Letteratura Inglese III 16-10-20

The 20th century

At the beginning of the twenty century, the British empire was the biggest empire in the story of the world.
Britain’s colonization became in the late sixteen century with the discovery of America. The British empire
had to make Britain rich, indeed the British control all trade with this colonies. Conditions for the local
people in the colonies weren’t good. They had to work long and hard and they didn’t gain money. Local
people rarely participated in the political decisions of the country. For this reason there were often
rebellions in the colonies again the British and many people died in the oppressions. At the beginning of the
twenty century many British colonies demanded their political and economic independence. In India one
local leader Gandi became very famous for his peaceful protest against Britain. Gandi brought the attention
of the world to the pressure and injustice of the British occupation on India. By the late 1960s the majority
of the British territories were independent. It was the end on the British empire indeed Britain changed the
countries in its empire. Many people left Britain and went to live in the colonies. They took their religion,
language and social structures with them and English became a global language. But the empire also
changed Britain, many people from the colonies came to live in Britain. People from the colonies brought
food, languages and tradition with them, as a result, Britain is a multi-cultural society. Colonies weigh
opium in a government factory. Games developed in Britain such us: football, rugby, golf, tennis. British
colonies brought civilisation. The colonies built hospitals, prisons, schools. They also constructed roads.
Most British people thought that it was their duty to spread the culture and civilization around the world.
The other side of the coin was that the British empire was slavery. Native people were considered inferior
and had few rights. The British capt them under control and destroyed native culture. In his novel “Burmese
days” Orwell wrote “creeping round the world building prisons. They (British people) build a prison and call
it progress. “. At the end of the nineteen century we still have Victoria as a queen of the British empire and
we know that Victorian age was a period of celebration. British empire used to celebrate its richness. There
were: engineering, manufacturing, trade, empire, transport, communications, international patriotic,
confidence. There is the development of transportation: railways for example. People used to move not by
horse anymore but by train. But at the beginning of the century the death of the queen Victoria in 1901 and
the accession of Edward the seven inaugurated not only a new century but an extension of development.
The Edwardian age was only for nine years. And the modern period that followed was the reign of George
the fifth and it was a modern age and it was in contrast with the Victorian period. The elegance and
extravagance of aristocracy continued. At the death of Edward the seven in 1910 the British empire also
was dying. Even Edward the seven criticised the British presence in India. 1936-1952: reign of George 6.
1952: reign of Elizabeth 2. George the fifth lead his country throught the first world war. Many people died
during the world. The economic cost of the world also devastated Britain. Ireland collaborated with
Germany in the first world war.
House of Windsor: George 6, son of George 5 and mary the teck

Pt.2

The King’s speech

From a British film directed by Tom Crooper. The protagonist is George 6 th. As we watched the men become
friends and they worked together, and after his abdication at the throne, the other one makes his first
whole time Radio Broadcast about britains decorations of war in Germany in 1939.

The Real One

The King here had really difficulties in speaking in public.

The 20th Century and after

1936-1952 Reign of George VI, it is really important in English literature, because it was the period of
modernism, (from 1910-1945) modernism in literature is characterized by feeling of loss of any centrics.
Tabulating factory life a break with tradition and a reaction to establish society, religion and politics.
Modernism since you are kind are leaking free guiding instead individual are victims of circumstances in
which define themselves victims of environment much like animals, moreover God is detached from human
affair, a divine power may have set the world emotions but world now runs according to natural low
without divine intervention.
Writers such as : James Joyce, T.S.Eliot, Virginia Woolf experimented with new forms of literature and new
subjects matter which explored and picted modernism as it affected individual lives. Modern than knows
attempt to present the reality of the mind not of the external world. In fact in the article tense to reflect
what modernist writes felt was a lack of author and reason in word.(?)6:30)
Novelists such us: James Joyce and Virginia Woolf, use a steam of consciousness, a narrative style which
tend to reproduce the random thought patterns of the human mind, affected by externals timely and
mental associations. This ???? tends to ignore conventions of punctuation and mechanics much as they do
not figure in ones poets.
A poetry on the other hand IMAGISM, at nearly to centric movement And poetry,flavors clear and visual
pictures painted with concluded concise language.
Imagism, promotes the use of art, images spot but specific language and irregular meters. Imagism spots a
new interest in the 20th century: metaphysical poet and a metaphysical conceptions.
The 20th century drama reflects all the characteristics that parmiade in a time period. The alienating effects
of technology the loss of faith in traditional value, feeling of purposeness of lie endead dramatists often
attempted to shock and challenge audiences. Leading 20 th century dramatists include Nobel prize
winner(Harold Pinter, The DumbWaiter 1957) belong to the theatre of the absurd, it intents to show the
lack of mean in modern life, speaking confusing. Impossibility of communication and social inequities.

Contexts:
1939-45 World war 2, first atomic bombs dropped on Japan
1947: India and Pakistan become independent
1948: empire windrush brings West Indians to U.K.
1950: apartheid laws passed in South Africa

Texts:
1939: j.joyce, Finnegans Wake – W.B. Yeats, Last poems and two plays
Virginia Woolf
1940: w.h. Auden, another time
1943: T.s. Eliot, four quarters
1945: George Orwell , animal farm
1949: G.orwell, 1984
1957: Harold Pinter The dumb waiter

House of windors
Elizabeth II, her grand grand mother was Queen Victoria.
6-02-1952- present.
Daughter of George VI and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
68 years of reign
She is an iconic politician, a very strong queen and she is the longest-lived queen in history of Great Britain.
She is 94 and was born on the 21st April, 1927.
The Crown is a tv series on Netflix about Queen Elizabeth II. It was created and written by Peter Morgan.
The first season show the first period of reign and the marriage of the queen with the Duke of Edinburgh on
1947.
-The real one (video) : this is a real interview of queen Elizabeth about her coronation, her real life and in
2006, British population celebrated her 80 th birthday.
The queen’s family- now :
The queen is married to Prince Philip who is also known as the duke of Edinburgh. She has 4 children:
prince Charles (the most famous and husband of Lady Diana) , princess Anne, Prince Andrew and prince
Edward.
The queen lives in Buckingham Palace, but also in some castles in the U.K., such us: Windsor Castle in
Berkshire or Balmoral Castle in Scotland etc.

At the end of World Wars the British empire was replaced by the British commonwealth, countries that
have been British colonies in that period. Not anymore colonies but now dominions they were
independents.
In this period we can see different historical events such as:
-1961: Berlin Wall erected
-1982: Falklands War
-1991: Collapse of Soviet Union
-2001: September 11 attacks destroy World Trade Center

Literature was very important above all Postcolonial Literature because during this period the empire
comes back. We generally refers to literature written in English language by residents of British colonies.
The subject addresses the impression and exploitation of colonialists, they tent to establish a national
identity and look at the effects after the colonialism, there was a social and individual aspect postcolonial
writers.
Postcolonial writers were from every part of the empire: the Caribbean, India, Africa etc.
The Postcolonial literature is part of British literature because the country of origin formally belonged to
the British empire .
Does the literature belong to the nationality where produced it ?
We can say that when the term English literature is used to designate literature written in English language,
in England or by English citizens, for sure colonial literature belongs in English literature studies, but the
best word to call this type of literature is World English literature, that’s may be better because it
emphasizes the global view, many scholars consider an important characteristic apply achievement of this
literature.
Some writers traditionally consider British such us Irish writers: James Joyce and William Butler Yeats , both
born in Ireland, it was a part of U.K. but both abdicate of Irish independent.
Some authors: T. Stoppard, V.S. Naipaul, S. Heaney, D. Walcott, A. Roy, C.A. Duffy, Z. Smith, I. McEwan

Postmodernism
Dr. L. Kip Wheeler of Carson-Newman Collage, talks about it.
“While modernism mourned the passing of unified cultural tradition, and wept for its demise in the ruined
heap of civilization, so to speak, postmodernism tends to dance in the ruins and play with the fragments.”

Strong assertion of postmodernism, the term is high definible, Sanford description of postmodernism
negates the possibility of the definition by explaining that postmodernism push to an extreme the
modernist idea of life and thoughts of reality.
Only cultural constructs provide what is accepted as reality and truth. Postmodernism may be placed in the
years following the World War II to last decade of 20 th century and during the nineties and to the first year
of 21st century the scholars begun to talk about a Post-postmodernism era.
Modernism, postmodernism and post postmodernism, are labels and critics intent to describe from a
literally and social point of view, however postmodern literature exhibits as a modern literature
Modernism attempts to reproduce the way of human mind to work the stems of consciousness techniques
lead to postmodern mixing of points of view and elaborate things with chronology.
Concept of Reality in postmodernism Is really used, and we can consider this concept also in some ages of
Victorian period, where it was used like an art.