Sense of the Nation and Morality in English Literature

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English literature has been influenced by the change of religion, politics, and thoughts through centuries. In particular after 17th century, there were some crucial moments in English history in the relation with national crisis such as the rebel against the monarchy and the establishment. Through their philosophical messages, the theme of English literature has been significant for maintaining and making up a sense of the nation of English people. In other words, the theme of English literature has always suggested a certain moral ideal for English people. A moral instruction of English literature has been a key for establishing a public value. The aim of this research is to prove how the constructive and public nature of English literature is important for maintaining a sense of the nation of English people and its society.The literary outputs of the 17th century strongly connected with social and political theme reflecting the social disorder by the civil revolution, the crisis of … More the monarchy, and so on. Skeptic atmosphere became social climate at that time. During those times the theme of 17th English literature continued to be socially critical as well as artistic. In these literatures a moral confusion among English people was seriously alarmed. The 18th century English literature, particularly the Romantic literature, showed the ideology influenced by enlightenment thoughts and egalitarian sensibility that were remarkably developed after the French Revolution. In these literatures the humanistic theme regarding human liberty and equality was emphasized to suggest the ideal goal for English minds. After 19th century, the Industrial Revolution, the development of science, the change of political and social systems strongly influenced the theme of literature. Literary theme was influenced by pessimistic social climate due to moral, religious, and philosophical chaos. After modernism that pursued the artistic ideal and morality, it was clearly recognized that the moral nature of English literature formed a sense of the nation of English people, for instance, in Phillip Larkin's works.Through these analyses, it is examined that the moral nature of English literature strongly related to construct a sense of the nation of English people. It is also confirmed that public value of English literature was reinforced by its moral nature. Less