How To Study English Literature

Hi dear students! How are you today?
My name is Christian and I will be your teacher in this subject

English Literature. I find Literature both interesting and important. I love stories and history. Books
and coffee are good combination not only for leisure but for continuous learning.
Some of you might have asked, why do I have to study English Literature?
What would I get out of it? Well, aside from complying an academic requirement there are other
benefits in studying English Literature. Today, I have 3 questions to answer in this lesson.
1. Why study English Literature?
2. How to study English Literature?
3. What is English Literature?
Our objectives are at the end of this lesson students will be able to:
1. Recognize the benefits of studying English Literature

2. Explain the approaches on how to study English Literature
3. Demonstrate the summary of English Literature Periods through given activities.
Some of you might have asked, why do do I have to study English Literature?
What would I get out of it? Well, aside from complying an academic requirement there are other
benefits in studying English Literature.
Studying the literature of the English language can enrich our lives in ways we never imagined.
Beyond the simple entertainment of a good story, readers stand to gain compassion for a wide range
of people across cultures and time periods. In addition, sustained immersion in the literary arts as a
whole results in a richer vocabulary and a certain ease and confidence when the reader approaches
the practice of composition. (pictures of readers and writers)
In studying English Literature we Develop a Historical Perspective
The plays written by the world's most famous playwright grapple with the timeless themes of
betrayal, hunger for political power and the complicated dance of romantic love. In this rapidly
evolving high-tech world, there is something deeply comforting about the fact that after 500 years,
some things seem fixed and steady. In Shakespeare's own words, from his play the tempest "What's
past is prologue." (the tempest picture)
Help us Understand Human Diversity

Popular culture tends to celebrate three things: youth, beauty and the grotesque. Simply put,
people need an antidote to the sensational to stay sane. Literature provides that,
by showcasing characters with seemingly rarefied traits such as modesty and humility.
For example, Charles Dickens' Joe Gargery proves that a simple blacksmith can be a hero in "Great
Expectations."
Gain Cultural Understanding

For non native English speakers, studying literature — as with the study of English art, philosophy and
economics — gives the amateur anthropologist a window to the soul of English culture and customs.
Indeed, the uptight social conventions of Oscar Wilde's "An Ideal Husband" speaks volumes when the
character of Mrs. Chevely says, "Morality is simply the attitude we adopt towards people whom we
personally dislike."
Helps Improved Writing

In his 1992 film "Husbands and Wives," Woody Allen's character Gabe, a college professor, famously
says of his craft, "You can't teach writing. You expose students to good work and hope it inspires
them." There is some truth here. In fact, many would argue quite heartily that there is no better
teacher for those wishing to write well in English than the body of work known as the English literary
canon. Reading great literature improves one's skills as a writer.
Studying English Literature and Literature in general is not only interesting but also important to us.
It might help us develop our soft skills and hard skills which are essential part of personality
development and career advancement.
English literature, the body of written works produced in

the English language by inhabitants of the British
Isles (including Ireland) from the 7th century to the present
day.
Knowing the importance of studying English Literature, let me share to you some important points on
how to study English Literature
How to Study English Literature
Building the Timeline

The most helpful way to approach English literature is by creating a chronological overview into which
you can fit specific trends, works, authors and ideas. By first mastering a basic chronology of English
literature, recognizing the new types of literature that emerge in each time period and fitting in
specific authors, works and topics, you lay a solid foundation on which to build a growing
understanding. (picture timeline)
English literature begins with
1) the Anglo-Saxon, or Old English period, which began approximately 410 A.D.
when the Romans withdrew from Britain, leaving it to Germanic and Scandinavian settlers.
The Old English period ended with the Norman invasion of 1066, when French became the language
of the educated classes, gradually blending with Anglo-Saxon to produce Middle English,
best known as the language of Geoffrey Chaucer.
2) Middle English gave way to modern English during the Middle Ages, and Britain produced many
great authors
3) during the 16th and
4) 17th centuries.
The 18th century is famous for its essayists and satirists and for the appearance of the novel and its
precursors. The decades that ended the 18th century and opened the 19th ushered in the British
Romantic period, and the works of the Romantic poets.
The 19th century is considered the great age of the novel.

The turn of the 20th century saw the rise of modernism, a movement characterized by stylistic
experimentation and the questioning of traditional values.
Important Trends
In the Old English period, epic poetry, which began as an oral art, was exemplified in "Beowulf." The
period is also known for its beautiful elegies, including "The Wanderer" and "The Seafarer." Old
English poetry is alliterative, rather than rhyming, and is known for its use of the kenning, a
compressed metaphor such as whale-road or night-stalker. In the Middle English period, medieval
romances, such as the tales of King Arthur, were popular.
The important trends of the 18th century were the growth of the essay and the satire and the earliest
examples of the novel, a long prose narrative with realistic setting and three-dimensional characters.
As the 18th century gave way to the 19th, the Romantic movement, which emphasized nature and
emotion, produced great poetry such as that of William Wordsworth, Lord Byron and John Keats.
After the triumph of the novel form in the 19th century, the Modernists introduced important stylistic
innovations such as stream of consciousness, the unreliable narrator, and stories driven more by
psychology than by external plot.
Important Authors and Titles

The most famous example of Old English literature is the anonymous epic "Beowulf." The most
famous work in Middle English is "The Canterbury Tales" by Chaucer. Although he had many famous
contemporaries, William Shakespeare is the best known author of the Elizabethan period. John
Milton, known for his epic poem "Paradise Lost," and John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim's Progress, are
important names from the 17th century. In the 18th century, such authors as Daniel Defoe, with his
Robinson Crusoe, Jonathan Swift, with his Gulliver's Travels, and Henry Fielding, with his Tom Jones,
laid the groundwork for the rise of the novel, while Samuel Johnson, Joseph Addison and Richard
Steele developed the essay into an influential and widely popular art form.
Themes and Ideas

The major concerns of English literature evolved along with the literary forms that sought to capture
them.
Anglo-Saxon poetry - transition from traditional pagan beliefs to Christian ideas

The medieval romance -feudalism, including courtly love, courtesy and chivalry.
Herbert Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, Bunyan and others explored the implications of England's
Protestant reformation, and sought to create a distinctively Protestant tradition in English literature.
Age of Enlightenment- including justice, politics, science, technological progress and education,
appeared in the essays and satires of the 18th century.
With the novel, a new emphasis on realism and specificity, and a new interest in exploring the
characters' development, choices and relationships, appeared in English literature. Most English
novels during the 19th century used one or more stories of love and courtship as vehicles to explore
such issues as the rise of the middle class, the obligations of the higher classes to the lower, and the
need for reform in English society. Poetic justice or an ending, in which the values of the community
are reaffirmed and characters seem to get what they deserve, was typical of the endings of most of
these works. In contrast, the Modernists were concerned with the uncertainty and complexity of the
postwar world, and were heavily influenced by Sigmund Freud's ideas about sexuality and the
unconscious.
Now that we have discussed the importance of English Literature and how to study it, here are some
questions for a quick review.
1. What are some terms in literature that you can recall in our discussion today?
2. What period in English Literature History is the most significant for you?
3. Choose an activity where you can demonstrate or recall English Literature History in a nutshell.
Example: Song/Jingle, Rap or Poem (3 minute presentation)
Kindly send your worksheet and your recorded video performance in my email account:
Have a good day. God bless everyone.

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Hi dear students! How are you today?

My name is Christian and I will be your teacher in this subject

1. Recognize the benefits of studying English Literature

In studying English Literature we Develop a Historical Perspective

Help us Understand Human Diversity

Gain Cultural Understanding

Helps Improved Writing

English literature, the body of written works produced in

Building the Timeline

English literature begins with

3) during the 16th and

The 19th century is considered the great age of the novel.

Important Authors and Titles

Themes and Ideas

Anglo-Saxon poetry - transition from traditional pagan beliefs to Christian ideas

Have a good day. God bless everyone.

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