British music, arts & literature

Last reviewed 21 July 2026 · Reviewed by the BritainTest editorial team

The arts are a big part of British culture, and the test asks about music, theatre, art and literature: the famous events, the famous works, and the people behind them. This page is part of our modern society study notes.

Key facts

Music

British classical composers include Henry Purcell, Gustav Holst (who wrote The Planets), Sir Edward Elgar and Benjamin Britten. The Proms is an eight-week summer season of classical concerts run by the BBC, ending with the famous Last Night of the Proms. The UK also has a world-leading pop and rock tradition, from the Beatles and the Rolling Stones in the 1960s onwards. Two well-known music awards are the Mercury Music Prize (for the best album of the year) and the Brit Awards.

Theatre

William Shakespeare is the most famous British playwright. Other well-known names include Gilbert and Sullivan, who wrote comic operas. London's West End is the heart of British theatre, the Edinburgh Festival is a major arts festival, and the Laurence Olivier Awards celebrate theatre each year.

Art

Famous British artists include Thomas Gainsborough, John Constable, J.M.W. Turner, L.S. Lowry (known for industrial scenes) and David Hockney. The Turner Prize is a famous award for contemporary art.

Literature

Britain has produced many famous writers, including Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, the Brontë sisters, Thomas Hardy and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (who created Sherlock Holmes). Famous poets include William Wordsworth, William Blake and Robert Burns, Scotland's national poet, whose Auld Lang Syne is sung at New Year. Children's writers such as J.K. Rowling (the Harry Potter series) are read worldwide, and the Booker Prize is a leading annual award for fiction.

At a glance

What to remember for the test

• The Proms (classical music), the West End (theatre) and the Turner Prize (art).
• Shakespeare is the most famous playwright; the Beatles the most famous band.
• Pair a writer with their field: Austen and Dickens (novels), Burns and Wordsworth (poetry).
• Learn a few names and works, rather than long lists.

Practise this topic

Test yourself on the arts in the real format, then reread anything you miss. Famous Britons across science, politics and more are covered in a separate guide.