Famous Names in English Literature

Great Britain gave the world many talented and outstanding people. A great number of famous poets and writers were born and lived in Britain. These people created their masterpieces in different centuries. For this reason, English literature is traditionally divided into some periods.

Therefore, Old English is the first recorded English literature. Caedmon, Anglo-Saxon poet and monk, composed “Hymn” in the 8^th century.

Middle English begins with the Norman Conquest in 1066. Geoffrey Chaucer occupies the central position in Middle English literature. “The Canterbury Tales” is his most popular work, for its comedy, realism and warm humanity.

The next period is Renaissance. The European Renaissance had filtered into England in the 16^th century. Among writers, worth mentioning, are Spencer, Milton, Sidney and the greatest contribution to literature of this period belongs to William Shakespeare, a famous poet and dramatist.

The next period I’d like to stop at is the 18^th century, which contains two major literary currents: neoclassical and romanticism. Pope, Swift, Defoe, Fielding, Richardson Blake and historical novelist Sir Walter Scott lived and wrote their masterpieces at that time.

The most important novelist of the Victorian age was Charles Dickens. Following Dickens were Eliot, Thackeray and Hardy.

Now Modern age.

It began with the 1st and 2nd World Wars. This period was marked by works of Eliot, Woolfe, Greene, Waugh, Golding and Christie.

During the 1970’s new writers also appeared. Among them: Thomas, Pym and James.

Leading English poets of the late 1900s included Hughes, Larkin, Davie and Stoppard.

And now I’d like to speak about my favourite English writer.

So, Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie is possibly the world’s most famous detective story writer. She wrote 79 novels and several plays, but she was a painfully shy woman whose life was often lonely and unhappy. Agatha was born in 1890 in Devon. She didn’t go to school, but was educated at home by her mother. During World War I, while Agatha was working in a hospital dispensary, she learned about chemicals and poisons, which proved very useful to her in her later career. Christie wrote her first detective novel, “The Mysterious Affair at Styles”, in 1920. Her main detectives were an elderly spinster called Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. On November 25^th, 1952 her play “Mousetrap” was opened in London. Today, over 40 years later, it is still running. Agatha enjoyed a happy second marriage to Max Mallowan, an archaeologist. She ultimately found happiness with her beloved husband. She died peacefully in 1976.

Magazines

Many magazines are of general interest. Some of these are aimed specifically at women, men, or young people, while others cover a hobby or leisure interest, e.g. sailing. Other magazines are for specialists in a particular field.

Most magazines contain news items, features (= articles), colour pictures, reviews and stories which establish an identity for the magazine. They also carry advertisements. Some have a page of readers' letters commenting on articles in a previous issue or asking for advice.

In Britain there are nearly 7 000 weekly and monthly magazines. The best-sellers are the tele­vision guides, such as Radio Times. Nearly as popular is the Reader's Digest, a collection of articles and short stories. In the US TV Guide and People, and news magazines such as Time, Newsweek and US News and World Report, are most popular. Magazines like Ebony, which are for people from a particular race or culture, have a smaller circulation (= number of readers).

Magazines with a restricted circulation (= available only to certain people) include inflight magazines published by airlines for people to read during a flight, and store magazines which cus­tomers can buy at a supermarket checkout. Special-interest clubs and societies publish magazines for their members.