20世纪英国文学

TheTwentiethCenturyLiterature二十世纪文学BackgroundHistoricalbackground:TwoWorldWarsIntellectualbackground:Freud’spsychoanalysis

Darwin’ssocialevolutionLiteratureinThisPeriod

Generallyspeaking,wecallliteraturein20thcenturyModernismasasummarytoallkindsofliterarygenres.However,Modernismitselfisamovementbothwideanddeepandextendingintoalltheformsofliteratureandart.Becauseofitsverycomplexity,itisdifficulttodefineprecisely,butboththemodernistwritersthemselvesandsubsequentcriticalappraisalsagreethatitinvolvedaradicalanddeliberatebreaknotonlywithtraditionalformsofartbutwithtraditionalaestheticprinciplesreachingbacktoAristotlethathadformedthebedrockofwesternculture.LiteraryTraitsin20thCentury:ModernismP282LModernismisarathervaguetermwhichisusedtotheworksofagroupofpoets,novelists,painters,andmusiciansbetween1910andtheearlyyearsaftertheWWII.Thetermincludesvarioustrendsorschools,suchasimagism,expressionism,dadaism,streamofconsciousness,andexistentialism.ItmeansadeparturefromtheconventionalcriteriaorestablishedvaluesoftheVictorianage.Basicthemesofmodernism

Alienationandlonelinessarethebasicthemesofmodernism.Althoughmodernsocietyismateriallyrich,itisspirituallybarren.Itisalandofspiritualandemotionalsterility.(WL)ThecharacteristicofmodernistwritingsP283ComplexityandobscurityTheuseofsymbolsAllusionsIronyTheTwentiethCenturyModernismAngryYoungMenTheTheatreoftheAbsurdAngryYoungMen

Duringthefiftiesthereappearedagroupofyoungwriterswhowerefiercelycriticaloftheestablishedorder.Theywerecalled“AngryYoungMen”,atermtakenfromJohnOsborne’splayLookBackinAnger,whichfirstappearedin1956.ThewritersbelongingtothisgroupareKingsleyAmis,JohnWain,etc.Mostofthemcamefromworkingclassfamiliesandlowermiddlefamilies.Theywroteabouttheuglinessandsordidnessoflifeandexposedthehypocrisyofthegenteelclass.TheTheatreoftheAbsurdTheTheatreoftheAbsurdisatermappliedtoagroupofdramatistswhowereactiveinthe50’s.Theterm“TheatreoftheAbsurd”wascoinedbyMartinEsslininhis1962bookbythattitle.ItreferstotheworkofalooselyassociatedgroupofdramatistswhofirstemergedduringandafterWorldWarII.(SamuelBeckett)Theabsurdityofhumanconditionsisthemainthemeoftheplaysoftheschoolofthetheatreoftheabsurd.P329MajorFiguresin20thCenturyPoetryYeats:TheResponsibilities,TheWildSwansatCoole,TheTower,TheWindingStairT.S.Eliot:TheWasteLand,FourQuarters,TheLoveSongofJ.AlfredPrufrock,TheHollowManNovel:

HenryJames:

DaisyMiller,PortraitofaLady,TheAmbassador,TheGoldenBowlJosephConrad:NiggeroftheNarcissus,Typhoon,Youth,LordJim,HeartofDarkness.E.M.Foster:WhereAnglesFeartoTread,TheLongestJourneyARoomwithaView,APassagetoIndianJohnGalsworthy:TheForsyteSaga,AModernComedyD.H.Lawrence:WhitePeacock,SonsandLovers,WomeninLove,LadyChatterley’sLoverStreamsofConsciousness:

JamesJoyce:APortraitoftheArtistasaYoungMan,Ulysses

VirginiaWoolf:TheVoyageOutNightandDayJacob’sRoomMrs.DallowayTotheLighthouseLiteratureafter1950Poetry:

W.H.Auden:DylanMarlaisThomas:DeathandEntrances,APortraitoftheArtistasaYoungDog,AdventuresintheSkinTrade,UnderMilkWood,QuiteEarlyOneMorning.PhilipLarkin:TheWhitsunWeddings,HighWindows,TheNorthShip,TheLessDeceived.EnglishDramaafter1950TheAngryYoungMenTraditionJohnOsborne:LookBackinAnger,Entertainer,Luther,InadmissibleEvidenceAPortraitofMe,ABetterClassofPerson.ArnoldWesker:I’mTalkingAboutJerusalem,ChickenSoupwithBarley,ChipswithEverything.JohnArden:TheLifeofMan,AllFallDown,TheWatersofBabylon,LiveLikePigs.SerjeantMusgrave’sDance.ShelaghDelaney:TheLioninLove,TheHousethatJackBuilt,ATestofHoney.TheAbsurdTraditon:SamuelBeckett:Molloy,MaloneDies,TheUnnamable,WaitingforGodot.Endgame,Krapp’sLastTrap.HaroldPinter:TheBirthdayParty,TheHomecoming,TheRoom,TheDumnWaiterTomStoppard:RosencrantzandGuildensternAreDead,Jumpers,Travesties.CarylChurchill:Cloud9,TopGirls.Novelafter1950WilliamGolding:TheLordofFlies.PincerMartin,TheSpire,TheInherition,CloseQuarters,FireDownBelowKingsleyAmis:LuckJim,TheUncertainFeeling,TheLonelinessoftheLongDistanceRunner,TheDeathofWilliamPosters,TheWidower’sSon,Storyteller,SaturdayNightandSundayMoring.AlanSillitoe:Robinson,MomentoMari,TheBalladofPechamRye,TheGirlsofSlenderMeans,DorisLessing:MarthaQuest,AProperMarriage,ARippleformtheStorm,TheFour-Gated-City,TheChildrenofViolence,TheGoldenNotebook,TheSummerbeforetheDark.P158PleaseretellthestoryP158TheForsyteSagaTheForsyteSagadescribestheloveandenmityofthethreegenerationsofalargeuppermiddle-classfamilyinLondon.Itgivesaprofoundandtrue-to-lifepictureoftheEnglishbourgeoissocietyduringaperiodoffortyyears.TheForsyteSagaTheme

Itsmainthemeisthepossessiveinstinctofthepropertiedclass.TheManofPropertyTheManofPropertywasalandmarkinthedevelopmentofGalsworthy’sart.Thenovelshowsmaturityandconsummatecraftsmanship.ItmarksthesummitofcriticalrealisminallGalsworthy’sworks.Majorcharacters:Soames

Forsyte,Irene,

Bosinney.D.H.Lawrence

D.H.LawrenceEnglishnovelistandpoet,oneofthemostinfluentialandcontroversialliteraryfiguresofthe20thcentury.D.H.Lawrence’sWorksTheWhitePeacock

(1913)SonsandLovers(1913)TheRainbow(1915)WomeninLove(1921),Aaron'sRod(1922)Kangaroo(1923)ThePlumedSerpent(1926)

LadyChatterley'sLover(1928)),thenovelcausedasensationandwasbannedinEnglandandtheUnitedStatesuntil1959.volumesofliterarycriticism,notablyStudiesinClassicAmericanLiterature(1916).

SonsandLovers

Lawrence'sfirstmajornovelwasalsothefirstintheEnglishlanguagetoexploreordinaryworking-classlifefromtheinside.SonsandLoversislargelyautobiographical.Itissetinacoal-miningdistrictandbasedontheauthor’searlylife.Plot:P163(Shen)MajorCharactersWalterMorel,isaminer,easy-going,pleasure-seekingandirresponsible.Mrs.Morel,isarefinedandstrong-willedwomanfromthemiddleclass,whocanhavenosatisfactionintheroughnessandilliteracyofheruneducatedhusband.Paul,theherointhenovel.Miriam,afarmer’sdaughter.Clara,awomanestrangedfromherhusbandandpotentiallysensual.HisideasTohimmodernworld(money,industrialism)seemedtohavecorruptedman’semotionallife.Hethoughtthesalvationofmoderncivilizationliesinfreeexpressionofemotionsandintruepersonalrelationships,especiallythoseofmanandwomeninlove.

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