more about the literary periods feature

Literary periods have been identified in many languages, centuries, cultures, societies, nations, and regional territories. In this feature, The Muse is primarily interested in authors who lived and wrote in periods of American, British, and World literature. Exploration is restricted to works originally written in English or for which an English-language translation is available. Literary works that do not fall into any formally recognized literary period are treated elsewhere.

issues to explore

The concept of period and place in bodies of literature raises a number of questions and issues worth exploring. Here are a few.

Literature has flourished in many places and times. At one time or another, Western nations and cultures such as those of Germany, France, England, Italy, and Ireland have produced brilliant literary bodies of work. Eastern European nations and Eastern cultures and countries such as India, Japan, Indonesia, and China have done the same. Add to these, Finland, Norway, Mexico, Hungary, Latvia, Russia, Iran, Mesopotamia, Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece, and many, many more.

Why have literatures characteristic of these nations and times flowered and why have literatures of other nations and times not flourished? Prosperity and social stability have much to do with the answer, but not everything. Impoverished and warring places have produced great literature, too; strong, wealthy nations have produced dross. Since circumstances that encourage the production of great literature vary, there must be more to reaching literary heights than meets the eye.

By virtue of quality and quantity of output, the places cited above have established themselves as literary centers of gravity. But quantity isn't the sine qua non of a literary tradition. Even if a locale produces only a single literary work of merit with important links to the locale that gave it birth, it establishes a literary presence of place that deserves careful consideration.

Literature is not produced in a vacuum. No one can deny that place—locale, time, and cultural identity—can and often does give substance and form to a work of literature. By the same token, important literature is not restricted to a particular place, even if it burgeons from and is informed by the place where it is born. It possesses universal qualities that rise above and beyond neighborhood and touches what is common to all of us. How does literature based in time and  place accomplish this linkage?

Here are some additional questions and issues to explore:

• What are the important literary traditions that are strongly associated with place.
• What is it that produces great literature in some places and not in others?
• Who are the artists who are identified with particular places?
• What is it about a place that draws a writer's attention and causes him to write in its language or about its culture, even though he may be born elsewhere or speak or write a different native language?
• How can place-centered literature reach out to touch readers not of that place?
• What means and devices do artists use to convey the idea of place?
• For specific places and works, which important works of literature strongly convey an identification with place?
• What are the macroscopic characteristics of specific literary traditions that are strongly associated with place?
• Can a work set in one nation be part of the literary tradition of another nation? For example, can a novel set in Devil's Island belong to the French body of literature?

how pages in this feature are organized

In this feature, The Muse Of Literature explores authors and works (bodies of literature) classified and organized by period. The Muse examines issues and questions that arise when considering how the period in which works are written affects authors and their works, and vice versa.

These explorations cannot be accomplished without first: 1) defining literary periods, 2) classifying authors, works, and times according to the period to which they belong, and 3) organizing The Muse Of Literature's features about authors and their works according to their period.

Literary classification

Specific schemes for classifying periods vary from one literary expert to another, from one scholarly publication to another, or from one academic institution to another. As a consequence, there are many different, competing schemes for specifying and organizing literature into periods and subperiods. All sorts of arrangements for schema are possible, even for a single body of literature.

Classifying authors and works by period is not a straightforward task. How is it possible to pick a classification scheme that will satisfy everyone?

In most literary period classification schemes, periods are arranged chronologically. The longest-lasting or most general periods are placed at or near the top of a literary schema hierarchy. Each of these longest-lasting or most generic periods is further subdivided into subperiods. Subperiods are not as general or comprehensive as the period to which they belong and last a shorter time.

For example, a period called American Literature, which might include all literature ever written by or for Americans in any era, probably would be placed at or near the top of a classification scheme because it is very comprehensive. To impart precision, the American Literature period might be further subdivided into less general, less comprehensive periods such as Colonial Literature, Federal Literature, Romantic Literature, Victorian Literature, etc. Colonial Literature, Federal Literature, Romantic Literature, and Victorian Literature would each be considered a subperiod; each subperiod would only include American literature written by or for Americans in its own time.

Considering the many options that are available, at the highest level of generality the Muse Of Literature has chosen to organize literary periods at this web site in this manner. The Muse has chosen these periods for the most general classification of period:

• American Literature
• British Literature
• World Literature

In this approach: 1) American Literature consists of all literature written by or for Americans in any era, 2) British Literature consists of all literature written by or for the British or residents of what was or is the United kingdom in any era, and 3) World Literature consists of all other literature written anyplace else in any era.

The Muse further divides each of these literary periods into subperiods, as appropriate. Subperiods are treated elsewhere.

Despite what you may think, this approach to classifying literature into periods is not meant to be chauvinistic; it is only meant to be helpful. The Muse adopts it because it offers the greatest number of benefits to the greatest number of people:

• It agrees in principle with the most popular schemes in place today. It is consistent with the schemes in widespread use among academics and in universities and most colleges organize their basic literature education curricula in this manner.
• It apportions American, English, and other-world bodies of literature more or less uniformly by allocating approximately equal numbers of authors and works to each category.
• It is easily understood by everyone.
• It segregates the language problems that arise in connection with literary periods into two neatly divided, relatively malleable categories, English and all other.

Even with so general a classification scheme as this, it's possible to get into serious trouble. For example, is the literature of Welsh mythology, dating from pre-Christian Brittany, literature of the British or World Literature? Where does one put Lady Guest's Maginogion or the poems of Cad Goddeu? Where does one put the Red Book of Hergest or the Book of Taliesin? Would it be better to classify Welsh mythology as a literary genre or form; or should it be treated as mythology?

Argue about it, if you will. Inevitably, no classification scheme will satisfy everyone.

organization

The Muse has further chosen to organize the pages of this feature in a way that mirrors the literary classification scheme just cited. Thus, features about American literature are located at pages in this web site that are dedicated to American authors and works; features about British Literature are located at pages in this web site that are dedicated to British authors and works; and features about World literature are located at pages dedicated to authors and works drawn from the rest of the world.

stay in command

Understanding literary classification is tricky. A good way to discover, explore, and understand literary periods and subperiods is first to explore the Muse's feature called Understanding Literary Periods; then visit each of the features cited above. There you can familiarize yourself with the authors and works of each major period and can can discover their salient characteristics.

Explore the ins and outs of literary periods. Decide for yourself how to classify and organize literary periods and assign authors and their works:

• Visit The Muse Of Literature's page called Understanding Literary Periods: click here.
• then explore each of the periods cited above:
  • American Literature
  • British Literature
  • World Literature