The term English literature means literature written in the English language.

English literature began in Old English with the epic poem Beowulf, which dates from sometime between the 8th to the 11th centuries. It is not written in language people can understand today, but there are several good translations into modern English. It is the most famous work in Old English, despite being set in Scandinavia. The poem is written with no rhymes but with alliteration. The next important landmark is the works of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343–1400), especially The Canterbury Tales. That is in Middle English 1066 to the middle/late 1400s. Chaucer introduced into English poetry rhyme royal that is a seven-line stanza rhymed ababbcc.