济南大学外国语学院英国文学史及选读课件 Modern and contemporary literature（1）.ppt

 Part VIII. 20th Century Literature Historical Background Literary Tendencies 1. Realism 2. The Irish Dramatic Movement 3. Modernism Realism Joseph Conrad Henry James Katherine Mansfield Thomas Hardy Galsworthy John Galsworthy A Survey of Modern and Contempotary British Literature Modern British Literature(1914-1945) Social Background Major Writers Novelists Poets Dramatists Historical Background Natural and social sciences emormously advanced Capitalism came into its monopoly stage Gap between the rich and the poor was further deepened World Wars I and II Economic Depression beginning in 1929 Philosophical Backgrounds Karl Marx: scientific socialism Darwin’s theory of evolution: “survival of the fittest” B. Sigmund Freud’spsychoanalysis-psychological determinism-man behavior from forces INSIDE the self-self-analysis F. Nietzsche-God is Dead-economic and psychological determinism-no divine patterns, search for meaning Modernism 1. It originated from skepticism and disillusion of Capitalism 2. The French symbolism announced modernism 3. It takes the irrational philosophy and the theory of psycho- analysis as its theoretical base. The major themes are the distorted, alienated and ill relationships. 4. The literature in this period is defined by its rejection of the literary conventions of the nineteenth century and by its opposition to conventional morality, taste, traditions, and economic values. Difference Between Modernism and Realism Modernism is a reaction against realism in many aspects: 1. Modernism rejects rationalism, which is the theoretical base of Realism 2. Modernism rejects the source of Realism, i.e. the external, objective, material world 3. Moernism rejects almost all the traditional elements in literature The Novels End of the 1910s