(modern period)20th Century_English_Literature 20世纪英国文学[精品].ppt

20th Century English Literature The Modern Period social, ideological background (1) The influences of the First World War on English literature: Modernism rose out of skepticism and disillusion of capitalism. The First World War had greatly influenced the English literature. The catastrophic First World War tremendously weakened the British Empire and brought about great sufferings to its people as well. Its appalling shock severely destroyed peoples faith in the Victorian values; The postwar economic dislocation and spiritual disillusion produced a profound impact upon the British people, who came to see the prevalent wretchedness in capitalism. * social, ideological background 　(2) Ideologically, the rise of the irrational philosophy and new science greatly incited modern writers to make new explorations on human natures and human relationships. (a) Darwins theory of evolution exerted a strong influence upon the people, causing many to lose their religious faith. The social Darwinism, under the cover of survival of the fittest, vehemently advocated colonialism or jingoism. (b) Einsteins theory of relativity provided entirely new ideas for the concepts of time and space. (c) Freuds analytical psychology drastically altered our conception of human nature. * Realism in the 20th century English literature The realistic novels in the early 20th century were the continuation of the Victorian tradition, yet its exposing and criticizing power against capitalist evils had been somewhat weakened both in width and depth. The outstanding realistic novelists of this period were John Galsworthy, H. G. Wells, and Arnold Eennett. The three trilogies of Galsworthys Forsyte novels are masterpieces of critical realism in the early 20th century, which revealed the corrupted capitalist world. * Modern English poetry The 20th century has witnessed a great achievement in English poetry. In the early years of this century, Thomas Hardy and the war poets of the younger generation w