This site delves into the world of Anglo Norman literature from 1066 to 1350. This period of literature focuses on the "Specimens of the language."

This article introduces "The Beggar's Opera" and its many satirical targets, including the court of George I, the politician Robert Walpole, the British legal system, and Italian opera.

Andrea Levy's "Small Island" is a story of post-war Caribbean migration, narrated from four different perspectives. Hannah Lowe explores how the novel is intrinsically linked with Levy's own Caribbean ancestry, as well as how it has...

The Thomas Gray Archive is an interactive hypermedia repository for the study of the life and works of British poet Thomas Gray (1716-1771 CE). The Archive consists of two major sections, the Primary Texts section and the Materials section.

This website provides a nice exhibit of history paintings from the 1700s. There are eight paintings discussed depicting various historical events including religious and mythological stories.

In the 17th century, London was at the center of global trade, with goods and individuals arriving in the capital from all over the world. This article looks at how travel, trade, and empire shaped the works of Daniel Defoe, Alexander...

This article charts the growth of 18th-century theatre, looking at the new venues, stage technology, audiences, playwrights, and great actors of the age.

This article introduces Richard Brinsley Sheridan and his famous play "The School for Scandal".

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.

Towards the end of the 18th century, a movement emerged calling for an end to the slave trade and, later, slavery itself. This article traces the road to abolition from the 1780s to the 1830s, highlighting the impacts of grass-root...

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 site from the University of Toronto gives the full text of several of Alexander Pope's poems, including "The Rape of the Lock."

The complete text of this literary work is available to download or read online in multiple digital formats.

Aphra Behn's The Rover engages with the social, political, and sexual conditions of the 17th century, as well as with theatrical traditions of carnival and misrule. The article introduces Behn's play and explores how it was first...

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...

This Cambridge History of English and American Literature entry explains Peacock's role in the rise of gothic fiction in the early 19th century Romantic era.

At this site from the University of Oregon you can read Defoe's arguments for a free press as they were published in 1704.

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

Familiarize yourself with the life and works of Jonathan Swift. This source contains a quick fact sheet, a short biography, and links to related articles, collection items, and works.

Familiarize yourself with the life and works of the poet Alexander Pope. This source contains a quick fact sheet, a short biography, and links to related articles, collection items, and works.

Familiarize yourself with the life and works of the poet Samuel Johnson. This source contains a quick fact sheet, a short biography, links to related articles, collection items, and works.

Familiarize yourself with the life and works of John Dryden. This source contains a quick fact sheet, a short biography, links to related articles, collection items, and works.

This site contains the full text of "John Donne: His Life," as it appears in "The Cambridge History of English and American Literature." Comprehensive biography of Donne.

Good discussion of The Vicar of Wakefiled and its history.