Class with Mason: School of Literary Studies

The Characteristic Features of Medieval Britain c.1250–c.1500: An Overview Religion Dominance of the Church : The Catholic Chu…

Renaissance (1500-1700) This period saw some changes in ideas about disease, though methods for treatment and prevention largely remained t…

Historical Background Pope Urban II’s Call to Arms Council of Clermont (1095): In November 1095, Pope Urban II addressed th…

Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows a natural flow of speech and adheres to standard grammatical structure. Unlike poetry, p…

Introduction to the Modern Novel The novel is the most important and popular literary medium in modern times. It competes for popularity …

Introduction The contemporary movement in English drama has seen a significant growth in historical plays. This trend reflects a deliberate effort…

Introduction to Poetic Drama In the twentieth century, there has been a resurgence of poetic drama. Notable poets like Yeats and Eliot contribut…

1. George Bernard Shaw (1856—1950) Early Life and Influences Born and raised in Ireland, moved to London in 1876 to seek fortune. Initially tried…

Introduction After Shakespeare and his contemporaries, English drama faced a decline for two centuries. Even prominent figures like Congreve, Sher…

Origins and Characteristics The First World War (1914-18) gave rise to war poetry. Poets who wrote about the war and its horrors, especially in th…

Revolt Against Victorian Romantic Tradition The Imagists were a group of poets who initiated the first significant revolt against the Victorian R…

Overview of the Georgian Poets Background Flourished during the reign of George V (1911-1936). Though they had various characteris…

1. Robert Bridges (1840-1930): The Last Great Victorian Background and Style Though a twentieth-century poet, Bridges is considered the …

A Break from Tradition Modern poetry, represented chiefly by T. S. Eliot , diverges significantly from the Romantic and Victorian traditions. E…