Western Literature of the 20th Century (Textbook for Full-Time College Courses)

Author: Nie Zhenzhao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-09-17
Features: Generally, Western literature of the 20th century refers to Western literature centered on Europe and America since 1900. However, whether in terms of time or content, 1900 is merely a narrow chronological boundary. Western literature has its own specific laws and internal logic of self-development, with temporal continuity, making it impossible to completely separate later literature from earlier literature with a single time frame. The 20th-century literature is a relative concept in time, and in reality, it also includes certain literary works from the late 19th century that continued into the 20th century. This century-spanning literature is primarily manifested in two aspects: century-spanning writers and century-spanning literary trends. In terms of century-spanning writers, they served as bridges connecting the Western literary tradition to 20th-century literature. In the second half of the 19th century, a group of young writers nurtured by the Western literary tradition entered the literary scene and began their literary creations. They made significant contributions to the development of Western literature. However, the late 19th century was only one phase of their entire literary career. Their works either continued into the early 20th century or entered their golden period in the early 20th century. These writers include, in the UK, John Galsworthy, Thomas Hardy, George Bernard Shaw, and W. B. Yeats; in France, Anatole France and Roman Rolland; in Germany, Gerhart Hauptmann; in Sweden, August Strindberg; in Belgium, Maurice Maeterlinck; and in the United States, Henry James, William Dean Howells, and Edith Wharton.