History of English literature

 The history of English literature spans over a millennium and encompasses a wide range of literary works written in the English language. The earliest surviving works of English literature date back to the 7th century, with the epic poem "Beowulf" being one of the most notable examples.

During the Middle Ages, English literature was dominated by religious and theological works, as well as Arthurian legends and courtly romances. The 14th century saw the emergence of a new genre, the Middle English allegorical poem, with works such as William Langland's "Piers Plowman" and Geoffrey Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales."

The Renaissance period marked a significant shift in English literature, with writers such as William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, and John Milton producing some of the greatest works in the English language. This period also saw the emergence of the sonnet, a form that remains popular to this day.

The 18th century was known as the "Age of Enlightenment," and saw the rise of the novel as a literary form. Works by writers such as Daniel Defoe, Samuel Richardson, and Henry Fielding became popular, along with satirical works such as Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels."

The Romantic period of the late 18th and early 19th centuries was marked by a focus on individualism and emotion, with poets such as William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and John Keats producing some of the most enduring works of the period.

The Victorian era, which lasted from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century, saw the rise of the novel as the dominant literary form, with writers such as Charles Dickens, George Eliot, and Thomas Hardy producing some of the most widely read and influential works of the period.

In the 20th century, English literature continued to evolve and diversify, with the emergence of modernism and the avant-garde movements of the early 20th century, followed by postmodernism and various other literary movements in the latter half of the century. Notable writers of the 20th century include James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, T.S. Eliot, W.B. Yeats, and Salman Rushdie, among many others.