Angry Young Men Movement and its Contributors

An important literary movement that developed after the end of World War II was the Angry
Young Man movement. As society developed into a more affluent capitalistic and class-
conscious structure after the war, the younger generation became aware that the poorer
classes were being exploited and this forced them to express their anger. A new class of
writers, known as the “Angry Young Men”, came into being. They expressed their anger
through various literary genres, in particular through prose and drama.

The "Angry Young Men" were a group of mostly working and middle-class British
playwrights and novelists who became prominent in the 1950s. The group's leading members
included John Osborne and Kingsley Amis. The phrase was originally coined by the Royal
Court Theatre's press officer to promote John Osborne's 1956 play Look Back in Anger.
Following the success of Osborne’s play, the label was later applied to describe young British
writers who were characterized by disillusionment with traditional English society. Their
writings frequently expressed raw anger and frustration as the post-war reforms failed to meet
expectations for genuine change.

“Angry Young Men” literature strongly revolted against all the accepted norms and ideals.
The novels and plays of this movement typically feature a rootless, lower-middle or working-
class male protagonist with a university degree yet continuously struggling for upward
mobility. The writers often portrayed the central hero being disillusioned with life and
dissatisfied with their job and a society where he is unfit and deprived of normal rights. He
expresses his dissatisfaction towards social ills with excessive anger and sardonic humour.
He is the very epitome of a frustrated post-World War II generation.

Though lasted only for a short span of time, the “Angry Young Men” movement exerted a
profound impact in the field of British literature. Two most important writers of the
movement are:

1. Kingsley Amis (1922–1995) English novelist, undertakes a humorous critical survey

of the post-World War II British society. Amis's first novel was Lucky Jim (1954),
which according to many reflects the Angry Young Men temperament. This particular
 book influenced a number of British playwrights and novelists, including John
Osborne and Alan Sillitoe. The novel follows the misadventures of the protagonist,
Jim Dixon, a junior lecturer at a provincial university.

2. John Osborne (1929–1994), an English playwright and motion picture screenwriter,

wrote plays that enact sharp criticism of post-World War II British life through
outbursts of abusive language. It was Osborn’s debut play Look Back in Anger (1957)
that made the Angry Young Men Movement authoritatively established. The play
explores the life of a disaffected young man, Jimmy Porter, and his relationships with
his wife, Alison, and their friends.