The 20 th Century Background Notes

Historical Context Turn of the Century World War I Rise of Nationalism, Fascism, & Communism (Dictatorships) World War II Decline of British Empire

Early 20 th Century = Progress! Rejection of traditional Victorian views and values More rights and democratic freedoms Expansion of British power over the rest of the world Science, technology, and medicine helped improve daily lives for millions Rise in living conditions and average wages Rise in literacy and education Symbol of British and world progress and idealism: The Titanic “Roaring 20’s” – wealth, parties, optimism It’s 1912 and we’re doing awesome!

April 14/15, 1912: Sinking of the Titanic

WWI: “The War to End All Wars” England went in with sense of patriotism and sense of duty/honor - anticipated glory of past conflicts An entire generation of young Englishmen devastated, nearly wiped out

WWI: Trench Warfare – Traditional method of large forces marching against other large forces no longer worked  trench wartrench war – Machine gun – Poison gas – Development of the airplane, tank, submarine, and flamethrower as weapons of war

Trench Poets Soldiers, medics, photographers came back from war with a new understanding of what war really is: – Dismissed the past ideas about the “glory” of war – Used verse and powerful imagery and figurative language to bring realism of experiences to readers – More cynical about warfare British trench poets include: – Wilfred Owen – Siegfried Sassoon – Rupert Brooke

Radical New Thinking  Charles Darwin’s “Darwinism” from Origin of Species – “survival of the fittest” Karl Marx’s Das Kapital  communism and socialism / anti-capitalism, anti- Democracy Darwin Marx Freud  Sigmund Freud – Psychoanalysis: the individual as “complex, inconsistent, and unpredictable, driven by irrational urges.”

World War II Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Communist Russia/Soviet Union all represented modern philosophies taken to their most-feared extremes.

WWII Britain lost over 300,000 soldiers and over 60,000 civilians Britain fought in France, Europe, and the Middle East Germans bombed London (air raids) Massive damages inflicted to military empire and at home At the end of the war, Britain and Allied Powers find out the extent of Hitler’s Holocaust of the Jews Winston Churchill

London during The Blitz

Decline of England as a World Power Late 1800s: Lost control of colonies in Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand After World War II, Britain was recovering from the war and was in massive debt – Loss of India – Loss of colonies in the Middle East and Africa

Rise & Fall of the British Empire

20 th Century New Era of Doubt, Cynicism, and Fear At peak of creating a world based around peace, technology, democracy, and seek to eliminate social ills we… …kill more human beings in two wars than the rest of human history combined …face a legacy of colonialism/imperialism that leaves Africa and parts of Asia and the Middle East in shambles …create the most destructive weapon ever …lead to the Cold War

20 th Century British Literature Experimented with form and content – Satire, irony, dark humor – Gender, sexual, psychological examination – Post-colonialism Rejected tradition in all art forms, challenging Victorian convictions Increased cynicism toward government, national honor, and glory (due to war) Challenged conventional patriotism and romantic notions of bravery WWI Trench Poets: – War was not glorified, but vilified – Loss of innocence – Degradation of body and soul

20 th Century British Literature Dystopian literature – Presents the worst future imaginable – “Dystopia” the opposite of “utopia” (a perfect society) by George Orwell “Orwellian” - an adjective used to describe excessive government control and invasion and loss of personal privacy and individual rights Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Influential 20 th Century British Authors James Joyce Virginia Woolf Aldous Huxley Agatha Christie J.R.R. Tolkien Ian Fleming Neil Gaiman J.K. Rowling