1、20th century English literatureDefinition excludes from the external,objecive,material excludes from the external,objecive,material world world against realism against realism expresses the inner feelingexpresses the inner feeling focuses on the viewpoint of a single confused focuses on the viewpoin
2、t of a single confused individualindividual irrational philosophy base as theoretical baseirrational philosophy base as theoretical baseBlackground Two World Wars impaired the power of BritainThe two catastrophic(disasterous)World Wars severely weakened British power and brought great sufferings to
3、its peple as well.The economic recession and mental depression impacted British severely.Many British were disappointed with capitalism.Sun-never-set Empire finally collapsedBlackground Marx and Engels issued Communist Manifesto Einstein put forward Theory of Relativity which renewed the concepts of
4、 time and space tremendously Great progress in philosophy:analytical philosophy,Non-rationalism philosophy In 1848,Scientific Socialism emerged,guiding the class of workers.Meanwhile,it also gave an illustration of reforming capitalism.October Revolution in 1917(Russia)confirmed peoples belief.Ficti
5、onFictionLeading writerVirginia Woolf(1882-1941)English novelist,critic,essayist Born and brought up in upper-class and literary family.Bisexual,feminist,married oncesuffered from depression after her parents died.SuicidedQuotes What is the meaning of life?.a simple question;one that tended to close
6、 in on one with years.The great revelation had never come.The great revelation perhaps never did come.Instead there were little daily miracles,illuminations(=enlightment),matches struck unexpectedly in the dark.Virgina and her devoted husband Main WorksMrs.Dalloway To the LighthouseOrlando:A biograp
7、hy A Room of Ones Own Stream of consciousness(non-fiction work)Mrs.Dalloway To the LighthouseOrlando:A biography A Room of Ones Own literary technique which was pioneered by Dorthy Richardson,Virginia Woolf,and James Joyce.Stream of consciousness is characterized by a flow of thoughts and images,whi
8、ch may not always appear to have a coherent(=clear)structure or cohesion.The plot line may weave in and out of time and place,carrying the reader through the life span of a character or further along a timeline to incorporate(=combined)the lives(and thoughts)of characters from other time periods.Imp
9、ortant character traits are revealed through an exploration of what is going on in the mind.Leading writerJames Joyce(1882-1941)Irish novelist,famous for stream of the consciousnessone of the founders of Postmodernismled a destitute and homeless life,suffer from eye illness Main works Ulysses Finneg
10、ans Wakerecords a salesman Leopold Blooms a single day in June 16,1904 in Dublin.depicts a dream of Mr.Earwicker,a Dublin innkeeper,in a dream languageextensive use of inter monolog with complex network of symbolic parallelscreative use of invented words,puns(双关语)and allusions（典故）.Leading writerD.H.
11、Lawrence(1885-1930)British novelist,critic,poet,playwright(剧作家)and painter.called on natural lifeThe greatest imaginative novelist of our generation.by E.M.Fosterespecially controversial and some works were banned as pornographic(色情的).Main Works Sons and lovers(Lawrences finest achievement)The rainb
12、owlies in the psychological development of characters and in his energetic criticism of dehumanizing(丧失人性的)effect of the capitalist industrialization on hunman nature.a story about three generations of the Brangwen family on Marsh farm.PoetryPoetryLeading poetWilliam Butler Yeats(1865-1939)Irish poe
13、t,dramatist and prose writera towering figure in 20th century literature in English,a master of traditional verse(=poetry)forms winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923,famous for poetry,always interested in mystical theories and images,the supernatural,the esoteric and the occult.Main works
14、 The Wild Swans at Coole(柯尔庄园)Michael Robartes and the Dancer The TowerLeading poetT.S Eliot(1888-1965)American-English poet,dramatist and literary criticwinner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1948Nothing Can Be Done,But Something Can Be SaidMain Works The Waste Land Four Quarters(四重奏)Burnt Nor
15、ton（焚毁的诺顿）East CokerThe Dry SalvagesLittle Gidding(吉丁村)Time and eternity,history and the present,the intervention(=interference)of the divine(=priest)in hunman life and the possibility of reconciliation(=settlement)DramaDramaMain DramatistGeorge Bernard Shaw(1856-1950)Irish dramatist,literary critic,socialist sopkenman the Fabian Society the resentment of English society winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925 unpatriotic remarksMain WorksPlays Pleasant and UnpleasantWidowers Houses(鳏夫的房产)Cashel Byrons ProfessionMrs.Warrens ProfessionArms and the manPygmalionTHANK YOU.
