This is a biography of Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593). He was known as the father of English tragedy; his works include Tamburlaine the Great, Dr Faustus, The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Jew of Malta, and Edward the Second.

The major Romantic poets cannot be understood, historically, without an awareness of the extent to which their distinctive concepts, plots, forms, and imagery were shaped first by the promise, then by the tragedy, of the French...

This is a biography of Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400), author of The Canterbury Tales. The biography provides interactive highlighted words for more information on that topic.

This EnglishClub collection shares several classical works of literature leveled for elementary, intermediate, advanced, Shakespeare, and author information. These include various readings from William Shakespeare, Aesop, Rudyard...

A discussion of middle English lyrics, examining both religious and secular lyrics with examples. Excerpt from The Cambridge History of English and American Literature.

Do you know what type of literature "literary Gothicism" represents? Find out what types of literature throughout the ages have been touched by the Gothic influence when you visit this site.

This article explains how the coffee-house came to occupy a central place in 17th and 18th-century English culture and commerce, offering an alternative to rowdy pubs and more formal places of business and politics.

Good discussion of the Age of Dryden. First section of a lengthy article from The Cambridge History of English and American Literature.

The Enlightenment's emphasis on reason shaped philosophical, political, and scientific discourse from the late 17th to the early 19th century. This article traces the Enlightenment back to its roots in the aftermath of the Civil War, and...

Information about rules and useful strategies for effective use of quotations.

The University of Toronto offers selected poems of Chales Lamb, with notes on his life and works.

This site talks about the different aspects of 19th-century realism. (From realist painting to literature)

Full text of Milton's poem from "The Oxford Book of English Verse."

Extensive, detailed biography of Thomas Campion from the "Cambridge History of English and American Literature."

A discussion of Thomas Campion's literary criticism from the Elizabethan period. From the Cambridge History of English and American Literature.

Although this site is intended for teachers in class preparation, it is information packed and has thought provoking questions at the end.

Click through lessons on conventions that can cause problems in an essay including tenses, titles, and names. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.L.1