1. The Age of Anxiety Disillusionment following the First World War Psychological shock Generation gap Dissolution of the British Empire Failure of positivism No landmarks (science- religion) Feeling of rootlessness and frustration Sense of loss Uncertainty Alienation New views of man and of the universe

2. New ideas Psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud – The Interpretation of Dreams - theory of the unconscious - influence on man's behaviour - investigation of the human mind through the analysis of dreams and the concept of “free association” Carl Gustav Jung - the collective unconscious – symbols and archetypes

3. Science and philosophy Albert Einstein - theory of relativity : time and space are seen as subjective dimensions William James - consciousness is a continuous flow of thought Henri Bergson - historical time ( linear, chronological sequence of moments) vs. - psychological time ( internal, flexible, depending on memory)

4. Anthropology James George Frazer – The golden Bough The superiority of western civilization is questioned Primitive societies are seen as integrated structures Christian Religion is no longer looked up to as the only source of truth and moral teaching Interest in alternative spiritual beliefs Interest in the language(s)

5. Modernism Variety of trends and currents Desire to break with established forms and subjects Experimentation Disruption of conventional forms and patterns Subjectivity and relativity Use of allusive language (importance given to sound)

6. Overlapping of literary genres Focus on the unconscious and on the mind process Mythical method vs. realistic method Rejection of formal aesthetics Cosmopolitan approach to culture – interest in a variety of cultures both from the past and from other parts of the world

7. Poetry Georgian poets : carried on the tradition of Victorian poetry War poets : expressed the tragic experience of the war Modern poets: - Imagism and Ezra Pound - T.S. Eliot Committed poets : they dealt with social and political aspects

8. Modern poetry New concept of poetic image ( concise, clear, precise) Use of free verse Short poems Objectivity ( no moral comment from the poet, no emotional involvement) Influence of French symbolism Emphasis on sound Use of allusive language

9. Modern novel Rejected features of traditional novel : close link to the social context omniscient writer common ground between writer and readers ( shared set of values and behaviours) moral function of the novelis chronological narration of events New features: Shift from society to man Internal viewpoint Focus on the mind and on the individual personal experience Focus on the simultaneous existence of past, present and future in the individual's consciousness Expansion and contraction of time Stream of consciousness and interior monologue