Talk:English literature

British Literature and English Literature are same
British Literature and English Literature are same in the sense that "both refer to literature produced in the English language by the inhabitants of British Isles" (includes Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the other smaller group of islands) while Literature in English refers to literature produced in the English language not only by the inhabitants of British isles but from all over the world's countries. And thus their literature is named as American literature, Australian Literature, Canadian Literature, etc. So I think the very first sentence of this article should be changed by removing these words " the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire." Secondly, the very first template should be changed to "both English literature and British literature refer to same literature that should not to confused with Literature in English Language. I will wait till changes made otherwise I will make changes. If I'm wrong fell free to revert me. Sultan Abdul sultan (talk) 15:43, 27 October 2022 (UTC)


 * I think that I might be responsible for this wording. My first thoughts are that I studied both Irish and American literature for my BA (hons) in English and did a masters degree in English on the Irish writer Samuel Beckett. Also that England is only one part of Britain and that Ireland, excluding Northern Ireland, became independent from the UK in 1921. The matter is further complicated by the fact that a writer like Seamus Heaney, who was born in Northern Ireland regards himself as Irish and not British. My sense is that generally speaking a degree in English literature will include literature from a variety of English speaking countries. I studied Henry James both as an American and British novelist and have even taught classical Greek drama in translation as part of an English literature course on tragedy. Because of these factors I think it is better to leave things as they are, though some clarification may well be needed. You might, Sultan Abdul sultan, check university prospectuses (UBC: .Rwood128 (talk) 20:01, 27 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Obviously, you're right on the point that most universities teach Literature produced by English-speaking countries (British being the major) at the degree in English literature level but it doesn't mean that they would be categorized as English literature, still, they have given names to that particular country's literature, for example, American Literature, etc. Pls, see for various university prospectus in this regard.
 * To confirm whether English literature and British literature are same pls have a glimpse at these, [3].
 * And another thing, Ireland should not be included in the British literature, although you can add Northern Ireland which is part of UK. Sultan Abdul sultan (talk) 06:46, 28 October 2022 (UTC)


 * Sultan Abdul sultan, you make a good point. The link that you provided didn't work. The various literatures in the English language are part of the same tradition. There are separate and more substantial articles on the separate literatures. Should Scottish and Welsh literature in English be removed from this article? I noticed a course on the novel in one major American university included some major European novels. Given that an article on British literature article exists, which largely duplicates this article, perhaps the title of this article might be changed to Literature in the English language. British literature can include literature in other languages. Rwood128 (talk) 10:42, 28 October 2022 (UTC)

Nope, this article needs to be merged into whether English Language or British Literature or remain on its place and for the facts just it needs to be rectified Sultan Abdul sultan (talk) 18:29, 29 October 2022 (UTC)

The title "Literature in the English Language" doesn't mean the English people's literature rather it's a broad term that denotes all the world's literature produced in the English language. Whether it is from UK, USA, or any other country. In this article, the term English can be applied to both English people and the literature of those people in the English language only not of any other language... Hope you will get the core point. Sultan Abdul sultan (talk) 18:38, 29 October 2022 (UTC)

I am going to create another Wikipedian file of that title "Literature in the English language". Be cooperative. Thanks Sultan Abdul sultan (talk) 18:56, 29 October 2022 (UTC)


 * Sultan Abdul sultan, long ago I suggested the merging of English literature and British literature. However, to do this properly would be a massive task given the size of the two articles!


 * I just went back to 2007, when the lede read:
 * The term English literature refers to literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; Joseph Conrad was Polish, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, Salman Rushdie is Indian, V.S. Naipaul is Trinidadian. In other words, English literature is as diverse as the varieties and dialects of English spoken around the world. In academia, the term often labels departments and programmes practising English studies in secondary and tertiary educational systems.

Given this long history I think things should be left as is. I can see no point in creating an article on the Literature of the United Kingdom, or expanding Literature of England. A note on the ambiguity of the phrase "English literature" might be helpful. British literature, of course, includes literature in various languages. While I don't agree with your suggestion, thanks for trying to improve the article. Rwood128 (talk) 12:01, 30 October 2022 (UTC)

This matter should not be left as it is. It will create ambiguity for beginners in linguistics. I will mention a few better sources to strengthen the article on this talk page. Then you may improve the article. Thanks Sultan Abdul sultan (talk) 18:27, 3 November 2022 (UTC)


 * Agreed I will look into this. Rwood128 (talk) 18:33, 3 November 2022 (UTC)
 * Sultan Abdul sultan, The "Preface" to any edition of The Norton Anthology of English Literature, is one useful source here. Rwood128 (talk) 19:53, 3 November 2022 (UTC)


 * What, this again? Historically (say before 1920) Irish literature should be treated as part of English literature (if in English), just like Welsh literature and Scottish literature. Yes, it is rather confusing, but there you are. I agree no new Literature of the United Kingdom is needed. Johnbod (talk) 20:24, 3 November 2022 (UTC)

Missing authors
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Cowper

"One of the most popular poets of his time, Cowper changed the direction of 18th-century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scenes of the English countryside. In many ways, he was one of the forerunners of Romantic poetry. Samuel Taylor Coleridge called him "the best modern poet", whilst William Wordsworth particularly admired his poem "Yardley-Oak"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Boswell

"He is best known for his biography of his friend and older contemporary, the English writer Samuel Johnson, which is commonly said to be the greatest biography written in the English language" AvidReader11663 (talk) 12:46, 8 May 2023 (UTC)

English-language book popularity in Europe
I had an edit reverted with the recommendation to add to the Young adult literature article instead. However, my info and citation are about English-language literature, not exclusively YA or any other genre. @Rwood128 Brad (talk) 02:37, 9 June 2024 (UTC)


 * Further, it is filling in an empty section. Brad (talk) 19:08, 9 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Sorry, but Brad I really don't see the relevance of this item for this article. Why not add something on significant writers whose careers began after 2000? See, for example, American literature, British literature, Pulitzer Prize, Commonwealth Foundation prizes, Nobel Prize. Rwood128 (talk) 22:36, 9 June 2024 (UTC)
 * This is the article in question: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/07/books/books-english-language-netherlands-europe.html It is about how English-language versions of books are becoming more popular than translated versions of those same books. It's not about British/American authors specifically. It's about the spread of English-language literature -- isn't that what this page is about? Brad (talk) 22:46, 9 June 2024 (UTC)


 * No, the article is about writers and their works. It does of course involves the spread of British culture through colonisation. To that degree it differs from the article British literature. But my point is that your addition wasn't notable enough to include here, especially when important works of literatue have not been included. We are both wasting our time jabbering, when we could be editing!! Rwood128 (talk) 13:27, 10 June 2024 (UTC)