medieval aesthetics, and many of his characters were based on the theory of humours, derived from contemporary medical beliefs. His notable comedies include Volpone (1605 or 1606) and Bartholomew Fair (1614). Writers such as Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher followed Jonson’s stylistic legacy, producing works like The Knight of the Burning Pestle (c. 1607–08), a satirical take on the aspirations of the rising middle class.
Another significant dramatic trend of the time was the revenge tragedy, initially popularised during the Elizabethan era by Thomas Kyd (1558–1594). This genre was further developed by John Webster (c. 1578–c. 1632), whose plays The White Devil (1612) and The Duchess of Malfi (1613) exemplify its dark and violent themes. Other notable examples include The Changeling, co-authored by Thomas Middleton and William Rowley.
Poetry
Among Jacobean poets, George Chapman (c. 1559–c. 1634) is best remembered for his pioneering translations of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey into English verse, completed in 1616. These were the first full English translations of the epics and had a lasting impact on English literature, famously inspiring John Keats’s sonnet On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer (1816).
William Shakespeare also played a crucial role in popularising the English sonnet, adapting and transforming the Petrarchan model. His collection of 154 sonnets, published in 1609, explored enduring themes such as love, beauty, time, and mortality.
In addition to Shakespeare and Jonson, the early 17th century saw the rise of the Metaphysical poets, including John Donne (1572–1631), George Herbert (1593–1633), Henry Vaughan, Andrew Marvell, and Richard Crashaw. Their poetry is distinguished by intellectual playfulness, intricate arguments, and the use of metaphysical conceits—elaborate and sometimes startling metaphors or similes.
Prose
The most significant prose achievement of the Jacobean era was the production of the King James Bible. Commissioned in 1604 and completed in 1611, it represented one of the largest translation efforts in English history. Building on earlier translations by figures such as William Tyndale, the King James Bible became the authoritative text for the Church of England and remains a cornerstone of English literary and religious culture.
Late Renaissance (1625–1660):
Poetry:
During the Late Renaissance period, English poetry saw a continuation and evolution of several significant traditions. Among the most influential were the Metaphysical poets, with figures such as John Donne (1572–1631) and George Herbert (1593–1633) remaining active after 1625. Later in the 17th century, a second generation of Metaphysical poets emerged, including Richard Crashaw (1613–1649), Andrew Marvell (1621–1678), Thomas Traherne (1636 or 1637–1674), and Henry Vaughan (1622–1695). These poets were noted for their intellectual complexity, inventive metaphors, and exploration of spiritual and philosophical themes.
Another prominent poetic group of the 17th century were the Cavalier poets, who largely belonged to the social class that supported King Charles I during the English Civil War (1642–1651). The most celebrated among them include Robert Herrick, Richard Lovelace, Thomas Carew, and Sir John Suckling. While not a formal literary movement, the Cavalier poets were significantly influenced by Ben Jonson. Most were courtiers, though notable exceptions existed—Robert Herrick, for instance, was not a courtier, yet his stylistic choices align him with the Cavalier tradition.
Cavalier poetry is characterised by its elegance, wit, and clarity. It often incorporates allegory and classical allusions, drawing inspiration from Roman authors such as Horace, Cicero, and Ovid.
The period also witnessed the early works of John Milton (1608–1674), considered the last great poet of the English Renaissance. Before 1660, Milton published several important pieces, including L’Allegro (1631), Il Penseroso (1634), Comus (a masque, 1638), and Lycidas (1638). His most celebrated work, the epic poem Paradise Lost (1667), was, however, published during the subsequent Restoration period.
Restoration Age (1660–1700):
Restoration literature encompasses a wide range of works, from the epic Paradise Lost and the Earl of Rochester’s Sodom, to the bawdy comedy of The Country Wife and the moral insights of Pilgrim’s Progress. This period also saw the publication of Locke’s Two Treatises on Government, the establishment of the Royal Society, the scientific experiments and spiritual meditations of Robert Boyle, Jeremy Collier’s vehement attacks on the theatre, Dryden’s pioneering literary criticism, and the emergence of the first newspapers.
The enforced break in literary culture during Cromwell’s Puritan regime, marked by censorship and strict moral codes, created a rupture in tradition. This allowed for a fresh beginning in all literary forms following the Restoration. During the Interregnum, royalist supporters, including the young Charles II, were exiled across Europe. Consequently, the nobility who accompanied Charles spent over a decade immersed in continental literary circles.
Poetry
John Milton, one of England’s greatest poets, wrote amidst religious turmoil and political upheaval. He is best remembered for his epic Paradise Lost (1667). Other significant works include L’Allegro (1631), Il Penseroso (1634), Comus (a masque, 1638), and Lycidas. Milton’s poetry and prose reflect his profound personal convictions, his passion for liberty and self-determination, and the turbulent politics of his time.
His celebrated Areopagitica, a passionate denunciation of pre-publication censorship, remains one of history’s most influential defences of free speech and press freedom. Satire was the dominant poetic form of the era, often published anonymously due to the risks associated with its contentious content.
John Dryden (1631–1700) was a dominant literary figure whose influence was so profound that the period is often referred to as the Age of Dryden. He established the heroic couplet as a standard poetic form and excelled in satirical verse, exemplified by works such as the mock-heroic MacFlecknoe (1682). His style heavily influenced later writers like Alexander Pope (1688–1744), who frequently drew upon Dryden’s work.
Prose
Christian religious writing was the hallmark of Restoration prose, but this era also witnessed the emergence of two genres that would later flourish: fiction and journalism. Religious, political, and economic writings were often interconnected, reflecting the close relationship between church and state.
Philosopher John Locke produced many of his key works during this time, including the Two Treatises on Government, which inspired revolutionary thought, notably in America.
While the Restoration period moderated the fervour of sectarian writing, radicalism lingered. Puritan writers like Milton retreated from public life or adapted, and those associated with the regicide of Charles I were suppressed. Consequently, more extreme writings went underground, and many Interregnum figures moderated their positions.
John Bunyan stands out among religious writers, with The Pilgrim’s Progress serving as a seminal allegory of personal salvation and Christian living.
News during the Restoration was often disseminated via broadsheets — large single sheets of paper providing usually partisan accounts of events.
The origins of the English novel are difficult to pinpoint, but the Restoration saw the rise of long fiction and fictional biographies as distinct literary forms. Influences came from the established Romance traditions of France and Spain.
Aphra Behn, author of Oroonoko (1688), is a significant figure in this development, recognised as one of England’s first professional novelists and notably the first professional female novelist.
Drama
Following the lifting of the Puritan ban on public theatre, drama quickly revived and flourished. Early Restoration plays, especially the “hard” comedies of John Dryden, William Wycherley, and George Etherege, reflected court life and celebrated a macho aristocratic culture of relentless sexual intrigue.
Although drama declined in quality and quantity in the 1680s, the mid-1690s saw a brief resurgence, particularly in comedy. Plays such as William Congreve’s The Way of the World (1700), and John Vanbrugh’s The Relapse (1696) and The Provoked Wife (1697) exhibited a “softer” tone and a more middle-class sensibility. These works were quite distinct from the earlier aristocratic extravaganzas and aimed to appeal to a broader audience.
18th century:
Augustan literature (1700–1745):
During the 18th century, literature reflected the worldview of the Age of Enlightenment, or the Age of Reason—a rational and scientific approach to religious, social, political, and economic issues. This era promoted a secular outlook on the world and fostered a general sense of progress and perfectibility.
Philosophers inspired by the discoveries of the previous century—figures such as Isaac Newton and the writings of Descartes, John Locke, and Francis Bacon—sought to uncover and apply universally valid principles governing humanity, nature, and society. They challenged spiritual and scientific authorities, dogmatism, intolerance, censorship, as well as economic and social restrictions.
The state was regarded as the proper and rational instrument of progress. The extreme rationalism and scepticism of the age naturally led to deism and also contributed to the later emergence of Romanticism. The Encyclopédie of Denis Diderot epitomised the spirit of the age.
The term Augustan literature derives from the writers of the 1720s and 1730s themselves, who responded to a title preferred by George I of Great Britain. While George I intended the title to reflect his authority, the authors interpreted it as an allusion to Ancient Rome’s transition from rough-and-ready literature to a highly political and polished literary style.
It was an age of exuberance and scandal, immense energy, inventiveness, and outrage, reflecting a period when the English, Welsh, Scottish, and Irish peoples experienced an expanding economy, increased access to education, and the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution.
Poetry
This period saw poets such as James Thomson (1700–1748), who composed the melancholic The Seasons (1728–30), and Edward Young (1681–1765), known for Night Thoughts (1742). However, the most outstanding poet of the era was Alexander Pope (1688–1744). The era also witnessed intense debate over the proper model for pastoral poetry.
Critics emphasised a doctrine of decorum, matching appropriate words to sense and achieving a diction that suited the gravity of the subject. Meanwhile, the mock-heroic genre reached its zenith, with Pope’s The Rape of the Lock (1712–17) and The Dunciad (1728–43) regarded as some of the finest examples ever written. Pope also translated Homer’s Iliad (1715–20) and Odyssey (1725–26). His work has been continually re-evaluated since his death.
Drama
Early 18th-century drama featured the final plays of John Vanbrugh and William Congreve, who continued the tradition of Restoration comedy with some modifications. Nonetheless, the stage was dominated by lower farces and more serious, domestic tragedies.
Playwrights such as George Lillo and Richard Steele introduced highly moral tragedies focused on middle- and working-class characters and concerns. This shift reflected changes in theatrical audiences, as royal patronage ceased to be the primary determinant of success. Additionally, Colley Cibber and John Rich competed to produce ever more spectacular stage effects.
The figure of Harlequin was introduced, and pantomime theatre became popular, marking the rise of “low” comedy where spectacle often took precedence over the play itself. Opera gained popularity in London, provoking literary resistance to this Italian influence. John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera (1728) marked a significant moment in this context. The Licensing Act of 1737 abruptly curtailed much of the period’s drama by bringing theatres under strict state control.
Prose, Including the Novel
In prose, the early 18th century was dominated by the rise of the English essay. Joseph Addison and Richard Steele’s The Spectator established the format of the British periodical essay. However, it was also the time when the English novel began to emerge.
Daniel Defoe transitioned from journalism and writing criminal biographies to fictionalising such lives in Roxana and Moll Flanders. He is best known for Robinson Crusoe (1719).
If Addison and Steele were dominant in one style of prose, Jonathan Swift was prominent in another. His satire Gulliver’s Travels remains famous, while works like A Modest Proposal and the Drapier Letters defended the Irish against colonial exploitation, provoking riots and arrests. Though Swift had little sympathy for Irish Roman Catholics, he was outraged by the injustices he witnessed.
The Licensing Act of 1737 forced several aspiring playwrights to switch to novel-writing. Henry Fielding (1707–1754), after failing to pass the censors with his plays, began writing prose satires and novels.
Meanwhile, Samuel Richardson (1689–1761) produced Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded (1740). Fielding responded critically with Joseph Andrews (1742) and Shamela, and later satirised Richardson’s Clarissa (1748) with Tom Jones (1749). Tobias Smollett (1721–1771) advanced the picaresque novel with Roderick Random (1748) and Peregrine Pickle (1751).
Age of Sensibility (1745–1798):
This period is known as the Age of Sensibility, but it is also sometimes referred to as the “Age of Johnson.” Samuel Johnson (1709–1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English author who made enduring contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. He has been described as “arguably the most distinguished man of letters in English history.”
After nine years of diligent work, Johnson’s A Dictionary of the English Language was published in 1755. It had a profound and lasting impact on Modern English and is considered “one of the greatest single achievements of scholarship.”
The latter half of the eighteenth century witnessed the rise of three major Irish authors: Oliver Goldsmith (1728–1774), Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751–1816), and Laurence Sterne (1713–1768). Goldsmith authored The Vicar of Wakefield (1766), the pastoral poem The Deserted Village (1770), and two plays, The Good-Natur’d Man (1768) and She Stoops to Conquer (1773). Sheridan’s debut play, The Rivals (1775), premiered at Covent Garden to immediate acclaim. He went on to become the most prominent London playwright of the late eighteenth century, with works such as The School for Scandal. Both Goldsmith and Sheridan rejected the sentimental comedy prevalent in eighteenth-century theatre, instead favouring styles closer to Restoration comedy.
Sterne published his celebrated novel Tristram Shandy in parts between 1759 and 1767. In 1778, Frances Burney (1752–1840) wrote Evelina, one of the earliest novels of manners. Fanny Burney’s novels were notably admired by Jane Austen.
Precursors of Romanticism
The Romantic movement in early nineteenth-century English literature has its roots in eighteenth-century poetry, the Gothic novel, and the novel of sensibility. This tradition includes the graveyard poets of the 1740s and later, whose works are marked by sombre reflections on mortality. Later poets introduced themes of the sublime and uncanny, along with a renewed interest in ancient English poetic forms and folk poetry.
Key figures include Thomas Gray (1716–1771), author of Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard (1751), and Edward Young (1683–1765), who wrote The Complaint, or Night Thoughts on Life, Death and Immortality (1742–45). Other notable precursors are James Thomson (1700–1748) and James Macpherson (1736–1796), the latter being the first Scottish poet to achieve international fame with his purported translations of ancient bardic poetry by Ossian.
The sentimental novel, or novel of sensibility, emerged in the latter half of the eighteenth century. This genre celebrates the emotional and intellectual qualities of sentiment and sensibility—a reaction against the rationalism of the Augustan Age. Sentimentalism became fashionable in both poetry and prose fiction.
Among the most renowned sentimental novels in English literature are Samuel Richardson’s Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded (1740), Oliver Goldsmith’s The Vicar of Wakefield (1766), Laurence Sterne’s Tristram Shandy (1759–67), and Henry Mackenzie’s The Man of Feeling (1771).
Significant foreign influences on the Romantic movement included the German writers Goethe, Schiller, and August Wilhelm Schlegel, as well as the French philosopher and writer Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778). Edmund Burke’s A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful (1757) was another pivotal influence. Additionally, the changing landscape brought about by the Industrial and Agricultural Revolutions profoundly shaped the growth of Romanticism in Britain.
In the late eighteenth century, Horace Walpole’s 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto founded the Gothic fiction genre, combining elements of horror and romance. Ann Radcliffe introduced the brooding Gothic villain, who evolved into the Byronic hero. Her The Mysteries of Udolpho (1795) is frequently cited as the quintessential Gothic novel.
Romanticism (1798–1837):
Romanticism was an artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. It arrived later in other parts of the English-speaking world.
The Romantic period coincided with significant social changes in England and Wales, particularly between 1750 and 1850. The countryside experienced depopulation, while overcrowded industrial cities expanded rapidly. This migration resulted primarily from two forces: the Agricultural Revolution, which involved the Enclosure Acts that displaced rural workers, and the Industrial Revolution, which provided new employment opportunities in urban areas.
Romanticism can be partly understood as a reaction to the Industrial Revolution, but it was also a revolt against the aristocratic social and political norms of the Age of Enlightenment, as well as a response to the scientific rationalisation of nature. The French Revolution had a profound influence on the political ideas of many Romantic poets.
Landscapes feature prominently in the poetry of this era, to the extent that the Romantics—especially William Wordsworth—are often described as ‘nature poets’. However, many of the longer Romantic nature poems serve broader purposes, typically meditating on emotional struggles or personal crises.
Romantic Poetry:
Robert Burns (1759–1796) is often regarded as a pioneer of the Romantic movement and became a cultural icon in Scotland after his death. William Blake (1757–1827), a poet, painter, and printmaker, was another early Romantic figure.
Although Blake was largely unrecognised during his lifetime, he is now considered seminal in both poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age. His key works include Songs of Innocence (1789), Songs of Experience (1794), and profound and complex ‘prophecies’ such as Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion (1804–c.1820).
Following Blake, the early Romantics included the Lake Poets: William Wordsworth (1770–1850), Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834), Robert Southey (1774–1843), and journalist Thomas de Quincey (1785–1859). At the time, Walter Scott (1771–1832) was the most famous poet.
Charlotte Smith (1749–1806) reintroduced the sonnet to English literature with her Elegiac Sonnets (1784).
The early Romantic poets introduced new emotional depth and introspection, culminating in the first Romantic manifesto in English literature, the Preface to Lyrical Ballads (1798). Most poems in Lyrical Ballads were by Wordsworth, though Coleridge contributed The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
Among Wordsworth’s most significant poems are Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey, Resolution and Independence, Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood, and the autobiographical epic The Prelude.
Robert Southey was Poet Laureate for 30 years, although his reputation has been overshadowed by Wordsworth and Coleridge. Thomas de Quincey is best known for Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (1821). Essayist William Hazlitt, a friend of Coleridge and Wordsworth, is celebrated for his literary criticism, particularly Characters of Shakespeare’s Plays (1817–18).
Second Generation:
The second generation of Romantic poets includes Lord Byron (1788–1824), Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822), Felicia Hemans (1793–1835), and John Keats (1795–1821).
Byron, influenced by 18th-century satirists, was arguably the least ‘romantic’ of the three, favouring the wit of Alexander Pope over what he termed the ‘wrong poetical system’ of his Romantic contemporaries. Nonetheless, he gained enormous fame and influence across Europe, with Goethe calling him “undoubtedly the greatest genius of our century”.
Shelley is renowned for Ode to the West Wind, To a Skylark, and Adonais, an elegy on Keats’s death. His progressive circle included many leading intellectuals of the time. Works such as Queen Mab (1813) establish him as the heir to the revolutionary ideals of the 1790s. Shelley became an idol for Victorian and Pre-Raphaelite poets, including Robert Browning and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, as well as later poets like W. B. Yeats.
John Keats, though sharing Byron’s and Shelley’s radical politics, is best known for his sensuous music, imagery, and reflections on beauty and mortality. His famous works include Ode to a Nightingale, Ode on a Grecian Urn, and To Autumn. Keats remains a major Romantic poet whose stature has grown steadily despite changing literary fashions.
Felicia Hemans began to undermine Romanticism’s traditional forms, a process continued by Letitia Elizabeth Landon, who, as an urban poet, focused on themes of decay and decomposition. Landon’s innovations in metrical romance and dramatic monologue greatly influenced Victorian poetry.
Other Poets:
John Clare (1793–1864), the son of a farm labourer, became known for his celebrations of the English countryside and laments for rural change. His work has undergone significant reevaluation and is now considered among the most important of the 19th century.
George Crabbe (1754–1832) wrote realistic and closely observed portraits of rural life in the heroic couplets of the Augustan age. Modern critics regard Crabbe as an undervalued major poet.
Romantic Novel:
Sir Walter Scott was one of the era’s most popular novelists. His historical romances inspired generations of artists across Europe. His novel-writing career began with Waverley (1814), often regarded as the first historical novel.
Jane Austen’s novels critique the sensibility novels of the late 18th century and serve as a bridge to 19th-century realism. Works like Pride and Prejudice (1813) and Emma (1815) combine comic plots with a focus on women’s dependence on marriage for social and economic security.
Mary Shelley (1797–1851) is best remembered for Frankenstein (1818).
Romanticism in America:
The European Romantic movement reached America in the early 19th century, exhibiting the same diversity and individualism. American Romantics embraced moral enthusiasm, individualism, intuitive perception, and viewed nature as inherently good in contrast to corrupt human society.
Romantic Gothic literature appeared early with Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1820) and Rip Van Winkle (1819). His essays and travel writings also contain vivid ‘local colour’ descriptions.
From 1823, James Fenimore Cooper began publishing popular historical romances of frontier and Native American life. Edgar Allan Poe’s macabre tales and poetry, emerging in the 1830s, found more influence in France than in America.
Victorian literature (1837–1901):
Sage Writing
During the Victorian era, a new literary genre known as sage writing emerged, characterised by authors seeking “to express notions about the world, man’s situation in it, and how he should live.” John Holloway identified prominent writers of this type, including Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881), George Eliot (1819–1880), John Henry Newman (1801–1890), and Thomas Hardy (1840–1928). However, the foremost figure was Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881), a Scottish essayist, historian, and philosopher who came to be regarded as “the undoubted head of English letters” in the nineteenth century.
Known as the Sage of Chelsea, Carlyle was a prolific author who criticised the Industrial Revolution, advocated hero-worship, and condemned materialism through a series of works written in his distinctive style, often referred to as Carlylese. His influence on Victorian literature was widespread; in 1855, George Eliot remarked that “there is hardly a superior or active mind of this generation that has not been modified by Carlyle’s writings.” She further suggested that if all his books “were burnt as the grandest of Suttees on his funeral pile, it would be only like cutting down an oak after its acorns have sown a forest.”
Another notable sage writer was John Ruskin (1819–1900), an Anglo-Scottish art critic and philosopher who regarded Carlyle as his mentor. Ruskin’s early career focused on aesthetics, championing artists such as Turner and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Later, he turned to ethics, advocating educational reform and political economy, which had considerable influence both in England and internationally. Matthew Arnold (1822–1888), an English poet and critic, is also recognised as a sage writer, famed particularly for his criticism of philistinism.
The Victorian Novel
The Victorian era witnessed the novel’s rise as the dominant literary genre in English literature. Women played a significant role in this growing popularity, both as authors and readers. The serialisation of fiction in monthly magazines further encouraged this surge, alongside social upheavals following the Reform Act of 1832.
The Victorian novel often served as a reaction to rapid industrialisation and the accompanying social, political, and economic challenges. It provided a platform to critique government and industrial abuses and highlight the suffering of the poor, who did not benefit from England’s economic growth. Early notable examples include Benjamin Disraeli’s Sybil, or The Two Nations (1845) and Charles Kingsley’s Alton Locke (1849).
Charles Dickens (1812–1870) emerged in the late 1830s and soon became arguably the most famous novelist in English literature. His works fiercely satirised various social institutions, such as the workhouse in Oliver Twist and the legal system in Bleak House. His early rival, William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863), ranked second during the period but is now primarily remembered for Vanity Fair (1847).
The Brontë sisters — Emily, Charlotte, and Anne — were other major novelists in the 1840s and 1850s. Charlotte’s Jane Eyre (1847) was the first of their novels to achieve success. Emily’s Wuthering Heights (1847) startled Victorian readers with its vivid passion and powerful imagery, leading many to mistakenly believe it was written by a man. Anne’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848) is now recognised as one of the earliest feminist novels.
Elizabeth Gaskell (1810–1865) also achieved success with works like North and South, which contrasts industrial northern England with the wealthier south. Anthony Trollope (1815–1882) was among the most prolific and respected Victorian novelists, portraying the lives of the landowning and professional classes.
George Eliot, the pen name of Mary Ann Evans, was a leading mid-Victorian novelist whose Middlemarch (1871–72) exemplifies literary realism. Her works are admired for combining detailed Victorian social observation with broad intellectual scope.
George Meredith (1828–1909) is remembered for novels such as The Ordeal of Richard Feverel (1859) and The Egoist (1879). Although his reputation remained high into the twentieth century, it later declined. An interest in rural life and the evolving countryside is seen in Thomas Hardy’s (1840–1928) novels, including The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886) and Tess of the d’Urbervilles (1891). Hardy, like Eliot and Dickens, was a Victorian realist who was critical of many aspects of contemporary society.
Another important late-Victorian novelist was George Gissing (1857–1903), who published 23 novels between 1880 and 1903. His best-known work is New Grub Street (1891).
Although predating the Victorian era, John Ruskin’s The King of the Golden River (1841) is often cited as an early influence on modern fantasy. The genre’s history is generally said to begin with George MacDonald (1824–1905), author of The Princess and the Goblin and Phantastes (1858). William Morris (1834–1896) further developed the genre with his high fantasy romances in the 1880s and 1890s.
The first detective novel in English is generally considered to be Wilkie Collins’ epistolary The Moonstone (1868). Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894), a significant Scottish writer of the late nineteenth century, authored Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886) and Kidnapped (1886).
The science fiction genre gained momentum with H.G. Wells (1866–1946), who began writing in the 1890s. His notable works include The Time Machine (1895) and The War of the Worlds (1898), which describes a Martian invasion of late Victorian England. Alongside the French writer Jules Verne (1828–1905), Wells is regarded as a foundational figure in science fiction. He also wrote realist fiction about the lower middle class, such as Kipps (1905).
