British literature is mainly divided into five stages: ancient and medieval British literature, the neoclassical period, the romantic period, the Victorian period and the modern period.
1. In the history of British literature, the ancient period probably started in 450 AD and ended in 1066, the year of the Norman Conquest. It was mainly divided into religious poetry and secular poetry, the Bible and Beo. Wufu is a typical example that has been passed down to this day. The Renaissance period is the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of modern society, from the 15th century to the 17th century, and humanism is its spirit.
2. The neoclassical period lasted from the restoration of the Stuart dynasty in 1660 to the romantic period in 798. In the early period, Britain was turbulent, and in the later period, its national power developed. The eighteenth century in Britain was the period of enlightenment. In the era of socialism, order, rationality, and the rule of law are advocated.
3. The romantic period started from Wordsworth and Coleridge's "Lyric Ballads" and ended with Scott's death in 1832. During the French Revolution and the British Industrial Revolution, the main emphasis was on human rights.
4. The Victorian period was the climax of the British Industrial Revolution. The reign of Queen Victoria, from 1836 to 1901, was the most glorious period in British history. The country was relatively prosperous and stable, and state power gradually transferred to the middle class. Morality and common sense have become the themes of the times.
5. In the modern period, due to the monopoly of the bourgeoisie and the intensification of contradictions, coupled with the losses in World War I and World War II, the national power of the Empire on which the Sun Never Sets declined, and philosophical ideas emerged. There are many genres, and representative figures include Bernard Shaw, Yeats, Eliot, Lawrence, Joyce, etc.
Extended information:
Characteristics of 20th century British literature:
The first achievement of 20th century literature was a breakthrough in drama creation. First, the Irishman Bernard Shaw came to London and opened up the new European realist drama represented by Ibsen with his pungent drama. Then he cleverly combined it with the European classical comedy since Aristophanes in his own creation. Tradition combined.
Written 51 scripts, including "Mrs. Warren's Profession" (1894), "Man and Superman" (1903)_"Another Island of the British" (1904)_"Baba" Major" (1905)_"Pygmalion" (1913), "Joan of Arc" (1923)_"The Apple Cart" (1929) and other masterpieces.
They either debate social issues or publish novel ideas, but they all provide the audience with noble artistic enjoyment. The emergence of Bernard Shaw fundamentally changed the sluggish situation of British drama in the past hundred years.
Another powerful force in new drama also comes from Ireland. With the rise of the Irish national liberation movement, an Irish Renaissance movement emerged. The Abbey Theater in Dublin, under the direction of Lady Gregory and the poet Yeats, performed plays by their own and emerging Irish authors including Synge and O'Casey.
Singer's "The Playboy of the Western World" (1907) and O'Casey's "Juno and the Peacock" (1924) are both masterpieces. They not only successfully wrote Irish themes, but also succeeded in dramatization. There are major innovations in language. Yeats wrote the play "Catherine of Hulihen" (1902), which inspired the audience's nationalist sentiments.
Later, he experimented more in dramatic art, but his achievements in poetry were even more outstanding. His early poems were famous for their beauty, and later he wrote concisely and profoundly, absorbing and transcending modernism. Became one of the greatest poets in the Western world.
Reference materials:
Baidu Encyclopedia-British Literature