IT PRESENTS THE WORKS OF THE MAJORITY OF SIGNIFICANT AND INSIGNIFICANT AUTHORS FROM EACH PERIOD IN A WAY THAT IS EXHAUSTIVE. IN ADDITION TO PROVIDING A BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL EXAMINATION OF EACH WORK, THIS BOOK ILLUSTRATES THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE FROM ITS INCEPTION UP TO ITS WIDESPREAD USE IN LITERATURE. A HISTORY OF THE LITERATURE THAT HAS BEEN PUBLISHED IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE THAT IS BOTH THOROUGH AND ORDERED. STARTING WITH THE PRE-CHAUCERIAN PERIOD AND CONTINUING ALL THE WAY UP TO THE PRESENT DAY, THE AREA OF STUDY KNOWN AS HISTORY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE FOLLOWS, IN A SYSTEMATIC AND SEQUENTIAL FASHION, BOTH THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH AS A LANGUAGE AND THE FORMATION OF VARIOUS SUB-FIELDS WITHIN THE SUBJECT OF ENGLISH LITERATURE. IT DOES THIS BY STARTING WITH THE PRE-CHAUCERIAN PERIOD AND CONTINUING ALL THE WAY UP TO THE PRESENT DAY. THIS BOOK'S OVERALL IS TO PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF ENGLISH LITERARY HISTORY, BEGINNING IN THE MIDDLE AGES AND CONTINUING UP TO THE CURRENT DAY. THE CATEGORIES, GENRES, AND TIMEFRAMES THAT ARE USED IN SUCH STUDIES THE MOST COMMONLY HAVE BEEN PRESERVED, AND BOXED ITEMS HAVE BEEN ADDED THAT PLACE AN EMPHASIS ON PARTICULAR 'MOMENTS' IN THIS HISTORY'S PROGRESSION. A LOOK OF THE MANNER IN WHICH ENGLISH LITERATURE HAS EVOLVED OVER THE SPAN OF A NUMBER OF CENTURIES FROM ITS EARLY STAGES. THE BOOK STARTS WITH THE LITERATURE OF THE OLD ENGLISH PERIOD AND FINISHES WITH LITERATURE FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE 20TH CENTURY. THE GROWTH OF ENGLISH LITERATURE IS TRACKED THROUGH EACH ERA, AND THE WAYS IN WHICH IT EVOLVED THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF HISTORY ARE DISCUSSED. IT ANALYZES THE MOST IMPORTANT LITERARY GENRES OF EACH AGE, SUCH AS POETRY, PROSE, AND THEATER, AS WELL AS ITS RENOWNED PROPONENTS, AND IT GIVES A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF THE REMARKABLE WORKS THAT WERE CREATED DURING THAT PERIOD OF TIME.