Modern

Age

o Analyze how the beginning of the Modern Age, as reflected in the works of Yeats, continues the trends in literature from the Victorian Age as well as demonstrating a departure from this same trend. o Cite qualities in style, structure, and theme in the works of T.S. Eliot that cement what we have now come to call Modernism. o Classify Auden as a modernist or Victorian and explain why you chose to classify him as you did. o How does Orwell demonstrate all sides of the issue of Imperialism? o How is the disillusionment after World War I and World War II reflected in the literature of the time? o After World War I and World War II, how does the literature reflect the disillusionment of the time period?

1901-1910Edward VII: During his reign is know as the Edwardian Age. The Edwardian Age is marked by the class distinctions and moral certainties of the Victorian Age. It emphasized class distinctions, etiquette, manners, and propriety. 1910-1936George V: The 19th Century way of life was fading into memory. Parliament became even more powerful and the monarchy became much more of a figurehead role with very limited power. 1936--Edward VIII: Edward was the son of George V and inherited the throne. However, Edward had fallen in love with an American divorcee by the name of Wallace Simpson. Parliament, because of the creed of the Church of England, demanded that he give up Mrs. Simpson for the throne; however, Edward VIII, instead, gave up the throne for Mrs. Simpson. 1936-1952--George IV: A cousin of Edward VIII who became king when Edward relinquished the throne? 1952-PresentElizabeth II: She is the daughter of George IV and is the Queen of England. Despite her popularity with the general public, her children have been a great source of controversy, from the divorce of Charles and Diana to the spending habits of the royals. It is during her reign that the great debate over the value of the monarchy continues today.

When World War I broke out, the British expected a quick victory, but were discouraged as the war drew on. It brought about the loss of confidence in the general public.
The most significant international event that affected the British was the Russian Revolution that established a communist state and inspired workers to form unions for strength against corporations. Between World War I and World War II, the public became disillusioned, marked most obviously by the lost generation. World War II reinforced the pessimism of the lost generation and the fragmentation of society. England began to lose its possessions, colonies, and strength as a world power: 1921 Irish Independence 1947 India and Pakistan Independence 1972 Imposes rule over Northern Ireland 1977 - Last colony in Africa gains independence

Historical Events

1997 Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule.

The literature of the modern period is characterized by experimentation with form, design, rhythm, ordering and completeness. It finds new uses of line, color rhythm, and harmony challenging traditional notions of beauty and order.
Technological developments make possible the translation and availability of a wide variety of world literature to an even wider audience.

MODERN LITERATURE

The movements of past generations are seen in the modern period, but additional movements are added.
The psychologist, Sigmund Freud, and his findings influence literature quite a bit because of the notion of psychological motivation and personal analysis. The poet, Yeats, continues aspects of Romanticism, but adopts the more colloquial

Types of Literary Movements in the Modern Period:

1. Stream of Conciousness -- literature that presents psychological, interior monologue, an unending train of thought often disjointed and illogical. EX: James Joyce or Virginia Woolf 2. Modernism -- uses images as symbols, presenting experiences in fragments, rather than coherent wholes. EX: T.S. Eliot 3. Surrealism the expression of imagination as realized in dreams without concious control. EX: William Burroughs 4. Post-Modernism the presentation of alienation, the anti-hero, asocial behavior, and spiritual malaise. EX: Anthony Burgess

The Bloomsbury Group were a group of modern writers who met once a week at Virginia Woolfs house to discuss literary and political matters. Members of the group included Virginia Woolf, George Bernhard Shaw, T.S. Eliot, William Butler Yeats, and E. M. Forster. They were liberal, agnostic, and pacifists. Angry Young Men A Group of playwrights who wrote plays attacking the outmoded social and political values, particularly bourgeois attitudes.

Analyze and explain how Yeats literature demonstrates a tie to the literary movements of the Victorian Age as well as a departure from this same literature. Why might this have occurred? ii. What traits does T. S. Eliot employ or use in his literature to exemplify what we know as modernism. iii. Would you call Auden a Romantic or a Modernist? Why? iv. Imperialism became a very complicated issue for England. It once was a source of great pride, but was fast becoming a cancer in their reputation. Analyze how Orwell utilizes narrative techniques to demonstrate the vast opinions concerning this issue. i.