| 1660 | Neoclassicism(1660 to 1798) | The neoclassical movement in literature was based on classical ideal, skepticism and satire. Noted authors during this movement include Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift. |
| 1765 | Revolutionary(1765 to 1830) | The revolutionary literary movement incorporates both political and literary writings in colonial and early revolutionary America. |
| 1798 | Romanticism(1798 to 1832) | Romanticism emphasized emotion and imagination. Eventually, romanticism led to the development of the Gothic novel. |
| 1830 | American Romanticism(1830 to 1865) | American romanticism was predominantly fiction, rather than poetry. Unlike English romanticism, American romanticism had a strong and sometimes morbid interest in history. |
| 1832 | Victorian(1832 to 1901) | Victorian literature dates to the period of Queen Victoria's reign. The novel came to prominence in this period, and a number of authors showed a growing interest in the grittier aspects of life. |
| 1836 | American Transcendentalism(1836 to 1860) | American transcendentalism is a literary movement marked by a strong interest in nature. Emerson is the best-known of the American transcendentalists. |
| 1865 | Realism(1865 to 1914) | Realists had an interest in everyday life and poverty, as well as simplicity. Noted authors include Flaubert and Tolstoy. |
| 2000 | Stream of Consciousness(Early 20th Century) | Stream of consciousness writing eliminated authorial presence, sharing a loosely organized pattern of thoughts. James Joyce and Virginia Woolf are well-known authors in this movement. |
| 2000 | Modernism(Early 20th Century) | Modernism is a more varied movement, incorporating different styles, as well as reactions to growing science and technology. |
| 1900 | Naturalism(1900 to 1930) | Naturalism is a philosophical movement in literature. Naturalists identified humans as animals, studying their character in relation to their surroundings. Emile Zola is a well-known naturalist author. |
| 1901 | Edwardian(1901 to 1910) | Edwardian literature marked a growing division between high and low literature, as well as the growth of children's literature. |
| 1918 | The Lost Generation(1918 to 1929) | Several of the best known authors of the 20th century fall into this literary movement. These authors all lived and worked in Paris between the two world wars. |
| 1920 | Harlem Renaissance(1920s) | During the 1920s, in Harlem, New York, a strong literary movement developed among African-American writers, including Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston. |
| 1950 | Beat(1950s and 1960s) | The beat authors were primarily poets. This was a counterculture and youth culture movement beginning in the 1950s. Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg were well known beat poets. |
| 1965 | Postmodernism(1965 to Present) | Postmodernism is a literary movement embracing diversity, word play and other attributes of modern literature. Jorge Luis Borges is an excellent example of modern literary postmodernism. |
