Concetti Chiave
- The period marked a cultural fragmentation, breaking away from Victorian values like Positivism, largely influenced by the aftermath of World War One.
- Sigmund Freud introduced psychoanalysis, emphasizing the influence of the unconscious mind on human behavior, impacting modern literature and thought.
- Carl Jung expanded on Freud's ideas by proposing the concept of a collective unconscious, a shared cultural memory accessible to psychologists and poets.
- Albert Einstein's theory of relativity challenged traditional notions of time and space, influencing the structure of the modern novel.
- The era saw a shift in intellectual focus with some turning to esoteric beliefs, while English philosophy became analytical, using literature to explore themes of isolation and anxiety.
The age of anxiety
It was a period of great transformation when the cultural atmosphere was fragmented. There was the breakdown of the Victorian values like Positivism.
The most important event of this century is the World War One, that caused more deaths than all previous wars put together. This event created disillusion and the 1920's was comfortable only for the privileged class. The problem that stay behind all these manifestation of uncertainty was the inability to arrive at a commonly accepted picture of Man.
Nothing seemed to be right or certain; even science and religion seemed to offer little comfort. The first set of new ideas was introduced by:
- Sigmund Freud with the power of the unconscious in “The Interpretation of Dreams”.
He discovered psychoanalysis, the unconscious , the idea that man’s action could be motivated by irrational forces.
Freud provided a new method of investigation of the human mind through the analysis of dreams and the concept of free association which influenced the writers of the modern age.
- Jung continued Freud’s studies and developed the idea that there is a collective unconscious, a sort of cultural memory that contains some figures or objects of the everyday world. Only hte psychologist or the poet could understand these symbols and explain that.
- The introduction of “Relativity” in science by Albert Einstein that discarded the concepts of time and space as subjective dimensions. This theory contributed to the development of a new form of novel, the modern novel.
- More and more people became aware that there were alternatives to Christianity and some intellectuals turned to esoteric beliefs.
English philosophy became analytic, focusing on the study of language to rectify the knowledge possessed -> literature as a guide to the perplexities of this age characterized by isolation, alienation and anxiety.
Domande da interrogazione
- Qual è stato l'evento più significativo del secolo descritto nel testo?
- Quali nuove idee sono state introdotte da Sigmund Freud?
- Come ha influenzato la teoria della relatività di Einstein la letteratura?
L'evento più significativo del secolo è stata la Prima Guerra Mondiale, che ha causato più morti di tutte le guerre precedenti messe insieme e ha creato disillusione.
Sigmund Freud ha introdotto l'idea del potere dell'inconscio e la psicoanalisi, suggerendo che le azioni dell'uomo potrebbero essere motivate da forze irrazionali.
La teoria della relatività di Einstein ha contribuito allo sviluppo di una nuova forma di romanzo, il romanzo moderno, scartando i concetti di tempo e spazio come dimensioni soggettive.
Accedi a tutti gli appunti
Tutor AI: studia meglio e in meno tempo
