Otázka: British literature
Jazyk: Angličtina
Přidal(a): Veronique
The first mention of British literature comes from the Anglo-Saxon period 8 or 9 century and it´s Germanic legend about Beowulf. It´s heroic poem about strong hero Beowulf.
MIDDLE AGES
During the middle ages was the Roman Catholic Churche criticised by John Wycliff professor of Oxford University. He and his students translated the whole bibel into english. J.W. influenced (ovlivnil) Master John Huss [has] and our hussite movement (hnutí).
RENAISSANCE and HUMANISM (14-15.stol.)
- One of the most important personalities of this period was Geoffrey Chaucer. His masterpiece is Canterbury Tales and they are four stories about 30 pilgrims travelling to Canterbury.
- Sir Thomas Moore
- His best known work is The Utopia. It´s a vision of imaginary island with perfektly organize society.
- William Shakespeare
THE 17th CENTURY
- John Milton is the main person of this period. His masterpiece is Paradise lost. It´s the revolt of satan against heaven.
THE 18th CENTURY
- There´s a big development of society, ekonomy, jurnalism, novel and drama, literature became popular among a middle class.
- Johnatan Swift
- He was a sharp critic. He wrote satarical pamphlets on unfair events in british society. His most popular work is Gulliver´s travels. Lamuel Gulliver travers throw imaginary countries. The land of giants, the land of Lilliputians.
- Daniel Defoe
- He was a politician, traveller and journalist. World-known work his Robinson Crusoe. It´s about Shipwrecking on an lonely island.
- Henre Feilding
- He was journalist, lawyer and playwright. He wrote dramatic novel Tom Jones and History of Foundling.
ROMANTISISM
- New stream appears in literature. It´s gothic novel (Mistic and cruel middle ages hauntet castles were topics for mistery stories and horrors.).
- Matthew Gregory Lewis
- The Monk (mnich)
- Sir Walter Scott
- He´s a founder a historical novel. He was inspirated by folkballads especially of scottish history. Ivanhoe – it´s from the period of the rule of Richard of lion heart. This period is well-known for its poetry.
- William Wordsworth
- Samuel Coleridge
- He wrote a Lyrical Ballads, the Rytme of an Ancient Mariner. It´s about Mariner, who shuts the Albatross and the peneloty for his cruelty is to travel from land to land with his suffering soul.
- Byron
- Child´s Harold´s Pilgrimage. The hero travells across the europe and comments unfairnes in life.
- B. Shelley
- His masterpiece is Unbound Prometheus (odpoutaný Prométheus). It´s base on old Greek legend, who stole the fire from the Olympus to give it to people.
THE 19th CENTURY
VICTORIAN AGES
- critical realism, novel, Emily and Charlotte Bronte
- Emily Bronte
- Wuthering Heights (Na větrné hůrce)
- Both these novels describe
- Charlotte Bronte
- moral and psychological problems.
- Jane Eyre (Jana Érová)
- Charles Dickens
- He wrote about poor people, life of poor people and society in England in 19th century. He wrote comedies and serious topics.
- David Copperfield – novel
- Little Dorrit
- The Pickwick Papers
- Oliwer Twist
- William Makepeace Thackeray
- He wrote novels against snobbery. His main novel is Vanity Fair. Where he compers the career of two completely different characters. (Becky Sharp)
THE FIRST HALF OF 20th CENTURY
- Robert Lewis Stevenson
- He wrote romantic adventurous (dobrodružné) stories.
- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
- Treasure Island
- Oscar Wilde
- He was from Dublin. He was influenced by the french theory l´art-pour-l´art. He was criticized by London society and put the prison for homosexuality. The rest of his life he spent in France.
- The Picture of Dorian Gray – It´s excellent drama. In this work he deals with deeper levels of human characters.
- Other works are fairy-tales:
- The Wolf and the lamb
- The Selfish Giant
- The Happy Prince
- The Nightingale and the rose
- Rudyard Kipling
- The JungleBook1 and 2
- He was aworded the nobel prize in 1907. He was the first aworded british autor. He wrote about India, Indian sea, jungle and animals.
- Herbert George Walls
- He invented a new kind of sci-fi romance, a kind of utopia fiction. This form gave birth to the modern sci-fi literature.
- The Time Machine
- The Invisible Man
- The First Man On The Moon
- Virginia Wolf
- Her masterpiece – To The Lighthouse (U majáku).
- B. Shaw
- dramatist.He was most personality – awarded the nobel prize in 1925. He criticized the hole society.
- Pygmalion – It was made in the world famous musical – My Fair Lady.
- The widover´s house
- John Galsworthy – The Forsyte Saga
- James Joyce
- George Orwell – Animal Farm
- Agatha Christie
CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE
- John Wain belongs to the actors called as „Angry young man“. They are angry and dissatisfied with american society.
