Importance Of History In English Literature

[ritu 1]

Literature maintains an esteemed position as a part of civilization. It is important to read pieces of literature but more important is to read between the lines. By that I mean, one has to view the piece of literature in light of the author's state of mind, which can be attributed to either his personal experiences or the social condition prevalent i.e. the history. A special part has been allotted to History in the study of literature, for it is so helpful in making literature personify itself, it can be said that a considerable part of personal experiences accumulated by any author are also influenced if not decided by History.English literature has History broadly divided into ancient, medieval ,early modern and modern. The ancient part mostly deals with the formative part of English literature, handling the intermingling of various ethnicity and thereby displaying the influences, a lot of Pagan traits can also be found. The medieval age had various remarkable names such as Chaucer, who is regarded as "The father of English Literature", and one of the greatest poets in England.The English used in that era was quite different from what we use today, and if the difference is studied with comparative analysis,can be exemplary in demonstrating the historical progress of English.A lot of derivations from classical literature can be noticed and for the reason of such derivations can be found in history.The early modern stage of literature has a very vast extension of excellence with the strongest pillars of English literature venturing. The Elizabethan Age is regarded as the " The Golden Age of English Literature",and gems like Shakespeare used to adorn that era. The modern age saw a defiance to the earlier style of writing, the most commonly known of this sort are the Romantic writers who majorly ventured into poetry, and in a little later stage the Victorian writers who were mostly creators of novels. A few other kinds were the feminist writers and those who actively were involved in any revolution, using literature as an effective means of gathering support and creating mass awareness. As a later development in the field of literature,another age has been introduced known as the post modern age, which is hard to be put into definite words as carries literature to the next level with its own modifications. Irrespective of the age, any writer was a part of, they all exhibit dexterity in their own unique way and to get the essence of their masterpieces ,a reader should have the knowledge of History, not just to judge their work but to refer to it as an artistic representation of History.