This episode explores how the history, society, and culture of England have profoundly shaped the trajectory of English literature, with each era leaving an indelible mark on its themes, styles, and narrative practices. From the earliest Old English period, the Anglo-Saxon settlement and subsequent Norman Conquest in 1066 had a profound influence on the language itself, evolving from Old English to Middle English under Norman-French lexical influence, which Geoffrey Chaucer later legitimised as a literary language. The English Renaissance (15th-16th Century), marked by humanism and the introduction of the printing press, fostered a flourishing of dramatic works, most notably by William Shakespeare, and new prose forms, while the Reformation inspired vernacular liturgy that influenced literary language. Subsequent political and religious upheavals, such as the English Civil War and the Restoration, gave rise to diverse literary expressions, from Puritan literature to Restoration comedy and satire, and saw the emergence of fiction and journalism as significant genres.