Namangan davlat universiteti ingliz filologiyasi fakulteti amaliy ingliz tili kafedrasi

LESSON 6 
MODERN LITERATURE OF GREAT BRITAIN 
Plan: 
1.
 
English drama experienced a renaissance in the 1950s and 1960s. 
2.
 
Subject matter and style of modern poetry and fiction. 
3.
 
English Literature Today. 
 
The fear of a German invasion and the aerial bombardments of heavily industrialized areas united 
the country and forged a spirit of comradeship among the British people. England’s most notable 
postwar achievement was the peaceful liquidation of its once vast empire. This imperial loss and 
domestic economic problems caused British statesmen to develop a new approach in world affairs. 
Seeking closer ties with Europe, England accepted an invitation to join the common Market.
Some of the poetry of the period, particularly, the work of Dylan Thomas, was marked by an 
extravagant, romantic rhetoric. The works of Ted Hughes were simpler in style, but his poetry 
powerfully evokes the world of nature, using a richly textured pattern of metaphor and mythic 
suggestiveness for its effects. 
English drama experienced a renaissance in the 1950s and 1960s. It was stimulated by the 
presence of large numbers of first-rate actors and directors and the works of playwrights like John 
Osborne, John Arden, Harold Pinter, Tom Stoppard, and Edward Bond. 
In the 20th century in English Literature appeared such young writers like Graham Greene, 
Charles Percy Snow, Norman Lewis, and James Aldridge, who created their works in the spirit of 
optimism. They are mature writers with anti-imperialist and anti-colonial point of view. In the 
fifties there appears a very interesting trend in literature the followers of which were called “The 
Angry Young Men”. The post-war changes had given a chance to a large number of young people 
from the more democratic layers of the society to receive higher education at universities. But on 
graduating, these students found they had no prospects in life. Unemployment had increased after 
the war. No one was interested to learn what their ideas on life and society were. They felt 
deceived and became angry. Works dealing with such characters, angry young men, who were 
angry with everything and everybody. Outstanding writers of this trend were John Wain, Kingsley 
Amis, John Brain, Colin Wilson and the dramatist John Osborne. It is important to note that they 
did not belong to a clearly defined movement. They criticized one another in press. But they had 
one thing in common - an attitude of unconformity to the established social order. Through their 
characters these writers were eager to express their anger with society.
Modern literature that began in the sixties saw a new type of criticism in the cultural life of 
Britain. This criticism was revealed in the “working-class novel”, as it was called. These novels 
deal with characters coming from the working class. The best-known writers of this trend are Sid 
Chaplin (1916-1986), the author of “The Last Day of the Sardine” (1961), and Allan Sillitoe, the 
author of the well-known novel “Key to the Door” (1963). 
A great deal of contemporary English fiction and drama is dedicated to the subject of man’s 
search for identity, and the stress is not so much on political or social issues as on moral problems. 
The problem of identity is closely linked with one of the most influential philosophical trends of the 
20th century - existentialism. According to it man must live and make his choice, must come to 
terms with his own existence and the true meaning of everything around him. The influence of 
existentialist ideas left a profound impression on the work of Iris Murdoch. 
Writers of earlier times shared with their readers a common value system and sense of what 
was significant in human life. This helped to determine their choice of subjects and themes as well 
as their methods of expression. In contrast, the modern age has witnessed the disintegration of a 
public background of belief, and it is their own personal visions of life and reality that modern 
writers express.
This personalized view of reality has resulted in significant changes in the subject matter 
and style of modern poetry and fiction. It has led to the creation of works concerned foremost with 

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the exploration of the moods, thoughts, and feelings of individuals - their inner life. One important 
con-sequence of it has been a departure from formally plotted narratives to stories that are virtually 
plotless. For example, stories such as Joyce’s “Araby” and “Eveline” and Woolf’s “The New 
Dress” contain little action, but build up epiphanies, or moments of intense personal revelation.