good day everyone literature is one of the most fascinating aspects of the english subject and in studying british american literature it's very important to go back to the basics the anglo-american history and literature at the end of this video you should be able to identify the key features and genre of angry american literature the united kingdom and the united states of america have been considered two of the most powerful states in the world for centuries already however just like any other nation they have had their humble beginnings and their evolution brought about by colonization political social and cultural changes as well as technological advancements along with their progress the development of their literature has reflected their identity as a nation struggles towards preserving their civilization the freedom of their ancestors and their legacy to the world the route back to history and literature of these two countries let's first discuss anglo-american history and literature but who are anglo-americans anglo is a white inhabitant of the united states of european origin they are descended from the angels england english culture english people or the english language on the other hand an american is a native or citizen of the united states therefore an anglo-american is a cultural entity of a north america whose common spoken language is english and its focus and customs historically have been those of northern europe they are mostly from the united states and canada with the french speaking canada a notable exemption the following are the important periods in history and literature of england and the united states of america the ancient times dated before the 5th century 80s the middle ages or medieval times dated 5th to 15th century the renaissance period from 1300s to 1500s the age of enlightenment from 1685 to 1815 the romantic to realistic peer youth from 770 to 1850 and modern to contemporary period from 1900s up until the present let's discuss them one by one during the ancient times before fifth century ad or ana domini meaning in the year of the lord the romans found the land inhabited by the britons or celts a collection of tribes with origins in central europe that shared a similar language religious beliefs traditions and culture they were conquered by the anglo-saxons who brought the germanic language to the land this language eventually replaced latin the literature of the country is usually a product of its sociological cultural and historical developments thus when we analyze a literary text we distinguish not only the forms and conventions applied but also its genre during the ancient times stories are passed down from one generation to another through oral tradition a genre that holds this feature is the epic a long narrative poem that recounts the adventures and the triumph of a hero a famous example of this is the epic of bee wolf another feature of literature in the ancient times is that poems written are laden with biblical and religious themes religious poems written by kinawolf and kedman are examples of these the second historical period is the middle ages or also called as the medieval times christianity remained a powerful influence but some church leaders have become abusive and corrupt the feudal system was established wherein the vassals or tenants show obedience and loyalty to their lord for providing them security and protection the chivalry code became the basis of morals and manners for the nobility class the hundred years war between england and france started in 1337. it ended in 1453 with england using many of its lands to fans this period was interrupted by the bubonic plague that killed half of england's population this tragic period was called the dark ages with this event witnessed by the writers in the middle ages the key features are works were written in what was called as modern english and not in latin anymore and vernacular literature religious writings and secular texts emerge genres and representative writers that flourished are heroic tales and romances that tackle chivalry an adventure of knights the pearl poet's sir gawain and the green knight is an example of this and another famous genre under this period is the anthology or compilation of different tales there is no better example of this than the canterbury tales of jeffrey chaucer in 1492 it is believed that christopher columbus set foot in what is now known as the united states of america thus in the next historical period significant events for both the united states and england will be compared and presented during the renaissance period in england the culture that was destroyed by the plague was reborn many scholars strove to bring back the glory of their country and their culture they also desired to change the old feudalistic beliefs and practices and the face of the church previously tainted by corruption then king henry viii established the church of england but people still rejected the authority of the catholic church lastly in 1588 england triumphed against spain under the reign of elizabeth the first on the other hand in the united states of america 1606 the virginia company was chartered by king james the first of england to establish a colony in america it was distinguished from the climate company which was chartered at the same time and composed largely of men from climate this was established by the pilgrims with the aim of promoting christianity and separating from england the puritans or english protestants in the 16th century had the same intention as the pilgrims but with no desire to separate from england with these events happening on the two countries the following features genres and writers emerged texts show more optimism despite staying true to the medieval tradition this is in line with the rebirth of culture in england hence lyric poetry or poetry that expresses personal sentiments was born examples of these are william shakespeare's sonnets and pastoral poems that depict their rural life by christopher merlot and sir walter raleigh another feature of literature in the renaissance period is texts becoming sophisticated seer used and concerned with social abuse and rivalry among groups in addition texts are also centered on religious practical or historical themes these features are evident in the pros or essays written by francis bacon and benjamin franklin lastly theaters were closed due to moral and religious reasons affected by these are the production of tragedies and comedies of william shakespeare and christopher merlot moving on to the next historical period the age of enlightenment or reason or the restoration period dated from 1685 to 1815. queen elizabeth was followed to the throne by james vi of scotland who became james the first of england he believed in the absolute power of the monarchy and so he clashed with the parliament which was the forum for the interests of the nobility and the merchant classes when the parliament made increasing demands which the king refused to meet and neither side was willing to budge the civil war broke out in 1642 the king's army were known as the cavaliers from the french word for knight or horsemen while the parliamentary drew most of its support from middle classes in 1649 the puritans won over the cavaliers and charles the first was executed but the puritan's rule ended in 1616 when charles ii rose to the throne but the monarch had to share power with the parliament this time on the other side of the world in the united states african slaves were transported to the americas to work on plantations moreover the french and the english fought over some areas of north america the english colonizers won in the seven years war and imposed heavy taxes on the american colonists due to the huge amount of money spent during the wars this instigated the americans to protest against the english rule as a result of these events in both countries literary works under the age of enlightenment are known for the use of philosophy reason skepticism towards institutions or authorities with and refinement the comedy of manners genre a type of comedy that satirizes a specific group in society usually the upper class depicts this feature known writers are william mitchelly and william congrege moreover writers wrote with clarity and balance of judgment these are evident in the epic of john milton entitled paradise laws in paradise regained or paradise found plays written by john dryden and the essays by john locke a satire is also a key genre in this era it is a text that uses humor to attack a social issue jonathan swift's a modest proposal is a good manifestation of this lastly novels like danielle defoe's robinson prison are key genres in this era the next historical period is the romantic to realistic period this era saw queen victoria's longest reign as a monarch the victorian age was the period of stability and prosperity as the british empire colonized many nations and owed one-fourth of the world's land the british society became more conscious of their class morals and proper decorum but the sad reality until now started in this era when more people rose to a middle-class tattoos many people sank in poverty as well in the united states of america please let me use some references from the ever-famous musical hamilton the american revolution broke out in 1775. the americans victory over the english led to the establishment of the american government the declaration of independence was signed in 1776 one of the writers is thomas jefferson later on the u.s constitution was adopted in 1789 and george washington became the first president of the republic seventy plus years later the american civil war or also called as the war between the states broke out in 1861 it was a four-year war between the confederates or southerners and the unionists or northerners the unionists who were anti-slavery won the war afterwards in 1865 through the 13th amendment slavery was abolished lastly in 1898 america won over the spanish ruling and america rose to world power here are the key features of this period first writers from the romantic movement focus on the true the good and the beautiful as well as the expansion of imagination that gave way to the clear forms of expression it also valued the human spirit and love for nature genres that have this feature are gothic fiction and lyric poems gothic fiction features grotesque gloomy and mysterious settings characters and situations the short stories of edgar allen poe are thrilling examples of this another genre is lyric poems known writers in this period are william wordsworth alfred lloyd tennyson elizabeth barrett browning and her husband robert barrett browning and many more the second key feature of literature under the romantic realistic period focuses on the realist writers they portray societal problems accurately particularly the flight of the common people these eras also produce the most important documents of american history such as political documents like thomas paine's common sense and the declaration of independence by thomas jefferson lastly during this period american writers produced original and high quality pieces that make them unique from english writers novels by charles dickens and thomas hardy and satirical novels by mark twain are prominent writings during this time the last period in anglo-american history is the modern to contemporary period that started in 1900s and is still ongoing until now this period in england saw world war one in world war ii which caused the death of millions of people and brought economic losses to many nations england was part of the allied forces together with the united states of america the wars brought disillusionment confusion and paranoia among the people after the war the country regained its political and financial stability the uk was a founding member of the north atlantic treaty organization or nato and in 1973 it became a member of the european union and ever since 1952 queen elizabeth ii had been reigning on the other hand the united states also participated in world war 1. more and more rights were granted to marginalized peoples like women the african-americans and many others the roaring 20s or the 1920s was a period of prosperity and extravagance but also a period that saw moral degradation in 1929 the great depression hit the country and many americans were unemployed during world war ii u.s was part of the allied forces together with england u.s bombed hiroshima and nagasaki which eventually forced japan to surrender modernism as an international movement drove many intellectuals to seek for freer unconventional means of expression some dealt with important social or economic issues u.s economy prospered for the gap between the rich and the poor widened moreover the marginalized peoples demanded polar rights like black civil rights movement which aimed to end segregation in the modern to contemporary times writers make commentaries on the social injustice and the selfishness of the upper class society this is depicted in the novels of virginia woolf and f scott fitzgerald moreover naturalist works portrayed a darker yet more realistic view of life like informs of william butler yeats and robert frost writers experimented with subject matter form and style the lost generation writers applied to europe and wrote about their moral crisis and disillusionment after the world wars lastly juxtaposing genres and styles characterize postmodern literature genres and writers under these are the harlem renaissance poems by lang song yoons and dramas by eugene o'neill and tamul becker that is the end of our discussion on the periods of anglo-american history and literature to summarize we have six periods in total the ancient times the medieval times the renaissance period the age of enlightenment the romantic to realistic period and the modern to contemporary period i hope that you can now identify the key features and genre of anglo-american literature thank you for watching