Web Resources for Studying British Literature

(Click on the underlined page name to activate link.)

There be dragons here.  

General Information

Timelines of British History – Link to a page of links that directs the user to an in-depth historical timeline of the history of Britain. Divided in categories such as: Prehistoric Britain, Roman Britain, Anglo-Saxon England, and The Age of Empire, as well as others.

Date Visited: 5/29/03

http://britannia.com/history/timelines.html

Maps of Great Britain - Pretty interesting site containing access to historical maps of Great Britain, including: Roman Britain, Medieval London, and a physical map. Might be slow to load. (Jpeg files.)

Date Visited: 6/19/03

http://www.pitt.edu/~medart/menuengl/mainmaps.html

Rulers Of Great Britain - Comprehensive list of the Kings and Queens of England, as well as links that connect to biographical information. There are pop-ups, but they're worth it.

Date Visited: 6/19/03

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108080.html


The Anglo Saxon Period

Readings from Beowulf - Simple page with links to .wav files presenting readings from Beowulf. Excellent resource that gives students the rare opportunity to hear what spoken Old English sounded like in the days of the Anglo Saxons.

Date Visited: 6/3/03

http://www.engl.virginia.edu/OE/Beowulf.Readings/Beowulf.Readings.html

Bullfinch's Beowulf - Illustrated summary of the work with numerous hypertext links for further invetigation. Also has valuable links for character analysis and Christian elements. Very good Beowulf site.

Date Visited: 6/19/03

http://www.bulfinch.org/fables/bull42.html

The Medieval Period

The Geoffrey Chaucer Website - Extensive resource located on the Harvard server. Many links including: LIfe of Chaucer, The Canterbury tales, Translations, Courtly Love, and Medieval Science and others.  This is an enjoyable, accessable site and a valuable resource to those interested in Chaucer.

Date Visited: 6/18/03

http://icg.harvard.edu/~chaucer/

The English Renaissance

Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet - Extensive site on Shakespeare and winner of many internet awards.  This user-friendly site claims to serve two purposes:

    1. To be a complete annotated guide to the scholarly Shakespeare resources available on the Internet.

   2. To present new Shakespeare material unavailable elsewhere on the Internet.

The site includes links to the Bard's complete works as well as biographical information, geneological information, criticism, and even a quiz. Great site for students!

Date Visited: 6/18/03

http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/


The Complete Works of Marlowe - A site produced by Tufts University devoted to the second best playwright of the Renaissance Period in England. Not comprehensive, but does include full eletronic text of all Marlowe's works. Interesting site, if not truly valuable for research purposes.

Date Visited: 6/18/03

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Texts/Marlowe.html

The Essays of Francis Bacon - The Complete Essays of Bacon in a very attractive online format, but without extra commentary or biographical information. Easy site to navagate.

Date Visited: 6/19/03

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/mike_donnelly/bacon.htm

The Seventeenth Century

Luminarium.org - English Literature – Early 17th Century (1603 – 1660) – Very professional and attractive web site constructed and maintained for no profit by Anniina Jokenin, BA in English, Temple University. She writes:

    "This site combines three sites first created in 1996 to provide a starting point for students and     enthusiasts of English Literature. Nothing replaces a quality library, but hopefully this site will     help fill the needs of those who have not access to one."

Site provides links to information about authors of the 17th century, including: biographies, essays, poetry, and prose. Even has musical soundtrack to accompany browsing. Good site for students.

Date Visited: 6/7/03

http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/

The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century

18th Century English Novel – Web site maintained by the University of West Virginia. Contains links to various pages related to literature of the 18th century, including: authors, films, databases, journal entries, biography, and reference works. Not completely comprehensive, but a good all-around resource for research in British Literature of the time period.

Date visited: 6/7/03

http://www.libraries.wvu.edu/novel/index.htm

18th Century Resources – Web Site created and maintained by Jack Lynch, Assistant Professor at Rutgers University. Incredible amount of information available about every aspect of 18th century England including: science, art, music and of course, literature. Literature links include: author information, various databases, and e-texts. Impressive site.

Date Visited: 6/7/03

http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/18th/lit.html

 

The Romantic Age

The Romantic Movement in British Literature - Site is published by Roger Blackwell Bailey, Ph.D. of San Antonio College. It consists of links to lists of works by author, some of which are available in entirety, but most are simply titles. Does include portraits of the authors and major works, so it has some value.

Date Visited: 6/19/03

http://www.accd.edu/sac/english/bailey/engroman.htm


Wordsworth -  "The Wordsworth Trust exists to be a living memorial to the life and poetry of William Wordsworth and his contemporaries, serving 'lovers of English poetry from all over the world'." Included are topics such as: Wordsworth's themes, Lyrical Ballads, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Romanticism in general. Well developed site.

Date Visited: 6/19/03

http://www.wordsworth.org.uk/poetry/ww.htm


The Victorian Age

Victorian Age Overview - Not flashy, but substantial content on the history of the Victorian age. Little or no literature content. Pretty straight-forward history information. Good source for research.

Date Visited: 6/19/03

http://occawlonline.pearsoned.com/bookbind/pubbooks/damrosch_awl/chapter6/objectives/deluxe-content.html

A Christmas Carol Study Guide - Put together by the University of Texas, this site is a general guide to A Christmas Carol, but it also has information on Victorian London and Dickens himself, as well as lists of extended resources. The font leaves something to be desired and it can be difficult to read. Not a bad resource, though.

Date visited: 6/19/03

http://www.data.unt.edu/Carol_Study_Guide/index.html

Charles Dickens - The Literature Network provides extensive information on Charles Dickens, including complete online works, as well as essays, reviews, and biographical information. Pretty much anything you ever wanted to know about Dickens in here.

Date Visited: 6/19/03

http://www.online-literature.com/dickens/


The Twentieth Century to the Present


T.S.Eliot - While this information is on a site about Great American Poets, Eliot is of course recognized as an English poet, as well. This is a very professional site, with loads of valuable biographical and literature-based information


Date Visited: 6/19/03

http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/a_f/eliot/eliot.htm


Poets Laureate -  Simply a list of the Poets Laureate of England from 1591 to 2002. A few of the names have links to other sites.

Date  Visited : 6/19/03

http://www.hycyber.com/CLASS/laureate_uk.html