1. Modernism: The twentieth century was marked by the two World Wars, the direct result of the conflicts between rival imperialist countries and their ambition to dominate the world. Roughly speaking, the development of English literature in the twentieth century can be divided into two stages, that is
1. Historical background: (1) The Hundred Years War: The result of the war was an awakening of national consciousness in England. And the French language was gradually replaced by English native tongue. (2) The peasant uprising of 1381: It was the result of the conflict between the peasants and feudal lords
1. Historical background The Elizabeth Age (1558-1603): England enjoyed peaceful development under the rule of Queen Elizabeth I, who maintained a balance of between the Protestants and the Catholics
1. Historical background: The Constitutional monarchy set up by parliament in 1688 was a compromise between the bourgeoisie and the aristocrats. The cultural life had undergone remarkable changes. Newton’s scientific discovery and the philosophy of John Locke affected people’s thinking of the world
1. Historical background: The Victorian age can be roughly divided into three periods: (1) 1832-1848: a time of social unrest; (2) 1848-1870: a period of economic prosperity and religious controversy; (3) 1870-1901: a period of decay of Victorian values
