British Sports, Music & Literature

Study focus: Culture questions usually ask “who did what?” Match each writer, musician, artist, or sport to one unmistakable fact before learning detail. For every writer, artist, musician and sportsperson the test names, see People to know.

Literature

In the years leading up to 1400, Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales, a series of poems in English about a group of pilgrims who tell each other stories on their way to Canterbury. It was one of the first books printed by William Caxton, the first person in England to print books using a printing press.

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) was born in Stratford-upon-Avon. A playwright and actor, he is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language. His most famous plays include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, Macbeth, and Romeo and Juliet, and he invented many words that are still common today. The Globe Theatre in London is a modern copy of the theatres where his plays were first performed.

Jane Austen’s novels, including Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, are concerned with marriage and family relationships. Charles Dickens wrote novels including Oliver Twist and Great Expectations; people still call a mean person a Scrooge and an always-hopeful one a Mr Micawber.

Robert Burns, known in Scotland as ‘The Bard’, wrote in Scots and in English. His best-known work is probably the song “Auld Lang Syne”, sung in the UK and other countries to celebrate the New Year (Hogmanay in Scotland).

Music

George Frederick Handel was German-born, spent many years in the UK and became a British citizen in 1727. He wrote Water Music for King George I, Music for the Royal Fireworks for George II, and the oratorio Messiah. Sir Edward Elgar, born in Worcester, wrote the Pomp and Circumstance Marches; March No. 1, known as “Land of Hope and Glory”, is traditionally played at the Last Night of the Proms.

The Proms is an eight-week summer season of orchestral classical music held in venues including the Royal Albert Hall in London. The BBC has organised it since 1927, and the Last Night of the Proms is the best-known concert, broadcast on television.

The Beatles and The Rolling Stones were two well-known pop groups of the 1960s, and both still influence music in the UK and abroad.

Sport

Many famous sports, including cricket, football, lawn tennis, golf and rugby, began in Britain. Football is the UK’s most popular sport, and the first professional football clubs were formed in the late 19th century. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each have their own leagues and national teams, and the English Premier League attracts a huge international audience.

Rugby originated in England in the early 19th century. It has two forms with different rules, union and league, and the most famous rugby union competition is the Six Nations Championship between England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France, and Italy.

Cricket originated in England, and its most famous competition is the Ashes, a series of Test matches between England and Australia. Modern tennis evolved in England in the late 19th century; the first tennis club was founded in Leamington Spa in 1872. Wimbledon, held each year at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and the only Grand Slam event played on grass.

For the sportspeople the test names, from Sir Roger Bannister to Sir Andy Murray, see People to know.

Art

Joseph Turner (1775–1851) was an influential landscape painter in a modern style and is considered the artist who raised the profile of landscape painting. John Constable (1776–1837) is most famous for his paintings of Dedham Vale, on the Suffolk–Essex border.

Henry Moore (1898–1986) was an English sculptor best known for his large bronze abstract sculptures. The Turner Prize, named after Joseph Turner, was established in 1984 to celebrate contemporary art; previous winners include Damien Hirst and Richard Wright.

Film

Films were first shown publicly in the UK in 1896. Sir Charles (Charlie) Chaplin became famous in silent films for his tramp character and was one of many British actors to make a career in Hollywood.

Sir Alfred Hitchcock was one of the eminent directors of the British film industry in the 1930s. He later left for Hollywood and remained an important film director until his death in 1980. His British films include The 39 Steps (1935). Ealing Studios has a claim to being the oldest continuously working film studio facility in the world.

Key Facts

• Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales before 1400; it was one of the first books Caxton printed
• Shakespeare, born in Stratford-upon-Avon, is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language
• Robert Burns, ‘The Bard’, wrote “Auld Lang Syne”, sung at New Year
• Handel wrote Messiah; Elgar’s “Land of Hope and Glory” is played at the Last Night of the Proms
• The Proms: an eight-week summer season of orchestral music, organised by the BBC since 1927
• The Beatles and The Rolling Stones were two well-known pop groups of the 1960s
• Football is the UK’s most popular sport; the first professional clubs formed in the late 19th century
• Rugby originated in England in the early 19th century
• The Ashes is a series of Test matches between England and Australia
• Wimbledon is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and the only Grand Slam played on grass
• Turner raised the profile of landscape painting; Constable is most famous for Dedham Vale
• Charlie Chaplin found fame in silent films; Alfred Hitchcock directed The 39 Steps (1935)