Morris, William. (1834 - 1896).
W o r k
- revolutionised English design in textiles, embroidery, and tapestry
- also wrote poetry, fantasy fiction and romances, and translations, mostly from the Icelandic language
P o e t r y :
The Earthly Paradise (1868 – 1870):
- retells tales from classical and northern sources, especially the newly rediscovered Icelandic sagas
- attempts to create a popular narrative art akin to Geoffrey Chaucer’s to unmake the false and artificial
x but: his sophistication prevents his folksy aspirations
F i c t i o n :
A Dream of John Ball (1886 – 1887):
- a fantasy novel based on the English peasants' Revolt of 1381 and the rebel John Ball
- takes an alternative positive view of the Middle Ages
News from Nowhere (1890):
- a polemical fantasy novel
- a vision of a world freed from machines and mechanical thinking to release individual creativity
The World Beyond the World (1894):
- a romance set in an invented fantasy world
- attempts to revive the genre of medieval romance
Quote
"With the arrogance of youth, I determined to do no less than to transform the world with Beauty. If I have succeeded in some small way, if only in one small corner of the world, amongst the men and women I love, then I shall count myself blessed, and blessed, and blessed, and the work goes on."
William Morris
Basics
(Picture: Wikimedia Commons.)
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Author
William Morris. (1834 - 1896). British. -
Work
Designer. Poet. Novelist. Translator. Member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. -
Genres
Victorian poetry and fiction. Fantasy fiction. Romance.
Literature
Abrams, Meyer Howard, ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. New York: W. W. Norton, 1993.
Barnard, Robert. Stručné dějiny anglické literatury. Praha: Brána, 1997.
Baugh, Albert C. ed. A Literary History of England. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1967.
Coote, Stephen. The Penguin Short History of English Literature. London: Penguin, 1993.
Sampson, George. The Concise Cambridge History of English Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1946.
Sanders, Andrew. The Short Oxford History of English Literature. New York: Clarendon Press, 1994.