1009111284186401Twentieth Century Literature

7/28/2019 1009111284186401Twentieth Century Literature

1/46

Novel

Main tendencies in modern English novel

The modern age is essentially the age of the nov-

el. The novel has gained an ascendancy over other art

forms in the modern age. The great writers of the period

are Henry James, Samuel Butler, John Galsworthy, Ar-

nold Bennet, Joseph Conrad, H.G.wells - they are tech-

nically known as the Edwardians, (Edward VII). In the

Georgian period there are J.B. Priestley, Hugh Walpole,

Somerset Maughom, Frank Swinnerton etc. Gpaham,

Greene, Ivy Burnett, Henry Green are the prominent post

war novelists.

The 20th century novelists have laid great stress

on the art form of the novel. They rejected the irrelevan-

cies of the victorians, their moralisings and direct appeal

to the dear reader of the story. These novels have a com-

pactness of their own. In the first decades of the 20th

century, the novel was mainly confined to the discus-

sion of problems confronting in social life. The Edward-

ian novel was essentially "a novel of ideas", including in

its scope a free discussion of all kinds of ideas, scientific,

social, political, industrial and so on. The 'Edwardiannovelists considered it to be a sin to escape into a world

of romance and Psychology when the gaping wounds of

social life were clamouring for reform and healthy treat-

ment e.g. H.G. Wells 'John and Peter, The history of Mr.

Polly, Galsworthy's Forsyte Saga.

The 29th century novels were coloured with the

touch of realism. H.G. Wells realistically presented the

sorrows and sufferings of draper's assistants in 'Kipps'

and 'Mr. Polly'; George Moore, an Irish novelist made a

realistic study of the poorer classes in our society in 'A

Modern Lover', Sprang Days etc. John Galsworthy pre-

sented Victorian materialism and lust for poetry is 'For-syte Saga'.

Against this realism stands the tendency for the

criticism of material values, and a love for romance and

adventure. Aldous Huxley exposes postwar disillusion-

ment and immorality in 'Yellow Crome'. E.M. Forster's

'Howards End'. is a bitter attack on the business mind

and the worship of business in industrialised England.

Among the writers who popularised romance, Conrad,

Kipling, Flaggard, Hewlett were prominent. J.M. Barrie

and Kipling were romancers of a different sort.

During the Georgian period, a new tendency cen-

tred around glorification of sex and primal human emo-

tions and passions. In this respect the works of

D.H.Lawrence, Aldous Huxley, Maugham and J. Joyce

needs special mention. These novelists treat of the phys-

ical side of sex in a blunt, matter of fact manner without

attempting to hide the naked facts. In the years ad-

vanced, the psychological tendency became more pro-nounced in English fiction. A new technique was de-

veloped 'the stream of consciousness' which was culti-

vated by William James, Dorothy Richardson, James

Joyce and Virginia Woolf. They laid extreme emphasis

on subjectivism and the passive states on the mind.

Transitions are sudden, and progression is hampered.

They followed the expressionist techniques of present-

ing the characters.

Closely allied with this trend is the science fiction.

The very texture of the novel has been modified by the

novelist's scientific exactness of observation and scru-

pulous regard for details. H.G.Well's Time Machine, TheInvisible Man are saturated in scientific Love. Huxley's

The Brave New worldis written under the influence of

Behaviourism or Determinism.

Detective Fiction, popularised by Arthur Conan

Doyle in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, followed

by G.K. Chesterton, Edgar Wallace, Dorothy sayers

and Agatha Christie. The Father Brown stories of G.K.

Chesterton are very popular. One prominent trend in

modern fiction is the growth of regionalism which had

been set in vogue by the Wessex novel of Hardy. Bio-

graphical novels and novels dealing with family life have

also won recognition.

The future of the novel cannot be ascertained with

any definiteness. The modern age is dominated by politics

and science. The quality of a work of a fiction depends on

the quality of thought of times in which it is written.

The modern age is the age of

- Novel

TWENTIETH CENTURY LITERATURE


2/46

The Edwardians are

- Henry James, Samuel Butler

John Ga lsworthy, Arno ldBennet , Joseph Conrad ,

H.G.Wells.

Major tendencies in modern novels are

- They are compact

- Realistic

- Psychological approach

- Science fiction

- Detective fiction

- Regionalism

Detective fiction was popularised by

- Arthur Conan Doyle in 'The

Advent ures of Sher lo ck

Holmes'.

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are the two

characters in

- The Adventures of Sherlock

Holmes

'The Father Brown Stories' is written by

- G.K. Chesterton

The Invisible Man, Time Machine' are science

fictions of

- H.G.Wells

Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930)

He was a Scottish author most noted for his sto-

ries about the detective Sherlock Holmes, which are

generally considered a major innovation in the field of

crime fiction, and the adventures of Professor Challeng-

er. He was a prolific writer whose other

works include science fiction stories, his-

torical novels, plays and romances, poetry,

and non-fiction.

Conanwas originally a middle name buthe used it as part of his surname in his later

years.From 1876 to 1881 he studied medicine

at the University of Edinburgh. His medical

practice was not very successful, so while

waiting for patients, he began writing stories.

His first significant work wasA Study in Scar-

let, which appeared in Beetons Christmas

Annual for 1887 and featured the first appearance of Sher-

lock Holmes, who was modelled after Doyles former uni-

versity professor, Joseph Bell. In 1893, in order to dedi-cate more of his time to more important works Doyal

decided pitting Holmes against his arch-nemesis Profes-

sor Moriarty.

They apparently plunged to their deaths together

down a waterfall in the story The Final Problem. Pub-

lic outcry led him to bring the character back; Doyle

returned to the story in The Adventure of the Empty

House, with the ingenious explanation that only Mori-

arty had fallen, but, since Holmes had other dangerous

enemies, he had arranged to be temporarily dead also.

Holmes eventually appears in a total of 56 short stories

and four Doyle novels (he has since appeared in manynovels and stories by other authors).

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, was banned

in the Soviet Union in 1929 for supposed occultism.

This ban was later lifted.

Henry James (1843-1916)

Henry James, occupies a distinctive place in the

history of English novel. He was a prolific writer and he

produced novel, travels, sketches, short stories, criti-

cism and autobiographical sketches. His works include

'The American, The portrait of a Lady, The Awkward

age, The wings of Dove, The Beast in the Jungle', TheBirth place, Notes of a son and brother, The art of

fiction etc.

He set forth his theory of the novel in his famous

critical work'The Art of Fiction' According to him the

main business of the novelist was to provide his im-

pressions of life in such a manner as to create the illu-

sion of reality in his work. He chose the inter-

national subject and the conflict of man with

his surrounding or the social milieu as the two

subjects for his novels. He paid no attention

to plot, and was essentially an impressionist.

He belonged to the intellectual school of nov-

elists. His characters belong to the brother-

hood of intellectuals like himself, sensitive,

refined, sophisticated, controlling impulse by

reason and endowed with a faculty of a cute

self analysis.

James is a novelist's novelist. AmongArthur Conan Doyle


3/46

writers of English fiction, he considered the problem of

imaginative narration with the most unwavering sceri-

ousness, the most scrupulous discrimination . No oth-er novelist has devoted so much high thoughtfulness

to the problems of point of view and structure.

J.M. Barrie (1860-1937)

J.M.Barrie was a novelist, journalist and prose writ-

er. His fame rests on his famous novel. 'The Little Minis-

ter'. Other works are Better Dead, Suicide club, Sentimen-

tal Tommy, Tommy and Grizel etc. He was the moving

figure behind 'The Kailyard School' of fiction in scotland.

The writers of this school of fiction sought to represent

the folk - scenes of scotland and transmuted the rural

sides with the colour of their romantic imagination.

Rudyard kipling (1865-1936)

Kipling was a prolific and a very versatile writer.

He was a poet, journalist, novelist and a teller of tales.

He achieved distinction in tales and stories. Kim, Cap-

tain courageous, Plain Tales from the Hills, The Phan-

tom Rickshaw, The Jungle books, etc. His fame rests

principally on his short stories, dealing with India, the

sea, the jungle and its beasts, the army, the navy, and a

multitude of other subjects.

Kipling was both a realist and a romancer. He gave

the air of realism by his settings as well as by his char-

acters. His tales are saturated with Indian touches. He

was the first interpreter of Indian life to the west. India

is reflected in Kim, The man who was the head of the

District, The phantom-Rickshaw and Jungle Books. He

was an imperialist at heart and the note of imperialism is

sounded in his works with a touch of Jingoism. Kipling

was the laureate of the animal world. He interpreted the

conduct of wolf, lion, bears, jackal, panther, monkey,

sespent, elephant and translated their language into

English.

Development of regional novels in the 20th century

Regional novel is the national novel carried to one

degree further of sub division. It is a novel which con-

centrating on a particular part, a particular region of a

nation, depicts the life of that region in such a way that

the reader is conscious of the characteristics which are

unique to the region and differentiate it from others in

the common motherland.

Arnold Bennett began his regional work in 1902

with 'Anna of the Five Towns'. E.C.Booth, Mary webb,

Thomas Moutt, Sheila Kaye Smith, Constance Holme,

Stella Gibbon are the popular writers of this type. Theregional novel has its merits. Its brilliant illumination of

English landscape, with the extent and variety which it

offers. Its transluscent merit is that of verismilitude. A

detailed faithfulness to reality, a conscientious presen-

tation of phenomena as they really happen in ordinary

everyday life on a clearly defined spot of real earth, a

firm rejection of the vague, the high flown and the sen-

timental, and equally firm contract with the real. These

are the marks of the regional novel.

The regional novel is essentially democratic. It

expresses a belief that the ordinary men and the ordi-

nary women are interesting and worth depicting ; itsuse of the Craftsman type as main characters is one of

its great contributions to human progress. Locality, re-

ality and democracy are the watchwords of the regional

novelist. A strong love of the homeland, a firm belief in

reality, a respect for Craftsmanship, and the conviction

that each individual has his rights are the qualities of a

nation to produce best literature of this kind.

Rudyard Kipling is the brain behind

- The Jungle Book

was the first interpreter of Indian life to the

West

- Rudyard Kipling

Kipling was the laureate of the world

- animal

Regional novels are

- Novels concentrating on a

particular part, region of a

nation, or life of that region

The features of regional novel

- a detailed faithfulness of

reality- a conscientious presentation

of ordinary everyday life

- rejection of high flown and

sentimental

The regional novel is essentially

- democratic


4/46

, and are the watchwords of

the regional novelist

- Locality, reality, democracy

John Galsworthy (1876-1933)

Galesworthy was one of the prominent men of let-

ters during the 20th century. He was a man of versatile

genius and achieved distinction in varied branches of

literature. He was a novelist, dramatist, journalist, es-

sayist and a short story writer.

His first great successful novel 'The Man of Prop-

erty'forms the first book of the family novel, The For

syte saga. 'In chancery, To Let, The White moneky, The

silver spoon, Swan song are other works. The Country

House, Fraternity, The patrician are his social novelswhich reveals his interest in contemporary society.

He was primarily the novelist of social life, and

was interested in the presentation of the victorian scene,

particularly belonging to the upper middle class soci-

ety. His technique in presenting the picture of society

was that of observing the spectacle of life from the

middle of the road, keeping his balance without tilting

to either sides. This 'see though' method is perceptible

in all his later works. His style is civilized, quiet, reticent

and assured without trick or fuss.

H.G. Wells (1866-1946)Herbert George wells was one of the most prolific

writers of the modern age. He was a novelist, journalist,

pamphleteer and a writer of serious books. His works

fall under three heads.

Fantastic, scientific and imaginative novels.

He was inspired by the fantastic and

imaginative tales of Jules Verne, the conti-

nental writer of the romances. His first book

is Time Machine. It describes a contrivance

based on the theory that time is the fourth

dimension, Travelling on the time machine

we go back to the past and to the future. Oth-

er works of this group are 'The Wonderful

Visit, The Wheels of Chance, The Invisible

Man, The War of the Worlds, The First Man

in the Moon, When the Sleeper Wakes etc.

Novels of character and humour

Love and Mr. Lewisham was the first book of this

period, a painstaking work, rich in autobiographical ref-

erence depicting, Wells's life as a teacher, 'Kipps', Ann

Veronica, Tono Bungay are other words.

The discussion novels or commentariesThe novels of this period are based on discus-

sions of social problems. Marriage, The passionate

Friends, The wife of Sir Issac Harman, The new Machi-

avelli, The Research Magnificent, After Democracy,

Science and the world mind etc. are some of them.

He didnot believe in giving a story well planned

and well executed in his novels. He created a rich vari-

ety of characters - men, women and children in his nov-

els. But his chief skill lies in the presentation of odd,

eccentric and humorous characters. His humour is

unique. He was concerned with contemporary prob-

lems and he ranks with shaw as a leader of advanced

thought of his day. As a socialist, he was concerned

first with reconstruction of modern society, on a more

equitable basis. Wells was an optimist and he believed

in the intelligence and disinterestedness of men pro-

moted by education.

is the social novel of John Galsworthy

- The Country House

Galsworthy presented in his works

- Victorian upper middle class

society

H.G. Wells'Time Machine

is- Science fiction based on the

theory that time is the fourth

dimension.

Joseph Conrad (1857-1924)

Conrad was by birth a citizen of Poland , but later

on he adopted England for his country. He

was not concerned with the problems of so-

cial and economic life, but was principally in-

terested in the presentation of his own rich

experience of life in Malaya, Pacific islands

and exotic lands. Underlying all his novels the

reader can detect a moral tone emphasisingthe necessity of practising the principle of fi-

delity in all human relationship.

The sea provides the setting of most of

his works.Mirror of the Sea, An Outcast of

the Islands, Lord Jim, The Nigger of the Nar-

cissus. Youth, Heart of Darkness, Typhoon, Nostromo,

The Secret Agent, Under Western eyes, Chance, The

Joseph Conrad


5/46

Rescue, are some of his works. As a novelist he was

interested in two subjects. He chose to make his own

experiences of sea life and tropical areas as the subjectmatter of his novels. He was a laureate of sea life and

the life of jungles. An atmosphere of sombreness and

pessimism broods over the novels of Joseph conrad.

Life in his novels is grim and gruesome and sometimes

the monstrous and uncouths works of Nature oppress-

ing humanity appear to be extremely painful to the read-

ers. This characters are mostly drawn from the ranks of

sailors, adventurers and explorers. He preserves objec-

tive detachment in creating his characters.

'Lord Jim' is the popular work of

- Joseph Conrad The provides the setting of most of Conrad's

works

- Sea

An atmosphere of and broods over

Conrad's novels

- Sombreness, pessimism

Glorification of sex and primal human emotions and

passions is the new trend in

- Georgian Period

Conrad emphasised and in his works

- the principle of fidelity in

human relations

- greater stress on moral values

Arnold Bennett (1867-1931)

Bennet is popular for his novels and

short stories. He owes his place in litera-

ture to his picture of provinicial life. The

Old Wives' Tale, the trilogy of Clayhang-

er Hilda Lessways, These Twain make up

a central fresco round which other tales

group themselves. This originality reside

in the fact that composed with his prede-

cessors he is himself more modern, more

conscious and wishes to be freed from the

influences which interfere with the objec-

tivity of the artist.

NOVEL FROM 1918 TO 1985

D.H. Lawrence (1855-1930)D.H. Lawrence was one of the most remarkable and

striking figures in the literary world between the two

wars. He was the novelist of sex life, physical passions

and animalism. His first novel was The White Peacock.

The Trespasser, Sons and Lovers, The Rainbow, Women

in Love, Lady Chatterley's Loverare some of his works.

D.H. Lawrence was essentially the novelist of sex

-life and it was the avowed object of his life to glorify

sex and primitive instincts in his works, His White Pea-

cock, The Rainbow and Lady Chatterley's Lover are

novels of sex and two of them were suppressed for

being obscene. In his novels it is the woman who has

been castigated and attacked ; He was a critic of mod-

ern materialism and artificial conventions of our sophis-

ticated society. He treated his theme in impassioned

manner. His finest characters are those in whom he

projects his own personality and views about life. Sons

and Lovers is considered an autobiographical novel of

Lawrence. He was the novelist of instinct, sense and

feeling. This stress was more on feelings, passions and

instinct than on intellect, wit or reason.

He remains in many respects a disturbing and con-

troversial figure because geniuses refuse to trod thebeaten path. He was not easily recognized and accept-

ed. Modern psychologists and critics opined that his

works were psychoanalytic in nature. The chief contri-

bution of Lawrence as a novelist lies in the fact that he

presents men and women in their true relation with their

circumambient universe. He is still admired as a

novelist and short story writer who not only

records the social scene with unusual quick-

ness and immediacy, but also explores the hid-

den recesses of emotional life.

Stream of consciousness novel

Stream of consciousness novel is a mod-

ern development and reflects recent interest in

the analytical school of Jung, Freud and Adler

and the 'free association' used by psychiatry.

The psycho-analysis had developed by the first

decade of the 20th century, the idea of a sub-

conscious mind as a repository, for the sup-

pressed elements. Freud's 'Ego' denotes the waking part

Arnold Bennett


6/46

and 'Id', the irrational sub-conscious part of the human

mind.

In 'Stream of Consciousness Novel' everything ispresented through an apparently unorganized succes-

sions of images and ideas connected by association

rather than by logical argument or narrative sequence.

The action takes place and the plot develops through

the mind of the principal character and his stream of

consciousness reflects all the forces of which he is a

ware as they are playing upon him at any one moment,

an outside event and the associations being presented

more or less simultaneously.

The first modern novelist who employed this tech-

nique was Dorothy Richardson in 'Pointed Roofs'. James

Joyce employed this in his multidimensional novel ' Ul-

ysses'. Another figure was Virginia Woolf who wrote

four such novels - Mrs. Dalloway, To the Light house,

The waves and Between the Acts.

Lawrence was a critic of and in the

sophisticated society

- modern materialism

- artificial conventions

D.H Lawrence was essentially the novelist of

- Sex life

D. H. Lawrence's is considered an autobio-

graphical novel

- Sons and Lovers

Modern psychologists and critics opined that

Lawrence's work were in nature

- Psychoanalytic

The term 'stream of consciousness' was coined by

- William James, in his 'Princi-

ples of Psychology' to describe

the flow of inner experience

Stream of consciousness in literature refer to

- the depiction of the thoughtsand feelings which flow with

no apparent logic, through the

mind of a character

The first modern novelist who employed stream of

consciousness technique was

- Dorothy Richardson in 'Point-

ed Roofs'.

is the special technique of the stream of

consciousness method

- Interior monologue The stream of consciousness novelists follow the

technique of presenting characters

- expressionist

Psychological novels, stream of consciousness

novels reflects the interest in psycho-analytical

school of

- Jung, Freud and Adler and the

'free association; used by

psychiatry.

'Psychoanalysis' is the thesis of that attracted

the modern writers

- Sigmund Freud

Somerset Maugham (1874 -1965)

Maugham is one of the prominent literary figures

of the 20th century. He was a novelist, a dramatist, and

a writer of short stories. As a dramatist he followed the

tradition of the writers of the Restoration comedy and

produced comedies scintillating with wit and humour.

Lady Frederickis one of his finest satirical comedies.

He has written many novels. Mr. Craddock, The

Magician, The Narrow Corner, Christmas Holiday,

Human Bondage, The Moon and Six Pense, Cakes and

Ale, and The Razor's Edge etc. Of Human Bondagehas been considered the best work of Maugham. In the

opinion of Charles Towne Of Human Bondage is one

of the classics of our time, a monumental novel, a deep,

rich penetrating book packed with beauty." In this novel

the novelist represents the life of Philip Carey, the iso-

lated man with his club foot. The total effect of the

novel is depressing. Carey's utterance seem to be cyn-

ical," Life had no meaning. It was immaterial, whether

he was born or not born, whether he lived or ceased to

life. Life was insignificant death without consequence."

Maugham is considerably influenced by French

novelists. He is interested in the problems of renuncia-

tion, and materialistic craze for possession, the problem

of love and the problem of the futility, and meaning-

lessness of human life. His novels are narratives re-

counting experiences in detail in a rambling manner. His

characters fail to impress us. His style is cold, matter of

fact and realistic. He makes us think about life and Love

and forces us to view life in a philosophic way.


7/46

'Lady Frederick' is one of the finest satirical

comedies of

- Somerset Maugham 'Of Human Bondage' has been considered the best

work of

- Somerset Maugham

The life of Philip Carey, the isolated man with his

club foot is represented in the novel

- 'Of human Bondage'

"Of human bondage' is one of the classics of our

time, a monumental novel, a deep, rich penetrating

book packed with beauty"

- Charles Towne

"Life had no meaning. It was immaterial, whether

he was born or not born, whether he lived or ceased

to live. Life was insignificant death without

consequence"

- Philip Carey (the protagonist)

- in 'Of Human bondage'

Main themes of Maugham's works

- problems of renunciation

- materialis tic craze for

possession

- problem of love and futility

- meaninglessness of human life

Aldous Huxley (1894-1963)

The most representative figure of the 20's, an

intellectual of the Bloomsbury group, was Aldous Hux-

ley. He is remembered mainly for his novels. His main

works are Crome Yellow,Antic Hay, Those Barren

Leaves, Point counter point, The Brave New world,

Eyeless in Gaza, After many a summer, Time must have

a stop, The perennial philosophy etc.

His novels mirror the empty lines of the people

mostly of the high cultured classes, chasing illusions

and marked pretensions, his novels are novels of ideas

and characterisation follows suit. In his novels we do

not find well developed plots. They are often formless,

sprawling and diffused. One characteristic of Huxley's

novel is the sub-plots. His novels are full of them. His

novels are often heavily weighted with science. From

the very beginning Huxley was haunted by the dangers

inherent in scientific progress, as it was being shaped

by the blind and egoistical men in power. The vision of

the future human society as envisaged in his scientificutopia, The Brave New worldandApe and Essence, is

anything but optimistic.

An intellectual of the Bloomsbury group was

- Aldous Huxley

is the greatest satirist of the age

- Aldous Huxley

Huxley's novels are remarkable for

- Philosophical depth and Iron-

ical brilliance

The vision of the future human society as envis-aged in his scientific utopia is anything but

optimistic

- The Brave new world

In 'Brave new world' Huxley satirises

- Scientific domination of modern

age in which, mind body, litera-

ture and practically everything

is controlled by science.

The hero of 'Brave new world' Savage John pleads

for

- Greater freedom of the individual

E.M.Forster (1879-1970)

Forster began his career as a novelist and pro-

duced his first novel Where Angels Fear To Tread in

1905, followed by The Longest Journey in 1907,A Room

with a View, Howard's End, A Passage to India. A Pas-

sage to India is considered the finest and best work of

Forster, the novel seeks to portray the relations of the

British with the Indians round about the year 1924. He

seeks to bring about a reconciliation between the East

and the West, but fails at the end.

The novel is mystical as well as symbolic in char-acter. The novel is divided into three parts - Mosques,

Caves and Temple' This three fold division of the book

is symbolic, they are related respectively to the sea-

sons of spring, summer and the wet monsoon autumn

of India, and to man's emotional nature, his intellect and

his capacity for Love. The characters of this novel seek

to represent these three attitude towards life. Dr. Aziz


8/46

stands for emotion, Fielding and Adela Quested stand

for intellect, and the Hindu Professor Godbole is the

symbol of love. Mrs. Moore is the embodiment of allthose three aspects of life. With her impulse towards

emotion and her involvement in things of the intellect

Forster represents through these characters the three

ways to leading life.

The plots of Forster are intricate and dif-

ficult to follow. His characters are types rather

than individuals. They are the embodiment of

certain values life. There is a detachment in

the character of his portrayal, he paints them

with impartiality keeping himself as a bystand-

er. As a moralist he is opposed to convention,

money, worship, hypocrisy, snobbery andprim affected manners. He is against all shams,

cants and falsehood.

He is a critic of modern civilization reared

on material values of life. He relied on heart

and culture as an antidote against modern

materialism. He is a symbolist. A durable link

with Britain has snapped with the death of

E.M. Forster. He was for decades the authentic exegete

of British - Indian relations, a man whose name auto-

matically cropped up in any conversation about the

real nature of Indian middle class and the manners of

white sahibs. His single novel 'A passage to India did

much to make India intelligible to Britain.

He is a fine and enduring artist and the only Brit-

ish novelist who can be discussed without fatuity. For-

ster will rank high among 20th century novelists.

Where Angles Fear to Treadis the first novel of

- E.M. Forster

is considered the finest and best work of

Forster.

- A passage to India

The theme ofA passage to India is

- the relations of the British

with the Indians round about

the year 1924. Forster seeks

to bring about a reconcilia-

tion between the East and the

West, but fails.

A Passage to India is and in character

- mystical, symbolic

Dr. Aziz is the central character of

- A Passage to India

James Joyce (1882-1941)

James Joyce has an important place among the

literary figures of the 20th century. He was the main

exponent of the psychological novel based on the rep-

resentation of the stream of consciousness. He wrote

short stories in his early career,Dublin-

ers. Another work is A Portrait of the Art-

ist as a Young Man, it is an autobiogra-

phical work and the artist Dedalus is the

representative of the novelist in whom

there was a conflict between the forces of

asceticism and aestheticism.

Ulysses is considered the best work

in Psychological fiction and the stream of

consciousness theory finds its best ex-

position in this novel. Another work of

importance is Finnegan's Wake. Joyce

belongs to the group of Psychological cum

- realistic novelists. His novels are form-

less, incoherent and rambling in character

and provide fleeting glimpses of the life of Dublin which

he knew so intimately.He is a comedy writer and his

novels are rich in scenes of playful comedy. His style is

marked with directness and simplicity inDubliners, in

his later works his style undergoes change and drifts tothe side of complexity, subtlety and allusiveness.

Ulysses is a novel which is written under

technique

- stream of consciousness

Ulysses is the story of

- the experience of wanderings

of Leopald Bloom and Stephen

Dedalus through the city of

Dublin on a particular day.

In Ulysses Joyce uses the style

- Impressionistic

James Joyce was the main exponent of the

novel

- Psychological novel

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is an

autobiographical work of

- James Joyce

James Joyce


9/46

The artist Dedalus in A Portrant of the Artist as a

Young Man is the representative of

- the novelist himself in whomthere was a conflict between

the forces of asceticism and

aestheticism.

Women novelists of the 20th century

The prominent women novelists of the period are

Henry. Handle Richardson, Dorothy Richardson, Miss

Humphrey Ward, Sarah Grand, Rose Macaulay, Eliza-

beth, Bowen, Ivy compton Burnett, Katherine Mans-

field and Virginia woolf.

Katherine Mansfield : (1888-1923)

Katherine Mansfield is a writer of short stories

and during her life time five volumes of her stories were

published. As a writer she followed the foot steps of

the Russian writer Anton Chekhov, whose work she

admired in ordinately. She was an impressionist in her

art and sought to portray with objectivity. She studied

life objectively and understood characters widely di-

vergent from herself in both temperaments and acci-

dentals. Her stories are marked with a note of somber-

ness and are characterised with a hunting sense of

pathos. She was at her best in the dilineation of young

children, adolescent girls, old women perhaps because

the experiences and observations of her own adult life

were two close to her to view in perspective.

Agatha Christie (1890-1976)

The most popular modern English writer of detec-

tive stories is Agatha Christie.

She wrote purely as an enter-

tainer, and her ingenuity per-

sisted through more than fifty

detective novels from The

Mysterious Affair of Styles. She

follows the English detective

story formulae of intricate plotsand an eccentric private detec-

tive such as Belgian Hercule

poirot, who speaks a kind of

school boy imitation Anglo-

French. Her most famous work is The Murder of Roger

Ackroyd.

The Doll's House is a famous short story of

- Katherine Mansfield

In detective fiction, the prominent femalerepresentation is

- Agatha Christie

The private detective of the Agatha Christie

mysteries is

- Hercule Poirot

Agatha Christie's famous work is

- The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

Agatha Christie followed the style of

- Arthur Conan Doyle

Virginia woolf (1882-1941)

Virginia Woolf occupies a position of importance

in 20th century fiction for she gave to the stream of

consciousness novel a new

twist. Her major works are The

Voyage out, Night and Day,

Jacob's room, Mrs Dalloway,

To the Light House, The

Years, The Waves, Orlando

etc. To the Light House is con-

sidered as the best novel of

the celebrated artist. This

novel is divided into threeparts. The windows, Time

passes, The Light house. The

experiences of Professor Ram-

say and his wife on a holiday are presented graphically.

She rejected the conventional conception of the

novel as a realistic, Portraiture of life from the objective

point of view and attacked the work of Bennett and

Galsworthy with characteristic frankness. She followed

the technique of the internal monologue and the stream

of consciousness. There is a poetic quality and a love

of lyricism in her writings. The range of her characters

is small. She could not paint characters who did notshare her own unusual qualities she was a great lover

of beauty and her novels exhibit her aesthetic delight in

the lovely aspects of life. She presents real life, in her

work but her conception of reality was different from

that of other writers. She is a prose writer of high order,

her prose sparkles with flashes of poetic beauty and

charm.

Agatha Christie

Virginia woolf


10/46

To the Light house, Mrs Dalloway, Orlando etc.

are some of the major work of

- Virginia Woolf InMrs. Dalloway Woolf portrays

- the life of an aristocratic lady

in London during the course

of a single day

technique finds its most perfect expression

in Virginia Woolf

- Stream of consciousness

To the Light House is a symbolic novel which is

divided into -

- three parts (1) The window

(2) Time Passes (3)The Light

House is Woolf's greatest artistic and literary

achievement

- To the Light House

The Irish literary revivalIreland was an integral part of the British nation

early in the 19th century. But the English never regard-

ed the Irish as equal partners in the nation. They were

exploited mercilessly. The Irish therefore agitated for

Home Rule. The national fervour of the people got an

outlet in literary activities. Irish nationalism was the main

inspirer of the Irish literary revival.

Up to the end of the 19th century there was hardly

any creative urge in Ireland. No one had leisure for liter-

ary activities. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Ireland

made a contribution to British drama in the plays of

Goldsmith, Oscar wilde and Shaw, but they wrote their

plays in England and these dramas did not represent

Irish life. At the beginning of the 20th century a group

of young enthusiastic patriots led by W.B. Yeats, Lady

Gregory, George Moore, Maud Gonne and others start-

ed a movement for reviving Irish drama and poetry.

Irish literary revival' is a movement aimed at

- Reviving the ancient folk lore,legends, and traditions of

Ireland, and diffusing and

preserving them by means of

new literary works.

Irish literary revival is also known as

- Irish Renaissance and Celtic

Renaissance.

The major figures of Irish Renaissance are

- W. B. Yeats, J.M.Synge, Sean

O' Casey, Lady Gregory, LordDunsany etc.

The outstanding achievements of the Irish

Renaissance was

- Establishment of Irish Literary

Theatre (1899)

- Abbey Theatre (1910)

was the main inspirer of the Irish literary

revival

- Irish nationalism

Experiments in the modern novel

The modern English novel has been affected by

many historical and social influences. Its literary devel-

opment has influenced by the fiction of other coun-

tries, notably of France - In England, the exploitation

of a vastly enlarged reading public by the mass media

increased the separation between the 'high brow' and

the 'Low brow'. This separation coupled with the in-

creasing social and political dominance widened the

gap between the writers and society. No writer since

Dickens, has been both the best and the most popular.

The greatest modern novelists bear the stigma of

alienation and dissent. The increasing separation of the

modern novelist from the values and attitudes of thesociety is reflected not only in the subject but also in

the structure of the modern fiction and its modes of

representing the society. Scott had given the novelist

the dignity of the historian. Stendhal aspired to be the

chronicler of his century. Balzac setout to be the scien-

tific naturalist of the human species. Flaubert'sMadame

Bovary gave a pattern of conscious technical expert-

ness to the novel. The name 'realism' was given to the

school of Flaubert, it rejected the idealisation of reality.

With naturalism the process went further. Emile Zola

codified the analogy of the novelist and the scientist.

The reader's desire to refinement and edification wasscorned. The novelists worked in the spirit of science

with its ideal of thorough dispassionate enquiry. New

labels came into being - naturalism, impressionism, ex-

pressionism, the stream of consciousness etc.

Stendhal is the penname of

- Henri Beyle, French novelist

(1783-1842)


11/46

Stendhal one of the first of the great novelists

- Psychological

Stendhal was the contemporary of- Scott, Balzac, Goethe

Real name of Goethe

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

German poet (1749-1832)

Emile Zola is associated with in literature

- naturalism

Graham Greene (1904-91)

Greene's reputation as an outstanding novelist

among the younger group of

novelists is established with

The Power and the Glory. Thereason for his success is not

so much his versatility as the

way in which he unifies his

various and wide interests

under a single outlook and ex-

presses them in a prose style

that is almost startling in its

starkness. His sentences cut

like broken glass. He delights

to expose the rawnerves of evils, showing it as a posi-

tive force in the world, a skeleton like figure working

visible mischief in the ordinary, everyday affairs of menand women and children. He satirises the evils of 20th

century urban civilization but he does not preach.

His major works are The Man Within,The Name of

Action,England Made Me,A Gun for Sale,The Confi-

dential Agent, The Power and the glory, The Heart of

the Matter. Loser Takes All, The Quiet American, A

Burnt-out Case etc. Outstanding among them is The

Power and the Glory It is a political religious novel.

The scene is laid in a communist state in Mexico. The

book deals with the seamy side of life, the painful and

the squalid, the vice and the poverty. The two main

characters are the communist Lieutenant and the 'whis-key Priest', the father of an illegitimate child.

C.P.Snow (1905-80)

Snow is a contribution of the post second world

war literature . He is an author of a number of novels.

Strangers and Brothers, The Light and the Dark, The

Masters, Home coming, The affair, Corridors of power

etc. Snow is primarily concerned with the inner working

of traditional institutions and the ways these elements of

society are perpetuated. His fiction is somewhat similarto the victorian novelists. He turned the novel to the

direct representation of moral, social and political issues.

George Orwell (1903-50)

Orwell was the conscience of

his generation. His fame as a nov-

elist rests on his three novels,

Down and Out in Paris andLon-

don, Burmese Days, and 1984.

The world of the first novel is an

economic nightmare to the indi-

vidual, the world of the last novel

is the political nightmare to the

hero. He reports impressionistically and does not at-

tempt false Obectivity.

The Power and the Glory is an outstanding work of

- Graham Greene

is a political, religious novel of Graham Greene

- The Power and the Glory

is one of the reputed post - war exponents of

the largescale fictional sequence

- C.P.Snow

The Masters, The Corridors of Power,The Light

and The Darkare the best novels of

- C. P. Snow

The pen name adopted by Eric Arthur Blair is

- George Orwell

George Orwell was born in

- India

is a political satire of George orwell

- Animal Farm

1984 is Orwell's last completed novel, it describes

- England ruled over by a

totalitarian dictatorship ; a

society in which thought iscontrolled and language is

manipulated in the interests of

the state.

William Golding (1911-93)

Golding established his individual genre in 'Lord

of the Flies', in which a group of boys, stranded on

desert island after an air crash, regress to savagery. In

Graham Greene

George Orwell


12/46

reversing the pattern of children's adenture stories and

locating evil in the boys themselves, Golding re-ener-

gized the notion of original sin. The Inheritors, PincherMartin, Free Fall, The Spire, The Bell, are his impor-

tant works.

The year in which William Golding was born

- 1911

Lord of the Flies is the first novel of

- William Golding

Who is the titular character or Lord in theLord of

the Files ?

- Beelzebub - according to the

Jewish hierarchy of demon

gods Beelzebub is considered

to be the Lord of the Flies.

William Golding received Nobel Prize for literature in

- 1983

is the main source for Golding's Lord of the Flies

- The Coral Island, a 19th cen-

tury adventure story of R.M.

Ballantyne.

Who is the visionary character in the Lord of the

Flies ?

- Simon, a young boy of twelve

What is Lord of the Flies ?

- The Pig's head

The echoes of which play of Shakespeare are to

be traced inLord of the Flies

- The Tempest

Angry young men

The post war socialism gave university education

to youngmen from the working classes and then left

them cut off from elitist circles, social and cultural or

doubt helps to explain the rise of the anti-hero, venom-

ously, comically or patronizingly dismissive of estab-

lishment mores and inhibitions. William cooper has been

credited with ushering in the antihero of the fifties in

Scenes from Provincial Life but it was Lucky Jim byKingsley, Amis that provided the journalists with a pro-

test hero. Room at the Top by John Braine, Sunday

Morning by Allan Sillitoe, Hurry on Down'by John

Waine are popular ones in this category.

The anti hero concept was brought into literature by

- William Cooper

Kingsley Amis's Lucky Jim provided the Keyword

- Angry Youngmen

Lucky Jim is the masterpiece of- Kingsley Amis

Stream of consciousness in literature denotes

- A mode of narration that

captures the full flow of a

character's mental process.

Surrealism was a movement in art and literature.

Which originated in France around 1924, It was

- A revolt against the restraints

of reason on the subconscious.

Who wrote To the Lighthouse

- Virginia Woolf Shaw's plays are known for

- Social criticism and play of

ideas

Caesar and Cleopatra is a play of

- Bernard Shaw

Henry James's ciritical work on novel is

- The Art of Fiction

'Erewhon' is an anagram for

- nowhere

The author of Jungle Books

- Rudyard Kipling Time Machine is written by

- H.G.Wells

D.H. Lawrence's Sons and Lovers is an example of

- Mother - fixation or Oedipus

Complex

James Joyce's Ulysses is a perfect example in

method

- Stream of consciousness

Aldous Huxley's novels are often heavily, weighted

with

- Science InA Passage to India Forster seeks to bring about

- A reconciliation between the

East and the West.

Graham Greene satirises the evils of 20th century

urban civilization in

- The Power and Glory


13/46

TWENTIETH CENTURY PROSE

During the 20th century there has been a revival

of the periodical essay and the personal essay.

G.K.Chesterton (1874-1936)

G.K.Chesterton was a

critic, novelist, poet and an es-

sayist of repute. He was a se-

rious writer and he had no

faith in art for art's sake. He

was a satirist and spent his life

in vigorously attacking the

conclusions arrived at by in-

tellectuals. There was an en-

gaging pugnacity even in his

lighter essays. His chief weap-

ons are wit and paradox and

these he employed with dexterity and ease. His strength

as a writer lies in the clear and witty way in which he

expresses common place truths. In short, the quizzical

humour, the scintillating wit, the delight in mental gym-

nastics, in paradox and epigrams, and the wholehearted

defence of whatever is old or gay or romantic, are things

which distinguish his writing from that of any of his

contemporaries.

He had a great skill in dialectical writing, with pe-culiar simplicity and beauty and clarity. Anti-thesis was

his governing passion. Rechard Church called him "the

greatest essayist of his time."

Hilaire Belloc (1870-1953)

Belloc was a master of many styles of writing. He

published his first book, a collection of verses in 1895.

He enriched the literature of non-sense with The Bad

Child's Book of Beasts, More Beasts for Worse

Children. The Modern Travelleris a series of historical

and biographical studies which forms his greatest con-

tribution. Emmanuel Burden was a satiric novel. The

Servile State was his most important political book. He

was a reviewer too.

His sense of humour was unfailing. He was al-

ways careful to distinguish prose from rhetoric. He had

a sense of rhythm in which, he was unrivalled. His strong

points as a writer are his vigorous and elegant style

and his gift for the picturesque.

E.V. Lucas (1868-1938)

E.V.Lucas is a great master of the essay proper, of

the light personal essay. He is recognised as the pre-eminent editor of Charles Lamb's works and biographer

of Lamb.

The essays of Lucas are found in Character

and Comedy, Old Lamps for New, Loiterer's Harvest,

Cloud and Silver. His essays are marked by fancy, liter-

ary artifice, common sense, lightness of touch, ease

and humour. They are mainly characterized by his ur-

banity, ruthlessness of observation and fancy. He is a

born essayist who finds it completely easy to move

with in the confines of the personal essay. Sir Edmund

Gosse says "Since the death of R.L. stevenson, no one

so proficient in the pure art of the essayists as Mr. E.V.

Lucas". His essays are remarkable for its brevity - in

word, sentence - structure, thought and in the make up

of the whole essay.

The chief weapons of G.K. Chesterton are

- Wit and Paradox

Richard Church calls 'the greatest essayist of

his time'.

- G.K. Chesterton

Emmanuel Burden was a satiric novel of

- Hilaire Belloc was Hilaire Belloc's most important political

work

- The Servile State

is the great master of light personal essays

- E.V. Lucas

____ is recognised as the preeminent editor of

Charles Lamb's works and biographer of Lamb

- E.V. Lucas

Robert Lynd (1879-1949)

Robert Lynd is one of the most outstanding es-sayists of the 20th century. He began his career as a

journalist and for nearly 20 years under the name of 'YY'

appeared his weekly essays in The New Statesman and

Nation. His essays are to be found in The Pleasures of

Ignorance, Collected Essays, The Money Box, The

Green Men, It is Fine World etc. His essays are person-

al in character and reveal his likes and dislikes on a

G.K.Chesterton


14/46

variety of subjects. They are marked with a note of sin-

cerity. He wrote about his memories and experience, but

his essays are not disfigured by egotism. It is a charac-teristic of Lynd to be timeless. The charm of his essays

lies in the twinkling humour which is not away from

irony. Lynd is a writer of fine, critical prose, and his

essay on "Modern Poetry" exhibits his insight into

modern poetry and poetic trends.

His style is thoroughly conversational, pleasing

and not unmixed with humour and irony. His love of

epigrammatic sentences, his clarity and lucidity, his

sense of balance, the use of similes, the Phrase- making

gift are the outstanding qualities of his prose style.

A.G. Gardiner (1865-1946)

Popularly known as 'Alpha of the Plough',

A.G.Gardiner was a journalist and an essayist of great

repute and wide appeal. He wrote a book on the promi-

nent personalities of time and called it Prophets ; Priests

and Kings. His typical collection of essays such as

Pebbles on the Shore andLeaves in the Windare the

light easy talk of an ordinarily thoughtful man.

The essays of Gardiner are marked with a

note of pleasant humour. His humour is not away

from satire. He criticised the system of justice in

his country. In the essay 'On Rumour', the school

master was the prey of the 'lying tongue of rumour'.His wife committed suicide. And the jury did not

say 'Killed by Slander' they said 'suicide while of

unsound mind'. "Oh ! cautious Jurymen !" Only

three words they are but they speak volumes of

legal system of England.

His Prose Style is the secret of his charm - the

choice of words, the happy phrasing and the simple

sentence construction. The effortless ease is the first

quality of his style. He also makes wonderful use of

adjective. His sentence structure is very simple that

the reader feels that he has often thought of it but nevercould express it so well. Simple words, simple phrases,

and simple sentences have a magic of their own. And in

this lies the wide appeal of A.G. Gardiner.

Robert Lynd wrote nearly 20 years under the name of

- Y. Y

Lynd's essays are in character

- personal

A.G. Gardiner is popularly known as

- Alpha of the Plough

Modern Poetry is a critical prose of Lynd exhibits

- His insight into modern

poetry and poetic trends.

The effortless ease is the quality of style

- Gardiner's

Leaves in the Windis a collection of essays by

- A. G. Gardiner

Max Beerbohm (1872-1956)

Max Beerbohm who won thundering popularity

by hisZuleika Dobson which shook Oxford was a de-

lightful essayist, an entertaining parodist and a dramat-

ic critic. In the Christmas Garlandhe has parodied the

styles and writings of A.C. Benson, Wells, Conrad,

Bennett, shaw and others. He had the art of picture

painting and could portray the mind of a contemporary

in a phrase. He had the vision of penetrating critic. He

excelled in wit, irony and exposure of the foibles of his

own times and that of the Victorian age.

Simplicity, economy, rhythm, and balance are the

hall marks of Beerbohm's prose style. His diction is as

simple as the Bible.

J.B.Priestley (1894-1984)Priestley, the critic, is also a

fine essayist. His essays find

place inI for One, Open House,

Apes and Angles and other es-

says, and self-selected essays.

His essays are literary and criti-

cal and his studies on T.L. Pea-

cock and Meredith, are penetrat-

ing and sharp. In English Comic

Characters he produced a very happy varieties of the

Essay in evoking some of the great comic figures like

Toby Belch and Mr. Collins.

Dean inge (1860-1954)

Dean Inge has to his Credit Lay Thoughts of a

Dean and Outspoken Essays. His finest work is to be

found in his Outspoken Essays. Each Essay bears the

stamp of his story mind. He had an argumentative way

of putting things and advocated emigration to decrease

J.B.Priestley


15/46

the facts and dates into throbbing life.

He possessed a rare skill of making for characters

live again as men and women. He emphasizes the hu-man element in his characters. His popular works are

The eminent Victorian, Queen Victoria etc.

Philip Guedalla, Osbert sitwell, Lord David Cecit,

Virginia, Woolf, Sean O' casey, Edmund Gosse, George

Guissing, H.G.Wells, Kipling, are other famous

biographers of the period.

Biography is

- the history of l ives of

individual men as a branch of

literature

Biography in the modern sense is defined as

- The faithful portrait of a soul

in its adventures through life.

is a great modern biographer

- Lytton Stratchey

The function of a biographer

- to create the personality of his

subjects by transmuting the

facts and dates into throbbing

life.

The Eminent Victorian is the popular work of- Lytton Stratchey

Writers of nature and country life

The writers who have chosen to glorify nature and

country life in their works are many of number, the

prominent of them being W.H.Hudson, Edward Thomas,

George stuart, H.J. Massingham, Henry Williamson etc.

W.H. Hudson (1841-1922)

Hudson was an eminent naturalist, romancer, and

an essayist. The remarkable variety of his work makes it

difficult to buckle Hudson on the belt of conventionalclassifications. His passionate sense of devotion of

truth, with his absorption in nothing natural phenome-

na, joined to a supreme power of self expression is

what enlarges and enriches his special contribution to

English literature.

Hudson has many books to his credit, Far away

and Long ago, The Naturalist in Laplata, Green Man-

over population and the study of emergencies to im-

prove the racial stock. He attacked vigorously war -

mongers and miltarists and expressed the opinions ofInge which exhibit his confidence in himself and the

surety of touch with which he expressed them.

Other writers who contributed to the field of essay

were , E.V. knox, Alice Meynell, A.A. Milne, Charles

Morgan, Rebecca West, C.E.Montague, Maurice Bar-

ing and Aldous Huxley. Huxley is well - known for his

novels and he has written quite a good number of es-

says, short and witty, his essays are interesting and

pleasing to read. His essays are collected in Music at

NightandDo What You will.

Max Beerbohm became popular through his

- Zuleika Dobson

, , , and are the hall

marks of Beerbohms prose style

- Simplicity, economy rhythm,

balance

J. B. Priestley is rightly regarded as the ' of

the Present day'.

- Dickens

Priestley's novel restored Dickensian qualities of

- Crowded l i fe character

adventure.

The Good Companian is an entertaining novel of

- J. B. Priestley

Outspoken Essays is the finest work of

- Dean Inge

Twentieth Century biographers

The Oxford Dictionary defines biography as 'the

history of lives of individual men as a branch of litera-

ture'- This means that biography must be a truthful

record of an individual and composed as a work of art.

The modern biography has been defined as 'The faith-

ful portrait of a soul in its adventures through life'.Lytton stratchey (1880-1932) is truly a great mod-

ern biographer. He follows the direct method of pre-

senting his characters. The basis of all good biography

must be firmly held the humanistic respect for men

Strachey was greatly influenced by the great Russian

novelist, Dostoevsky. The duty of the biographer is to

create the personality of his subjects by transmuting


16/46

sions, British Birds, Birds and Man, The Land's End, A

shepherd's life, A Hind in Richmond Parketc.

Henry Williamson (1895-1977)Williamson is another great lover of the country-

side and wild life. The Chief of his books are The Love

Swallows, The Old Stage etc. This observation of na-

ture was careful and his expression of the charm of na-

ture was sincere.

Historical prose

Many famous historians of the age have brought

this kind of Prose writing to a very high standard.

H.G.Wells, Winston churchill have been professional,

academic historians. Sir James Frazer and Arnold Toyn-

bee are other remarkable figures. Frazer was scientificand Toynbee is philosophical in his approach to histo-

ry.Frazer's The Golden Bough is a great work of histo-

ry. Toynbee's A study of history in 6 volumes studied

the entire history of ancient civilization and by his study

of the rise and fall of previous civilizations he sought to

deduce comprehensive philosophy of history. His out-

look is religious and he gives us the warning that if the

forces of militarism and materialism continue to advance,

with the stupendous speed with which they are going

apace, the day is not far off when the whole fabric of

civilization will topple down and once again man will

relapse to the old days of barbarism and animism.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)

Among the philosophical

and scientific writers, Russell

occupies a very high place. He

was a scientist, mathematician

philosopher and political think-

er of the highest order. The

sweep of his mind and the ver-

satility of his talents placed him

amongst the truly greatmen of

his times. He collaborated withA.N. Whitehead wrote Princip-

ia Mathematica a classic work

which argued and demonstrated that mathematics and

formal logic are one and that the whole of pure mathe-

matics can be deduced from a small of logical axioms.

He was good in logical analysis. Among the semanti-

cists he was a pioneer.

His questing mind probed almost every aspect of

human experience and behaviour. He was a non-con-

formist both in thought and deed. His pacifism alsolanded him in jail. The style and manner of his expres-

sion evoke our applause. He has the gift of summing up

a very complex situation in a few, clear and simple words

and sentences.

Green Mansions is the work of

- W.H. Hudson

The Golden Bough is a great work of

- Sir James Frazer

A Study of History, in 6 volumes, is the study of

entire ancient civilization is written by

- Arnold Toynbee

Principia Mathematica is a classic work of In collaboration with A.N. White head

- Bertrand Russell.

G.M. Trevelyan (1876-1962)

He was an English historian, son of Sir

G.O.Trevelyan and great nephew of Thomas Babbing-

ton Macaulay. Some of his works were guiding lights,

such asEngland under Queen Anne (3 vols), which is

considered. Trevelyan's greatest mature work.English

Social History, Shortened History of England. etc. are

his other works.

LITERARY CRITICS OF THE

TWENTIETH CENTURY

Arthur Symons (1865-1945)

Symons, the poet is also a literary critic. Symon's

The Romantic Movement in English Poetry is a valu-

able contribution to the understanding of the Romantic

poets. Baudelair, Hardy, Walter Pater, Symbolist Move-

ment in Literature' are his popular works. Symons is an

impressionistic critic and continued the tradition of Walter

Pater. He is remarkable for his extremely poetical style.A.C. Bradley (1851-1934)

Bradley will be known to posterity for his famous

Shakesperean Tragedy, Oxford Lectures on Poetry.

He is an authority on Shakespeare's tragedies.

Inhis Shakespearean Tragedy, he makes a scholarly

and critical survey of the principal tragedies of the great

dramatist.

Bertrand Russell


17/46

Sir Walter Raleigh (1861-1922)

Raleigh will be remem-

bered by his English Novel,Milton, Wordsworth, Shakes-

peare and Six Essay on

Johnson. He is a master of his

subject and his manner of pre-

sentation is extremely lucid

and clear. He has nothing of

the charms of modern criti-

cism and he is essentially a

traditionalist. But he has none

of the defects of modern crit-

icism too.

George Saintsbury (1845-1933)

George Saintsbury is a great name in the world of

literary criticism. He was a great scholar and a man of

immense learning. His monumental works areElizabe-

than Literature, History of English Prose, History of

English Criticism, History of European Criticism, A

Short History of English Literature, History of English

Prose, Rhythm and English novel etc.

His criticism is remarkable for its rare charm of

scholarship and style. He read immensely and had pro-

lific memory. He was a man of very strong tastes and he

could speak very authentically about things withoutinjuring the sensibilities of his readers.

G.K. Chesterton

Chesterton is known by hisBrowning,The Victo-

rian Age in Literature,Dickens and Chauceretc. He is

not at all a scientific critic and he is too subjective to be

accurate.

Sir Arthur Quiller - couch (1861-1944)

Quiller-Couch is a critic of distinction. He pub-

lished many volumes of stimulating literary apprecia-

tion and criticism which were originally given in theform of lectures. His works are Studies in Literature,

Shakespeare's Workmanship, On the Art of Reading

etc. His pages talk to the reader just as their author

spoke to his audiences arousing interest.

Arthur Symons's is a valuable contribution

to the understanding of the Romantic poets

- The Romantic Movements in

English Poetry

is an authority on Shakespeare's tragedies

- A.C. Bradley is a remarkable name in the world of literary

criticism

- George Saintsbury

History of English Criticism, history of European

criticism, A short history of English Literature are

some of the monumental works of

- G. Saintsbury

Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

Soldier and statesman,

Churchill was also an historian

who found time, despite the callof public life, to publish not only

a series of works an the two

world wars. (4 volumes of The

World Crisis (First World War)

and 6 volumes beginning with

The Gathering storm 1948, (Sec-

ond World War). He won Nobel

prize for literature in 1953.

Lytton Strachey (1880-1932)

He is a biographer, a critic of literature and man-

ners. His biographical studies have set up a pattern in

English Literature that of concentrated, stripped narra-

tives, governed by a careful sense of truth and harmo-

ny. Stratchey's work short as it is, but highly finished,

will live as the most pregnant token of an intellectual

transition.

Eminent Victorians (1918), Queen Victoria (1921),

Books and Characters, French and English (1922),

Elizabeth and Essex (1928) are his works.

F.R. Leavis (1895-1978)

Dr. Leavis is a man of very strong tastes. He loves

clarity, solidity and hardness. He is an analytical critic

and does not believe in making sweeping generalisa-

tions. The strength of his convictions can be seen in

his evaluation of Milton and Shelley. He has done to

literary criticism what T.S. Eliot has done to English

poetry.

T.S. Eliot (1888-1965)

Eliot is one of the greatest figures in the history of

Winston Churchill

Sir Walter Raleigh


18/46

literary criticism. Eliot owed his inspiration as a critic to

the movement in American criticism called the move-

ment of Humanism led by Professor Irving Babbit andPaul More. Inspired by the protagonists of this new

wave of Humanism, Eliot also modelled his critical prin-

ciples and judgements on it and his, The Sacred Wood

is practically the same as that of the humanists. He was

also for classicism and tradition, and stood against the

tide of romantic criticism, which he characterised as frag-

mentary, immature and chaotic.

is the first critic who recognised the genius

of T.S. Eliot

- F.R. Leavis

is one of the most controversial critics of

literature- F. R. Leavis

New Bearings in English Poetry andRevaluations

of D.H. Lawrence are the main critical works of

- F. R. Leavis

T.S. Eliot was inspired by the movement of

- Humanism

Movement of Humanism was led by

- Prof. Irving Babbit and Paul

More

The Sacred Wood, Point of View, The Selected

Essays on Poets etc. are critical works of- T.S. Eliot

T.S. Eliot denounced Shakespeare's playHamlet

as artistic failure because

- it lacks objective correlative

Objective correlative is

- The only way of expressing

emotion in art, by finding an

objective correlative, ie ; a set

of objects, which shall be the

formula of that particular

emotion, such that when the

external facts are given theemotion is at once evoked.

Unified Sensibility

- a fusion of thought and

fe el in g, a recrea ti on of

thought in feeling

Dissociation of sensibility

- When the poet is unable to

make a fusion of thought and

fe el ing, resu lt s in th e

dissociation of sensibility.

New criticism

The modern movement in criticism is called New

criticism. The earliest to propound New criticism in En-

glish Literature was Eliot. In his essay Tradition and

Individual Talentsowed The seeds of a revolution in

criticism and in poetry. The new critics believe that a

poem should be treated as poem and should not refer to

the biography of the author. They advocated close read-

ing. The distinction between literary genres, is not es-

sential in the New criticism . Its principle is basically ver-

bal. I A. Richards, Allen Tate, J.C. Ranson, R.P.Blackmur,

Cleanth Brooks are the popular New critics.

New criticism taught the generation how to read

poetry. It made revaluations of the poetry of the past. It

focussed attention on contemporary achievement as

reflecting contemporary consciousness. It enlarged the

frontiers of criticism by showing the necessity for a

knowledge of other disciplines than literature proper. It

turned the attention, to the modern tradition and values

and provided the readers certain broad tools with which

to approach literature.

I.A Richards (1893-1979)

He was an influential critic and rhetorician. His

books, especially, The Meaning of Meaning, Principles

of Literary Criticism, Practical Criticism, and The Phi-

losophy of Rhetoric were among the founding docu-

ments of the New Criticism, and most of the eminent crit-

ics were Richards' students. Richards is one of the

founders of the contemporary study of literature in En-

gland. While his theories of poetic interpretation and

poetic language have been surpassed, his initial impuls-

es shaped 20th literary studies into what it is today."The

Foundations of Aesthetics, Science and Poetry, The

Philosophy of Rhetoricare some of his other major works.

The Chicago critics or the Neo - Aristotelians

It was reaction against the New criticism, under

the leader ship of Ronald S. Crane in the late thirties in

the Chicago-School of neo-Aristotelians. The Chicago

critics gave an authoritative expression to their critical

theories and practice in a book 'Critics and Criticism :

Ancient and Modern (1952).


19/46

New critics aimed at certain norms

- a poem should be treated as

poem and should not refer tothe biography of the author

- close reading is necessary

The popular New critics are

- I.A. Richards, Allen Tate,

J. C. Ra nsom, Cl eant h

Brookes.

Neo-Aristoelians was against

- New Criticism

Chicago critics expressed their theories in

- Critics and Criticism ;

Ancient and Modern (1952) Modernism is

- A mixture of a wide range of

artistic movements

was a reaction against the main characteris-

tics of Victorian culture in the 1890's

- Modernism

The cardinal principle of aestheticism was

- Art was the Supreme God

was the master of aestheticism

- Walter Pater

Impressionism

- A person has only the

impression of the particular

observer from his particular

relation to the object at a

particular, moment in time

The Byzantium poems of Yeats are example of

- aestheticism

Symbolism is the term used to describe and

poetry

- Post Romantic, Victorian

coined the word Imagism

- Ezra Pound

Imagism has been described as the grammar school

of modern poetry, the instruction and drill in basic

Principles'

- David Perkins

TWENTIETH CENTURY DRAMA

Rise of the new drama

The first half of the 19th century was a barren pe-

riod for English drama. The professional theatre of this

period was in a low state. The middle of the 19th centu-

ry witnessed a significant development. This movement

towards realism received great impetus from the work of

T.W.Robertson. He was connected with modern revival

of English drama. He introduced in his plays the idea of

a serious theme underlying the humour characters and

dialogue of a more natural kind. In the nineties the influ-

ence of Ibsen was making itself felt and shaw produced

serious play of social, domestic and personal problems.

In the closing years of twentieth, the word 'NEW' was

often applied to denote a change of attitude and ideas.

The 'new woman' wanted franchise, and earn their own

living as career woman. The 'new man' is independent

minded, The new morality stood for more free views on

sexual relations, and the the new drama is about all these

'new' ideas. The 'new drama' was thus the 'intellectual

drama of which Shaw was the pioneer in Britain and

Ibsen had been in Norway, where the 'New Drama' be-

gan. The themes of drama became the problems of reli-

gion, of youth and age, of labour and capital and sex.

Thus the writers of the New Drama re-established

the English Literary drama breaking away from the triv-

ial and romantic theatre.

is the reviver of modern English drama

- T. W. Robertson

popularised realism in modern drama

- Norwegian dramatist, Henrik

Ibsen

presents a realistic picture of life by giving

a detailed discussion of the burning social

problems of the time

- Modern drama

19th century was the declining period of

- Drama The decline of drama in the 19th century was due to

- Major poets failed to bring

good drama

- Professional theatre was in a

low state

- Middle class despised drama

- Standard of the plays were low


20/46

The trends and currents in the modern drama

Realism

Realism is the most significant and outstanding

quality of modern drama. The post war generation of

men and women started the demand for reality above

all things. It was Ibsen who popularised realism in mod-

ern drama. This example was followed by Robertson,

Jones, Pinero, Galsworthy and Bernard Shaw in their

plays. In their drama, we get glimpses of real life, with

all its warts and sordid ugliness. They deal with prob-

lems of marriage, justice, law, administration and strife

between capital and labour and use the theatre as a

means for bringing about reforms in the conditions of

society prevailing in their days.

Modern drama has developed the 'problem play'.

Shaw, Barkar, Galsworthy are the writers who have giv-

en a spurt to problem play. In their hands the problem

play became a powerful and effective medium of social

criticism and generally indicated the right of the indi-

vidual to shape his life and destiny, unfettered by the

prejudices and convention of society. The problem play

was a new experiment in form and technique, and dis-

pensed with the conventional devices and expedients

of the theatre.

Drama of ideas

Modern drama is essentially a drama of ideas. The

stage is employed by dramatists to give expression to

certain ideas which they seek to propagate in society

with the treatment of actual life the drama became more

and more a drama of ideas.

Romanticism

Romanticism found its way on modern drama, main-

ly due to Sir. J.M. Barrie's effort. Barrie kept aloof from

sordid and squalid realities of life and made excursions

into the world of Romance, fantasy, magic and super-

naturalism in such plays asMary Rose, Peter Pan, A

Kiss for Cinderella, Admirable Crichton and DearBrutus have charmed his readers by the tender whimsi-

cality of his imagination and provided them an escape

from the drab and dull realities of life.

Poetic plays

T.S.Eliot espoused the cause of poetic plays

against the realistic prose drama of the modern age.

Among those who promoted poetic plays are stephen

phillips, J.E. Flecker, John Drinkwater, John Masefield,

W.B. Yeats, T.S. Eliot, and Christopher Fry'.

Modern drama has developed the play

- Problem

The exponents of problem play are

- Bernard Shaw, Grenvil le

Barker, John Galsworthy

The special feature of problem play is

- It is the drama of disillusion,

for it str ipped life of false

sentiment and revealed the

ugliness and squalor that lay

beneath the false glitter of

superficial life

is essentially a drama of ideas

- Modern drama

in modern drama provided an escape from

the drab and dull realities of life

- Romanticism

Romanticism in modern drama is revived by

- J.M. Barrie

espoused the cause of poetic plays against

the realistic prose drama of the modern age

- T. S. Eliot

Poetic drama was inaugurated by

- W. B. Yeats, T.S. Eliot

"Poetry is the natural and complete medium for

drama"

- T.S. Eliot

Historical and biographical plays

There were many beautiful historical and biograph-

ical plays in modern dramatic literature. Shaw's Caesar

and Cleopatra, St. Joan are of great importance. John

Drinkwater's Abraham Lincoln, Mary Stuart, OliverCromwell, Robert Lee etc; Clifford Bax wrote Mr Pep-

ys, Socrates. The Lady with the Lamp is based on the

life and achievements of Florence Nightingale.

The Irish movement

The Irish dramatists brought about the Celtic Re-

vival in literature. In the hands of W.B. Yeats, J.M. Syn-

ge, Leanox Robinson, T.C. Murray and Edward Martyn


21/46

drama became an expression of the hopes and aspira-

tions of the Irish people from remote days to their own

times. The imaginative realism, the love of passionateand dreamy poetry, the belief in the fairy world, of the

Irish people found their way in Irish drama.

and plays are another feature of modern

dramatic literature

- Historical and biographical

and are the historical plays of Bernard

Shaw

- St. Joan, Caesar and Cleopatra

Barrets of Wimpole Streeta biographical play by

Rudolf Besier is based on the true life of

- Browning and Mrs. Browning

The Lady with the Lamp is based on the life and

achievements of

- Florence Nightingale

The Irish dramatists brought about the in

literature

- Celtic Revival

Irish movement was essentially in character

- National

The result of the Irish revival was

- The imaginative realism, the

love of passionate and dreamy

poetry, the belief in the fairy

world, symbols, legends,

mythology of the Irish people

came back to Irish drama.

Impressionism

In the impressionistic plays of W.B. Yeats, the main

effort is in the direction of recreating the experience of

the artist and his impressions about reality. Impression-

istic drama of the modern age seeks to suggest the im-

pressions on the artist about the objective character-isties of things and event.

Expressionism

It is another important feature of the modern dra-

ma. It marks an extreme reaction against naturalism. The

movement started in Germany and several modern dra-

matists Sean o' Casey, C.K. Munro, H.F.Rubinstein, J.B.

Priestley, Elmer Rice and Eugene O' Neill have made

experiments in the expressionistic tendency. Expression-

ist drama was concerned with man. It aimed at to offer

subjective, psychological analysis not so much of anindividual as of a type, and it made much of the sub-

conscious. Their dialogue was often cryptic and pat-

terned and was in every way far removed from the nat-

uralistic prose.

The comedy of manners

There is a revival of the comedy of manners in

modern dramatic literature Oscar Wilde, Noel Coward,

Somerset Maugham have done much to revive the com-

edy of wit.

Stage directions

In modern drama there are elaborate stage direc-

tions. These stage directions considerably ease the

work of dramatic production on the stage. eg : plays of

Galsworthy, Bernard Shaw.

Technique

In modern drama, the three classical unities of time,

place and action are maintained. Dialogues are short

and trenchant. The lack of action is made up by the fine

dialogues. Soliloquies, asides are completely avoided.

Impressionistic drama is

- to suggest the impressions on

the artist about the objective

characterisation of things andevent.

Expressionism is an extreme reaction against

- naturalism

Expressionism started in

- Germany

The exponents of expressionism are

- Sean O' Casey, C.K. Munro

H.F. Rubinstein, J.B. Priestley

Eugene O' Neill

Expressionist drama aims at

- Offering subjective, psycholo-gical analysis not so much of

an individual as of a type and

it made much of the subcon-

scious

Comedy of manners was revived by

- Oscar Wilde, Noel coward,

Somerset Maugham


22/46

Techniques of modern drama

- Three unities are maintained

- Dialogues are short and tren-chant

- Soliloquies, aside are com-

pletely avoided.

The problem play

The problem play is also known as 'the drama

of ideas and the serious drama. The problem play is the

presentation of contemporary questions through real-

istic technique. The dramatists of the problem play were

pre occupied with the vital problems of contemporary

life and morality. The realistic movement was strength-

ened by the growth of the scientific spirit stimulatedthe desire for facts and fostered an attitude of dispas-

sionate observation. The foreign influences too accler-

ated it. Ibsen and Emile Zola encouraged the spirit of

naturalism. The term 'problem play' was coined by Syd-

ney Grundy. The play ends with a question mark.

The problem Play is also known as

- the serious drama or intellectual

drama or drama of ideas

was influenced by the realistic movement

- The problem play

and influenced the English dramatists

- Ibsen and Emile Zola

The term 'The problem play' was coined by

- Sydney Grundy

The problem play end with a

- Question mark

Bernard Shaw defines problem play as

- "the presentation is parable of

the conflict between man's will

and his environment'

The significance of the word ' problem' in problem

play is

- the play usually ends with a

question mark

The function of a problem playwright is

- to state his problem clearly

and effectively and not to

presen t a ready - made

solution or to suggest a

specific remedy The drama of ideas dealt with the

- Problem of religion, of Youth,

and age, of labour and capital

and sex.

Arthur Wing Pinero (1855-1934)

Pinero was a pioneer in the

field of introducing realism and

satire in drama. His realism was

tempered by conventional melo-

dramatic intrusions, Mawkish

sentimentalism and footlightexpedients. Pinero's real genius

as a dramatist is unfolded in The

Profligate, The Second Mrs

Tanquerary, The Thunderbolt,

and The Notorious Mrs Ebb-

smith. These plays are serious

in tone and tragic in theme ; and represent life in realis-

tic colours. The Second Mrs. Tanquerary poses the

question of the social acceptance of the woman with a

'past'. The Money Spinner, The Magistrate, The School

Mistress Dandy Dick, The Princess and the Butterfly ,

The Weaker Sex are his other plays. He had an effectivesense of stage situation. Plays are well-written and his

characters are more life -like.

Henry Arthur Jones, John Galsworthy, Bernard

Shaw, Granville Barker are other famous writers of this

genre.

John Galsworthy (1867-1933)

Galsworthy is one of the great literary figures of the

century. He was a novelist, an essayist, a short story

writer, a critic and a dramatist. His major works are The

Silver Box, Strife, The Show, The Skin Game, The For-

est, The Joy, A Familyman, Justice, The Mob, A Bit ofLove, The Eldest

1009111284186401Twentieth Century Literature

Documents

Transcript of 1009111284186401Twentieth Century Literature