1. British Literature

2. 1901-1945 = perhaps the most upheaval and chaos in the world in all of human history  Society changing drastically  Technology increasing at an extreme rate ◦ Planes, trains, automobiles, NUKES  Industry increasing at an extreme rate  The world seems to be shrinking

3.  World War One (1914-18) ◦ Britain enters the war as a ‘romantic’ idea ◦ All of Europe misjudged the war ◦ No one was ready for the bloodshed ◦ New Warfare: chemical weapons, artillery, machine guns ◦ Kills 8 million people  The Russian Revolution (1917) ◦ Communism  The Irish Rebellion (begins 1916)

4.  Lost Generation ◦ Years after WW1, people felt everything was hopeless  Rise of Fascism ◦ Leaders in Europe (like Hitler) achieve ultimate control  World War Two ◦ It had been believed there would never be a war like WW1, but it happened ◦ Even bloodier than the first one

5.  Changes in technology, industry and the world result in: ◦ British colonies rebel (such as Ireland) ◦ New political ideas (such as communism) ◦ Women demand a vote ◦ Working class demands more rights

6.  No clear categories  Some examples ◦ Realism & Naturalism are used to examine social problems ◦ Disillusionment with the world ◦ Attempts to deal with problems caused by the Great Depression, WW1, the rise of fascism, & WW2.

7.  Modernism = “Make it new” ◦ In all the arts (music, painting, writing, etc.) ◦ Writers tend to focus on human weakness and social decay  Imagism and symbolism ◦ Uses images to communicate a message ◦ Uses everyday language ◦ Free verse ◦ ‘suggest’ its meaning without saying it

8.  Poetry and fiction is diverse and difficult to put into categories  Topics include: ◦ The plight of the working man ◦ Insight into the human mind ◦ Insight into human weakness ◦ Disillusionment ◦ History, human achievement, and the future