A History of English Literature | Page 6

fundamental respects, roughly speaking is rhythm in which the recurrence of stressed syllables or of feet with definite time-values is regular. There is no proper connection either in spelling or in meaning between rhythm and rime (which is generally misspelled 'rhyme'). The adjective derived from 'rhythm' is 'rhythmical'; there is no adjective from 'rime' except 'rimed.' The word 'verse' in its general sense includes all writing in meter. Poetry is that verse which has real literary merit. In a very different and narrower sense 'verse' means 'line' (never properly 'stanza').
CLASSICISM AND ROMANTICISM. Two of the most important contrasting tendencies of style in the general sense are Classicism and Romanticism. Classicism means those qualities which are most characteristic of the best literature of Greece and Rome. It is in fact partly identical with Idealism. It aims to express the inner truth or central principles of things, without anxiety for minor details, and it is by nature largely intellectual in quality, though not by any means to the exclusion of emotion. In outward form, therefore, it insists on correct structure, restraint, careful finish and avoidance of all excess. 'Paradise Lost,' Arnold's 'Sohrab and Rustum,' and Addison's essays are modern examples. Romanticism, which in general prevails in modern literature, lays most emphasis on independence and fulness of expression and on strong emotion, and it may be comparatively careless of form. The Classical style has well been called sculpturesque, the Romantic picturesque. The virtues of the Classical are exquisiteness and incisive significance; of the Romantic, richness and splendor. The dangers of the Classical are coldness and formality; of the Romantic, over-luxuriance, formlessness and excess of emotion. [Footnote: All these matters, here merely suggested, are fully discussed in the present author's 'Principles of Composition and Literature.' (The A. S. Barnes Co.)]

A TABULAR VIEW OF ENGLISH LITERATURE

I. The Britons and the Anglo-Saxon Period, from the beginning to the Norman Conquest in 1066 A. D. A. The Britons, before and during the Roman occupation, to the fifth century. B. Anglo-Saxon Poetry, on the Continent in prehistoric times before the migration to England, and in England especially during the Northumbrian Period, seventh and eighth centuries A. D. Ballads, 'Beowulf,' Caedmon, Bede (Latin prose), Cynewulf. C. Anglo-Saxon Prose, of the West Saxon Period, tenth and eleventh centuries, beginning with King Alfred, 871-901. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. II. The Norman-French, Period, 1066 to about 1350. Literature in Latin, French, and English. Many different forms, both religious and secular, including the religious drama. The Metrical Romances, including the Arthurian Cycle. Geoffrey of Monmouth, 'Historia Regum Britanniae' (Latin), about 1136. Wace, 'Brut' (French), about 1155. Laghamon, 'Brut' (English), about 1200. III. The End of the Middle Ages, about 1350 to about 1500. The Hundred Years' War. 'Sir John Mandeyille's' 'Voyage.' Chaucer, 1338-1400. John Gower. 'The Vision Concerning Piers the Plowman.' Wiclif and the Lollard Bible, about 1380. Popular Ballads. The War of the Roses. Malory's 'Morte Darthur,' finished 1467. Caxton and the printing press, 1476. Morality Plays and Interludes. IV. The Renaissance and the Elizabethan Period, about 1500 to 1603. Great discoveries and activity, both intellectual and physical. Influence of Italy. The Reformation. Henry VIII, 1509-47. Edward VI, to 1553. Mary, to 1558. Elizabeth, 1558-1603. Defeat of the Armada, 1588. Sir Thomas More, 'Utopia.' Tyndale's New Testament and other translations of the Bible. Wyatt and Surrey, about 1540. Prose Fiction. Lyly's 'Euphues,' 1578. Sidney's 'Arcadia.' Spenser, 1552-1599. 'The Shepherd's Calendar,' 1579. 'The Faerie Queene,' 1590 and later. Lyric poetry, including sonnet sequences. John Donne. The Drama. Classical and native influences. Lyly, Peele, Greene, Marlowe. Shakspere, 1564-1616. Ben Jonson and other dramatists. V. The Seventeenth Century, 1603-1660. The First Stuart Kings, James I (to 1625) and Charles I. Cavaliers and Puritans. The Civil War and the Commonwealth. Cromwell. The Drama, to 1642. Francis Bacon. The King James Bible, 1611. Lyric Poets. Herrick. The 'Metaphysical' religious poets--Herbert, Crashaw, and Vaughan. Cavalier and Puritan poets. Milton, 1608-1674. John Bunyan, 'Pilgrim's Progress.' 1678.
VI. The Restoration Period, from the Restoration of Charles II in 1660 to the death of Dryden in 1700. Charles II, 1660-1685. James II, 1685 to the Revolution in 1688. William and Mary, 1688-1702. Butler's 'Hudibras.' Pepys' 'Diary.' The Restoration Drama. Dryden, 1631-1700.
VII. The Eighteenth Century. Queen Anne, 1702-1715. The four Georges, 1715-1830.
PSEUDO-CLASSIC LITERATURE. Swift, 1667-1745. Addison, 1672-1719. Steele, 1672-1729. Pope, 1688-1744. Johnson, 1709-1784.
THE LATER PROSE. Burke, 1729-1797. Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall,' 1776-1788. Boswell, 'Life of Johnson,' 1791.
THE NOVEL. 'Sir Roger de Coverly,' 1711-12. Defoe, 1661-1731. 'Robinson Crusoe,' 1718-20. Richardson, 1689-1761. 'Clarissa Harlowe,' 1747-8. Fielding, 1707-1754. Smollett. Sterne. Goldsmith, 'Vicar of Wakefield,' 1766. Historical and 'Gothic' Novels. Miss Burney, 'Evelina,' 1778. Revolutionary Novels of Purpose. Godwin, 'Caleb Williams.' Miss Edgeworth. Miss Austen.
THE ROMANTIC REVOLT --Poetry. Thomson, 'The Seasons,' 1726-30. Collins, 'Odes,' 1747. Gray, 1716-71. Percy's 'Reliques,' 1765. Goldsmith, 'The Deserted Village,' 1770. Cowper. Chatterton. Macpherson,