Literature by Time Period

Resources in this category:

Anthology of Middle English Literature (1350-1485)
http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/

Includes comprehensive information on authors such as Chaucer, John Gower, and William Langland, as well as information on medieval plays and lyrics. Provides quotes, biographies, lists of works (electronic versions included), and additional resources such as essays and articles.

Aspects of the Victorian Book
http://www.bl.uk/collections/early/victorian/intro.html

This site explains how the mechanization of the industrial revolution and increased literacy changed publishing during 19th-century England. This site discusses penny dreadfuls, yellow backs, children's books, magazines, and novels.

British Women Playwrights Around 1800
http://www.etang.umontreal.ca/bwp1800/

"A website that facilitates scholarship and discussion of these neglected playwrights and supports the work of theatre history and Romantic studies scholars engaged in exploring how electronic editing, resources, and collaboration can enhance scholarship and teaching about this segment of dramaturgical history. Our mission is to mount online texts of plays not widely available in print, to publish working papers and responses on important issues, and to provide research resources that support the working group that uses the site."

Dime Novels and Penny Dreadfuls
http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/dp/pennies/home.html

Online exhibit of Stanford's Dime Novel and Story Paper Collection. Features a guided tour of the collection with a history of these two types of popular literature, which were printed in the second half of the 19th century. Exhibit also includes a timeline of significant events in American history during that time period. Images from the collection can be browsed and selected texts can be read.

English Literature: Early 17th Century (1603-1660)
http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/

Beautiful site devoted to such authors as John Donne, John Milton, Andrew Marvell, and Richard Lovelace. Provides quotes, biographical information, lists of works (also included are links to electronic texts), essays, articles, and images.

The Gothic: Materials for Study
http://mural.uv.es/maseja/The%20Gothic%20Materials%20for%20S...

Includes several critical essays about the Gothic literary period. Links and an annotated bibliography point to additional resources.

The Internet Classics Archive
http://classics.mit.edu/

The more famous and some lesser known authors of Greek and Roman literature, as well as a few Chinese and Persian works. One can also see other readers' opinions and thoughts on the works and respond to them or post one's own. A search engine is provided.

Japanese Authors and Works
http://www.jlit.net/authors_works/index.html

Contains lists of Japanese authors organized by time period and alphabetically, 1945-present. An overview of literary history in the pre-modern and modern period is also available with regularly updataed news relating to Japanese literature.

Kerouac Alley
http://kerouacalley.com/

"The Gateway to the Beat Generation on the World Wide Web. A source for the best 'Beat' sites on the web, with references and resources about writers Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs and others."

Labyrinth: Resources for Medieval Studies
http://labyrinth.georgetown.edu/

A comprehensive resource for Medieval Studies: bibliographies, European cultural studies, pedagogical resources, professional information and organizations, electronic texts, music.

The Literary Gothic
http://www.litgothic.com/

"The Literary Gothic is a Web guide to all things concerned with literary Gothicism, which includes ghost stories, 'classic' Gothic novels and Gothic fiction (1764-1820), and related pre- and post-Gothic and supernaturalist literature written prior to the mid-C20. The goals of this site are two-fold: to collect in one place all links pertaining to the Gothic novel, Gothic fiction, and all other forms of literary Gothicism and subsequent traditions, and to make available etexts of important and overlooked early works of Gothic or supernatural interest."

The Literature & Culture of the American 1950s
http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/home.html

This searchable site features an extensive, alphabetical list of links and readings on the American 1950s and links to Cold War sites.

Literature & Culture of the American 1950s
http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/home.html

A collection of online readings relating to the literature and culture of the United States in the 1950s.

Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature
http://www.luminarium.org/lumina.htm

Medieval, Renaissance, 17th Century and Restoration and 18th Century literary texts. Entries for each author include: works, biography, criticism, quotations and links. Texts are from The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 6th ed.

The Modern World
http://www.themodernword.com/default.aspx

Provides biographical and critical essays, bibliographies, and links relating to experimental twentieth century authors, such as Pynchon, Kafka, and Joyce.

NetSERF: The Internet Connection for Medieval Resources
http://www.netserf.org/

NetSERF is an extremely thorough and extensive database of information on any and all aspects of medieval society and its culture. It includes search engines and a fantastic glossary for obscure medieval terminology. It also includes an extensive bibliography of sources divided up by specializations. This includes everything from history to literature to legends and more. Other links include full texts of works by medieval authors, links to web pages about those authors, and other links to electronic collections of medieval works.

The Online Medieval and Classical Library
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/OMACL/

"The Online Medieval and Classical Library (OMACL) is a collection of some of the most important literary works of Classical and Medieval civilization." The site is searchable or browsable by title, author, genre, and original language (all works translated save for those in Middle English).

PAL: Perspectives in American Literature - A Research and Reference Guide
http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/TABLE.HTML

Detailed guide to finding literary criticism and commentary about American authors. Arranged by literary periods and includes introductions and general bibliographies for each period.

Romantic Circles
http://www.rc.umd.edu/

Scholarly, peer-reviewed website focusing on Romanticism in literature and culture. Includes a blog, links to electronic texts, and links to other scholarly resources.

Sixteenth Century Renaissance English Literature (1485-1603)
http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/

Aesthetically pleasing as well as informative. Includes extensive information on authors such as Sir Walter Raleigh, Shakespeare, and Edmund Spenser. Provides links to quotes, biographies, lists of works (included are links to electronic texts), and additional resources such as book reviews, essays, articles, and images.

Thomas More Studies
http://thomasmorestudies.org/

This comprehensive site features a biography and a chronology of More's life in addition to teaching resources and full-text of much of More's writings. Find out more about his role as a statesman in 16th-century England, his trial and his political philosophy at this site.

The Victorian Web
http://www.victorianweb.org/

"Literature, history and culture in the age of Victoria." Includes information about authors from the Victorian era and background information about the society. Has contextual links for authors which provide information on those authors' politics, religious beliefs, bibliographies, as well as symbolism and themes used in their literature.

The Victorian Women Writers Project
http://www.indiana.edu./~letrs/vwwp/

The project was developed in order to provide digital texts of Victorian women writers. The collection is medium sized, but is still growing. The site would be useful for someone looking up information on sometimes obscure articles, poems, etceteras. Includes dates of original publication, birth and death dates of the authors, and links to electronic versions of journals from the period, societies which study this subject, other electronic text projects, and related sites.

The Web of American Transcendentalism
http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/index.html

This site contains a wealth of information about the roots, influences, and works of the American Transcendentalist writers. Includes a thorough list of links to Transcendentalist authors and their texts, extensive background information and criticism on their ideas and philosophy, and links to additional web resources and bibliographies. From the English Department at Virginia Commonwealth University.