This literature is written in the Anglo-Saxon language and it has its roots in the Anglo-Saxon territories e.g. in Denmark. The oldest work is Germanic legend Beowulf which appeared probably in the 7th century. This heroic poem is about King Hrothgar who built big hall for his warriors. But the monster (Grendel) visited it for a period of twelve years and murdering the men asleep there. Beowulf, nephew of the king in Sweden, heard of this and crossed the sea to the hall and cut off Grendel’s arm. After having killed Grendel, Beowulf was attacked by Grendel’s mother and he killed her too. When he returned home, he became king and reigned 1 for fifty years but he died after killed the dragon which had attacked his kingdom.
Other known poets who lived in 7th century are Ceadmon and Cynewulf. Venerable Bede was a historian, philosopher and scientist - he wrote a work called King Alfred the Great.
II. Middle English Literature (approx. between 1150 - 1500)
The religious literature is represented by John Wycliff (? 1324 - 1384), a professor of Oxford University. He translated the whole Bible into English and criticised the Roman Catholic Church. His ideals influenced Master Jan Hus very much.
‘Chivalrous literature’ is represented by Sir Thomas Malory († 1471) who wrote the first prose novel in English literature - Arthur’s Death (Le Morte D’Arthur).
The outstanding 2 author of this period was Geoffrey Chaucer (1340 - 1400) and his Canterbury Tales. It is a portrait of 30 pilgrims 3 who meeting at the Tabard Inn in London - each pilgrim has to tell four stories in this party. This work is a vivid 4 picture of English society of the 14th century.
III. Modern English Literature (16th - 20th century)
a) The Renaissance and Humanism
The Renaissance period in English literature is represented mainly by two personalities: Sir Thomas More (1437 - 1535) was an outstanding scientist and philosopher - he showed his version of an ideal state in his Utopia (1516). The second one is of course William Shakespeare, the biggest dramatist in a history. 5
b) 17th century
The main figure of the baroque literature is John Milton (1608 - 1674). His Paradise Lost (1667) and Paradise Regained (1671) 6 have a biblical theme - a revolt of Satan against Heaven and God.
c) 18th century
Literature became popular among the middle class in this period. Daniel Defoe (1660 ? - 1731) was a politician, traveller and journalist. His most famous work is novel Robinson Crusoe - the story of a shipwrecked man on a lonely island.
Jonathan Swift (1667 - 1745) was sharp critic. He wrote satirical pamphlets on all unfair events in British society. His most popular work is Gulliver’s Travels. The hero, Lemuel Gulliver, visits different imaginary worlds - the land of Lilliput (where the people are six inches high; there are two political parties there: one believes that egg must be broken at the big and so the second is sure that the only way to break the egg is at the little end), Brobdingnag which is inhabited by giants, Laputa and Lagado and Houyhnms. The author criticises British policy, corruption, army, politicians etc.
Henry Felding (1707 - 1754) was a journalist and lawyer. He wrote a realistic novel The History of Tom Jones where he describes the life in the 18th century in England.
d) Romanticism (2nd half of the 18th century - 1st third of the 19th century)
Literature of this period is inspired with the middle ages time. Sir Walter Scott (1771 - 1832) is a founder of historical novel and the author of many romantic novels describing historical events - e.g. Rob Roy - but especially Ivanhoe, his best known novel in other country.
The best English romantic poets were Percy Bysshe Shelley with his Prometheus Unbound 7 (1792 - 1843) and George Gordon Byron (1788 - 1824), the author of Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage 8. ‘Byronism’ (feeling oneself an outcast of human society) 9 became the philosophy of the life of many poets in this time.
e) Victorian Age (Critical Realism, 2nd half of the 19th century)
The period of realism show life from a quite different view than romanticism. Charles Dickens (1812 - 1870) often uses his own experience from his childhood, e.g. in novels David Copperfield or Oliver Twist. Dickens was a master of showing the life of the lower classes. Charlotte Brontö (1816 - 1855) is famous for her novel Jane Eyre. Her sister Emily Brontö (1818 - 1848) is the author of another world known novel called Withering Heights 10 .
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894) wrote mainly famous adventurous Treasure Island about pirates, but The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 11 is well known too.
The big personality of the Victorian Era was Oscar Wilde, one of the most famous dramatist in a history. 12
f) The 1st half of the 20th century
This period is connected with many names of authors but the turn of the century is connected mainly with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859 - 1930), the creator of the most known detective - Sherlock Holmes and Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936, NP in 1907), who was inspired by the wildlife in India to write The Jungle Book with its hero Mowgli.
David Herbert Lawrence (1885 - 1930) described the erotic relations between man and woman in his Lady Chatterley’s Lover, which was not allowed to be printed in full version in Britain until the 1960s.
John Galsworthy (1857 - 1924, NP in 1932) was a critical novelist and dramatist. He described the decay 13 of the Victorian Era’s upper middle class in the Forsyte Saga.
James Joyce (1882 - 1941) made the turning point in a modern novel (as well as F.Kafka or
M.Proust). He wrote an experimental prose using the stream of consciousness 14 . His Ulysses 15 is inspired in Homer’s work where hero wandered for about 20 years around Mediterranean. Joyce’s hero wanders around Dublin during one day but all the characters correspondent to the legend.
George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950, NP in 1925) was also the famous dramatist - he criticises the false morals of the society and his Pygmalion became world known in its film musical version under the title ‘My Fair Lady’.
The most outstanding poet and dramatist of this period was Thomas Stearns Eliot (1888 - 1965, born in America, NP in 1948). His comic and cynical poetry shows the chaos and sterility of modern world - The Waste Land 16 - but also a cruelty of the middle ages (Murder in the Cathedral).
IV. Contemporary literature (2nd half of the 20th century)
Graham Greene (1904 - 1991) was probably the most important British writer in this century. His literary studies crimes, guilt, sex and morality - e.g. in The Quiet American (taking place in Vietnam in 1950s) or The ministry of Tear 17.
After the Second World War we can find there a group of young writers who are called ‘Angry Young Men’. They express disillusionment and emptiness 18 of intellectuals after WW II, they ‘fought’ against conservatism of British society (like a ‘Beat Generation’ in the USA) and were angry and dissatisfied with establishment, criticised snobs and people in power.
Kingsley Amis (* 1922) is the most famous member of this group. His Lucky Jim - story about Jim Dixon, who is a lecturer at one small university and comes through all possible funny situations there - is the work with a rebellious spirit.
William Golding (*1911, NP in 1983) is famous for his works against danger or negative powers coming out of the people. Lord of the Flies 19 is the story of which is set to the future, when an air-crash leaves a group of young boys on an island. First they are happy without their parents and try to form an ideal society but then they form two groups and fight against each other with barbarian bestiality.
J.R.R. Tolkien (1892 - 1973) based his stories of his fairy tale novels on old German and Celtic myths. He created a fantasy world of Middle-Earth where small hobbits seek 20 happiness, goodness and live many adventures - Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings etc.
George Orwell (1903 - 1950) wrote excellent allegory novels as a prediction to the future about the totality systems - e.g. Nineteen Eighty-Four or Animal Farm.
Arthur C.Clarke (*1917) is a world known scientist and science-fiction literary writer - 2000: A Space Odyssey and many special studies about science and paranormal activities.
The drama, which was quickly developed in 1960s is represented mainly by John Osborne (*1929). His drama Look Back in Anger is the beginning of the ‘Angry Young Men’ movement. The hero (Jimmy Porter) is a prototype of a man who rebels against everything. Also Samuel Beckett (1906 - 1990, NP in 1969) is important for the world drama. His famous absurd drama Waiting for Godot is about two tramps who are waiting for Godot - but no one seems to know exactly who Godot is and how he looks like!
• Oscar Wilde (1856 - 1900)
O.Wilde was born in Dublin. He was influenced by French teories of beautiful and founded the aesthetic cult in London. He was criticised by London society because of his bohemian life and homosexuality, for what he was in prison. The rest of his life he spent in France. He was one of the most talented dramatist in a history and especially his comedies - e.g. The Importance of Being Earnest 21 - are famous. Because of aestheticism movement his work is full of emotions, feelings and impressions and the author studies deep levels of human character.
He wrote just only one novel - The Picture of Dorian Gray - and fairy-tales with philosophical theme - e.g. The Happy Prince and Other Tales or The Nightingale and the Rose - where Wilde sympathises with the poor and unhappy people.
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