20世纪英国文学.ppt

The Twentieth Century Literature二十世纪文学 BackgroundHistorical background:Two World WarsIntellectual background:Freud’s psychoanalysis Darwin’s social evolution Literature in This Period Generally speaking, we call literature in 20th century Modernism as a summary to all kinds of literary genres. However, Modernism itself is a movement both wide and deep and extending into all the forms of literature and art. Because of its very complexity, it is difficult to define precisely, but both the modernist writers themselves and subsequent critical appraisals agree that it involved a radical and deliberate break not only with traditional forms of art but with traditional aesthetic principles reaching back to Aristotle that had formed the bedrock of western culture. Literary Traits in 20th Century: Modernism P282 LModernism is a rather vague term which is used to the works of a group of poets, novelists, painters, and musicians between 1910 and the early years after the WWII.The term includes various trends or schools, such as imagism, expressionism, dadaism, stream of consciousness, and existentialism.It means a departure from the conventional criteria or established values of the Victorian age. Basic themes of modernism Alienation and loneliness are the basic themes of modernism. Although modern society is materially rich, it is spiritually barren. It is a land of spiritual and emotional sterility. (WL ) The characteristic of modernist writings P283Complexity and obscurityThe use of symbolsAllusionsIrony The Twentieth CenturyModernismAngry Young MenThe Theatre of the Absurd Angry Young MenDuring the fifties there appeared a group of young writers who were fiercely critical of the established order. They were called “Angry Young Men”, a term taken from John Osborne’s play Look Back in Anger, which first appeared in 1956.The writers belonging to this group are Kingsley Amis, John Wain, etc. Most of them came from working class families and lower middle fa