These folk-songs have preserved for centuries the pristine musical traditions of Kerala. The Christians and Muslims, along with Brahmins and other upper classes, have also had their religious and social songs. Among the ballads of a later period we have the famous Vatakkan Pattukal (ballads of the north) and Thekkan Pattukal (ballads of the south). They cover a wide variety of themes ranging from the historical exploits of the legendary heroes, of non-religious folk mythology to songs of lamentation and mourning.

Among the ballads of the south, one of the most powerful is the Iravikkuttipillai Battle, also called "The Battle of Kaniyamkulam". The southern songs have a greater admixture of Tamil words. An example is Ramakatha Pattu written by Ayyappilli Asan. The vitality of the folk tradition in historical times is demonstrated by the Mappila Pattukal (Moplah songs) which has not only enriched the metrical resources of the language but has also put special emphasis on vira and sringara (the heroic and the erotic). The Arabi-Malayalam language used in these Moplah songs establishes the quaint beauty of their melodies.

The evidence for the beginning of conscious literary creation in Malayalam is to be found in Ramacharitam, written in the 12th century and believed to be the oldest extant classic in Malayalam written by Sri Vira Rama Varma who ruled over Travancore from 1195 to 1208. There is no literary work of the same period in prose matching in quality with Ramacharitam. The earliest pieces of prose in existence are of a documentary nature, with no touch of imagination. The Attoor copper plate of Vira Udaya Marthanda Varma of Venad dated 1251 is, according to Ulloor, the earliest document, wholly in Malayalam proper.

Then some creations came in a curious mixture of Sanskrit and Malayalam which is referred to as Manipravalam, mani meaning ruby (Malayalam) and pravalam meaning coral (Sanskrit). Lilathilakam, was a work on grammar and rhetoric during the 14th century. This particular school of poetry was patronized by the upper classes, especially the Nambudiris.. Dramatic performances given in Koothampalams, known by the names of Koothu and Koodiyattom, often used Sanskrit and Malayalam. In Koodiyattom, the clown (vidooshaka) is allowed to use Malayalam while the hero recites slokas in Sanskrit. Tholan, a legendary court poet in the period of the Kulasekhara kings, is believed to have started this practice. The language of Kramadeepikas and Attaprakarams, which lay down the rules and regulations for these dramatic performances, is considerably influenced by the composite literary dialect of Manipravalam.

Coming to the Champoos, Unniyachi Charitam, Unnichiruthevi Charitam and Unniyadi Charitam are earlier examples. The authorship is unknown

The Sandesa Kavyas are an important poetic genre in Sanskrit, and on the model of Kalidasa's Meghadoot and Lakhsmidasa's Sukasandesa, a number of message poems came to be written first in Manipravalam and later in pure Malayalam. The best of these sandesas is perhaps Unnuneelisandesam written in the 14th century.

Madhava Panikkar, Sankara Panikkar and Rama Panikkar, are known as the Niranam poets.. They lived between 1350 and 450 A.D. The greatest of the three is of course Rama Panikkar, the author of Ramayanam, Bhartam, Bhagavatam and Sivarathri Mahatmyam. Kannassa Ramayanam and Kannassa Bharatam are the most important of these Niranam works. Rama Panikkar's Ramayanam is an important link between Cheeraman's Ramacharitam, Ayyappilli Asan's Ramakathappattu and Ezhuthachan's Adhytma Ramayanam.

The 15th century A.D. saw two parallelled movements in Malayalam literature: one spearheaded by the Manipravala works, especially the Champoos, mixing verse and prose, and continuing the trend of the earlier Champoos at least in part; and the other emanating from the pattu school and adumbrated in Cherusseri's magnum opus, the Krishnagatha (Song of Krishna). The language of the later Champoos reads more like modern Malayalam than that of the earlier Champoos and Sandesakavyas. Perhaps it can also be said that there is an improvement in poetic quality and craftsmanship too. The greatest Manipravala Champoos of the 15th century is Punam Nambudiri's Ramayanam.

The era of pure Malayalam literature started with ’Krishnagadha’ written by Cherusseri Namboothiri (1500 AD )and is said to be the first complete work in Malayalam.

Thunchattu Ezhuthachan (17 C), the greatest Malayalam poet of all time, wrote his two great epics Adhyatma Ramayanam and Srimahabharatam and two shorter pieces, Irupattinalu Vrittam and Harinama Kirtanam and thereby revolutionized Malayalam language and literature at once. He is rightly regarded as the maker of modern Malayalam and the father of Malayalam poetry. Poonthanam Namboothiri, the author of ‘Santanagopalam Pana’ and ‘Njanappana’, and Melppathur Narayanan Bhattathiri , the author of ‘Narayaneeyam’ were contempories to Ezhuthachan.

Margamkali was the form of ritual and entertainment among the Syrian Christians corresponding to the Sanghakali of the Brahmins. Margamkalippattu is the song for this performance depicting the story of St.Thomas, the Adpostle. This was one of the numerous pieces of Christian literature that must have gained currency in the 16th and 17th centureies.

The main development in the cultural field in Kerala in the 17th century was the growth of a new form of visual art called Attam or Kathakali, which brought into being a new genre of poetry called Attakkatha consisting of the libertto used for a Kathakali performance. Gitagovinda, a work in Sanskrit by the Oriya poet of the 12th century, Jayadeva, provided inspiration to Manaveda Raja of Kozhikode to set up a troupe to perform a dance-drama depicting the life of Krishna in eight parts. This Krishnanattam was the model before the prince of Kottarakkara who invented Ramanattom to put on stage the story of Ramayana also in eight parts. Koodiyattom was the classical Sanskrit drama patronized by the elite class; Padayani or Kolamthullal was popular among the loweer classes. In between, there flourished various forms of ritualistic drama like Mudiyettu, Thiyyattu, Kalam Ezhuthu Pattu, Teyyam and Thira. The new forms developed by Kottarakkara Thampuran appeared to combine the features of both. The evolution of Kathakali must have been a slow process and did not reach a final stage in the time of Kottarakkara Thampuran.

Kottayam Tampuran was a popular creator of Attakathas. His main Attakkathas are Bakavadham, Kalyana Saughandhikam, Kirmiravadham and Kalakeyavadham. The end of the 17th century and the early quarter of the 18th century saw the enrichment of Kathakali literature by the production of Unnayi Warrier's Nalacharitam in four parts, the greatest attakkatha of all times. Unnayi Warrier was a poet of exceptional skill.

The Vanchipattu or Boat song is a poetic form of folk origin. Kuchela Vrittam, by Ramapurathu Warrier (1703-1753), is the most famous boat song in the language.

In the first half of the 18th century, a new form of art came into popularity, the ‘Thullal’, invented by Kunchan Nambiar (1705-1770). There are three kinds of Thullal distinguished on the basis of the performer's costume and the style of rendering, viz., Ottan, Seethankan and Parayan. Nambiar is believed to have written over forty Thullal compositions. The most important of Nambiar's Thullals are: Syamantakam, Ghoshayatra, Kiratam, Santanagopalam, Patracharitam, Kartaviryarijunavijam, Bakavadham, Kalyana Saugandhikam, Hariniswayamvaram, Tripuradakanam and Sabha Pravesam. Through his works Nambiar satirizes the evils and hypocrisies in the society.

After the Nambiar era, several regional versions of Keralolpathi, tracing the beginnings of Kerala history, began to appear. Father Clement's Sankshepa Vedartham came out in 1772. Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar (1737-1799) wrote the first travelogue in Malayalam, Varthamanapustakam, (Book of News). The works of Christian missionaries like Arnos Patiri and Paulinose Patire also led to a widening of the range of topics and themes in Malayalam literature.
The starting of schools on the British model and the introduction of English as a subject of study were to have a tremendous impact in the years to come. Maharaja Swati Thirunal (1813-1847) is a symbol of the process of modernization that was beginning to be set in motion at the time. Like Kartika Tirunal Rama Varma who was not only a patron of literature and the arts but also a distinguished writer of attakkathas, Swathi Tirunal was both a patron and a poet-musician. Among the great writers at his court, the most talented was without doubt Irayimman (Ravi Varma) Tampi (1783-1856). He is chiefly remembered today for two things: one, a delicate and exquisite lullaby poem ("Is it the darling baby moon") and three well-designed and superbly composed attakkathas (Keejakavadham, Utharaswayamvaram and Dakshayagom). Like his patron, Tampi also wrote a number of songs to be set to music. As a writer of attakkathas, Tampi has only one formidable rival, Unnayi Warrier

Then came another group of poets known as Venmani poets. The major poets of the Venmani school were Venmani Acchan Nambudiri (1817-1891), Venmani Mahan Nambudiri (1844-1893), Poonthottam Acchan Nambudiri (1821-1865), Poonthottam Mahan Nambudiri (1857-1896) and the members of the Kodungalloor Kovilakam

The Kodungalloor school was an offshoot of the Venmani School, but some of the poets like Kunjukuttan Tampuran had a greater seriousness in their vocation. He completed Vyasa’s Mahabharata in the course of a few months.

Ayilyam Tirunal Rama Varma Maharaja of Travancore (1832-1880), Vishakam Tirunal Rama Varma Maharaja (1837-1885) who succeeded Ayilyam Tirunal, Benjamin Bailey (1805-1871) Joseph Peet, Richar Collins and George Mathen (1819-1970) were the prominent writers in second half of the 19 C. Then the writer Archdeacon Koshy (1826-1900) is remembered for his numerous works in prose, especially for his work Pulleli Kunchu (1882). Meenaketancharitam and Bhasha Sakuntalam are works written by Ayilyam Thirunal.

Herman Gundert (1814-1893) is said to be the most important writer in the 19 C. He wrote over twenty books in Malayalam; the most important works are (1) A Malayalam English Dictionary, (2) A Grammar of Malayalam (3) Keralappazhama (Kerala antiquity) and (4) Pazhamcholmala (A garland of proverb). He also edited an anthology of prose and verse for the use of students under the name, Pathamala. The first authoritative grammar of Malayalam was also Gundert's contribution (1851). This led to the production of a number of grammatical works in Malayalam. Vaikam Patchu Moothathu (1814-1883) published his Grammar of Malayalam in 1876. Kerala Kaumudi by Kovunni Nedungadi (1831-1889) came out in 1878. This was soon followed by the first history of the language by P.Govinda Pillai (1849-1897) published in 1881

Kerala Varma Valiya Koil Thampuran was a towering personality in the history of Malayalam literature.His translation of Kalidasa's Abhinjana Sakuntalam (completed in 1882) was unique and it is still popular. ’Mayoorasndesam’ is another famous work by him. He served in the position as president of the Text Book Committee, his. He wrote a number of works in both Sanskrit and Malayalam, both in prose and verse but his personal influence was greater than what was achieved through these works.

The establishment of periodicals was directly responsible for the development of literary criticism. The year 1890 saw the starting of two important periodicals, Kandathil Varghese Mappila's Malayala Manorama and C.P.Achutha Menon's Vidyavinodini. Appan Tampuran started his Rasikaranjini in 1903. Varghese Mappila had the active co-operation of Kottarathil Sankunni, the author of Aitihyamala.

In the wake of Kerala Varma's transalation of Kalidasa's Abhijnana Sakuntalam (which got him the title of Kerala Kalidasa) several attempts were made to translate numerous plays from Sanskrit and English into Malayalam. Chathukutty Mannadiar translated Uttararamacharitham and Janakiparinayam., P.Rama Kurup wrote Chakki Chankaram (1893).

Kerala Varma's nephew, A.R.Rajaraja Varma (1863-1918) wrote books on grammar and rhetoric (which earned him the title of Kerala Panini) and eventually prepared the ground for an enlightened renaissance in Malayalam poetry and literary criticism. ‘Mayavilasom’ is one of his popular works.

K.C.Kesava Pillai, a close associate of Kerala Varma and Rajaraja Varma, was a man of remarkable talent. His major works are Kesaviyam (a mahakavya), Sadarama (a musical play on the Tamil mode, extremely popular at the time),,Asanna marana chinta satakam and a number of attakkathas.

In the beginning of the 20 C, so many ‘mahakavyas’ came out.The best among them were Azhakathu Padmanabha Kurup’s Ramachandravilasam, Pandalam Kerala Varma ‘s Rukmangatha charitam, Kattakkayam Cherian Mappila’s Sri Yesu Vijayam, Ulloor Parameswara Iyer ‘s Umakeralam and Vallathol Narayana Menon ‘s Chitrayogam.

The developments in prose at this time were very significant. Vengayil Kunhiraman Nayanar (1861-1895), more famous under his pseudonym Kesari, was one of the first to explore the essay form in Malayalam. He was closely associated with periodicals like Kerala Chandrika (started in 1879 at Thiruvananthapuram), Kerala Patrika [started in 1884 by C.Kunhiraman Menon (1854-1936) and Appu Nedungadi (1866-1934) at Kozhikode], Kerala Sanchari (after 1898 under the editorship of Murkoth Kumaran) and the English Journal Malabar spectator.

The last quarter of the 19th century saw the birth of the novel in Malayalam. Appu Nedungadi's Kundalata (1887) is said to be the first novel in Malayalam. Another work;’Indulekha’ written by O.Chandumenon is the first novel that met with all the requisites of a real novel. C.V.Raman Pillai is a prominent personality in the history of fictional writing .His major contribution to fiction consists of Martanda Varma (published 1891), Dharmaraja (1893), Premamritam (started in 1915) and Ramaraja Bahadur (1918-20).

This period could witness a Renaissance in literature and there were three poets who were the effective spokesmen of it. They are N.Kumaran Asan (1873-1924), Ulloor.S.Parameswara Iyer(1877-1949) and Vallathol Narayana Menon (1878-1958). Oru Veena Poove, Nalini (1911), Leela (1914), Chintavishtayaya Sita (1919), Duravastha (1922), Chandalabhikshuki (1923) and Karuna (1923) are the best among the works of Asan.

Ulloor, one among the Trinity of poets created so many khandakavyas, narrative poems and a mahakavya, ‘Umakeralam’. Karnabhooshanam and Pingala are famous khandakavyas by him. He is now remembered mainly for his exceptional work, ‘History of Literature’ in five volumes.

Vallatol, the most sensuous poet in the Trinity, had Bandhanasthanaya Anirudhan (Anirudhan in Prison: 1914), Sishyanum Makanum (Disciple and Son: 1918), Magdalanamariam (Mary Magdalene: 1921) volumes of Sahityamanjari [Literary Anthology: Part I (1916), Part II (1918) and Part III and IV (1924)] to his credit. His mahakavya is ‘Chitrayogam’.

The rapid growth of prose through journals like Bhashaposhini (started 1896) inevitably led to the new trend in criticism and the evaluation of literary works in Malayalam on the basis of Western critical standards. It found its full-throated spokesman in Sahitya Panchananan P.K. Narayana Pillai (1878-1937)

The second generation of Romantics after Asan Ulloor and Vallathol are Nalappat Narayana Menon, Kuttippurathu Kesavan Nair, K.M.Panikkar, G.Sankara Kurup, Pallathu Raman, Bodheswaran, Vennikulam Gopala Kurup, P.Kunjiraman Nair, Palai Narayanan Nair, M.P.Appan and Balamani Amma. Nalappat Narayana Menon (1887-1955) is mainly remembered for his classic elegy on the death of his wife, Kannuneer Tulli (Tear Drop)

Nakshtragitam (Song of the Star), Suryakanti (The Sunflower) Innu Jnan Nale Nee (Today I, Tomorrow Thou), Nimisham (The Moment) and Viswadarsanam (The Cosmic Vision) are the popular works by G.Sankara Kurup. His dramatic monologue, Perumthachan (The Master Carpenter), is one of the more successful poems in the genre in Malayalam.

Two poets, Edappally Raghavan Pillai and Changapuzha Krishana Pillai, brought in a new breath of life into the Malayalam poetry of the 1930's. Changampuzha's most popular work is a pastoral play in verse called ‘Remanan’. ‘Swararagasudha’ (1948) "Rakkilikal" (Night birds: 1946) and "Manaswini" (Women with a generous heart: 1947) are other works by him.

Karur Neelakanta Pillai (1898-1974), P.Kesava Dev (1904-1983), Ponkunnam Varkey (b.1908), Vaikom Muhammed Basheer (1912-1994), S.K.Pottakkat (1913-1982), Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai (1914 -1999), P.C.Kutikrishnan (1915-1979), Lalithambika Antharjanam (1909-1987) and K.Sarasmwathi Amma (1919-1974) were among the masters of the new short story that began its brilliant career in the 1930's and achieved great heights in the next twenty years. Karur was a humanist to the core and even when he used satire he had his sympathies in the right quarters in the right proportion. The moralizing strain is completely muted in his best stories such as Marappavakal (Wooden Dolls), Poovampazham (Bananas) and Mothiram (The Ring).and C.Kesavan (Jeevithasamaram).

The informal essay has been enriched by the writings of E.V.Krishna Pillai (Chiriyum Chintayum in 2 parts: 1936), which are marked by satire. Sanjayan wrote social satire both in prose and in verse.

Coming to the modern era there are novelists like M.T.Vasudevan Nair, T.Padmanabhan, Muttathu Verkey, Madhavikkutty, C.Radhakrishnan etc and poets like K.Ayyappa Panicker, O.N.V.Kurup Kunjunni etc.

Some of the other important authors of contemporary Malayalam fiction are Zachariah, M.Mukundan, Anand, Sethu, N.S. Madhavan, Gracy, T.V. Kochubava, K.B. Sreedevi, Valsala, Sara Thomas, K.L.Mohanavarma, Punattil Kunhabdulla,C.V.Balakrishnan each of whom, with his/her unique approach and style has contributed to the growth of the Malayalam Novel and short story.