ENGLISHNESS: BEHIND THE MYTH
ENGLISHNESS: BEHIND THE MYTH

Summary/Abstract: English identity appears to be a deeply rooted concept with tradition and resonance. Fiction, films, humour are all the projection of a stereotype that the English themselves are eager to transmit. A foreigner, vaguely familiar with England, would probably declare that Englishness is above all connected to temperance, solemnity, dignity, perfect manners and perhaps rigid outlooks. Reality, however, seems to contradict such prejudiced definitions. Although Englishness truly embodies a complex set of values, British national identity should be analysed in more objective terms. Between the Victorian model of ‘the knight in shiny armour’ and the different approach proposed by the English writers of Asian and African origin, Englishness has more than one facet to show to the world.

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