The Early 20th century English Literature 2 страница
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Herbert George Wells is often called the great English writer who looked into the future.
He was bom in the small town of Bromley into a middle-class family. He was the second son in a family of three boys. His father was a shopkeeper and at the same time he was a professional player of the national English game — cricket. His mother was a housekeeper in a large country house.
Wells combined his studies at Mid-
hurst Grammar School by working as
a draper's then a chemist's apprentice. Herbert Geor9e Wells
By means of a scholarship he had won he was able to study at the Royal College of Science in London.
In 1886 he took his B. Sc. (Bachelor of Science) degree with honours at London University. Then he took to teaching mostly as a private schoolmaster in biology. In 1893 he turned to journalism and literature.
Scores of novels, histories, philosophical books and scientific works followed. The end of the century made him famous as a writer.
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The First World War brought a crisis in the outlook of the great writer. At the beginning he believed that the war would teach all nations to live in peace and that the peoples of the world would want to build up a new society. He expressed his ideas in a series of articles. They were later collected in the book called The War That Will End War (1914). But the book was not popular.
The October Socialist Revolution of 1917 shook Wells. He was greatly interested in the events going on in Russia. In 1920 he visited the Soviet Union. On his return to England he published his book Russia in the Shadows where he described the Soviet country ruined by the Civil War and foreign intervention.
During the Second World War Wells wrote against fascism. He lived to be nearly 80 years old. He died on the 13th of August, 1946.
Herbert Wells devoted more than fifty years of his life to literary work. He was the author of more than forty novels and many short stories, articles and social tracts. His novels are of three types: science fiction, realistic novels on contemporary problems and social tracts in the form of novels.
Wells belonged to the world of science. Science played an important part in his best works, but the principal theme, even in these works is not science but the social problems of the day. His creative work is divided into two periods. The first period begins in 1895 and lasts up to the outbreak of the Word War I. His famous works are: The Time Machine (1895), The Invisible Man (1897), The War of the Worlds (1897), The First Men in the Moon (1901) and others.
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The second period comprises works written from 1914 up to the end of World War II. His most important works are: The War That Will End War (1914), Russia in the Shadows (1920), The World of William Clissold (1926), MrBlettsworthy onRampoleIsland (1928), Experiment in Autobiography (1934) and many others.
Being greatly influenced by the outstanding achievements of the famous scientists of his day as Faraday, Darwin, Wells begins to explore in his works the new world opened up by modern science.
His books show not only the ability to make science the matter of a story, but a rare gift of scientific imagination. Wells's science-fiction novels are always built on a scientific basis. All of them are based on real scientific discoveries. The discovery of x-rays prompted Wells
to write The Invisible Man. Wells tried Ms best to make his fantasies convincing. For this reason he would give accurate description of non-existing machines, cite fictitious newspaper articles and scientific reports.
Some of his works show his scientific foresight. For instance in the novel The War in the Air (1908) Wells describes war planes which were first used during World War I. In the novel When the Sleeper Wakes (1899) Wells writes about A-bombs and their radio-active effect 30 years before their invention. These predictions show the author's imagination and profound scientific knowledge. The main trait of Wells's creative works is his concern for the fate of mankind.
The originality of Wells's science-fiction novels lies in their social problems.
Thus in 77ie Time Machine (1895) the theme of an unusual scientific invention — a machine capable of travelling through time — is connected with the theme of class struggle, class antagonism leading to the degeneration of mankind. The author describes a fantastic machine made of nickel, ivory and crystal and with great artistic mastery depicts the flight through time when days and nights seem like the flapping of a black wing and the sun and the moon become streaks of fire in the sky. However, it is not the main theme in the story. The principal idea of the book is the contrast of the two degenerated races — the Eloi and the Morlocks into which mankind has been divided. Having reached the year 802701, the Time Traveller meets the Eloi — beautiful and graceful, but quite helpless creatures who live in old buildings. They are the descendants of the ruling classes, the product of luxurious life and aversion for work. The other race, the horrible and pale Morlocks are the descendants of workers who had lived in the dark underground factories many years before. They continue working for the Eloi, they provide them with clothes and food, but hunt the Eloi at night and feed on their meat.
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The more remote future visited by the Time Traveller is even worse. He sees a desert land of monster crabs creeping out of the sea.
In The Time Machine one can feel Wells's pessimism. The writer does not see any ways of saving mankind from war and moral degradation. Wells thought the working class was too
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| despite [dis'pait] prep несмотря на draper ['dreipa] n торговец мануфактурными товарами fictitious [fik'tifas] а выдуманный flap [fla;p] v махать foresight ['fo:sait] n предвидение graceful ['greisful] о изящный ignorant ['ignarent] а невежественный |
ignorant to fight for its happiness. This idea gave birth to the horrible figures of the Morlocks. Despite his pessimism Wells hoped that mankind would be able to escape degeneration and build life on more rational basis. The dreadful scenes depicted by the author serve as a warning to mankind.
The Invisible Man deals with another theme — the loneliness of the scientists in the bourgeois world and the danger of science in the hands of individualists.
The action is set in a small town in the south of England. The talented physicist Griffin who becomes invisible having discovered the secret of the colouring of tissue perishes. He turns into a savage and commits horrible crimes. A great scientist becomes a dangerous maniac and murderer.
Thus, Wells showed how tragic the achievements in science could be if they were used with destructive intentions.
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He saw very clearly the contradictions that surrounded him but he did not see the way out.
Wells's contribution to literature becomes quite clear when we view him as a scientist. He is not a pure scientist, who works for the experiment only. He is much more interested in the fate of humanity than in science as such.
Wells's aim was to show* today through what might happen tomorrow. Man should realize that the future depends on what he is doing today.
One must admire his courage and his faith in written word. "We are going to write about the whole of life", he announced, and so he did.
Vocabulary
bachelor ['bagtfata] n бакалавр cite [salt] v ссылаться; цитировать comprise [ksm'praiz] v охватывать concern [k9n's3:n] n тревога creep [kri:p] v (crept) ползать crystal [knstl] n хрусталь degeneration [di^djens'reijan] n вырождение
| remote [n'msut] о отдаленный savage ['ssvicb;] n жестокий человек score [ska:] n pi много streak [stri:k] л полоска tissue ['tisju:] n ткань tract [trsekt] n трактат, памфлет x-ray ['eks'rei] n рентгеновский снимок |
ivory ['aivan] n слоновая кость luxurious [kg'zjuangs] а роскошный originality [э,пазГп8е1Ш] п оригинальность outbreak ['autbreik] n начало outlook ['autluk] л взгляд на жизнь prediction [pn'dikjbn] n предсказание
Questions and Tasks
1. Relate the main facts of Wells's life.
2. Name Wells's different kinds of literary works.
3. What are the three types of his novels?
4. What themes did Wells touch upon in his works?
5. Name the two periods of his creative activity.
6. What is the peculiarity of Wells's science fiction?
7. Give a brief summary of the contents of The Time Machine.
8. Comment on the novel The Invisible Man.
9. What is the contribution of Wells to world literature?
10. Why is Herbert George Wells called the great English writer who looked
into the future?
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John Galsworthy (1867-1933)
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Among the English authors of the close of the last century and the beginning of the 20th century John Galsworthy f go:lzw3:6i] is one of the outstanding representatives.
He was a novelist, dramatist, short-story writer and essayist. He created brilliant realistic pictures of life and typical characters.
| John Galsworthy |
John Galsworthy was born in a well-to-do family in Surrey1. His father was a rich lawyer, and he wanted his son to follow the career. John Galsworthy got his first edu-
Surrey ['sAn] — графство Суррей (Англия)
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cation at home. At age of fourteen he was sent to Harrow School, a very old and famous public school for boys. At Harrow Galsworthy distinguished himself as an excellent student. After Harrow he studied at Oxford; but he did not find his studies in law exciting.
He received an honours degree in law in 1889 and was admitted to the Bar1. But very soon he gave up law for literature and went travelling all over the world.
In 1891 Galsworthy came to the Crimea. His stay in Russia produced a deep impression on him and awakened his interest in the country, its people and literature.
In 1899 Galsworthy published his first novel Jocelyn and then Villa Rubein (1900) appeared under the pseudonym John Sinjohn. Afterwards, at frequent intervals he wrote plays, novels and essays.
His first notable work was The Island of Pharisees [ faensi:z] (1904) (Pharisees were people of the ancient Hebrew sect distinguished for their strict observance of religious laws under which they pretended to be superior to other people). Galsworthy gave this name to the English privileged classes. This word is used speaking about self-righteous hypocritical persons. In the five works entitled The Country House (1907), Fraternity (1909), The Patrician [рэ 'tnfan] (1911), The Dark Flower (1913) and The Freelands (1915) Galsworthy criticizes country squires, the»aristocracy and artists and shows his deep sympathy for strong passions, sincerity, true love.
However he gained popularity only after the publication of The Man of Property— the first part of The Forsyte Saga. It consists of three novels and two interludes, as the author calls them:
The Man of Property (1906);
In Chancery (1920);
To Let (1921);
Awakening (interlude) ;
Indian Summer of a Forsyte (interlude).
The Forsyte Saga is followed by A Modern Comedy, also a trilogy, consisting of three novels and two interludes:
The White Monkey (1924);
The Silver Spoon (1926);
' the Ваг — коллегия адвокатов (Англия)
The Swan Song (1928);
A Silent Wooing (interlude);
Passers-by (interlude).
The trilogy called End of the Chapter, written at a later period, consists of three novels:
Maid in Waiting (1931);
Flowering Wilderness (1932);
Over the River (1933).
The Forsyte Saga is a great panorama of English life, covering nearly fifty years. It is a family chronicle. Galsworthy presents the story of the Forsyte family. His most interesting character is "the man of property", Soames Forsyte, the typical bourgeois to whom everything is a matter of proprietorship not only money, and houses, and position, but also works of art, and human hearts and feelings.
The second trilogy is dedicated to the younger generation of the Forsytes. They are depicted against the background of post-war England. The action is centred round Soames' daughter Fleur.
In the End of the Chapter, written after World War I, Galsworthy's criticism becomes less sharp. The old generation of the Forsytes does not seem so bad to the author, compared to the new one. During his progress through six novels and four interludes Soames Forsyte becomes almost a positive character, in spite of the author's critical attitude forwards him at the beginning of the Saga.
It took Galsworthy 22 years to accomplish this monumental work. For The Forsyte Saga John Galsworthy was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1932.
Galsworthy was also a great playwright of his time. From 1909 he produced in turn plays and novels. His plays deal with the burning problems of contemporary life. The author describes the hard life of the workers in Strife (1909), attacks the cruel regime in English prisons injustice (1910), expresses his indignation towards wars The Mob (1914), rejects the colonial policy of England "The Forest". Galsworthy's plays were very popular, yet it is not his dramatic works, but his novels and The Forsyte Saga in particular, that made him one of the greatest figures in world literature.
Galsworthy is not only a novelist and a dramatist, but also a short-story writer and an essayist. His short stories give a most complete
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| interlude ['mtakr.d] n интерлюдия nevertheless [^nevads'les] conj несмотря на observance [9b'z3:vsns] n соблюдение owing to ['suirjtu:] prep благодаря propertied ['propatid] о имущий proprietorship [pra'praitsjip] n собственность regime [геГзшп] п режим sect [sekt] n секта self-righteous ['self'raitfss] а самодовольный sincerity [sm'senti] n искренность strict [stnkt] а строгий swear [swea] v молиться |
and critical picture of English bourgeois society in the first part of the 20th century. It is in his short stories that Galsworthy touches upon the most vital problems of the day — he condemns the war, exposes the propertied classes that bring suffering and unemployment to the people, showing his sympathy for the so-called "little man".
Galsworthy's mastery lies in his realistic depiction of life and characters and exciting plots. Though Galsworthy's criticism is not so sharp as that of Dickens and Thackeray, he is justly considered to be one of the greatest realists of his time.
A bourgeois himself, Galsworthy nevertheless clearly sees the decline of his class and truthfully portrays this in his works.
Galsworthy gave a comprehensive and vivid picture of contemporary England.
His art was greatly influenced by Russian and French literature. Turgenev and Maupassant [ 'тэирэ 'sa] were the first writers who gave him "real aesthetic excitement".
"The men we swear by", he used to say, "are Tolstoy, Turgenev, Chekhov, Maupassant, Flaubert [fbu 'Ьеэ], Anatole France".
"Turgenev is the man of all others I should like to have known", wrote Galsworthy to a friend in 1920. Galsworthy was affected by Turgenev's lyrical manner of representation of characters and description of nature. ■»
Vocabulary
accomplish [э'котрЩ] v завершать admit [ad'mit] v принять affect [s'fekt] v влиять chronicle ['kronikl] n хроника comprehensive Lkomprfhensrv] о полный condemn [kan'dem] v осуждать decline [di'klam] n упадок distinguish oneself [dis'tirjwif] v отличаться essayist feseiist] n эссеист, автор эссе frequent ffrxkwant] о частный Hebrew ['hibru:] а древнееврейский hypocritical {,hips'kntiksl] о лицемерный indignation Lmdig'neijbn] n негодование
The Man of Property
At the beginning of the novel we see the Forsyte family in full plumage. All the Forsytes gather at the house of old Jolyon to celebrate the engagement of Miss June Forsyte, old Jolyon's granddaughter, to Mr Philip Bossiney. Old Jolyon is the head of the family. Eighty years of age with his white hair, his domelike forehead and an immense white moustache, he holds himself very straight and seems master of perennial youth. He and his five brothers and four sisters represent the first generation of the Forsytes. All of them are rich businessmen, heads of various firms and companies. With distrust and uneasiness they watch June's fiance — a young architect without any fortune. In their opinion Jolyon ought never to have allowed the engagement. Bosinney seems to be an impractical fellow with no sense of property, while the Forsytes consider property to be a sacred thing, an object of worship and respect.
The most typical Man of Property is Soames Forsyte, a representative of the second generation of the Forsytes. Soames' sacred sense of property even extends to works of art, human feelings and family relations.
Having married Irene [ai' ri:ru], a woman who never loved him, Soames treats her as though she were his property. Wishing to get his beautiful wife out of London, away from opportunities of meeting people, Soames decides to build a house in the country. He asks Bosinney to design the house, because he thinks that Bosinney will be easy to deal with in money matters.
Irene falls in love with the young architect and Soames, driven by jealousy, brings a suit against Bosinney for having exceeded the sum of money which had been fixed for the construction of the house. On the day of the trial Bosinney meets with a tragic death. Being passionately in love with Irene and depressed by his hopeless state of affairs, he wanders aimlessly in the foggy streets of London and is run over by an omnibus.
Irene leaves Soames. But she is forced to return to him though not for a long. The new house remains empty and deserted.
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The Man of Property represents a typical bourgeois who is the slave of property, which is to him not only money, houses and land, but also his wife, the works of art and the talent of artists whose works he buys.
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