British literature

British literature is literature from the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. The largest part of this literature is written in the English language, but there are also separate literatures in the Welsh language, Scottish Gaelic, Scots and other languages. Northern Ireland is the only part of Ireland still part of the United Kingdom and it possesses literature in English, Ulster Scots and Irish. Irish writers have also played an important part in the development of English-language literature.

19th century English language literature

The Romantics

Major political and social changes at the end of the eighteenth century, particularly the French Revolution, prompted a new breed of writing now known as Romanticism. William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge began the trend for bringing emotionalism and introspection to English literature, with a new concentration on the individual and the common man. The reaction to urbanism and industrialisation prompted poets to explore nature, for example the Lake Poets.

Related Topics:
French Revolution - Romanticism - William Wordsworth - Samuel Taylor Coleridge - Lake Poets

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The major "Second generation" Romantic Poets were Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley and John Keats. They flouted social convention and often used poetry as a political voice.

Related Topics:
Lord Byron - Percy Bysshe Shelley - John Keats

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The 19th century novel

At the same time Jane Austen was writing highly polished novels about the life of the landed gentry, seen from a woman's point of view, and wryly focused on practical social issues, especially marriage and money.

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Charles Dickens emerged on the literary scene in the 1830s, confirming the trend for serial publication. Dickens wrote vividly about London life and the struggles of the poor, but in a good-humoured fashion which was acceptable to readers of all classes. His early works such as the Pickwick Papers are masterpieces of comedy. Later his works became darker, without losing his genius for caricature.

Related Topics:
Charles Dickens - Serial publication - London - Pickwick Papers

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It was in the Victorian era (1837-1901) that the novel became the leading form of literature in English. Most writers were now more concerned to meet the tastes of a large middle class reading public than to please aristocratic patrons. The best known works of the era include the emotionally powerful works of the Brontë sisters; the satire Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackery; the realist novels of George Eliot; and Anthony Trollope's insightful portrayals of the lives of the landowning and professional classes.

Related Topics:
Brontë - Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackery - George Eliot - Anthony Trollope

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An interest in rural matters and the changing social and economic situation of the countryside may be seen in the novels of Thomas Hardy and others.

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Literature for children was published during the Victorian period, some of which has become globally well-known, such as the work of Lewis Carroll.

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Victorian poets

Leading poetic figures of the Victorian era included Alfred Tennyson, Robert Browning (and his wife, Elizabeth Barrett Browning), and Matthew Arnold, whilst multi-disciplinary talents such as John Ruskin and Dante Gabriel Rossetti were also famous for their poetry.

Related Topics:
Alfred Tennyson - Robert Browning - Elizabeth Barrett Browning - Matthew Arnold - John Ruskin - Dante Gabriel Rossetti

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In the 19th century, the Irish playwright Dion Boucicault was an extremely popular writer of comedies. However, it was in the last decade of the century that the Irish theatre finally came of age with the emergence of George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde. All of these writers lived mainly in England and wrote in English.

Related Topics:
Dion Boucicault - George Bernard Shaw - Oscar Wilde

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The Celtic Revival (c. 1890), also known as the Irish Literary Revival, was begun by William Butler Yeats, Lady Gregory, John M. Synge, Sean O'Casey, James Joyce and others. The Revival stimulated new appreciation of traditional Irish literature. The movement also encouraged the creation of works written in the spirit of Irish culture, as distinct from English culture.

Related Topics:
Celtic Revival - William Butler Yeats - Lady Gregory - John M. Synge - Sean O'Casey - James Joyce

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Nonsense verse, such as by Edward Lear, taken with the work of Lewis Carroll, is regarded as a precursor of surrealism.

Related Topics:
Nonsense verse - Edward Lear - Surrealism

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Anglo-Welsh literature is a term used to describe works written in the English language by Welsh writers, especially if they either have subject matter relating to Wales or (as in the case of Anglo-Welsh poetry in particular) are influenced by the Welsh language in terms of patterns of usage or syntax. It has been recognised as a distinctive entity only since the 20th century. The need for a separate identity for this kind of writing arose because of the parallel development of modern Welsh literature, ie. literature in the Welsh language.

Related Topics:
Anglo-Welsh literature - Anglo-Welsh poetry

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