Timeless English Literature: Key Works and Authors

Beowulf: An Ancient English Epic Poem

• Setting: Around the sixth century.
• Written Down: Probably not until the eighth century.
• Significance: Considered the first heroic text in English literature.
• Protagonist: A brave young man from southern Sweden.
• Author: Anonymous.
• Form: Written in verse.

The Canterbury Tales: Chaucer's Medieval Masterpiece

• Author: Geoffrey Chaucer.
• Period: Written between 1387 and 1400.
• Structure: A collection of short stories presented as a frame story.
• Plot: Follows a group of 30 pilgrims traveling to Canterbury.
• Characters: Pilgrims from all layers of society.
• Purpose of Stories: To pass the time during their journey.

Hamlet: Shakespeare's Iconic Tragedy of Revenge

• Theme: Revenge.
• Type: Tragedy, Drama.
• Setting: Denmark.
• Plot Summary:
  • Events unfold after the assassination of King Hamlet by his brother, Claudius.
  • The King's ghost implores his son, Hamlet, to avenge his murder.
• Tone: Initially dark and depressed.
• Style: A combination of prose and verse.
• Narrator:
  • First and third person perspectives.
  • The third-person narrator is omniscient, knowing all aspects of the story.

Paradise Lost: John Milton's Epic of Creation

• Author: John Milton, a renowned writer of the Restoration period.
• Purpose: To "justify the ways of God to men."

Pamela: Samuel Richardson's Pioneering Novel

• Author: Samuel Richardson.
• Publication Year: 1740.
• Theme: Virtue.
• Genre: Considered a psychological novel.

Frankenstein: Mary Shelley's Gothic Masterpiece

• Author: Mary Shelley.
• Central Theme: The theme of creation.
• Genre: Horror, Science Fiction, and Gothic Narrative.
• Plot Structure: The novel's plot is built in the style of a fiction novel.
• Epistolary Theme: The letters within the novel explore themes of travel and adventures.

David Copperfield: Dickens's Bildungsroman Classic

• Author: Charles Dickens.
• Publication Year: 1849.
• Plot: Chronicles David Copperfield's life from birth to adulthood.
• Narrator: First-person, with the narrator possessing full knowledge of the story being recounted.
• Theme: Explores the suffering of the poor while highlighting their great honesty and nobility.

The Happy Prince: Oscar Wilde's Poignant Fairy Tale

• Author: Oscar Wilde.
• Plot Structure: The short story's plot is crafted in the style of fairy tales, characterized by simple and direct narratives.
• Setting: Appears to take place in a European town.