2. Unit 2 Naturalism and Aestheticism
History of English literature
Module 8 Modernism
Unit 2 Naturalism and Aestheticism
主讲教师：姚丽教授 沈阳理工大学

3. Naturalism and Aestheticism

4. Naturalism Definition Flourishing in Europe in the second half of the
19th century, particularly in France with Zola as
the representative of this trend
Theory that literary composition should be based
on an objective, empirical presentation of human
beings

5. Naturalism
The naturalists arguing that literature must be “true to life” and produce life exactly as it is in literary writings, including all the details without any selection
Never forming a literary school in England

6. Naturalism George Gissing (1857 —1903) Introduction
Representative English naturalist writer
Frequently writing about working-class and lower-middle-class people
Showing strong traces of pessimism in his works

7. Naturalism New Grub Street《新格鲁勃街》 George Gissing’s best known novel
About the different types of writers in England in the last decades of the 19th century
About the life of a writer struggling to support himself and his family on his meager earnings

8. Naturalism
Expressing George Gissing’s grim view of literary life in London in the 19th century
Hitting upon the very essence of the general conditions of journalism in England of his time

9. Naturalism Writing features
Creating the impression that he is escaping from it
rather than fighting and offering a way out
Simply describing people and events but offering little or
no psychological depth

10. Aestheticism Definition
Beauty being the basic principle from which all
other principles, especially moral ones, are derived
Separating art or literature from life or social
reality
Art for art’s sake
Oscar Wilde as the chief representative figure

11. Aestheticism Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) Introduction
Versatile writer of essay, fiction,
drama, poetry and miscellaneous prose
Leader and spokesman of aestheticism
Spending two years in prison for
homosexual conduct
Living in obscurity after release from prison
Dying in Paris

12. Aestheticism The Picture of Dorian Gray 《道林格雷的画像》
Story of a handsome and innocent youth
Aestheticism as a strong theme in the story
Receiving poor reception among critics when first published
Today being considered as a classical work

13. Aestheticism Famous comedies Lady Windermere’s Fan 《温德密尔夫人的扇子》
The Importance of Being Earnest《认真的重要性》
An Ideal Husband《理想的丈夫》
A Woman of No Importance《无足轻重的女人》

14. Aestheticism Lady Windermere’s Fan
The best-known comedy of Oscar Wilde
Written in the tradition of the well-made play (佳构剧 )
The use of witty, paradoxical remarks by the characters

15. Naturalism Aestheticism
Summary
Naturalism
Aestheticism