I. Learning objectives and requirements
Through the study of this chapter, we can understand the historical and cultural background of critical realism literature and modernist literature in the 20th century. Understand the basic characteristics and ideas of literary creation in this period, and its influence on modern and contemporary British literature and even culture; Understand the literary creation thoughts and artistic characteristics of important writers in this period and the theme structure, characterization, language style and ideological significance of their representative works; At the same time, combined with annotations, we can understand the selected works, their ideological content and writing characteristics, and cultivate the ability to understand and appreciate literary works.
The emphases and difficulties of this chapter
1. Features of Modern English Literature
2. The main writers' creative ideas, artistic features and the theme structure, characterization and language style of their representative works.
3. Noun explanation: Modernism
4. Application: Select the theme structure, artistic features, characterization and language style of the work.
(1) Theme and Image Analysis of Ye Zhi and Eliot's Poems (Selected Works)
(2) The theme of the novel Sons and Lovers and the character analysis of the main characters.
(3) Analyze the main features of stream-of-consciousness novels.
(4) Analyze the characteristics and social significance of Bernard Shaw's plays.
Ⅲ. Examination knowledge points and requirements
(A) Overview of the modern period
1. Memory:
A political, economic and cultural background of 20th century British society
B.20 20th century British critical realism literature
C. the rise and fall of modernist literature
2. Understand:
A. the basic idea of modernist literary creation
B. British modernist literary trend of thought
(1) Poetry
(2) Novel
(3) Drama
3. Application:
A. Definition of terms: Modernism
B. Characteristics of English Modernist Literature
C. the influence of modernist literature on contemporary literature
(2) Major writers in modern times
A. Bernard Shaw
1. Overview: Bernard Shaw's life and literary career.
2. Memory:
A. Bernard Shaw's political reform thoughts and literary creation ideas
B. Bernard Shaw's dramatic creation
(1) Early major works: A Widower's House, Mrs. Warren's Career, Kong Di Tan, Julius Caesar and Cleopatra.
(2) Mid-term works: Man and Superman, Major Barbara and Pygmalion.
(3) Later works: A Sad Home, Back to Matthew Salad, Joan of Arc, Apple Car.
Understand:
A. Characteristics and social significance of Bernard Shaw's plays
B. The influence of Bernard Shaw's plays on English literature in the 20th century
4. Application:
The story outline, plot structure, characterization, language style and ideological significance of Mrs. Warren's Career.
B. Selected reading: the main content, characterization, language features and artistic techniques of selected reading works.
B. John John Galsworthy
1. Common sense: John Galsworthy's life and literary career
2. Memory: John Galsworthy's literary creation.
(1) Plot: Silver Box, Justice and Struggle.
(2) Novel: Forsyte aristocratic family (men have industry, riding a tiger is difficult, rent) and modern comedy.
Understand:
A. John Galsworthy's creative thought
B the main features of John Galsworthy's critical realism novels and their social significance.
4. Application:
Selected readings: the main contents and characteristics of the selected works. Language features, narrative techniques, etc.
C. William Butler. Yeats
1. General remarks: Ye Zhi's life and literary career.
2. Memory: the masterpiece of Ye Zhi's poetry.
(1) Early Poems: innis Philly Island, Wonderland, Rose.
(2) Mid-term Poetry: New Era and Easter 19 16.
(3) Late Poetry: Sailing to Byzantium, Rita and Swan, among boys.
Understand:
A. Ye Zhi's thought of poetry creation
B. The characteristics and ideological significance of Ye Zhi's poems
C. The artistic achievements of Ye Zhi's poems
D. The influence of Ye Zhi's poems on contemporary English literature
E. Ye Zhi's drama creation
4. Application: Selected readings: the theme, language style and artistic characteristics of the selected works.
D. Eliot
1. Common sense: Eliot's life and creative career
2. Recitation: Eliot's main poems
(1) Pruefer Locke's love song
(2) Wasteland
(3) Grey Wednesday
(4) "Quartet"
Understand:
A. Eliot's literary theory and criticism
B. the artistic features and social significance of Eliot's poems
C. Eliot's plays
D. the artistic achievements of violets
The influence of Eliot's literary creation and criticism on modern and contemporary English literature.
4. Application:
A. The theme, structure, myth, symbol, linguistic features and social significance of The Waste Land
B. Selected readings: Selected readings include the theme structure, ideological content, language features and artistic techniques of the works.
E. David Herbert Lawrence
1. Common sense: Lawrence's life and literary career
2. Memory: Lawrence's major novels
(1) sons and lovers
(2) Rainbow
(3) Women in love
Understand:
A. Lawrence's creative thought
B. the main artistic features of Lawrence's novels and their social significance.
C. the influence of Lawrence's novels on modern and contemporary English literature
4. Application:
A. The story outline, plot structure, characterization, language style and ideological significance of Sons and Lovers.
B. Selected reading: Select the main contents, characters, language features and artistic techniques of the works.
F. James Joyce
1. Common sense: Joyce's life and creative career
2. Memory: Introduction to Joyce's main works
(1) Dubliners
(2) Portraits of young artists
(3) Ulysses
Understand:
A. Joyce's literary creation thought and aesthetic thought
B. the main artistic features of Joyce's novels and their ideological significance
C. Joyce's artistic achievements
D. the influence of Joyce's works on modern and contemporary world literature
4. Application:
A. analysis of the main features of stream-of-consciousness novels
B. Selected reading: Selected reading of the theme, characterization, language features and artistic techniques of the works.
Chapter V Modern Times
One. Memory:
1. Social and ideological background of modern English literature;
(1) The influence of the two world wars on English literature;
Modernism comes from doubts and disillusionment with capitalism. World War I and World War II greatly influenced English literature. The disastrous World War I greatly weakened the British Empire and brought great suffering to its people. Its appalling shock seriously destroyed people's belief in Victorian values; The post-war economic chaos and spiritual disillusionment had a far-reaching impact on the British people, who began to see the universal misfortune of capitalism.
World War II marked the last stage of the disintegration of the British Empire. Britain suffered heavy losses in the war: thousands of people were killed; The economy was destroyed; Almost all the former colonies have disappeared. People are in crisis of economy, culture and faith.
(2) Ideologically, the rise of irrational philosophy and new science has greatly stimulated modern writers' new exploration of human nature and interpersonal relationships. (a) In the middle of the 9th century, Karl Marx and friedrich engels put forward the theory of scientific socialism, which not only provided guiding principles for the working people, but also inspired them to fight indomitable for their liberation. Darwin's theory of evolution has had a great influence on people, making many people lose their religious beliefs. Social Darwinism strongly advocates colonialism or chauvinism under the guise of "survival of the fittest". (c) Einstein's theory of relativity provides a brand-new idea for the concepts of time and space. (d) Freud's analytical psychology completely changed our concept of human nature. The pessimistic philosopher arthur schopenhauer began to rebel against rationalism, emphasizing the importance of will and intuition. (f) friedrich nietzsche inherited Schopenhauer's basic principles, further opposed rationalism, advocated the theory of strength and superman, and totally rejected Christian morality. Henri bergson established his irrational philosophy on the basis of predecessors, emphasizing creation, intuition, irrationality and unconsciousness. All these irrational philosophers have exerted great influence on the major modernist writers in Britain.
Thus, after the First World War, various literary thoughts of modernism appeared: symbolism, expressionism, surrealism, cubism, futurism, Dadaism, imagism and stream of consciousness. By the1920s, these trends had converged into a mighty torrent of modernism, which swept across Europe and America. After the Second World War, various modernism or postmodernism, such as existential literature, absurd drama, new novels and black humor, rose under the stimulation of existentialism. "The world is absurd, and human life is a kind of pain."
2. The development of English poetry in the 20th century:
The 20th century witnessed the great achievements of English poetry. At the beginning of this century, Thomas Hardy and the younger generation of war poets were important realistic poets. In his poems and novels, Hardy expressed his strong sympathy for the suffering poor and his strong aversion to social evils. Soldiers and poets in World War I exposed the appalling cruelty of war in the most realistic way. Pound and Eliot's early poems and Ye Zhi's mature poems mark the rise of "modern poetry", which, in a sense, is a revolution in the traditional concept and form of Victorian poetry. Modernist poets oppose the fuzziness of romanticism and self-induced emotionalism, and advocate new concepts in poetry creation, such as using common language, creating new rhythms to express new emotions, allowing absolute freedom in choosing themes, and using hard, clear and accurate images in poetry.
/kloc-The 1930s witnessed the Great Depression, mass unemployment and the rise of Nazis. Faced with such a grim situation, most young intellectuals began to turn left. Therefore, a group of young poets in this period, known as the "Red Thirties", expressed their radical political enthusiasm and strong protest against fascism in their poems. With the coming of 1950 s, realistic poetry returned again. By advocating rationality, moral norms and traditional forms, a new generation of poets launched a "movement" and explicitly rejected the influence of modernism. /kloc-there was no significant poetry movement in the 1960 s. Poets and readers have many choices. The poet gradually turned to a more personal style.
3. Realism in 20th century English literature;
Realistic novels in the early 20th century are a continuation of Victorian tradition, but their exposure and criticism of capitalist evils are weakened in both breadth and depth. Outstanding realistic novelists in this period include John Galsworthy, H.G. Wells and Arnold Ernest. The trilogy of john galsworthy Forsay's novels is a masterpiece of critical realism in the early 20th century, exposing the corrupt capitalist world. In his social satire novels, H.G. Wells made a realistic study of the ambition and frustration of "little people". Bennett, on the other hand, vividly describes life in the industrial areas of central England in his best novels.
To some extent, realism was eclipsed by the modernism that rose rapidly in the1920s. However, with the strong swing of leftism in the 1930 s, novelists began to turn their attention to urgent social problems. They also enriched the traditional creative methods by adopting some modern technologies. However, the realistic novels of this period are more or less pessimistic, focusing on the theme of human loneliness, and appear in different forms: Aldous Huxley's social satire and George Orwell's comic satire on the British upper class in evelyn waugh; And graham greene's Catholic novels. Another important group of young novelists and playwrights is/kloc-0 in the mid-1950s and/kloc-0 in the early 1960s. They are called "angry young people". They have shown a special sense of disillusionment with the frustrating situation in Britain and launched a fierce protest against the outdated social and political values in their society. Kingsley Aymis, john wayne, John Bryan and alan sillitoe are the main novelists in this group. In their novels, they describe the simple working class life with the freshness and vitality of the working class language. Amies was the first to attack the privilege and power of the middle class in his novel Lucky Jim (1954). The word "angry young people" began to be widely used.
The realistic novels of 1960 s and 1970 s, after decades of integration and infiltration with modernism, appeared with richer, more vigorous and more diversified styles.
Two. Understand:
1. Modern English Poetry:
In a sense, this is a revolution in the traditional concept and form of Victorian poetry. Modernist poets oppose the fuzziness of romanticism and self-induced emotionalism, and advocate new concepts in poetry creation, such as using common language, creating new rhythms to express new emotions, allowing absolute freedom in choosing themes, and using hard, clear and accurate images in poetry.
2. Modern English novels:
The first 30 years of the 20th century were the golden age of modernist novels. Freud and Jung's psychoanalytic theory played a particularly important role in stimulating the technological innovation of novel creation. Multi-level consciousness exists in people's minds at the same time. A person's present is the sum of his past, present and future. All the truth about human beings exists in everyone's unique, isolated and private world. This concept makes writers such as Dorothy Richardson, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf concentrate all their efforts on excavating human consciousness. They created unprecedented stream-of-consciousness novels, such as Richardson's Pilgrimage, Joyce's Ulysses (1922) and Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway (1925). A remarkable feature of their works is that they constantly try new and complicated novel creation techniques, which has had a great influence on the realistic and modernist novel creation in this century.
James Joyce is the most outstanding stream-of-consciousness novelist; In Ulysses, an encyclopedic masterpiece, Joyce showed us a fantastic picture of Leopold Bloom's fragmented, illogical, illusory and emotional life, and he became a symbol of ordinary people in Europe after World War I..
In the works of E.M. Foster and D.H. Lawrence, the old traditions still exist, but their themes about interpersonal relationships and their symbolic or psychological representations of novels are completely modern. Foster's masterpiece A Passage to India (1924) is a novel with obvious symbolism. In this novel, the author constructs a fable with moral significance in a realistic story, which implies a highly mysterious and symbolic outlook on life, death, interpersonal relationship and the relationship between man and the infinite universe. D.H. Lawrence is considered as revolutionary as Joyce in novel creation; But unlike Joyce, he doesn't care about technological innovation; His interest lies in tracing the psychological development of characters and strongly criticizing the dehumanization of capitalist industrialization on human nature. He believes that the impulse of life is the primary nature of human instinct, and any conscious suppression of this impulse will lead to the distortion or abnormality of personal personality. In his best novels Rainbow (19 15) and Women in Love (1920), Lawrence made a bold psychological exploration of various interpersonal relationships, especially the relationship between men and women. He pointed out frankly that the alienation of interpersonal relationships and the distortion of human nature in modern society are caused by power and money.
After World War II, with the rise of existentialism, modernism set off a climax again, which was mainly reflected in drama.
3. The development of British drama in the 20th century;
The most famous dramatists in the last decade of the19th century were Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw. In a sense, they were pioneers of modern drama, although they did not have as many innovations in skills and forms as modernist poets or novelists. In his plays, especially in his masterpiece The Importance of Being Serious (1895), Wilde expressed his satirical and painful attitude towards the upper class by exposing their corruption, snobbery and hypocrisy. Shaw is regarded as the most famous English playwright since Shakespeare, and his works are the models of dramas inspired by social criticism. John Galsworthy inherited this tradition of social criticism in his plays. By dramatizing social and ethical issues, john galsworthy has made considerable achievements in his plays The Silver Box (1906) and The Conflict (19 10). In these works, john galsworthy not only shows the realistic picture of social injustice, but also shows the heroic struggle of workers against their employers.
W.B. Ye Zhi, an outstanding poet in the 20th century, was the leader of Irish national drama movement. He is a playwright of poetry, eager to restore the popularity of lyric drama. Ye Zhi focused on the heroic legend of spiritual truth and wrote many poetic dramas to introduce Irish myths and folklore. But the plots in his plays are rarely dramatic.
1930s witnessed the revival of English poetic drama. One of the early experimenters was T.S. Eliot, who believed that drama was the best medium for poetry. Eliot wrote several poetic dramas and achieved considerable success. Murder in the Cathedral (1935) is still his most popular poetic drama with its pure dramatic power, although its main purpose is religion. After Eliot, Christopher Frye achieved considerable success in poetic drama. His poetic drama, which is full of vitality but poetic mediocrity. This lady did not burn (1948), which attracted a delighted audience.
/kloc-in the 1950s, under the influence of various European and American countries, the British drama revolution developed in two directions: the working class drama and the absurd drama.
Working-class drama is initiated by a group of young writers from the middle and lower classes or the working class. They put forward a new type of drama, expressing a feeling of anxiety, anger and frustration, a rebellious spirit and a strong emotional protest against the existing social system. John osborne's play Looking Back Angrily (1956) angrily, violently and mercilessly condemned the ugly phenomenon of contemporary society with fresh and simple working-class language. With a new sense of reality, Osborne brought vitality to British theaters and was famous as the first "angry young man"
The most original playwright of the Absurd Theatre is samuel beckett, who wrote that people living in a strange and decadent world lead meaningless lives. His first play Waiting for Godot (1955) is regarded as the most famous and influential of the absurd dramas.