Table Of ContentHistory of
English Literature
by EDWARD ALBERT
Revised by J. A. STONE
Fifth Edition
OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
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OXFORD
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© This edition George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd. 1979 Copyright, All rights reserved
First published in Great Britain 1923 by George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd. 182-184 High
Holborn, London W.C.IV 7AX Fourth edition, revised and enlarged, 1971
First printed in India by Oxford University Press by arrangement with the original
publishers 1975
Fifth edition, revised and enlarged 1979
Twenty-sixth impression, 2000
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PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION
Albert's History of English Literature has won for itself a secure place as a study of
literary history and criticism. Its continued popularity suggests that the value of its
judgments remains for the most part unimpaired. In places, however, the last twenty
years have inevitably seen changes of perspective and revaluations; these the present
edition seeks to incorporate, while yet preserving of its predecessor all that is in line
with modern thought. The chapter on post-Victorian writers, which has felt most
strongly the impact of fresh evaluations, has been completely rewritten, and, difficult
though it is to view things so close at hand in any true perspective, the attempt has been
made to bring the story of our literature up to date.
The entirely new bibliography will, it is hoped, enable those who wish to pursue their
studies further to acquaint themselves not only with the standard authorities, but with
more recent research, and thus gain some impression of the changing trends of critical
opinion.
The method and layout of the original work have been preserved as far as possible,
except that considerations of length have necessitated the omission of the exercises at
the end of each chapter and at the end of the book as a whole.
For the revision of the first two chapters I am indebted to Dr Kenneth Cameron,
Lecturer in English in Nottingham University.
J. A. S.
PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION
It is a truism to say that in literary history, as in all else, nothing stands still; and it is
therefore not surprising that in our time of vigorous literary activity further material on
current trends should again be required. In view of this, considerable amendments have
been made to statements in Chapter XIII, while Chapter XIV, on
6
the contemporary literary scene, has been completely rewritten. The Bibliography for
Chapter XIII has been updated, and a bibliographical section supplied for Chapter XIV. For
this work of revision I am indebted to Dr G. G. Urwin.
J. A. S.
PREFACE TO THE FIFTH EDITION
Once again, the whirligig of time brings in his revenges, and in a relatively short time new
notes and evaluations are once again called for. These are in fact more extensive than were
undertaken for the fourth edition, and have resulted in some increase in length. Chapter XII,
The Birth of Modern Literature, has suffered a few changes; Chapter XIII has again been
extensively overhauled; Chapter XIV is once more rewritten. But the main point to
emphasize is that the Bibliography has been entirely re-compiled to take into account
more recent scholarship. This considerable task has produced a book-list that cannot but
add immeasurably to the value of the work. For all these labours I am indebted once
more to Dr G. G. Urwin.
J.A.S.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
For permission to use copyright extracts the publishers offer their grateful thanks to the
following:
The Clarendon Press, Oxford, for Cheddar Pinks, from New Verse, and an extract from
The Testament of Beauty, by Robert Bridges.
Messrs Faber and Faber, Ltd, for an extract from The Waste Land, by T. S. Eliot.
The Oxford University Press, for Carrion Comfort, from Poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins.
Messrs George Allen and Unwin, Ltd, for extracts from Riders to the Sea and The Well of
the Saints, by John Millington Synge.
Mrs W. B. Yeats and Messrs Macmillan and Co., Ltd, for The Lake Isle of lnnisfree, from
Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats.
7
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. The Old English Period 9
II. The Middle English Period 20
III. The Age of Chaucer 32
IV From Chaucer to Spenser 49
V The Age of Elizabeth 70
VI The Age of Milton 131
VII The Age of Dryden 155
VIII The Age of Pope 185
IX The Age of Transition 222
X The Return to Nature 288
XI The Victorian Age 366
XII The Birth of Modern 432
LXiItIeIr a. tTuhree Inter-War Years 507
XIV The Mid-Twentieth Century 563
Suggestions for Further Reading 601
Index 613
8
Let us now praise famous men,...
Such as found out musical tunes,
And recited verses in writing, ...
Their bodies are buried in peace;
But their name liveth for evermore.
The Wisdom of Jesus the Son
of Sirach or Ecclesiasticus
9
CHAPTER 1
THE OLD ENGLISH PERIOD
THE BEGINNINGS
Little indeed is known of the origin of English Literature, though it is reasonable to
assume that verse of an extemporary kind was composed long before the period of the
earliest written records and that we can be certain that poetry made its appearance long
before the first prose was written down. It is important from the outset to remember that
the extant remains of Old English Literature have come down to us (for the most part)
in late copies, some of which were made three hundred years after the composition of
the poems themselves. So far as poets are concerned, again little or nothing is known
beyond the names of two of them, but this has not prevented some scholars from writing
their' lives,' from hints in the texts themselves, fortified by scanty contemporary
references (in the case of Caedmon) but mainly from a mass of conjecture, most of
which cannot be described as intelligent. Indeed, the lengths to which critics will at
times go is clearly indicated by the fact that one Old English poet has been provided
with a wife on no valid evidence whatsoever. Notwithstanding the mists which shroud
the beginnings and our lack of knowledge of the poets themselves Old English
Literature has a richness which amazes the reader who overcomes the initial difficulty
of the language, and it is hoped that this richness will be seen even in the meagre
summary which appears in the following pages.
THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The period is a long one, for it opens in the fifth century and does not conclude, as is
often supposed, with the Norman Conquest in 1066, but rather continues in prose at
least till c. 1150. The events, however, must be dismissed briefly. The departure of the
Romans in 410 left the British population open to the inroads of the invaders from the
north. According to British traditions the English from the
10
Continent came first as mercenaries to help in the defence against the Picts and Scots;
but soon they began to settle in the country, and archaeological evidence shows that
certainly permanent settlements had been made in the last quarter of the fifth century if
not before. In the course of time they gained possession of all the land from the English
Channel to the Firth of Forth to a greater or lesser degree. Then followed the
Christianization of the pagan English tribes, beginning in Northumbria with the work of
Irish missionaries, though the influence from Rome begins in Kent (597). In succession
followed the inroads of the Danes in the ninth century; the rise of Wessex among the
early English kingdoms with the important contribution of Alfred the Great; the
establishment of the Danelaw in England with the permanent settlement of Danes in the
country; the accession of a Danish king (1017); and the Norman influence on the
English court which began before the Conquest in 1066. All these events had their
effect on the literature of the period.
LITERARY FEATURES OF THE PERIOD
1.Pagan Origins. Many of the poems of the period appear to have in them features
which are associated with the pagan past, in particular Widsith and Beowulf, though the
Christian elements in the latter are no longer looked upon, as was the case among the
earlier scholars, as 'clumsy additions.' It appears likely, therefore, that the earliest poems
or themes have their origin in the Continental home of the English peoples. Such
themes were the common property of the gleemen or 'scops,' who sang them at the
feasts of the nobles. As time went on Christian ideas influenced the earlier pagan, and,
though the phraseology remains, it is impossible to refer to any of the extant poetry as
'pagan.' Indeed this is only what is to be expected when it is remembered that the
manuscripts themselves were written down in the monasteries.
2.Anonymous Origins. Of all the Old English poets we have direct mention of only one
Caedmon, though not one of the extant poems can definitely be ascribed to him. The
name of another poet, Cyne-wulf, is known because of the fact that he signed his poems
in runic letters at the end of four poems. Of the rest we do not even know their names.
Prose, as we have noticed, came later, and as it was used for practical purposes its
authorship in many cases is established.
3.The Imitative Quality. Much of the prose and some of the poetry is translated or
adapted from the Latin, though the debt to
