British literature

British
literature
“Literature is a luxury; fiction is a necessity.” ― G.K. Chesterton
MARIA ZAVRAZHNOVA, DARYA SIMONOVA, ALEXANDRA VECHERSKAYA
FJFI ČVUT, 2015
Old English literature
 Medieval literature
 Renaissance and Reformation
 The English Revolution and Restoration
 18th century literature
 Romantic literature
 Victorian novels
 20-century literature
 21-century literature

Old English literature (c.658-1066)

Literature written in Anglo-Saxon

Epic poetry

Hagiography

Sermons

Bibles translations

400 survived manuscripts Cædmon's hymn

Beowulf
Cædmon's hymn
Medieval literature

Geoffrey Chauser (1340-1400)

the father of Old English literature

Canterbury Tales records the imagined conversations of pilgrims
Renaissance and Reformation

prosperity

successful sea voyages

cultural activities

The Reformation of the Church in England from Catholic to
Protestant

William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
The English Revolution
and Restoration

The Civil War between the King's army and Oliver Cromwell's
Parliamentary forces

Restoring the monarchy

John Milton (1608 - 1674)
18th century literature

the time of the
Enlightenment

the "Age of Reason“

Jonathan Swift (1667 1745)

Daniel Defoe (1660 - 1731)

Henry Fielding (1707 –
1754)
Jonathan Swift
Daniel Defoe
Henry Fielding
Romantic literature (1798-1837)

sentiments

Traditions

exotic settings

George Gordon, Lord Byron(1788 – 1824)

Sir Walter Scott (1771 – 1832)

Mary Shelley (1797 - 1851)
Lord Byron
Sir Walter Scott
Mary Shelley
Victorian novels (1837–1901)

During the Victorian Age (Queen Victoria ruled from 1837 − 1901)

Charlotte Brontë (1816 - 1855) and Emily Brontë (1818 − 1848)

Charles Dickens (1812 - 1870)

Thomas Hardy (1840 – 1928)
Charles Dickens
Brontë
Thomas Hardy
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865)
 Its narrative course and structure, characters
and imagery have been enormously influential
in both popular culture and literature,
especially in the fantasy genre.
Bram Stocker (1847-1912)

Stoker was Irish.

Had a lifelong interest in art, and was a
founder of the Dublin Sketching Club in 1874.

In 1878 Stoker married actress Florence
Balcombe, they settled in London and
together had a son.

Dracula was inspired by an essay by Emily
Gerard, “Transylvania Superstitions.”
Bram Stocker’s Dracula (1897)

The original title for the novel was ‘The
Dead Un-Dead’.

While writing, Stoker was influenced by
European culture and adventure stories.

In Romanian, Dracula is translated to
‘dragon’ and ‘devil’.

There has been an estimated 217 Dracula
film roles. Actor Christopher Lee has been in
11 Dracula roles.

DC Comics published Batman & Dracula:
Red Rain in 2003.
Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930)

Doyle was one of the earliest motorists in Britain.

He wasn't knighted for his fiction.

Doyle was on the same cricket team as Peter Pan
writer JM Barrie.

He could have discussed Dracula and Treasure
Island with their authors.

He helped to popularise skiing.

Doyle ran for parliament.

He believed in fairies.

He was too fat to fight.

Doyle died holding a flower.
Sherlock Holmes (1887-1927)

Sherlock Holmes was
originally going to be called
Sherrinford.

Sherlock Holmes didn’t make
deductions.

Holmes never says
‘Elementary, my dear
Watson’.

Sherlock Holmes is almost the
most-filmed fictional
character.
The Jungle Book (1894) by J.R.Kipling





Born on December 30, 1865, in Bombay, India
The Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907
Critics recognize the power of his work
the reputation as a children's writer
The Jungle Book
20-century literature
Modernism and cultural revivals
(1901-1945)
 First World War
 Second World War
First World War

War poets:

Wilfred Owen

Rupert Brooke

Isaac Rosenberg

Free verse:T. S. Eliot

the Auden Group

Scottish Gaelic Renaissance: Sorley MacLean, Iain Crichton Smith
Second World War

Keith Douglas

Alun Lewis

Caradog Prichard

Martian poetry: Craig Raine and Christopher Reid

The Mersey Beat poets: Adrian Henri, Brian Patten and Roger
McGough
P.L. Travers (1899–1996)

Notoriously private and prickly (1934)

“Mary Poppins”
Saving Mr.Banks (2013)
Author P.L. Travers reflects on her childhood after reluctantly meeting with
Walt Disney, who seeks to adapt her Mary Poppins books for the big screen
Late modernism (1946-2000)
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892- 1973)

He wasn’t born in England.

The Silmarillion.

Tolkien spoke at least 20
languages.

He served as an officer in the
Battle of the Somme.

Tolkien’s Beowulf.

Lewis and Tolkien.
The Lord of the Rings (between 1937 and 1949)

The Lord of The Rings wasn’t meant
to be a trilogy.

The Hobbit and The Lord of the
Rings are fantasy. They're also
history and biography.

Tolkien’s love of language
extended so far that he decided
he would make some of his own.
C.S.Lewis (1898-1963)

Novelist, poet, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay
theologian, broadcaster, lecturer, and Christian apologist

Together with his friend J.R.R. Tolkien made a literature club “The
Linklings”

pro-Christian texts
mythical creatures
and talking animals
Biblical themes
The Chronicles of Narnia (1949-1954)
21-century literature
The 2000s saw a steep increase in the acceptability of literature
of all types, inspired by the coming-of-age of millions of people
who enjoyed the works of writers such as C. S. Lewis and J. R. R.
Tolkien in their youths.
Neil Gaiman
 was born on November
10, 1960 in Portchester,
England
 wrote his first book in 1984
 writes comic books
 once wrote a Nebulawinning story using only
the middle row of his
keyboard
J.K. Rowling

HARRY POTTER series (1997-2007)
Rowling went from being unemployed and living on state benefits to
becoming a multi-millionaire in five years!






Show the transition from childhood to adulthood
What are the consequences of our actions
True values such us love and friendship,
independence and knowledge,
virtue and honesty,
courage and confidence
Problems with bulling, jealousy and lack of understanding from the others
 Teach how to overcome the difficulties
 Resist the bad influence
 How it is important to make the right choice
Cressida Cowell (born 15 April 1966)












How To Train Your Dragon, 2003
How To Be A Pirate, 2004
How To Speak Dragonese, 2005
How To Cheat A Dragon's Curse, 2006
How To Twist A Dragon's Tale, 2007
A Hero's Guide To Deadly Dragons, 2008
How To Ride A Dragon's Storm, 2008
How To Break A Dragon's Heart, 2009
How To Steal A Dragon's Sword, 2011
How To Seize A Dragon's Jewel, 2012
How To Betray A Dragon's Hero, 2013
How to Fight a Dragon's Fury, September 2015
http://www.howtotrainyourdragonbooks.com/
1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
80. Double Act, Jacqueline
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
53. The Stand, Stephen King
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce Wilson
Top 100
books
from BBC
References

http://www.bridge-online.cz/aitom/upload/maturita/temata/06_british_literature_timeline.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_literature#20th_century

http://www.universalteacher.org.uk/lit/history.htm

http://refdb.ru/look/1365664.html

http://www.biography.com/people/cs-lewis-9380969#the-chronicles-of-narnia

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2140373/

http://www.biography.com/people/pl-travers-21358293#personal-life

http://www.telegraph.co.uk%2Fculture%2Ftvandradio%2F10561577%2FArthur-Conan-Doyle-19-things-you-didnt-know.html

http://pozneronline.ru/2015/01/10042/

http://www.academia.edu/1213804/Old_English_Literature

http://www.christianpost.com/buzzvine/c-s-lewis-5-little-known-facts-about-author-of-narnia-mere-christianity-and-the-screwtape-letters-109333/

http://mentalfloss.com/article/59736/10-things-you-might-not-know-about-jrr-tolkien

http://listverse.com/2014/12/24/10-fascinating-facts-about-j-r-r-tolkien/

http://www.blastr.com/2014-1-2/8-fun-facts-about-jrr-tolkien-his-122-birthday

http://www.killadj.com/blog/2014/09/09/15-interesting-facts-j-r-r-tolkien/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10561577/Arthur-Conan-Doyle-19-things-you-didnt-know.html

http://www.cbc.ca/books/2014/05/5-interesting-facts-about-sir-arthur-conan-doyle.html

https://courttheatre.org.nz/10-unusual-facts-about-sir-arthur-conan-doyle

http://interestingliterature.com/2013/05/22/ten-facts-about-sherlock-holmes/

http://www.quora.com/What-are-some-unknown-interesting-facts-about-Harry-Potter-that-can-be-inferred-from-Rowlings-writing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cressida_Cowell

http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100_2.shtml
Quiz
1. What language did writers from the Old English period use?
a)
Latin
b)
English
c)
French
d)
Anglo-Saxon
2. Who did write “Beowulf”?
a)
John Milton
b)
William Shakespeare
c)
Joan Rowling
d)
Anonym Anonymous
3. What was the first title of Bram Stoker’s Dracula?
a)
Twilight
b)
The Dead Un-Dead
c)
The Vampire’s diaries
d)
The Dead is Dead
4. What Gandalf phrase has become popular?
a)
You shall not eat
b)
You shall not sleep
c)
You shall not pass
d)
You shall not play Dota 2
5. What had been J.K. Rowling’s occupation before she became
famous writer?
a)
Appeared in Rowling's Kitchen Nightmares aired on Channel 4
(later in a US version of Hell's Kitchen)
b)
Teacher at high-school
c)
Hosted TV show Pimp my Ride
d)
She was unemployed