Concetti Chiave
- The transition from the Edwardian Age marked the end of Victorian values, influenced significantly by events like WWI, which impacted literature and poetry by introducing themes of emptiness and anger.
- Philosophical and psychological revolutions, driven by figures like Freud, shifted the focus in literature from societal duty to the exploration of the unconscious and inner consciousness.
- Modernism emerged as a powerful international movement, characterized by innovation, experimentation, and a radical remaking of arts, challenging traditional forms and norms.
- Modern poetry evolved by rejecting traditional patterns, such as meter and rhyme, in favor of free verse, emphasizing the musicality of words and flexible line lengths.
- The modern novel transformed by moving away from the omniscient narrator and chronological events to exploring individual consciousness through techniques like stream of consciousness and interior monologues.
What was the Transition from the Edwardian Age?
A sort of continuity with Edwardian age, but there are some differences. The system of the Victorian values comes to an end, crumbles dramatically under the impact of some blows
1) Historical
WWI- a million British soldiers died--> impact: emptiness, anger, direness became the subject matter of poetry--> war poets
Dissolution of the empire into the Commonwealth
2) Philosophical
Philosophical and Psychological Revolution
Freud- "The interpretations of dreams" 1900
New investigation of the unconscious, the power of the mind. This challenges the Victorian features of duty/ behavior. This will have an impact in novel writing, now the focus is on the mind, not just on the soul.(es. Virginia Woolf, Joyce)
William James- "Principles of Psychology"
Idea of consciousness, the idea that it flows--> the stream of consciousness
Free association of ideas and the flacks of thoughts.
Bergson
He makes differences of different ideas of time:
• External - historical, chronological development of events.
• Internal - psychological, measured by the emotional intensity of a moment, the time of the mind.
3) Scientific
Einstein - theory of relativity
Cinema/ photography
Modernism
-powerful international movement (not just in London, also overseas)
Definition--> spirit of revolt, innovation, experimentation in all artistic fields, a radical remaking of all arts that went on in America and in Europe in the years following 1914.
Modern Literature
Innovation- idea of new
Tradition- it's risky, why? Many artists started to want to break it. The writers liked it because it was controversial.
Eliot believed that tradition and innovations are connected, interlined.
Cosmopolitan- spread out, up to America.
Evolution of Modern Poetry
Modern Poetry (chart on the book)
Importance of musicality of words.
• Georgian
• Imagism
• Symbolism
• 1930s
• 1940s
• Free Verse
Rejection of the conventional patterns of traditional poetry
• No more traditional Meter (blend of the verse)
• No rhymes, compensated with alliterations, assonance and the musicality of words
• Flexibility in the length of the line
Transformation of the Modern Novel
Modern Novel
"No poet, no artist of all arts, has his complete meaning alone" Elliot's Idea of tradition
"Tradition is not a load we drag alone with us", you have to labour.
Before: Victorian novel (18th/19th century)
-omniscient narrator
- chronological development of events
- Social world focus
- Little psychological analysis
Shift: transformation of British society, war cancels all the certainties. New social and psychological investigations.
From Society to man' sinner world: attempt to rediscover the unique experience of the individual by exploring their inner world, their consciousness.
Main influences that contributed to the development of modern novel: Bergson + Freud
New features
No omniscient narrator--> it's multiple
The point of view shifted to the internal one
New technique: interior monologues. It is used to depict the stream of consciousness.
Direct interior monologue:
- the most revolutionary one, because it was taken to extreme by Joyce.
- flow of thoughts is free
- Narration takes place in the mind of the character
- How? Breaking down the syntax
Indirect interior monologue
- anonymous/third person narrator (free indirect speech) that filters the character's thought
Domande da interrogazione
- How did World War I impact British literature and poetry?
- What philosophical and psychological shifts influenced novel writing during the transition from the Edwardian Age?
The devastation of World War I, which resulted in the death of a million British soldiers, led to themes of emptiness, anger, and direness becoming prevalent in poetry, particularly among war poets.
The works of Freud and William James introduced new investigations into the unconscious and consciousness, challenging Victorian values and shifting the focus of novels to the mind and inner experiences, as seen in the works of Virginia Woolf and James Joyce.
Accedi a tutti gli appunti
Tutor AI: studia meglio e in meno tempo
