Warm Up – December 6, 2010Write down four key elements from Romanticism and four key elements from Modernism that you remember (either from your notes or your memory)

Daily ObjectiveToday I will explain the relationship between the essential concepts of Romanticism, Modernism and Contemporary fiction by writing a paragraph that identifies and explains these essential concepts

1950 -Present

Contemporary British Literature at a Glance

Politics and Changing WorldLess class division in Great Britain

the Monarchy, and Royal Family, mostly just a symbolic power now.

In literature, we rarely see the “Noble” and aristocratic heroes of Old English (Beowulf), Middle English (Sir Gawain), and Renaissance/Elizabethan (Macbeth), etc.

Politics and Changing WorldAfter World War II, US becomes most

powerful nation in the world, heavily influencing Great Britain and other countries.

Also, entering the “Cold War” era after WWII, we see paranoia come out in some literature in the form of “the absurdist movement.” This is different than the “apocalyptic” view of the Moderns, in which artists still searched for meaning in the face of the “end times.” The absurdist, on the other hand, does away with meaning altogether.

Politics and Changing WorldThe “Irish Catholic Problem”

Conflict between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland (remember Swift’s “ A Modest Proposal).”

By the 1970’s, the Irish Catholic minority of Northern Ireland demanded more civil rights. The “extremist” group, the Irish Republic Army (IRA) formed and put up military resistance to the British backed Protestants. Many bloody confrontations, often with civilian casualties, ensued.

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

Literary MovementsExample of a “Movement” poem “Digging” by Seamus Heaney excerpt (1939-

Present) Between my finger and my thumb

The squat pen rests; as snug as a gun.

Under my window a clean rasping soundWhen the spade sinks into gravelly ground:My father, digging. I look down

Till his straining rump among the flowerbedsBends low, comes up twenty years awayStooping in rhythm through potato drillsWhere he was digging.

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

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

Literary MovementsMulticulturalism With the disbanding of many British Colonies (Ghana,

India, Nigeria, etc). We see more ethnic voices coming out in British literature

With the Women’s Rights movement, we get more writers expressing views that move away from patriarchal concerns

With the disintegration of class distinction and the rule of Monarchy, we get more “working class” voices expressed in British literature

In short, the snobbish, upper-class/aristocratic perspective gives way to a more multifaceted and realistic voice

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

Point of ViewThird person omniscient point of

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

AssignmentWrite a paragraph comparing/contrasting the key elements of Romanticism, Modernism and Contemporary fiction.