George Meredith

On February 12, 1828, British poet and novelist George Meredith was born.

character brief introduction

George Meredith was a novelist, critic, and poet in the Victoria period in England. He was once nominated as a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature. He succeeded Tennyson as chairman of the British Writers Association, and was later praised as "the last Victoria" and "the true originator of British psychological fiction."

Meredith was born into a tailor family and wrote more than 20 novels and many poems throughout his life. Unlike other British novelists in the second half of the 19th century, he paid no attention to structure and technique, but was known for his wonderful dialogues, witty and poetic grand scenes, and his portrayal of the characters 'psychology. As a British writer during the Victoria period, George Meredith has written dozens of novels and poems such as "Emilia in England","The Egoist","The Wandering Diana","The Amazing Marriage" and "Modern Love", which have successfully created many female images with distinctive personalities and contained his strong feminist thoughts.

Main achievements

In 1851, Meredith's first collection of poems, including "Love in the Valley", was published and was praised by some poets. In 1855, he published "Shakpa's Shakpa's Shaving", which was copied from "Arabian Nights". In 1859, he published his first representative novel, Richard? The Suffering of Fauvilaire "is a romantic comedy story with a tragic ending. It depicts a baron's son falling in love with a woman of low social status and being opposed by his father, resulting in a conflict between father and son. The book is rich in metaphors and imagination, and the dialogue is lively and witty. The author often interjects and comments. There are three chapters like lyrical prose poems, which are extremely profound in the motivations and psychological analysis of the characters. This was the author's most touching and most widely read novel, but it was not widely welcomed at the time. In 1860, he published the autobiographical novel Ivan? Harrington, published a collection of poems "Modern Love" in 1862, describing the tragedy of his marriage. This is one of his permanent contributions to British poetry.

During the 20 years from 1865 to 1885, Meredith published Rhoda Flaming, Victoria (1867), and Harry? The Adventures of Richmond, The Career of Bao Shang, The Egoist (1879), and The Diana of Crossway describe the pain of incongruity between couples. Both novels emphasize equality between men and women, and that women are not dolls, and have been welcomed by readers and well received by critics. From then on, honors poured in, and Meredith became the leader of the British literary world. After 1885, he published three novels, including "The Amazing Marriage", and five books of poetry, which were more philosophical than poetic.

Meredith's influence on the novel is indirect rather than direct. His widely used inner monologue was a precursor to the "stream-of-consciousness" techniques such as James Joyce. He and Eliot created psychological novels and thus formed an important link between the pioneers of the 18th century and their successors of the 20th century. Marxist critic Jack Lindsay believes Meredith influenced George Guissing, Thomas Hardy, Henry James and Robert Louis Stevenson. Joseph Priestley believes he also influenced Virginia Woolf, Lawrence and Foster.