The United Kingdom is a country of eminence for it’s historic past, once a fortress of power and a governing body of world affairs. There was a great influence on the world by this country of the mid west during the 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly in socioeconomic, political and cultural developments.
The literature of UK still plays a vital role in the literary world, having a significant impact on early literature development of the world. Many prominent personalities of the literary world were either born or bred in the UK, with characters such as William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters, Thomas Hardy, D. H. Lawrence, William Blake and William Wordsworth contributing to the fineness of the literary world. Their areas of contribution include poetry, theater, drama and novel writing, in various fields of interest.
Theatre
The greatest contributor to the theatre world is none other than Sir William Shakespeare, the most popular poet and dramatist to date. His contributions have revolutionaized the literary world with masterpieces such as Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth and Merchant of Venice, causing a great awakening in society during his time. Starting with comedies and historic narratives, his work extends to tragedies, tragicomedies and romances. Shakespeare’s work is studied extensively even today, in high school and university curriculum, as well as in masters and doctorate studies.
Other English playwrights of prominence include Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, Alan Ayckbourn, Harold Pinter, Tom Stoppard, Michael Frayn, and David Edgar.
Poetry
English writers are world famed for their poetry writing, with work dating to the middle of the 7th century.
Renowned poets of the English Renaissance include Thomas Wyatt and John Skelton, while more recent day poets include William Blake, William Wordsworth, John Betjeman, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Robert Burns, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lord Byron, and John Keats.
Novels
UK easily surpasses many other literate societies in the number of world famous authors the country has produced. This Midwest country has contributed immensely to the advancement of world literature, with authors found throughout all renaissances in history. Best periods of development for the English Novel were the Romantic and Gothic periods, where the origin of the English Novel occurred in the Romantic period.
Some of the most famed English novelists’ throughout time are:
Jane Austen– writer of Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility
Charles Dickens– his masterpieces include David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol
George Eliot - wrote The Mill on the Floss and Middlemarch
Charlotte Emily and Anne Brontë – authors of Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and Agnes Grey
H. Rider Haggard - King Solomon's Mines
D. H. Lawrence - Lady Chatterley's Lover
P. G. Wodehouse – Creator of the famous character Jeeves
Virginia Woolf – wrote Flowers in the Attic, To the Lighthouse, Orlando: A Biography
C. S. Lewis – Fantasy story writer (The Chronicles of Narnia)
Daphne du Maurier – Jamaica Inn and Rebecca
Salman Rushdie - author of Midnight's Children and The Satanic Verses
J. K. Rowling – wrote the world famous Harry Potter Series
Scotland and Wales
Several world renowned literates come from Scotland and Wales too, with authors such as Arthur Conan Doyle - popular for his detective writing, Sir Walter Scott - causing a new era in romantic literature, Robert Louis Stevenson’s adventure novels bringing world renowned fame to the country, as well as poetry by Robert Burns. Edinburgh of Scotland was also named the primary worldwide city of literature by UNESCO, where the world's largest Book festival is hosted annually.
Wales is popular in the literate world for its early composition, the Mabinogion, a collection of prose of medieval Welsh writings. Welsh literature is considered one of the oldest forms of literature in Europe, dating as far as the 6th century. Modern day writers of importance from Wales include the famous poets R.S. Thomas and Dylan Thomas, who has brought the Welsh society to an international audience.
Other Language Literature
Other language literature from the UK too play a major role in the literate culture, with work by Welsh, Scottish, Irish, Latin, Cornish and Celtic writers adding fame to the country’s literature pool. Celtic writings of early UK are one of the oldest colloquial cultures of the European world.
The impact on world literature by this country of renaissance is obvious in the many contributions made by renowned authors of historic fame, taking the literate society into a whole new plethora of awakening! |
