Can you share with me notes on the different literary ages/periods?

This is a very broad subject. Literary periods differ
greatly based upon different cultures. In order to narrow the topic, this answer will
include the most commonly referred to literary
periods.

British
Literature

449-1066 Anglo-Saxon- This period's
characteristics focused upon the trust in fate, the battle between emerging Christian
thought and embedded Pagan thought, and the importance of possessing values upheld by
the Anglo-Saxon society and culture.

1066-1485 Medieval
Period- This period's characteristics focused on morality and religion, chivalry, and
nobility.

1485-1660 Renaissance (Elizabethan and Jacobean)-
This period moved importance to how ones life is spent while alive (focus no longer on
after life), love, and human potential.

1660-1798
Neoclassical- This period focused upon reason and logic. Authors stressed the importance
of wisdom and harmony.

1798-1832 British Romantic- This
period focused upon the individual and not the societal. Nature is highlighted and
Gothic is introduced (stories of terror and
horror).

1832-1900 Victorian- This period highlighted the
conflict between the powerful and the poor, country life and city life, and lack of
sexual discretion.

1900+
Modern

American Literary
Periods

1650-1750 Puritan/Colonial- This period's works
were instructive. Many of the works were sermons and personal
narratives.

1750-1800 Age of Reason- This period was
designed to impact the thoughts of the American people through persuasive writing. Other
common texts were those of the political nature.

1800-1860
American Romantic- This period came about as a reaction to the Age of Reason. This
period focused upon the importance of imagination and
nature.

1840-1860 American Renaissance- This period focused
upon the "fact" that reality is grounded in ones spirituality and the existence of sin
and evil existing.

1855-1900 Realism-This period was meant
to change specific problems which existed in
society.

1900-1950 Modernism- This period highlighted the
quest for the American Dream and optimism.

1950-Present
Post-Modernism- This period broke down the boundaries made by previous periods in
regards to social class.

1970+ Contemporary- The
characteristics for this period are too hard to combine into one overall distinctive
definition.