A complete chronicle of the literature of the British Isles, from Beowulf to the beginning of the third millennium. This classic work of literary history not only provides an encyclopedic survey, but also a personal, chronological interpretation of the English tradition with an emphasis on the continuity of major literary forms and on the ways in which important figures transform the art. The many literary genres, themes, and authors that receive a fascinating analysis include The Epic; Chaucer; Two Versions of the Pastoral; The Sonnet; Spenser's Garden; Shakespeare; Revenge Tragedy; Restoration Comedy; Inventing the Novel; Gothic Follies; Wordsworth and Coleridge; and Imagination and Fiction.