However, to give you a taste, let's divide the list by centuries and offer some examples of key figures:
15th Century:
* William Caxton (1422-1491): The first English printer, he made books accessible to a wider audience.
* Sir Thomas Malory (c. 1400-1471): Famous for his retelling of Arthurian legends in "Le Morte d'Arthur."
* John Skelton (1460-1529): Known for his satirical poetry, he was a strong critic of the church.
16th Century:
* Sir Thomas More (1478-1535): Famous for his humanist writings and his execution for refusing to acknowledge King Henry VIII as head of the Church of England.
* William Tyndale (c. 1494-1536): Translated the Bible into English, sparking religious upheaval.
* Edmund Spenser (1552-1599): Known for his epic poem "The Faerie Queene," exploring Christian virtues.
* Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593): A playwright known for his tragedy "Doctor Faustus."
* William Shakespeare (1564-1616): Widely considered the greatest writer in the English language, famous for plays like "Hamlet," "Romeo and Juliet," and "Macbeth."
* Ben Jonson (1572-1637): A playwright known for his comedies and his influence on the development of the English language.
17th Century:
* John Milton (1608-1674): Known for his epic poem "Paradise Lost" and his political writings during the English Civil War.
* John Bunyan (1628-1688): Known for his allegorical novel "The Pilgrim's Progress," a story about Christian salvation.
* Aphra Behn (1640-1689): The first professional female writer in England, known for her plays and novels.
* John Dryden (1631-1700): A poet and playwright known for his satirical works and his influence on the development of English verse.
18th Century:
* Daniel Defoe (1660-1731): Known for his novel "Robinson Crusoe," a story about survival and colonialism.
* Jonathan Swift (1667-1745): Famous for his satirical works, including "Gulliver's Travels," which criticizes human nature and society.
* Alexander Pope (1688-1744): A poet known for his satirical and didactic works, including "The Rape of the Lock."
* Samuel Richardson (1689-1761): A novelist known for his epistolary novels, including "Pamela," which explores female virtue and social mobility.
* Henry Fielding (1707-1754): A novelist known for his satirical works, including "Tom Jones," which depicts life in 18th-century England.
* Jane Austen (1775-1817): A novelist known for her witty social commentary and her realistic depiction of English society, including "Pride and Prejudice."
19th Century:
* Mary Shelley (1797-1851): Author of "Frankenstein," a groundbreaking work of Gothic fiction that explores the dangers of scientific ambition.
* Lord Byron (1788-1824): A Romantic poet known for his passionate and rebellious nature, and works such as "Don Juan."
* Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822): A Romantic poet known for his lyrical and philosophical works, such as "Ozymandias."
* John Keats (1795-1821): A Romantic poet known for his intensely beautiful and sensual poetry, such as "Ode to a Nightingale."
* William Wordsworth (1770-1850): A Romantic poet known for his nature poetry and his exploration of the human relationship with the natural world.
* Charles Dickens (1812-1870): A novelist known for his social commentary and his vivid depictions of Victorian London, such as "Oliver Twist," "A Tale of Two Cities," and "Great Expectations."
* Emily Brontë (1818-1848): A novelist known for her gothic novel "Wuthering Heights," a passionate story of love and revenge.
* Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855): A novelist known for her novel "Jane Eyre," a story of a strong female protagonist who overcomes adversity.
* Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892): A Victorian poet known for his lyrical and narrative works, such as "The Lady of Shalott" and "Idylls of the King."
* Robert Browning (1812-1889): A Victorian poet known for his dramatic monologues, such as "My Last Duchess" and "The Bishop Orders His Tomb at Saint Praxed's Church."
20th Century:
* James Joyce (1882-1941): A modernist novelist known for his complex and experimental works, such as "Ulysses."
* Virginia Woolf (1882-1941): A modernist novelist known for her stream-of-consciousness writing and her explorations of gender and identity, such as "Mrs. Dalloway."
* T.S. Eliot (1888-1965): A modernist poet known for his complex and allusive works, such as "The Waste Land."
* W.B. Yeats (1865-1939): An Irish poet known for his lyrical and mystical works, such as "The Second Coming."
* George Orwell (1903-1950): A novelist and essayist known for his social commentary and his dystopian novels, such as "Nineteen Eighty-Four."
* J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973): An author known for his fantasy novels, such as "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings."
* C.S. Lewis (1898-1963): An author known for his fantasy novels, such as "The Chronicles of Narnia."
* Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961): A novelist and short story writer known for his spare and minimalist style, such as "The Sun Also Rises" and "A Farewell to Arms."
* F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940): A novelist known for his depiction of the Jazz Age, such as "The Great Gatsby."
* William Faulkner (1897-1962): A novelist known for his complex and experimental works, such as "The Sound and the Fury" and "As I Lay Dying."
21st Century:
* J.K. Rowling (1965-): Author of the "Harry Potter" series, one of the most popular and influential fantasy series of all time.
* Kazuo Ishiguro (1954-): A novelist known for his exploration of memory, identity, and the past, such as "Never Let Me Go."
* Salman Rushdie (1947-): A novelist known for his magical realism and his exploration of multiculturalism, such as "Midnight's Children."
* Margaret Atwood (1939-): A novelist, poet, and essayist known for her dystopian novels and her exploration of feminist themes, such as "The Handmaid's Tale."
* Haruki Murakami (1949-): A Japanese novelist known for his surreal and dreamlike novels, such as "Kafka on the Shore."
* Jonathan Safran Foer (1977-): A novelist known for his experimental and emotionally charged works, such as "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close."
This list barely scratches the surface! It's important to remember that literary history is a rich tapestry woven from the works of countless individuals across different genres, styles, and cultures.
To learn more about the literary landscape after Chaucer, you can explore specific historical periods, literary movements, and individual authors that interest you. Happy reading!