MODERN BRITISH LITERATURE

MODERN BRITISH LITERATURE
Lectures: Mgr. Jana Javorčíková, PhD. (lectures, Fhv – seminars) Seminars: Mgr. Martin Kubuš (Fif – seminars) PaedDr. Jana Javorčíková, PhD. (Fhv – seminars) (Externists) DDD

Where to find texts of lectures and seminars:
katedry Katedra anglických a amerických štúdií Štúdium Kurzy denného štúdia Kurzy v odbore učiteľstvo ... Mgr. Jana Javorčíková, PhD. Moderná britská literatúra 1 DDD PASSWORD: mbl1 or mbl2

THE CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL SETTING OF THE POST-WAR BRITISH LITERATURE
BEFORE WWII AFTER ECONOMICS The slump The economics of the gold standard Full employment Keynes´ and Beveridge´s economics John Maynard Keynes: American economist – believed in econ. stimulus William Beveridge: British economist and social reformer

BEFORE WWII AFTER POLITICS Conservative hegemony “Government of men” Labour victory (1945) “administration of things” Labour victory in 1945: Clement Atlee won over W. Churchill (Cons.) Atlee: Welfare State: “from craddle to grave“ or “from womb to tomb“

BEFORE WWII AFTER SOCIETY Class system Aristocratic privilege and glitter “THEM” dependence of women dual system of education Classless society Egalitarian way “US” feminism of the 60´s tripartite system of education (Butskellism) status revolution BUTSKELLISM: blend of Butler and Hugh Gaitskell´s political thought

BUTLER EDUCATION ACT 1944 – Butler Education Act passed:
(Richard Austen Butler, ) – compulsory education under 15 – system of sponsorship for the underprivileged students;

Characteristics of British Universities of the 1960’s
Formal, traditional, conservative, abstract (virtual character of Oxford) Redbrick provincial universities opposed to Oxbridge vs.

BEFORE WWII AFTER CULTURE “high vs. low” culture common culture equalisation nationalisation decentralisation Americanisation Racial integration Multiculturalism

RESULTS OF BUTLER ACT POSITIVES: More democratic access to education
NEGATIVES: ANGRY YOUNG MEN

DAVID LODGE (b. 1935) BIOGRAPHY
teacher at the University of Birmingham (1960 – 1987) His university studies portrayed in a combination of an autobiographical novel, Bildungsroman Out of Shelter, 1970) and H. James’ international novel (setting: London – Heidelberg).

LODGE´S STYLE master of parody (The British Museum is Falling Down, 1965; Changing Places, 1975); parody of V. W.; J. J.; D. H. L; F. K. Often depicts the Anglo-American cultural gap (Small World, 1984); motivations: sexual intrigue and the drive for power; Also wrote theoretical handbooks (The Language of Fiction, 1967) – explaining the methodology of structuralism and empiricism.

Synopsis of Small World
Setting: Rummidge, everywhere : late 1970´s –early 1980´s Characters: professors and scholars in humanities (Perssy McGarrigle, Angelica Pabbst, Morris Zapp, Phillip Swallow) Genre and tone: academic romance, ironic

Post-war modernisation class-ridden and antiquated
of the old class-ridden and antiquated British society END OF LECTURE NO. 1

BRITISH POST-WAR LITERATURE
VARIOUS GENRES, TOPICS, STYLES, MOVEMENTS OR MISFITS.

Six periods/groups according to Gilbert Phelps:
“Survivors“ of the 1930’s : Virginia Woolf, James Joyce “Already active novelists“ Leslie Paul Hartley Post-colonial or anti-colonial novelists: Paul Scott; James G. Farrell; Hanif Kureishi Female writers: Muriel Spark, Beryl Bainbridge Angry Young Men: John Osborne, J. Wain, J. Braine “Misfits“: John Fowles, David Lodge, Ian McEwan

SUBJECT CLASSIFICATION:
Serious novels: Graham Greene Comic novels: G. Greene Linguistic experimens: Anthony Burgess Traditionalists: August Wilson Detective novels: A. Christie Spy novels: John Le Carré Political allegories: George Orwell Sci-fi: Aldous Huxley

CHRONOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION:
The 30´s: All the Fun: Carpe Diem philosophy of the Jazz Age/Roaring 20´s The 40´s: Extravagance and Reason: war-time escapism The 50´s: Anger and Fear The 60´s and 70´s: Dreams Revived: back to colonial past and its effects

Before we talk about movemements and groups...
TWO PROBLEMS: Self-classification of authors POSTMODERNISM - “ownership of the text“

1. Self-classification of authors:
Classification of authors is not easy. Take, for example Alan Sillitoe. He is a “typical“ representative of the literary group called “Angry Young Men“ : Sillitoe himself was born to a working class family but was able to pursue in his studies at a university due to a state sponsorship His main representatives followed the same carreer (e.g. Arthur Seeton) He wrote most of his novels during the highlights of the „Angry Young Men“ period. However, he refused to be labeled an “angry young man“ Alan Sillitoe (Writer) Author of the original novel and scriptwriter of the screenplay for the film. A bestselling novelist for the past 40 years, Alan Sillitoe has lately produced his long-awaited sequel to that first novel, Birthday (Flamingo, 2002).

2. MODERNISM vs. POSTMODERNISM
MODERNISTS: James Joyce; V. W.; Edward M. Foster; G. G.; J. Conrad POSTMODERNISTS: Muriel Spark; Beryl Bainbridge; David Lodge CHRONOLOGY: End of the 19th ct. – MODERNISM 1920´s – highlights of MODERNISM 1940´s – POSTMODERNISM 1960´s – highlights of POSTMODERNISM POSTMODERNISM: deflection from established rules: double names, characters conventions, form: pastiche style: syntax, sentence structure

POSTMODERNISM – BASIC THOUGHTS
MODERNISM: STRUCTURALISM Language is a system of signs. Writing is encoding, Reading is decoding. Text has THE MEANING. MODERNIST EXPERIMENT: sub-trends: surrealism, old avant-garde POSTMODERNISM: POSTSTRUCTURALISM,DECONSTRUCTION Language is asystematic. Every decoding is another encoding. Text has A MEANING. POSTMODERN EXPERIMENT Novel  anti-novel, noveau roman Poetry  concrete poetryDrama  total theatre LITERARY CRITICISM: Marxist criticism, Feminist criticism, New criticism

Introduction to postmodernism - Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez
LAS MENINAS: THE MAIDS OF HONOUR

b) Somebody else, e.g. a royal couple, infant’s parents, a joker, etc.
Who/what are the people in the painting looking at? How many figures are there? /Notice the sources of light/ 3. Where are you standing? A passer by - you c) Another painter b) Somebody else, e.g. a royal couple, infant’s parents, a joker, etc.

A passer by The passer by, be it you or whoever else, represents the OBSERVER of the scene. Metaphorically, he symbolises the READER while the scene represents the TEXT.

How many figures are there?
8 9 7 1 4 2 6 3 5 Odfotit dvojicu v zrkadle a pozorovatela

How many figures are there?
9 10 MIRROR 8 9 7 1 2 6 3 4 5 MEANING Odfotit dvojicu v zrkadle a pozorovatela you you

Jacques Foucault: Words and Objects PAINTING SERVES AS A METAPHOR...
THE PAINTING = THE TEXT YOU = THE READER THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN THE PAINTING = THE/A MEANING OF THE PAINTING/ TEXT SOMETHING THE READER HAS TO ADD BYTHE PROCESS OF THINKING, REFLECTING, ETC.

MODERNISM vs. POSTMODERNISM
“Postmodern attitude“can be well illustrated by a paining by Diego Velasquese. Postmodernism is a new trend in arts that expands to many genres, for example to architecture, painting, music, fashion or literature. „

POSTMODERNISM and FASHION Lacroix Goes Giddy for The Kitsch and Kiddy
Lacroix likes to dress his women like a fantastic mix between Peter Pan, Alice In Wonderland and A Mid-Summer Nights Dream. If you’re looking for a lighthearted dress that oozes childhood sentimentality then Lacroix is your man. I like this dress the best, it so reminds me of Alice – are you ready for the rabbit hole?

QUESTIONS TRADITIONAL VALUES
POSTMODERNISM and FASHION EXPERIMENT COLAGE OF STYLES (fairy tale vs. ballet vs. surrealist wedding dress) AMBIGUITY EXISTENCIALISM mockery QUESTIONS TRADITIONAL VALUES

QUESTIONS TRADITIONAL VALUES
POSTMODERNISM and FILM EXPERIMENT COLAGE OF STYLES (detective story vs. love story vs. pulp fiction) AMBIGUITY EXISTENCIALISM PARODY OF A TRADITIONAL GANGSTER FILM QUESTIONS TRADITIONAL VALUES

POSTMODERNISM and MUSIC EXPERIMENT COLAGE OF STYLES AMBIGUITY EXISTENCIALISM QUESTIONS TRADITIONAL VALUES

POSTMODERNISM and ARCHITECTURE EXPERIMENT COLAGE OF STYLES AMBIGUITY EXISTENCIALISM QUESTIONS TRADITIONAL VALUES

...meaning is not: inherent to the text “given“ or “pre-conceived“ by the writer controlled by renowned literary critics

WHAT READERS ADD TO THE TEXT
...meaning is: WHAT READERS ADD TO THE TEXT YOUR INTERPETATION BASED ON YOUR UNIQUE PERSONAL EXPERIENCE END OF LECTURE NO. 2

ANGRY YOUNG MEN - NOVELISTS
LECTURE NO. 3 ANGRY YOUNG MEN - NOVELISTS WHEN WERE THEY ACTIVE? 2. WHO WERE THEY? 3. WHAT/WHO DID THEY WRITE ABOUT AND AGAINST?

1. WHEN WERE THEY ACTIVE? Active in the 50´s: 1951: Leslie Paul´s autobiography: The Angry Young Men 1956: 8th May – premiére of Look Back in Anger Characteristics of the period: “the individual has been devalued, like the pound“ (L. P. Hartley) people still feeling the hangover of the war culture was in crisis: narrowness and pessimism of novels John Osborne

2. WHO WERE THEY? The writers themselves and their characters were: • Young, needy, intellectuals • Disillusioned • Displaced • Conformists (contrast to the Beat Generation) Defined themselves against: a blend of homely sensibility; upper class aloofness; liberal politics; avant-garde literary device.

Wrote about : An angry young anti-hero: Other dominant topics:
3. WHO/WHAT DID THEY WRITE ABOUT AND AGAINST? Wrote about : An angry young anti-hero: working class origin boorish rather than well behaved rudely angry rather than angry philistine rather than arty Other dominant topics: rise of a working class man into the upper middle class hurdles of education, upbringing and accent

ANGRY YOUNG NOVELISTS – REPRESENTATIVES
John Barrington Wain - b in the English Midlands graduated from Oxford - professor of poetry at Oxford (1973 – 78) a member of the Inklinks (an Oxford literary group) Hurry on Down, 1953 – a picaresque novel Living in the Present, 1955 The Contenders John Braine b in Bedford, Yorkshire; d. 1986 Room at the Top, 1957; Life at the Top, 1962; The Jealous God, 1964; Stay with Me till Morning, 1970; Writing a Novel, 1974; Finger on Fire, 1977.

ANALYSIS OF MAJOR NOVELS BY ANGRY YOUNG MEN:
John Wain: Hurry on Down - bestseller Genre: picaresque novel, partly autobiographical Main character: Charles Lumley – university graduate unable to fit in Jack of all trades: smuggler driver bouncer hospital orderly

ANALYSIS OF MAJOR NOVELS BY ANGRY YOUNG MEN:
John Brain: Room at the Top – bestseller Life at the Top – sequel Style: open – X-rated in the USA Main character: Joe Lampton – an army vet, town-hall clerk Not unlike Clyde Griffits (American Tragedy, Theodore Dreiser) Loves two women rich Susan Brown - Seduces and marries her poor Alice Aisgill “the running fight between himself and society had ended in a draw“

ANGRY YOUNG NOVELISTS – OTHER REPRESENTATIVES
Colin Wilson: The Outsider; Kingsley Amis: Lucky Jim; Allan Sillitoe: Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner Stan Barstow: A Kind of Loving David Storey: This Sporting Life Keith Waterhouse

ANGRY YOUNG MEN - DRAMATISTS
John Osborne Life: (b in London) educated at "a rather cheap boarding school" former actor in provincial repertory companies founding member of the "A. Y. M." group

ANGRY YOUNG MEN - DRAMATISTS
John Osborne Characteristics of Osborne's style primitive dramatic skills; "kitchen sink" drama; mood of frustration: anarchic, cynical, nihilistic anti-heroes, social misfits. Major plays and novels The Entertainer, comic Archie Rice; Luther, 1961; Inadmissible Evidence, 1964; A Patriot for Me, 1965 Autobiography: A Better Class of Person.

Look Back in Anger Richard Burton as Jimmy Porter,
John Osborne Look Back in Anger Richard Burton as Jimmy Porter, the speaker of the generation: "Nobody thinks, nobody cares, no beliefs, no convictions and no enthusiasm“ MAJOR ISSUES: conflict of generations, social classes and opposite sexes: conflict of the "sycophantic, phlegmatic and pusillanimous” world of upper class and Jimmy's private, "loose" morality.

? JIMMY PORTER: A tall, thin young man about 25.
A mixture of sincerity and cheerful malice, of tenderness and freebooting cruelty, restless, importunate, full of pride, a combination which alienates the sensitive and the insensitive alike. ? Jim hates: Sundays Sunday ironing Pretentionus editorials Sycophantic, pusillanimous people Jim loves: ALISON PORTER: Tall, slim, delicate, with surprising reservation in her eyes “I was wrong! I don’t want to be saint. I want to be a lost cause. I want to be corrupt and futile“

WORKING CLASS NOVELISTS
Representatives: Working-class origin writers 2. novelists writing about the working class. Allan Sillitoe b in Nottingham son of an illiterate tannery laborer father unemployed during Depression - financial problems left school at earned money in RAF (Malaya) Style: versatile author: plays, poems (The Rats and Other Poems, ) over 50 essays, children´s books: character of Marmelade Jim labelled also as an AYM advocate of the social function of novels (like J. Galsworthy, E. Zola) realistically portrayed working-class heroes

Allan Sillitoe Style: versatile author: plays, poems (The Rats and Other Poems, ) over 50 essays, children´s books: character of Marmelade Jim labelled also as an AYM advocate of the social function of novels (like J. Galsworthy, E. Zola) realistically portrayed working-class heroes

WORKING CLASS NOVELISTS – A. SILLITOE
Major writings: The Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, 1958 depicts a weekend of a young laborer Arthur Seaton (an anti-hero) local colour Loneliness of a Long-Distance Runner, 1959 a collection of stories (Uncle Ernest) Raw Material, 1972 autobiographical features

Allan SILLITOE: Loneliness of a Long-Distance Runner, 1959
Style: – rich in inner monologues – slang – local colour (dialects, regionalisms) - Symbol of protest against those in power – upper classes Shows inner rebelion

Allan SILLITOE: Loneliness of a Long-Distance Runner, 1959
Style: – rich in inner monologues – slang – local colour (dialects, regionalisms) - “Come on , Smith“, Roach the sports master called to me, “we don´t want You to be late for the big race, eh? Although I dare say you´d catch them up if you were“ ... So the big race it was, for them, watching from the grandstand under the fluttering Union Jack, a race for the governor, that he has been waiting for, and I hoped he and all The rest of his pop-eyed gang were busy placing big bets on me, hundred to one to win, all the money they had in their pockets All the wages they were going to get for the next five years and the more they placed , the happier I´d be.

Conformist lifestyle:
Allan SILLITOE: Saturday Night and Sunday Morning ARTHUR SEATON Saturday nights Sunday mornings wild parties, drinking, dating women repenting – gone fishing Conformist lifestyle: No motivation ambitions, enthusiasm, beliefs. Shows nihilism, resignation of WC married, older – Brenda younger Doreen

WORKING CLASS NOVELISTS – OTHER REPRESENTATIVES
Sid Chaplin b. 1916, Shildon, Durham - d. 1980 the son of a coal miner, working in mines at 15 obtained education from the worker´s Educational Association (Durham) writing since 1950´s Durham mining community writings: The Leaping Lad, 1964 The Thin Seam, 1950 The Day of the Sardine, 1961 The Mines of Alabaster, 1971 Other writers: Mervyn Jones: Holding On

WORKING CLASS NOVELISTS – OTHER REPRESENTATIVES Sid Chaplin
Durham mining community writings: The Day of the Sardine, 1961 ARTHUR HAGGARSTON: – his journey to adulthood – conflict between him and his tedious, repressive employer – the only way out of stereotype: gangs, violence

COMPARISON OF AYM and WCN
Jim Porter Jim Dixon (comic) WCN Smith Uncle Ernest (serious) Social rank/ education WC but univer. graduate Little education - criminals Family background Social status Do have a family/ misfits by choice No family, at the subsistance level Reasons for their frustrations Social misplacement anger Impoverished life resignation

COMPARISON OF AYM and WCN
WHO HAD A BETTER REASON TO PROTEST? Who did? ANGRY INTELLECTUALS “LOUDMOUTHS“ UNEDUCATED WORKERS, WHO WERE OFTEN CRIMINALISED AND DEMONISED

POSTCOLONIAL LITERATURE IN ENGLISH
PAKISTAN CANADA INDIA CEYLON MALAYSIA GUYANA AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND TASMANIA EGYPT, SUDAN, SOUTH AFRICA, NAMIBIA...

– DISSOLUTION OF THE EMPIRE
LECTURE NOVELISTS OF THE 50´s – DISSOLUTION OF THE EMPIRE 1. What were the reasons for decolonization and its results? Two reasons for decolonization: 1. Imperialism grew unpopular 2. Finance Milestones in decolonization: – independent India – “Suez fiasco” 1960´s – conflicts in Malaya, Cyprus – Falkland Islands crisis Results of decolonization: 1. loose association - Commonwealth 2. mass immigration (1950´s – 60´s)

POST-COLONIAL WRITINGS
2. Who were the major representatives of post-colonial literature? NOVELISTS OF THE 1950´s: Post-Imperialists – predecessors: Rudyard Kipling (The Jungle Book), Edward Morgan Forster (Passage to India) James Gordon Farrell, Paul Scott 2. Anti- imperialists: Doris Lessing, Nadine Gordimer

Doris Lessing (b. 1919, Persia – present-day Iran - )
Childhood spent in Rhodesia, Africa Exposed to contradictions, illusions and pessimism Style: “...English writer without English tradition“ realism: ambiguous nature of African-English co-existence 1979 – psychoanalysis, (The Golden Notebook); “space fiction“ The Grass is Singing, 1950 Children of Violence African Stories, 1961

Doris Lessing The Grass is Singing, 1950
Collection of stories: Little Tembi, No Witchcraft for Sale African English: Baas, Missus, Boss Boy European rationalism (Cartesian compulsion to think rationally African rituals (faith healing, taboo and code, miracles) VS.

POST-COLONIAL WRITERS:
James Gordon Farrell (b. 1935, Liverpool – 1979) Spent a great deal of life abroad: France, North America Won the Booker Prize in 1973 Style: – “Blended English sensitivity and Indian exoticism” – topics: Hindustan life, trappings of civilisation The Siege of Krishnapur; 1973 A Girl In the Head The Singapore Grip, 1978 The Hill Station, 1981 Sabres and Dust by Chris Collingwood British light cavalry and horsemen of Skinners Horse fight Pindarn and Maratha 1826. In 1827 Skinners Regiment was known as the 1st Regiment of Local Horse and had just been awarded the Battle Honour 'Bhurtpore' for its part in the reduction of the fortress at Bharatpur. Skinner himself being made a companion of the Order of the Bath.

James Gordon Farrell The Siege of Krishnapur; 1973 – depicts 1857 – Sepoy rebellion in India – the English struggling for their way of life The Singapore Grip, 1978

Officer Skinners Horse 1905 by Mark Churms The Founder's Church of St. James, Dehli, illustrates its association with this famous regiment of Bengal Lancers. Paul (Mark) Scott ( d. 1978) “brings to India the fractious personality of the Westerner” India – a Lost Paradise, Englishman’s India Raj Quartet: The Towers of Silence ; The Day of the Scorpion The Jewel in the Crown; Staying On

TETRALOGY BY PAUL SCOTT

LEGACY OF POST-COLONIAL WRITERS:
CRITICISM OF COLONIALISM AND ITS PROPAGANDA CRITICISM OF DIRECT AND INDIRECT IMPACT OF COLONIALISM COLONIAL VISUAL ARTS: pictoresque romantic idealised

LEGACY OF POST-COLONIAL WRITERS:
CRITICISM OF COLONIALISM AND ITS PROPAGANDA CRITICISM OF DIRECT AND INDIRECT IMPACT OF COLONIALISM COLONIAL VISUAL ARTS: The British portrayed as (naturally) superior

Painters often showed the Indians in subordinate positions
VISUAL ARTS Painters often showed the Indians in subordinate positions

VISUAL ARTS AND PROPAGANDA

Rudyard Kipling White Man's Burden
Take up the White Man's burden-- Send forth the best ye breed-- Go bind your sons to exile To serve your captives' need; To wait in heavy harness, On fluttered folk and wild-- Your new-caught, sullen peoples, Half-devil and half-child.

Post-colonial literature reacts to myths, half-truths and the autocratic view of the world represented by the colonial literature

PROPAGANDA AND CRITICISM OF COLONIALISM IN POST-COLONIAL WRITINGS 1. Direct Criticism: Doris Lessing Nadine Gordimer Indirect criticism: Paul Scott In his novel The Jewell in the Crown, Scott pays attention to the propaganda taught at British colonial schools, run by British teachers. Except for basics of algebra and reading, teachers often idealised the relationship bethween India and Great Britain. Britain was depicted as a “mother“, taking India under her protective wing, promoting education, religion, hygiene and culture. Indians, on the other hand, were depicted as willing to offer their country as a gift to their “Mother Country“, Britain. In visual arts, many painters also depicted the harmonic relationship and obedience or submissiveness of the Indians.

POSTCOLONIAL AND POSTIMPERIAL LITERATURE IN ENGLISH
Salman Rushdie “Novels are not to lay down rules but to ask questions.“ b. in Bombay, India to a prosperous family b. in 1947, the year of political changes in India Moved to England Received M.A. from King´s College, Cambridge Worked as an actor, free-lance advertising copy-writer “FATWA” - Condemned by Ayatollah Khomeni to death

FATWA – SENTENCE TO DEATH
I inform all zealous Muslims of the world that the author of the book entitled The Satanic Verses— which has been compiled, printed and published in opposition to Islam, the Prophet, and the Qur'an— and all those involved in its publication who were aware of its content, are sentenced to death. I call on all zealous Muslims to execute them quickly, wherever they may be found, so that no one else will dare to insult the Muslim sanctities. God Willing, whoever is killed on this path is a martyr.

EFFECTS OF THE SATANIC VERSES
Japanese translator Hitosh Igorashi stabbed to death Italian translator Ettore Capriolo – seriously injured Norweigan translator William Nygaard hardly survived assassination attack

Salman Rushdie’s Style:
Influenced by J. Joyce Combines fantasy and magic Uses satire Attacks religious bigotry Criticism: Incoherent melange of plots, themes, characters

The Satanic Verses – issues:
Ispired by the life of Muhammad Attempts to be the “false part of Qur’an“ Uses MAGIC REALISM (characters of angels, demons, hybrids...)

Voice-over in Indian films Falls into hallucinations
Main characters: Indian expatriates in England SALADIN CHAMCHA Voice-over in Indian films GIBREEL FARISHTA Bollywood star PLANE CRASH ARCHANGEL GIBREEL schizophrenia DEVIL Falls into hallucinations Understands his Indian identity

Theme of The Satanic Verses:
...“migration, metamorphosis, divided selves, love, death, London and Bombay.„ Other concepts: faith BLASPHEMOUS fanaticism revelation justifying God’s existence

Rushdie writes of the title of Satanic Verses:
You call us devils? It seems to ask. Very well, then, here is the devil's version of the world, of "your" world, the version written from the experience of those who have been demonized by virtue of their otherness. Just as the Asian kids in the novel wear toy devil-horns proudly, as an assertion of pride in identity, so the novel proudly wears its demonic title. The purpose is not to suggest that the Qur'an is written by the devil; it is to attempt the sort of act of affirmation that, in the United States, transformed the word black from the standard term of racist abuse into a "beautiful" expression of cultural pride.

Other novels by Salman Rushdie
Concepts: NEWNESS – CHANGE (IDENTITY POLITICS): FOREIGNERS –ALIENS – UNSPOILED NATIVES CENTRAL AND MARGINAL CULTURES Other novels by Salman Rushdie Novels: The Book of the Pir, 1971 Midnight Children, 1981 Shame, 1983 The Satanic Verses, 1989

POSTCOLONIAL AND POSTIMPERIAL LITERATURE IN ENGLISH
Kazuo Ishiguro “What is history to a nation, memory is to the individual” b. in 1954 in Nagasaki, Japan moved to Britain in 1960 depicts cultural gap between two cultures graduated from the Univ. of East Anglia, lives in London

Ishiguro’s style: “It is perhaps a sign of my advancing years, that I have taken to wandering into rooms for no purpose.” (Masuji Ono, in: Artist of the F.V.) Characters wander through the “rooms“ of their memories (ellipses, meanders) Distortion of the past and present Ironical deceptions of memory

Ishiguro’s major novels
A Pale view of Hills, 1982 An Artist of the Floating World, 1985 The Remains of the Day, 1989 The Unconsoled, 1995 Concepts: FLOATING WORLD – “the night time of pleasure, entertainment and drink.” JOURNEY – the “journey“ motif

The Remains of the Day Set in pre and post-war Britain
Narrator: aging butler Stevens who serves for Lord Darlington Mrs Kenton – love subdued to duty THE ESSENCE OF BRITISHNESS Lord Darlington – abosolute loyalty Stevens’ father – latent love Mr. Farraday – new American master

The Prophet´s Hair Set in: India, 19-
Characters: wealthy moneylender Hashim, his son Atta, daughter Huma Plot: Hashim finds a relic, decides to keep it. Instead of good fortune, it brings his family ill fortune: Hashim turns a bigot, forces his family to ultraorthodox Muslim life. Contribution: Developing cultural awareness: shikara, khichri, phial, purdah, mulahs (no endnotes, explanation) Combines fantasy and magic (reclic = prophet´s hair – its miraculous powers) Satire of religious bigotry (countereffects of the relic, mullahs wanted to lynch Atta for the loss of relic, Sheikh´s crippled children were healed which “ruined them for life“)

Roman fleuve Stream novel River novel Saga Bildungsroman
LITERATURE OF THE 60’ s , 70’s AND 80’s After experiment with new topics (post-imperialism) Experiment with the form Roman fleuve Stream novel River novel Saga Moznost Z Bildungsroman

Saga Novel a narrative or a tale of heroic achievements or extraordinary or marvellous adventures, e.g. Beowulf a narrative about the life of a large family, written over a long period and linked together by a character or place, e.g. Forsyte Saga

OTHER EXPERIMENTS WITH FORM
Roman Fleuve – stream novel – “river novel“ a term used for a series of novels, each of which exists as a separate novel but all of which are related because the characters reappear in each succeeding work. roman fleuve was established by E. Zola, H. Balzac and M. Proust the most popular variants: trilogy, tetralogy Bildungsroman - the term used widely by German critics, referring to a novel which is an account of the youthful development of a hero or heroine (David Lodge: Out of Shelter)

NOVELISTS OF THE 50´s ANTHONY POWELL, ANGUS WILSON, C. P. SNOW
Novelists of the 50´s – achieved considerable reputation in the 50´s – unique category Common Features: satiric interest in the changes in the Great Britain in the 50´s and 60´s disgust with the spread of Western civilisation genre (roman fleuve)

NOVELISTS OF THE 50´s ANTHONY POWELL, ANGUS WILLSON and CHARLES PERCY SNOW
stories of “upper-class hard-heads“ started publishing in the 30´s

ANTHONY POWELL (1905 - 2000) Style: universal: - 4 volumes of memoirs
( ) educated at prestigious Eton Balliol College (Oxford) a friend of Evelyn Waugh, Graham Greene started as a film script-writer critic and book reviewer for: the Daily Telegraph; the Times Literary Supplement; Punch; the Spectator Nicolas Poussin’s picture which gives name to the novel Style: universal: volumes of memoirs 3 volumes of diaries 2 volumes of literary criticisms

ANTONY POWEL’S MAJOR WORKS:
Novels: Afternoon Men, 1931 Venusberg, 1932 A Dance to the Music of Time slowly developing narrative (narrator: Nicholas Jenkins), set between the 20´s and 50´s a chronicle of British upper middle class a fictionalised war memoir a prose elegy for the decline and fall of a ruling class

A Dance to the Music of Time
1. A Question of Upbringing 2. A Buyer´s Market 3. The Acceptance World 4. At Lady Molly´s 5. Casanova´s Chinese Restaurant 6. The Kindly Ones 7. The Walley of Bones 8. The Soldier´s Art 9. The Military Philosophers 10. Books do Furnish a Room 11. Temporary Kings 12. Hearing Secret Harmonies

A Dance to the Music of Time
Metaphor: Conformism of those who „dance to the music of time“ Parody of English political, social and military life

A painting by Nicolas Poussin
Seasons hand in hand Symbolising: Passing of time, Human mortality Dance Symbolises Partmership – its twists and turns

Charles Percy Snow Baron Snow of Leicester (1905 - 1980)
educated as a chemist and physicist at the Univ. of Leicester held important positions in the British Government Style: rational, atheistic, scientifically exact, influenced by the genre of detective stories - conflict between the sciences and the humanities (The Two Cultures)

NOVELS BY CHARLES PERCY SNOW
Strangers and Brothers, 1940 – 1970 - eleven novels in the series - narrated by 'Lewis Eliot'. - follows his life and career from humble beginnings in an English provincial town, to London lawyer, to Cambridge don, to wartime service in Whitehall, to senior civil servant and finally retirement. The Masters, 1951 The New Men, 1954 Last Things, 1970

ANGUS WILSON b. 1913 Style: -restless experimentation with:
REALISM (Hemlock and After, 1952) FABLE, ALLEGORY (The Old Man at the ZOO, 1961) Topics: criticised SOCIETY ; society understood holistically favoured NATURE – source of stable values Characters: (3 groups) PRINCIPAL PLAYERS SUPPORITNG ROLES ADDITIONAL CAST

NOVELISTS OF THE 50´s - GRAHAM GREENE
b. in 1904 to the family of a Headmaster; studied at Balliol College, Oxford; editor of the Oxford Outlook, The Times, The Spectactor; during WWII an employee of the Ministry of Information. Style: Catholicism; 2. Exotic settings (Cuba, Estonia); 3. Spy novels, double agents; 4. Greenland.

GRAHAM GREENE’S STYLE Greenland
– the term describing specific atmosphere in Greene´s novels: “… the sweat and infection, the ill-built town which is beautiful for a few minutes at sundown, the brothel where all men are equal, the vultures… the snobbery of the 2nd class public schools, the law which all can evade, the everpresent haunting underworld of gossip, spying, bribery, violence and betrayal…“ Evelyn Waugh Technique of writing/narration: Camera Eye – recording significant details (absolutely objective narrative, no judgemental voice)

atmosphere of greenland
HAVANA atmosphere of greenland ...the sweat and infection, the ill-built town which is beautiful for a few minutes at sundown, the brothel where all men are equal, the vultures… the snobbery of the 2nd class public schools, the law which all can evade, the everpresent haunting underworld of gossip, spying, bribery, violence and betrayal…“ Evelyn Waugh

GRAHAM GREENE’S MAJOR WORKS
Novels: Early Years: 1929, The Man Within Pre-WWII novels: 1938, Brighton Rock 1939, The Confidential Agent 1940, The Power and the Glory Post-WWII novels: 1948, The Heart of the Matter 1951, The End of the Affair 1955, The Quiet American 1958, Our Man in Havana 1969, Travels with my Aunt 1973, The Honorary Consul

Our Man in Havana Parody of a spy novel
Based on G. G’s experience during WWII Set in Cuba Story of an underdog Wormold Selling vacuum cleaners mistaken for military plans of nuclear bombs Becomes Secret Agent

a) Objective narrator b) Subjective narrator c) 1st person narr
a) Objective narrator b) Subjective narrator c) 1st person narr. d) 3rd person narrator There were eight Japanese gentlemen having a fish dinner at Bentley´s. They spoke to each other rarely in their incomprehensible tongue, but always with a courteous smile and often with a small bow. All but one of them wore glasses. Sometimes a prety girl who sat in the window beyond gave them a passing glance, but her own problem seemed too serious for her to pay any real attention to anyone in the world except herself and her companion.

LITERATURE OF THE 50´S AND 60´S -
EXOTIC NOVELS 50’s – 60’s – Period of the “Dreams revived“ Inspiration by the colonial past, (Lawrence Durrell) exotic countries, (William Golding) utopia, dystopia and sci-fi (Eric Arthur Blair – George Orwell) – George Orwell)

Lawrence Durrell ( ) b. in Jullundur, northern India to his English father and Irish-English mother result: inclination toward “Tibetan mentality“; mixed nationality sent to England at the age of 11 to be formally educated there missed Southern climate and way of life, moved to Corfu fled Greece in 1941 just ahead of Nazi army Press attaché in the British Information Office in Alexandria, Egypt (Belehrad and Rhodes) A teacher of English literature in Cyprus Deeply touched by the death of his wife and daughter

Lawrence Durrell (1912 - 1990) Style:
Influenced by Henry Miller (naturalism), H. D. Lawrence (sexual openness) Fascination for the Far East (oriental folklore, habits) Modernist fiction (philosophical point of view) Novels: Pied Piper of Lovers (pseudonym: Charles Norden) Panic Spring, 1937 Bitter Lemons

The Alexandria Quartet
The Alexandria Quartet: Justine, 1957 Balthazar, 1958 Mountain Olive, 1958 Clea, 1960 Subject: the expression of love: pure love, incest, rape, infant prostitution, lesbian love, homosexuality. Specific expressions of L. G. Dartley´s love to Justine (passion), Melissa (affection), Clea (healing love), Mount Olive (friendship). The Revolt of Aphrodite: 1. Tunc, The Avignon Quintet,

William Golding (1911 - 1993) b. in Newquay, Cornwall
graduated from Oxford University during WWII joined the military service Nobel Laureate in Literature Style: influenced by Greene´s religiosity: original sin, evil in people Interested in existential rather than national issues: “I should have thought that a pack of British boys… would have been able to put up a better show than that”. called his writings “fables“ or “myths“; also writing moral allegories: post Darwinist and post Wellsian pessimism excessively using symbolism

Novels by W. Golding Poems, 1934 The Inheritors, 1955
EVIL IN MEN Poems, 1934 The Inheritors, 1955 Pincher Martin, 1965 Free Fall, 1959 The Spire, 1964 The Lord of the Flies, 1954 OUTSIDERISM CORRUPTION OF POWER INNER SAVAGERY SOCIAL RULES AND ABSENCE THEREOF

Novels by W. Golding „Man produces evil like a bee produces honey“
EVIL IN MEN „Man produces evil like a bee produces honey“ An outsider often draws attention away from predators’ mistakes People need an absolute monarch OUTSIDERISM CORRUPTION OF POWER INNER SAVAGERY SOCIAL RULES AND ABSENCE THEREOF

Lord of the Flies Subject: collapse of civilisation: transition from civilised to barbaric Inspired by Robert Ballantyne´s Coral Island (1858), Jules Verne, Daniel Defoe and sci – fi Setting: unspecified - Indian – Pacific Ocean – time: WWII (?)

Lord of the Flies = inborn evil in people
Nemesis (in Greek, Νέμεσις), was the spirit of divine retribution against those who succumb to hubris, vengeful fate personified as a remorseless goddess. The name Nemesis is related to the Greek word νείμειν, meaning "to give what is due". The Romans equated one aspect of Greek Nemesis, which might be interpreted as "indignation at unmerited advantage", as Invidia (Aronoff 2003). Nemesis is now used as a term used to describe one's worst enemy, normally someone or something that is the exact opposite of oneself but is also somehow similar. For example, Professor Moriarty is frequently described as the nemesis of Sherlock Holmes.

Post Darwinist and post Wellsian pessimism
Charles Darwin Origin of Species (1869) The Survival of the Fittest Herbert Spencer had published The principles of biology in 1864. In that he referred to 'survival of the fittest' twice LoF shows the downfall of civilisation (from civilised to barbaric)

Golding’s Post Darwinist and post Wellsian pessimism
Herbert George Wells „The Father of Sci-fi“ Author of: The Time Machine The War of Worlds The Invisible Man The Island of Doctor Moreau Believed that technology does not make a man happier

Symbolism in Lord of the Flies
English cathedral choir schoolboys - microcosm Piggy, glasses: intelligence Ralph, the conch – democracy Simon – Jesus Roger – Evil, Satan Jack – anarchy The island – a microcosm The beast – evil, residing within everyone Lord of the Flies – the Devil Other authors: Malcolm Lowry: Under the Volcano

BRITISH POST-WAR POETRY
SEVERAL MOVEMENTS EMERGED THE MOVEMENT THE GROUP THE MARTIANS THE REVIEW THE UNDERGROUND TED HUGHES SEAMUS HEANEY

THE MOVEMENT - dominated in the 40's - 50's;
- manifesto of THE MOVEMENT: collections: "Poets of the 50's", 1955 and "New Lines", 1956 P. Larkin: I believe a poet has to enjoy writing poetry and the readers enjoy reading it, or they are both wasting their time. (The Times, 1964).

I had suggested, in exasperation, that he finds
The poet I had suggested, in exasperation, that he finds Something other to write about the moon, and flowers and birds, and temples, And the bare hills of the once holy city - Through the leprous lakes of mud. (Changing the Subject). Should seek more serious topics Struggle with life

Artistic manifesto of the Movement
Influences: W.Butler Yeats; W.H.Auden; Edwin Muir; Philosophy of the Movement * Disillusionment * Empirism * Subjectivity, intimacy, privacy * Intellectualism * Specific target: poets, churchgoers, mourners * Rational, logical language * Representatives: educated, Oxbridge graduates

Intimacy Existential topics Sharp observations on life
And why should this chain of miracles be easier to believe Than that my darling should come to me as naturally As she trusts a restaurant not to poison her?" Existential topics This man I knew Only a little, by his death Shows me a love I thought I lacked... For finished work, like answered prayer, makes death taste sweet. Vivid SIMILES

MEMBERS OF THE MOVEMENT
1. Robert Conquest “A World of Difference“, 1955; "Arias from a Love Opera", "Forays", 1979 2. Philip Larkin: Whitsun Weddings 3. D. J. Enright 4. Elisabeth Jennings “Poems“, 1953; “A Way of Looking“, 1955; A Sense of the World" 5. Kingsley Amis Poems: "The End" 6. John Wain "Mixed Feelings", 1951; "A Word Carved on a Sill", 1956; Weep before God, 1961 7. Thom Gunn "On the Move", 1966; "The Sense of Movement" 8. John Holloway - literary criticism 9. Donald Davie - literary criticism

PHILIP LARKIN - b. 1922 in Coventry, died 1985;
- studied at Oxford, St. John's - librarian in Belfast, Leicester Style: Days What are days for? Days are where we five. They come, they wake us Time and time over They are to be happy in: Where can we live but Ah, solving that question Brings the priest and the doctor In their long coats Running over the fields. Collections: “The North Ship", 1945 “The Less Deceived“, 1955 “The Whitsun Weddings“, 1964 “High Windows“

Ah, solving that question Brings the priest and the doctor
Days What are days for? Days are where we live. They come, they wake us Time and time over They are to be happy in: Where can we live but Ah, solving that question Brings the priest and the doctor In their long coats Running over the fields. MOTIFS OF PANTA REI RHETORIC QUESTION ANAPHORA METAPHYSICAL FOUNDATIONS TABOO QUESTIONS

DENNIS JOSEPH ENRIGHT - b. 1920
Style: comic, funny verses Collections: "The Laughing Hyena", 1953 "Bread Rather than Blossoms", 1956 “The Old Adam", 1965 "Unlawful Assembly", 1968 “The Terrible Shears",

MINOR MOVEMENTS AND LITERARY TRENDS: THE UNDERGROUND
Loose groups also called “The Liverpool Poets” Representatives: Adrian Henri, Roger McGough TOPICS: Criticism of “the Establishment” Formed since the 1960´s Influenced by the Beat Generation, jazz, William Blake, dadaism, surrealism Collections: Love, love, love, love, 1968; Children of Albion, 1969

THE REVIEW - Their manifesto: magazine - Reaction to the Movement
- Confessional poetry and dramatic lyrics of Alfred Alvarez

THE MAVERICKS - Opposition to the Movement
- their anthology: The Mavericks - representatives: Ian Silkin (Nature with Man, 1965) TONE: reflexive, meditative poetry about the North of England and its nature

THE MARTIANS or THE MARTIAN SCHOOL
- collection: A Martian Sends a Postcard Home, 1979 - representatives: Craig Raine

SEAMUS HEANEY “...poetry as revelation of the self to the self, as the restoration of the culture to itself, poems as elements of continuity...” (1976) - b. in Ireland (Conn Derry), 1939 - studied in Belfast at Queen´s University - teacher, later the Head of the Department in Dublin 1995 – awarded the Nobel Prize Style: - prolific, near-demonic poet - simple but strong - anti-human - reflections of the experience of human cruelty - psychic drama

SEAMUS HEANEY’s APOLITICAL POETRY
Traditionalist: images of farms, diligence, animals, nature Language: robust, uses dialects, archaisms, experiments with assonance Prosody: unrhymed, American free verse form inspired by neonaturalism of Ted Hughes, Robert Lowell Collections: - Death of a Naturalist, 1966 Wintering Out The North, 1975 Field Work, 1979

SEAMUS HEANEY’s POLITICAL POETRY
influenced by Patrick Ravanagh rooted in Heaney´s Irish Catholic origin (Ulster Catholics) criticises bigotry of the Protestant Extremists Military Images: Trout, Rookery Collections: Whatever You Say, Say Nothing North, 1975

(Edward James) Ted Hughes
b in the North of England (West Yorkshire); Studied at Cambridge; interested in folklore, D.H Lawrence, Shakespeare, Dylan Thomas; Many unusual jobs 1956 – married to a U.S. poet Sylvia Plath; founded Arvon foundation; died 1984.

Ted Hughes’ style: individual;
middle-English poetry – north-English dialect; philosophical topics, questions; neo-naturalist; 1st person narrator: „I sit in the top of the world, my eyes closed“. Topics/Themes: brutality vs. vitality : Symbolism: of Jaguar, Hawk, Fox, Cat, Pike; pigs, apes, parrots Death vs. life: symbolism of animal world, war Horror, roughness: - ”silhouette of horror“, “enraged jaguar”; “sudden sharp hot stink of fox” Determinism; Exercise of power

Controversial poetry of Ted Hughes
Exercise of power: I kill where I please because it is all mine... Nothing has changed since I began. My eye has permitted no change. I am going to keep things like this. (Hawk Roosting) Collections of poems: - The Hawk in the Rain, 1957; - Lupercal, 1960; - Gandette, 1977; - Cave Birds, 1978; - Moortown, 1979.

Written test Content: lectures, seminars, Look Back in Anger, Lord of the Flies, doplňujúce texty na skúšku (see: web page) FORM: multiple choice, gap filling, essay

Sample task 1 1. Who wrote Dance to the Music of Time? John Osborne
Baron Snow of Leicester Doris Lessing Charles Percy Snow None of these

Sample task 2 1. What do Allan Sillitoe, Kingsley Amis and Sid Barstow have in common? They were awarded the Nobel prize They all use metaphors in the titles of their novels They all use the setting of Greenland They are working class novelists None of these

Task 3 – Essay - Points for:
Cultural and historical context Correct information from the piece (names, setting, plot) Active use of the story to illustrate your point Independent thinking

Write a paragraph on the status revolt of a female protagonist in LBA
The character in LBA who represents the status rebellion is Alison Redfern, the daughter of an India veteran, colonel Redfern. She was born to a privileged upper class, however, for dubious reasons she decided to marry below her standard. She married a working class representative, Jim Porter, who in spite of his education could not find a proper job and worked in a candy stand. He represents a „typical“ angry young man, product of Butler’s educational law of 1944 which left many overqualified young people unemployed. That, of course, made Jim irritated and oversensitive and he often relieved his anger on Alison. Thus Alison, as a representative of the upper class ended up in a depressive relationship with an upset and conformist young man. It is a good question what made Alison rebell against her own class and parents – was it just a generation gap, natural teenage protest against authorities, or more serious reasons? Or was it love that brought her to a tiny attic room? John Osborne did not really answer the question in the play and let the spectactor wonder about Alison’s true motivation.

List of Sources Photos and Images: Books Web-pages: Farrell, J. G.
Farrell, J. G. Greene, Graham Ishiguro, Kazuo Osborne, John Postmodernism Rushdie, Salman Sillitoe, Allan Web-pages:

Postcolonialism super stránka na kol umenie Postmodernism READING COUPLE – IMAGE

Introduction – quick and easy
Think of the play you liked (e.g. Look Back in Anger) Decide what was it´s theme: (e.g. social and historical changes can lead to personal tragedies and crises) Write your thesis statement: John Osborne in his play Look Back in Anger demonstrates how social and historical changes can lead to many personal tragedies and crises Expand your thesis:John Osborne, a British playwright and an Angry young man in his 3-act play Look Back in Anger demonstrates how social and historical changes can lead to disastrous personal tragedies and crises.

Write the first and second sentence of your introduction:
People who read in books of history about historical, political and social turmoils tend to forget how these great changes influenced day-to-day lives of individuals. For example, everybody remembers how the Nazis seized Italy but few understand that they were the first and the last ones in history that made the Italian traffic run on time. Another example is the American space program that gave us not only te first man on the moon but also aluminium folio or the frying pan. John Osborne, a British playwright and an angry young man in his play Look Back in Anger (1956) also demonstrates how social and historical changes, namely the Butler´s educational act in 1944 lead to many personal tragedies and crises and how his main protagonist Jim Porter struggles with personal and emotional paralysis.

WARNING Any non-academic behaviour during the test will affect your grade. Talking to another student - 5 point penalty Use of cheat-sheets, cell phones, more talking to other students – test confiscated, F grade Lost test – minus 10 points

MODERN BRITISH LITERATURE

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