Discuss the important literary features of the medieval period in english literature?
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In any culture, the first literature is oral. All the religious texts like the Bible, the Qur'an, and the Ramayana etc were orally memorised and were written down later on. There were mainly three things in English Literature-religion, war and the trials of daily life; that became the key themes of early writings.
The Middle English Period means the literature developed in the period from 1100 - 1500 century.
During this unique period the English language got maturity. Chaucer’s poetry made English as a perfect medium for literature,this was the beginning of English literature in middle ages.
Some salient features of this age was
1) Anonymity- means we don't know the names of those who wrote in this age example is Beowulf
2) Originality was not required for writing story material looked upon as a common property like it led Geoffrey of Manmouth and even great writer to claim such a source when none existed. It is not surprising that such an attitude raised translation to the level of original creation, the reader must be prepared for a less personal quality in medieval than in modern literature and to find that the original author of a work is often, for us, without a local habitation or a name.
3) Religion-religion was an important element of social life in medieval ages,people were constantly in fear of hell and its torments were vitally concerned with the problem of salvation for their souls.thats why, religion writings form a greater part of middle english literature.