Contemporary British Literature at a Glance

1. Contemporary British Literature at a Glance 1950 -Present

2. Politics and Changing World • Less class division in Great Britain • the Monarchy, and Royal Family, mostly just a symbolic power now. • In literature, we rarely see the “Noble” and aristocratic heroes of Old English (Beowulf), Middle English (Sir Gawain), and Renaissance/Elizabethan (Macbeth), etc.

3. Politics and Changing World • After World War II, US becomes most powerful nation in the world, heavily influencing Great Britain and other countries. • Also, entering the “Cold War” era after WWII, we see paranoia come out in some literature in the form of “the absurdist movement.” This is different than the “apocalyptic” view of the Moderns, in which artists still searched for meaning in the face of the “end times.” The absurdist, on the other hand, does away with meaning altogether.

4. Politics and Changing World • The “Irish Catholic Problem” • Conflict between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland (remember Swift’s “ A Modest Proposal).” • By the 1970’s, the Irish Catholic minority of Northern Ireland demanded more civil rights. The “extremist” group, the Irish Republic Army (IRA) formed and put up military resistance to the British backed Protestants. Many bloody confrontations, often with civilian casualties, ensued. .

5. Literary Movements • “The Movement” – 1950’s, focused on clear, simple, understated poetry with simple, everyday subjects.

6. Literary Movements • Example of a “Movement” poem • “Digging” by Seamus Heaney excerpt(1939-Present) Between my finger and my thumbThe squat pen rests; as snug as a gun.Under my window a clean rasping soundWhen the spade sinks into gravelly ground:My father, digging. I look downTill his straining rump among the flowerbedsBends low, comes up twenty years awayStooping in rhythm through potato drillsWhere he was digging.

7. Literary Movements • Compare this simple image of “Gardening” to Yeats’ apocalyptic “The Second Coming,” with its strange symbolism, biblical references and feeling of doom.

8. Literary Movements • Absurdist movement • These writers focused on the absurdity of life after both world wars and the reality of nuclear age. In Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, for example, two men spend the whole play awaiting the mysterious person “Godot,” who may provide the answers to life, but Godot never shows up, implying there are no answers in life.

9. Literary Movements • Multiculturalism • With the disbanding of many British Colonies (Ghana, India, Nigeria, etc). We see more ethnic voices coming out in British literature • With the Women’s Rights movement, we get more writers expressing views that move away from patriarchal concerns • With the disintegration of class distinction and the rule of Monarchy, we get more “working class” voices expressed in British literature • In short, the snobbish, upper-class/aristocratic perspective gives way to a more multifaceted and realistic voice

10. Experimentation • With Contemporary writers, especially those interested in experimenting with new forms, we see more emphasis on “Stream of Consciousness Writing,” a type of writing that departs from traditional descriptions and allows the writer’s thoughts to roam free with little logic or form. In Great Britain, Virginia Woolf was especially successful at this type of writing.

11. Point of View • Third person omniscient point of view was the established point of view for British Literature (and Western literature in general) starting with Chaucer in the 14th Century. With Modern and Contemporary writers, First Person Limited POV becomes more popular, showing a shift toward individual expression.

12. Assignment • Write a paragraph comparing/contrasting the key elements of Victorian, Modern and Contemporary literature.