British Literature - pip pip cheerio

[Scarlett Johansson]

Anyone read British literature? I took a class in it.

Tbh my favorite British writer is the late Angela Carter, and it's a travesty that she is not well known in America. Hacks like Gregory McGuire are stealing her ideas.

 

[The Shadow]

I mean British literature is a pretty broad brush that encapsulates everything from Beowulf to Shakespeare to Discworld. I really like Gothic Fiction which is predominately a subgenre of British literature.

 

[HumptyDumpty]

Lord Byron is absolutely my favourite writer. Guy had an insane life and was incredibly talented. His closest friend was his dog, Boatswain, for whom he built a large tomb with this poem.

Spoiler: Epitaph to a Dog by Lord Byron, with introductory eulogy by John Hobhouse

Near this Spot
are deposited the Remains of one
who possessed Beauty without Vanity,
Strength without Insolence,
Courage without Ferosity,
and all the virtues of Man without his Vices.
This praise, which would be unmeaning Flattery
if inscribed over human Ashes,
is but a just tribute to the Memory of
Boatswain, a Dog
who was born in Newfoundland May 1803
and died at Newstead November 18th 1808.

When some proud Son of Man returns to Earth,
Unknown to Glory but upheld by Birth,
The sculptor's art exhausts the pomp of woe,
And storied urns record who rests below.
When all is done, upon the Tomb is seen
Not what he was, but what he should have been.
But the poor Dog, in life the firmest friend,
The first to welcome, foremost to defend,
Whose honest heart is still his Masters own,
Who labours, fights, lives, breathes for him alone,
Unhonour'd falls, unnotic'd all his worth,
Deny'd in heaven the Soul he held on earth.
While man, vain insect! hopes to be forgiven,
And claims himself a sole exclusive heaven.
Oh man! thou feeble tenant of an hour,
Debas'd by slavery, or corrupt by power,
Who knows thee well, must quit thee with disgust,
Degraded mass of animated dust!
Thy love is lust, thy friendship all a cheat,
Thy tongue hypocrisy, thy words deceit,
By nature vile, ennobled but by name,
Each kindred brute might bid thee blush for shame.
Ye! who behold perchance this simple urn,
Pass on, it honours none you wish to mourn.
To mark a friend's remains these stones arise,
I never knew but one — and here he lies.​

 

[IceGray]

I love the naval adventure and survival genre, especially by Harry Collingwood and Herbert Strang. Especially if it's set in the 19th century.

 

[It'sallabitsillyreally]

It's a weird category. I've actually gotten into more arguments with people over American literature as they attempt to dismiss it (usually led to me pointing out how much of it ended up in English classes in school) but most I know or have encountered that talk about that sort of thing just seem to kind of tar British literature with one giant brush and then scurry away and talk vaguely about it without looking at specifics or being willing to engage in an actual analysis despite there being plenty to talk about.

You can see certain series that had a decent period of renown fall out of the public eye (Enid Blyton and Richmal Crompton being fine examples on the younger end) and others you would have assumed would have long faded away endure such as Bernard Cornwell who's had another book out this year but most people only know of vaguely thanks to the Sharpe series. Some see increased success after a long history of at least remaining in the public eye like Lord of the Rings thanks to movie releases and others get utterly butchered by the film treatment like The Dark Is Rising.

 

[IceGray]

It's honestly surprising that Enid Blyton isn't really discussed more, her works are a common sight in ESL countries. Though there are mixed attitudes towards her, one side views her work as fine introduction to English, the other considers it on the same level as dime store novels.