EH250 -- Introduction to Literary Studies for Undergraduate Majors in English: Literary Genres, Conventions, and Timelines

An essay which discusses in broad terms the five principal types of literary genres.

An overview of the five principal types of literary genres, with live hyperlinks to expand the main text. The left pane contains a list of literary conventions and devices.

A whimsical slideshow that focuses on some of the main genres and sub-genres of literature.

A comprehensive alphabetic listing of some of the more important devices used in in literary writing.

An alphabetized list of literary devices offering a detailed definition of each device along with an example of its use.

A Wikipedia article providing names and dates for the various periods of English literature, along with expository text for each period. Cf. the Wikipedia article for British literature.

The "Literary Periods" column of links (omitting the Old and Middle English periods) contains detailed overview essays on the period, with hyperlinks out to information on authors representative of the period. The sections by Henry Augustin Beers are interesting as examples of the "old scholarship" but by now are quite dated.

An overview of the periods for American literature, with brief commentary. Cf. with the Wikipedia article on American literature.