Literature of the Middle Ages. The Anglo-Saxon period Beowulf

John Dryden wrote different plays: heroic tragedies, musical dramas, comedies. But in most Dryden's plays fine speeches and poor ones may follow each other in a very astonishing way. So most of all Dryden's is famous the first English literary critic, who created an immortal gallery of English writers, such as Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, John Milton, Spenser, etc. Besides he is also considered to be the first writer who worked out the theory of classicism.
John Bunyan's prose set an example of clear, simple expression, especially in "The Pilgrim's Progress" (1678) and "The Holy War" (1682). His style was influenced by his regular reading of the Authorised version of the Bible and it reflects its beauty and earnest simplicity of that translation. Besides from "The Pilgrim's Progress" came many allegorical names (for example. Vanity Fair, Doubting Castle, the Slough of Despond). "The Pilgrim's Progress" was written in the traditional style of vision. And this book greatly influenced the writers of other epochs (for example, Pushkin translated the beginning of the vision in his poem "ctpahhik").

5. 
   English Enlightenment. The birth of the English Novel, its development. D. Defoe, J. Swift.
   

LITERATURE OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT (18^TH century)

The 17^th century was one of the stormiest periods of English history. The growing tensions between the new bourgeoisie and the old forces of feudalism brought about the English Revolution, or the Civil War, in the 1640—1660s. As a result of the revolution the king was dethroned and beheaded, and England was proclaimed a republic. Though very soon the monarchy was restored, the position of the bourgeosie changed, it obtained more political power.
The 18^th century saw Great Britain rapidly growing into a capitalist country. It was an age of intensive industrial development. New mills and manufactures appeared one after another. Small towns grew into large cities. The industrial revolution began: new machinery was invented that turned Britain into the first capitalist power of the world. While in France the bourgeoisie was just beginning its struggle against feudalism, the English bourgeoisie had already become part of the ruling class. The 18^th century was also remarkable for the development of science and culture. Isaac Newton's discoveries in the field of physics, Adam Smith's economic theories, the philosophical ideas of Hobbes, Locke and others enriched the materialistic thought and sowed in people's minds a belief in man's intellectual powers. It was in this period that English painting began to develop too: portrait painting reached its peak in the works of William Hogarth, Joshua Reynolds as well as Thomas Gainsborough, who was equally good at landscape and portraits.
In spite of the progress of industry and culture in England, the majority of the people were still very ignorant. One of the most important problems that faced the country was that of education.
The 17^th and 18^th centuries are known in the history of European culture as the period of Enlightenment. The Enlighteners defended the interests of the common people — craftsmen, tradesmen and peasants. Their criticism was directed against social inequality and religious hypocrisy as well as the immorality of the aristocracy. The central philosophical problem of the Enlightenment was that of man and his nature. The Enlighteners believed in reason as well as in man's inborn goodness. They rejected the religious idea of the original sin. Vice, they thought, was due to the miserable conditions of life which could be changed by means of reason. They also believed in the great educational power of art and considered it their duty to enlighten people, to help them see the roots of evil and the means of social reform.
The English Enlighteners were not unanimous in their views. Some of them spoke in defence of the existing order, considering that a few reforms were enough to improve it. They were the moderates, represented in literature by Daniel Defoe, Joseph Addison, Richard Steele and Samuel Richardson. Others, the radicals, wanted more democracy in the running of the country. They defended the interests of the exploited masses. The most outstanding representatives of the radicals were Jonathan Swift, Henry Fielding, Oliver Goldsmith, Richard B. Sheridan.
In the period of Enlightenment the poetic forms of the Renaissance were replaced by prose. The didactic novel was born and became the leading genre of the period. Ordinary people, mostly representatives of the middle class, became the heroes of these novels. The characters, either good or bad, were accordingly, either rewarded or punished at the end of the novel. By these means the Enlighteners idealistically hoped to improve the morals of the people and of society in general.
The Enlightenment epoch in English literature may be divided into three periods:
I. Early Enlightenment (1688—1740). This period saw a flowering of journalism, which played an important part in the public life of the country. Numerous journals and newspapers which came into being at the beginning of the 18^th century not only acquainted their readers with the situation at home and abroad,
but also helped to shape people's views. Most popular were the satirical journals The Taller, The Spectator, and The Englishman edited by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele. In their essays — short compositions in prose — these two writers touched on various problems of political, social and family life. The essays paved the way for the realistic novel which was brought into English literature by Daniel Defoe and Jonathan Swift. This period also saw the work of an outstanding satirical poet Alexander Pope. His poems The Rape of the Lock, The Dunciad and others were written in a classical manner, that is, they imitated the style of ancient Greek and Roman poets and were characterized by clarity and precision.
II. Mature Enlightenment (1740—1750).
The didactic social novel was born in this period. It was represented by the works of such writers as Samuel Richardson (Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded; Clarissa, or the History of a Young Lady), Henry Fielding (The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling and other novels), and Tobias Smollett (The Expedition of
Humphrey Clinker and other novels).