UGC NET English 2026: Chronological Roadmap (Old English to Caroline Age)
1. Old English (Anglo-Saxon) Period
450–1066
📜 Poetry (The Heroic & Religious)
- Beowulf: The greatest Anglo-Saxon epic (Anonymous).
- Cynewulf: The Fates of the Apostles, Elene.
- Caedmon: Known as the "Father of English Sacred Song."
- Important Works: The Wanderer, The Seafarer.
🎭 Drama & Prose
Is age mein Drama exist nahi karta tha. Literary focus sirf oral poetry aur Anglo-Saxon Chronicles (Prose) par tha.
Key Fact: Poetry was mostly alliterative and used "Kennings" (metaphorical names).
2. Middle English & Age of Chaucer
1066–1400
✍️ Poetry: The Transition
- Geoffrey Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales, Troilus and Criseyde.
- William Langland: Piers Plowman (Allegorical Poetry).
- John Gower: Confessio Amantis.
- Pearl Poet: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
⛪ The Birth of Drama
- Mystery Plays: Biblical stories (e.g., Chester & York cycles).
- Miracle Plays: Lives of Saints.
- Morality Plays: Everyman (Most famous example).
3. Age of Revival (The Dark Age)
1400–1558
🏹 Poetry: The Scottish Chaucerians
- James I of Scotland: The Kingis Quair.
- Sir Thomas Wyatt: Introduced the "Sonnet" to England.
- Earl of Surrey: Introduced "Blank Verse."
🎭 Drama & Interludes
- Interludes: Short funny plays (John Heywood’s The Four PP).
- Nicholas Udall: Ralph Roister Doister (First English Comedy).
- Sackville & Norton: Gorboduc (First English Tragedy).
4. The Elizabethan Age (Golden Age)
1558–1603
🎵 Poetry & Sonnets
- Edmund Spenser: The Faerie Queene, Epithalamion.
- Philip Sidney: Astrophel and Stella.
- William Shakespeare: 154 Sonnets.
🏟️ Drama: The University Wits
- Christopher Marlowe: Doctor Faustus, Tamburlaine.
- Shakespeare: Hamlet, Midsummer Night's Dream.
- Ben Jonson: Every Man in His Humour.
5. Jacobean & Caroline Age
1603–1649
🕯️ Poetry: Metaphysical & Cavalier
- John Donne (Jacobean): The Canonization, The Flea.
- Robert Herrick (Cavalier): Hesperides.
- George Herbert: The Temple.
💀 Drama: Revenge & Dark Themes
- John Webster: The Duchess of Malfi.
- Thomas Middleton: The Changeling.
- John Ford (Caroline): 'Tis Pity She's a Whore.
Detailed Notes Chahiye? Mere Google Drive par click karein:
Download PDF Notes