What is Contemporary English Literature?
Contemporary English Literature belongs to the literature written after the World War II. The writers of that time were facing new dilemmas (दुविधा, कशमकश). Social, political and personal disillusionment (मोहभंग, निराशा) of their time was their writing subjects. Contemporary writers did not believe in some ideas of modernism and utopian existence. They were nature lovers. Modern writers focused on their culture while the Contemporary writers focused on people’s emotional states.
Characteristics of Contemporary Literature-
Some characteristics of contemporary literature are given below-
- There was lack of resolutions (संकल्प) in the writings.
- They preferred personal matters, rather than the social.
- They were of fastidious (मानवद्वेषवाद, नकचढ़ापन) nature about the role of art and literature.
- They used realistic (यथार्थवादी) settings in their theme.
- Subversion (विनाश, समाप्ति) of traditional gender roles could be seen in their works.
- A blurring (धुंधला) line between the natural and the artificial can be felt in their works, although they were nature lovers.
- For greater actions they felt that there were less possibility.
List of Contemporary Dramatists-
- Christopher Fry
- Sir Terrence Rattigan
- Peter Ustinov
- Bertolt Brecht
- Peter Levin Shaffer
- John Whiting
- Robert Oxton Bolt
- John Arden
- Ann Jellicoe
- 10– Norman Fredrick Simpson
- Brendan Behan
- Shelagh Delaney
- Arnold Wesker
- Bernard Kops
- Henry Livings
- David Mercer
- David Storey
- Tom Stoppard
- John Clifford Mortimer
- Edward Bond
- Giles Cooper
- Charles Dyer
- David Halliwell
- Joe Orton
- EA Whitehead
- Frank Marcus
- Alan Bennett
- Christopher Hampton
- Peter Nichols
- William Douglas Home
- Alan Aychbourn