Jane Austen - Poetry - Thomas Campbell - John Keats - Robert Southey-Thomas Moore - SIR WALTER SCOTT- LORD BYRON - WILLIAM WORDSWORTH SAMUEL TAY- Grandeur of the age-Inventions - Notable era- Scientific in- vestigation Practical tendencies Educational advance- ment Periodical press - International relations - Political progress Social improvement - Religion and philanthropy Creative and diffusive literature Essay writing - History - Fiction — Realism and romanticism - Poetry — THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULAY-CHARLOTTE BRONTE - WILLIAM Portrait of Chaucer ILLUSTRATIONS Portrait of Spenser, with facsimile of autograph Portrait of Shakespeare, with facsimile of autograph Inscriptions The Mary Arden Cottage Stratford on Avon Portrait of Milton, with facsimile of autograph . The Auld Brig o' Doon Portrait of Scott, with facsimile of autograph Ellen's Isle. Scott's Tomb Portrait of Byron, with facsimile of autograph Portrait of Wordsworth, with facsimile of autograph Grasmere The Poet's Seat Portrait of Coleridge, with facsimile of autograph Portrait of Shelley, with facsimile of autograph Portrait of Eliot, with facsimile of autograph Portrait of Browning (E. B.), with facsimile of autograph House in which Browning died, Venice Portrait of Tennyson, with facsimile of autograph 585 Between 670 and 671 1 HISTORY OF INTRODUCTION. Literature in its largest sense National literature - English literature - Its excellence - Moulding influences Race - Epoch Environment - Personal elements - Literature in a narrower sense - Importance of literature - As a social force-Literary taste Periods of English literature. IN its largest sense, literature includes all the written records of man. It presents the thoughts, emotions, and achievements of the human family. Its vast extent renders it absolutely impossible for any person to become acquainted with more than a very small part of it. The greatest libraries of the world now contain more than a million volumes, to which thousands are added every year. This general or universal literature is made up of national literatures. A national literature is composed of the literary productions of a particular nation. After reaching a state of civilization, every nation accumulates a body of writings that express the thoughts, feelings, and achievements of its people. Thus we have the literature of Greece, of Rome, of Germany, of England, and of other nations, both ancient and modern. English literature embraces the writings of the people of Great Britain. It covers a period of about twelve hundred years; and five hundred years ago it had in Chaucer one of the world's great writers. It shares in the greatness of the English people. It combines French vivacity with German depth; and in its scope, variety, and excellence it is second to no other. No department of literature has been left uncultivated. Poets have sung in sweet and lofty strains; novelists have portrayed every phase of society; orators have convinced the judgment and moved the heart; scientists have revealed the laws of the physical world; historians have eloquently told of the past; and philosophers have deeply pondered the mysteries of existence. This literature is a heritage in which all English-speaking people may feel a just pride. It is a subject to which they should give careful study. It embodies the best thought and the noblest feeling of the English people; and an acquaintance with it leads not only to greater breadth of culture, but also to a profounder insight into English history and English character. Standing in close relation to us, it naturally possesses a deeper interest than the literature of any other country. Literature is influenced or determined by whatever affects the thought and feeling of a people. Among the most potent influences that determine the character of a literature are race, epoch, and surroundings. This fact should be clearly understood, for it renders a philosophy of literature possible. We cannot fully understand any work of literature, nor justly estimate its excellence, without an acquaintance with the national traits of the writer, ? |
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