The Routledge History of Literature in English covers the main developments in the history of British and Irish literature, with accompanying language notes which explore the interrelationships between language and literature at each stage. With a span from AD 600 to the present day, it emphasises the growth of literary writing, its traditions, conventions and changing characteristics, and includes literature from the margins, both geographical and cultural. Extensive quotations from poetry, prose and drama underpin the narrative.

-The third edition covers recent developments in literary and cultural theory, and features:

-a new chapter on novels, drama and poetry in the 21^st century;

-examples of analysis of key texts drawn from across the history of British and Irish literature, including material from Chaucer, Shakespeare, John Keats and Virginia Woolf;

-an extensive companion website including extra language notes and key text analysis; lists of Booker, Costa and Nobel literature prize winners; and an A-Z of authors and topics.The Routledge History of Literature in English is an invaluable reference for any student of English literature and language.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

THE BEGINNINGS OF ENGLISH: OLD AND MIDDLE ENGLISH 600-1485

THE RENAISSANCE: 1485-1660

RESTORATION TO ROMANTICISM: 1660-1789

THE ROMANTIC PERIOD: 1789 - 1832

THE NINETEENTH CENTURY: 1832-1900 

THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: 1900-45

THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: 1945 TO 2000

THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY