A literary movement is a term used to define literature created during the same time period by different authors. They share a similar reason or inspiration for writing and use related ideas.
a
- Academic DramaAcademic drama is a theatrical movement that was popular during the Renaissance, in the 16th-century. It was performed in universities.
- AcmeismAcmeism is a literary movement that emerged in the early 1910s in Russia. The movement is also referred to as the Guild of Poets.
- AestheticismAestheticism is a literary and artistic movement in the 18th and 19th centuries that focused on the importance of beauty.
- AlexandrianismAlexandrianism is the work and beliefs of Greek poets during the Hellenistic age, lasting from 323 to 31 BCE.
- Alliterative RevivalThe term โalliterative revivalโ is used to refer to a period of time, between 1350 and 1500, during which alliterative verse had a resurgence in Middle English.
- American RealismAmerican realism was a style of writing, music, and art during the 20th century in the United States, specifically in New York.
- American RenaissanceThe American Renaissance period of literature lasted from 1830 to the beginning of the Civil War, around 1861.
- American RomanticismAmerican Romanticism is considered the first highly influential literary movement to occur within the United States. It is also sometimes known as the โAmerican Renaissance.โย
- Angry Young MenThe Angry Young Men were a group of British writers and novelists disillusioned with society who produced work through the 1950s.
- Augustan AgeThe Augustan Age was a period during the first half of the 18th century in England. Poets during this period created verse inspired by authors like Virgil and Ovid.
b
- BaroqueThe term โbaroqueโ is used to define a literary period that began in the 1500s and lasted through the 1700s in Europe.
- Beat GenerationThe Beat Generation was a literary movement that began after the Second World War and known for its liberal attitudes towards life.
- Black Mountain PoetsThe Black Mountain Poets were a group of writers centered around Black Mountain College, in Black Mountain, North Carolina.
- Bloomsbury GroupThe Bloomsbury Group, also known as the Bloomsbury Set, was a group of English writers, artists, philosophers, critics, and friends.
c
- Caroline EraThe Age of Caroline is an age in British history that is named for Charles I. It lasted from 1625 to 1649. It is made up of three poetic schoolsโ Metaphysical, Cavalier and Puritan.
- Cavalier PoetsThe Cavalier Poets were a group of writers from the 17th century in England. They are generally defined by their class, and the fact that they originated from that which supported Charles I during the English Civil War.
- Celtic RevivalThe Celtic Revival was a revival in general interest in Celtic history, literature, and languages, in the late-nineteenth century.
d
- DadaismDadaism was an art and literary movement in Europe during the 20th century. It was a reaction to the senselessness of war during the early 1900s.ย
- Dark RomanticismDark Romanticism is a subgenre of the important literary movementโ Romanticism. It includes works of a more grotesque nature.ย
- Decadent MovementThe Decadent movement occurred during the late 19th-century in Western Europe. It was exemplified by a general skepticism and sickness at everyday life, crude humor, and the belief that creativity was important than logic.ย
- Dirty RealismDirty realism is a literary movement of the 20th century in North America. The movement's authors use concise language and clear descriptions of the darkest parts of reality.
e
- EcocriticismWith an awareness of ecological damage, Ecocriticism is a critical approach that explores the relationship between literature and nature.
- Edwardian PeriodThe Edwardian Period, which officially lasted from 1901 to 1910, includes the reign of King Edward VII. However, the period is often stretched to include the start of World War One.
- Elizabethan EraElizabethan Era was a literary period that lasted through the years of Queen Elizabethโs reign, from 1558 to 1603.
- EnlightenmentThe Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, was a period from the late 17th century through the 18th century, in which scientific ideas flourished throughout Western Europe, England, and the colonies in America.
- Epic TheatreEpic theatre was a theatrical movement that began in the early twentieth century and last through the middle of the period. It consisted of new political dramas and was inspired by the social climate of the time.
- ExpressionismExpressionism was a literary and artistic reaction against realism and naturalism. Writers were interested in emotion and psychology.
f
- Fireside PoetsFireside Poets were a group of 19th-century American writers known for crafting accessible, rhythmic verse often read aloud at home. Their poems focused on family, patriotism, nature, and moral values. They made poetry a fixture of American life, blending European forms with national themes.
- FormalismFormalism is a school of literary criticism and theory. It focuses on the structure of a text rather than any outside influence, including the author's intent. It emphasizes close reading to analyze devices such as meter, rhyme, imagery, and narrative techniques.
- FugitivesThe Fugitives were 1920s Southern poets and scholars at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, who, through their magazine The Fugitive, championed formal poetry and intellectual discipline over Romanticism and modern chaos. They helped shape Southern literature and inspired the New(...)
- FuturismFuturism was a radical early 20th-century movement that embraced speed, technology, and modernity, rejecting tradition. Originating in Italy with Marinettiโs Futurist Manifesto (1909), it shaped literature through fragmented syntax, bold typography, and kinetic energy.
g
- Georgian PoetryGeorgian poetry was a poetic movement in England that lasted from 1910 to 1936 during the reign of George V.
- Goliardic VerseGoliardic verse is a style of satirical Latin poetry written during the Middle Ages by young European clergy known as the Goliards.ย
- Graveyard PoetsThe graveyard poets, also known as the Churchyard Poets were a group of writers in England during the 18th century. Their writing was characterized by meditations on death and the afterlife.
h
- Harlem RenaissanceThe Harlem Renaissance was a cultural and intellectual movement in African American art, literature, dance, must, and more.
i
- ImagismImagism was a literary movement of the early 20th century. The proponents were interested in the use of precise imagery and clear language.
- Irish Literary RevivalThe Irish Literary Revival, also sometimes known as the Irish Literary Renaissance or the Celtic Twilight, was a literary period in the late 19th and early 20th century in Ireland.
j
- Jacobean AgeThe Jacobean Age or Era was a period in English and Scottish history, from 1603-1625. It corresponds with the reign of James VI of Scotland.
k
- Kitchen Sink DramaKitchen sink drama refers to a British cultural movement from the late 1950s and 1960s that portrayed the harsh realities of working-class life. It often featured domestic settings and explored themes like poverty, class conflict, and personal dissatisfaction.
l
- Lake PoetsThe Lake Poets were a group of English poets who lived and wrote in the Lake District during the nineteenth century.
- Language PoetryLanguage poetry is a movement that challenges traditional meaning-making by focusing on how language itself shapes thought. Emerging in the 1970s, it emphasizes the readerโs role in constructing meaning rather than relying on narrative or lyric conventions.
- Literary ModernismLiterary modernism originated in the late 19th and 20th centuries. It was mainly focused in Europe and North America.
- Lost GenerationLost Generation refers to a group of writers who came of age during World War I and dealt with the social changes the war brought.
m
- MannerismMannerism is a hard-to-define term thatโs loosely applied to literature and more commonly used in regard to visual arts. When it comes to poetry, it refers to elaborate, particularly clever, and highly poetic work.
- Martian PoetryMartian poetry was a movement by British poets in the late 1970s that depicted everyday objects in strange, alien ways. It aimed to describe the familiar through the eyes of an outsider, making the ordinary seem strange.
- Marxist CriticismMarxist criticism is based on the theory of Marxism, which stands against the capitalistic model of society and class discrimination.
- Metaphysical PoetryMetaphysical poetry is marked by the use of elaborate figurative languages, original conceits, paradoxes, and philosophical topics.
- Misty PoetsMisty Poets (Mรฉnglรณng Shฤซ Rรฉn) were Chinese poets of the late 1970s and early 1980s who wrote in obscure, symbolic, and emotionally expressive stylesโresponding to the rigid language of the Cultural Revolution. Their work explored personal feelings and veiled political critique.
n
- Narratology Narratology is a systematic study of the nature of narratives and storytelling, deciphering the mechanisms that lead to the text's meaning.
- Native American RenaissanceThe โNative American Renaissanceโ is a term coined by Kenneth Lincoln in 1983. It refers to a period of increased literary production by Native American authors within the United States.ย
