English literary history

English literay history falls into two periods: (1) from BEOWULF in the year 700 to Dryden's death in 1700, and (2) from Defoe to date. In the first period, English literature was formal and compositional whereas in the second period it was informal and conversational. The second period begins in early eighteenth century when Addison and Steele began writing their periodical essays and when in April 1719 Defoe published ROBINSON CRUSOE, and a generation later, the Romantics wrote a literature that is very intimate and personal, a type of literature which continued with the same intimate personal vein up until today and will foreseeably thus go on. I like and practise conversational writing