More about literary time designations

Periods, eras, movements, ages, and epochs each have more than one meaning; some of the meanings relate to the arts and some do not. Where literature or the other arts are concerned, they all have similar meanings; each designates a period of time in which the distinctive features of an art can be clearly identified.

To help elucidate these common meanings, we list a few of the definitions for each of these words and its variants:

period

• An interval of time characterized by the occurrence of a certain condition, feature, event, or phenomenon.
• An interval of time characterized by the prevalence of a specified culture, ideology, or technology.
• An interval regarded as a distinct evolutionary or developmental phase.
• A point or portion of time at which something is ended; a completion or conclusion.
• Of, belonging to, or representing a certain historical age or time, as in a literary period piece.

Era

• A period of time marked by distinctive character or distinct events, as in the statement Guy de Maupassant dates from the fin de siècle.
• The period of time to which anything belongs or is to be assigned, as in Pliny the Elder wrote in the classical era.

Movement

• Actions or activities, as of a person or a body of persons.
• A progressive development of ideas toward a particular conclusion.
• The course, tendency, or trend of affairs in a particular field.
• A diffusely organized or heterogeneous group of people or organizations tending toward or favoring a generalized common goal. For example, the Realistic movement in art.

age

• A particular period of history, as distinguished from others; an historical epoch.
• The period of history contemporary with the span of an individual, group, or institution.

epoch

• A particular period of time marked by distinctive features, events, etc.
• The beginning of a distinctive period in the history of anything.
• A point of time distinguished by a particular event or state of affairs.

Date Range

• A literary period specified by the range of dates in which it occurs; it does not bear a name. An example: the Twenties in the U.S.

about literary terms designating time

What do these terms have in common? They all point to a span of time marked by distinctive characteristics or events.

Notice that the words period, era, and epoch are usually applied to culture-wide and society-wide characteristics and events; movement is always applied to the ideas, actions, or activities of a relatively narrow group or a specific field of art which is not nearly as widespread. Age can be applied to either a narrow or a widespread group or trend. Keep in mind, however, that there are no hard and fast rules about which word can be applied or at what societal level.

Movements, which arise because of and by the action of artists and never through action by society at large, occur in literature, music, and fine arts. Examples are the Impressionist Movement in art and the Russian Nationalistic school of music that came about in late 19th century Russia.

In a sense, movements originate as rebellions against established artistic convention. Movements are usually organized by a relatively small group of artists who are dedicated to a cause, principle, idea, or way of performing or creating their art. Movements influence and are influenced by the periods in which they occur, but full-fledged artistic periods come about in response to sweeping, historic events and societal trends too big for any one group of artists or one artistic institution to orchestrate.

To get a better idea of what constitutes a movement, The Muse Of Literature suggests that you visit The Muse Of Fine Arts feature called Capsule History Of Western Art. There, you will find a list of fine arts movements and a brief explanation of each.

• Visit the Art Movements Table now: click here.

—tip— glossary of literary terms Look for a more complete list of literary terms at The Muse Of Literature's page called Glossary Of Literary Terms: click here.