Why is the term Elizabethan mainly a chronological label for literature?

The term "Elizabethan" is primarily a chronological label because it refers specifically to the body of works produced during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603). It does not describe any specific stylistic or thematic characteristics inherent to the writing of that era.1

While the period is recognized as a golden age for English literature—marked by the flowering of the sonnet, dramatic blank verse, and the plays of William Shakespeare—the literature itself was defined by a heterogeneous culture. Writers of the time navigated a society filled with competing tensions, including the influence of Humanism, the adoption of Continental literary forms, and the persistence of popular folk traditions. Because these diverse influences and worldviews were held together by the political stability of Elizabeth’s reign, the label serves as a convenient temporal marker rather than a definition of a singular literary style.12