The Twentieth Century
A Century of Change for Great Britain
Political and Social Changes in Early
Twentieth Century Britain
•Queen Victoria died in 1901. Her death signaled the
end of the Victorian era and of Britain’s moral and
economic world dominance.
•Major British colonies—Canada, Australia, South
Africa, and New Zealand—obtained independence.
•Social reforms, including the Labour party and
socialism, became increasingly popular.
The Emergence of New Ideas
The twentieth century embraced new ideas about
science, economics, and psychology.
•Science
•Charles Darwin wrote Origin of Species (1859), which
espoused natural selection—the idea that the animal
species that successfully adapt to their environments
survive and reproduce.
•Others transformed Darwin’s ideas into social
Darwinism, which claimed that in society, as in nature,
only the fittest should survive and reproduce.
The Emergence of New Ideas
The twentieth century embraced new ideas about
science, economics, and psychology.
•Economics
•Karl Marx wrote Das Kapital (1867). Marx argued
• that the capitalist system of ownership causes economic
injustices
• that private property should be abolished
• that workers should own the means of production
The Emergence of New Ideas
The twentieth century embraced new ideas about
science, economics, and psychology.
•Psychology
•Sigmund Freud wrote The Interpretation of Dreams
(1900). Freud
• claimed new motives, evident in dreams, for human
behavior
• proposed that humans were driven by the irrational, sexually
charged realm of the unconscious—not the rational,
conscious mind
World War I (1914–1918)
World War I, also known as the Great War, was caused
by a breakdown of the balance of power in Europe.
•Trench warfare led to millions of casualties. An entire
generation of young Englishmen was killed.
•The British
•became disillusioned about the individual’s relation to
society
•developed cynical attitudes toward government and such
values as national honor and glory
Experimentation in Art
Artists challenged traditional values of beauty and order,
opening new avenues of expression.
•Musicians experimented with strong rhythms and
dissonant harmonies.
Steve Shock
•Painters experimented
with bold new use of
line and color.
Experimentation in Drama and
Literature
•Dramatists experimented with subject matter and the
idea of the “hero.”
•Novelists experimented with new literary methods.
•With respect to content, writers often
• glorified the senses
• focused on introspection, not on the concerns of society
•With respect to form, writers sometimes
• rejected chronological order
• shifted points of view
Rise of Dictatorships
Economic depression after WWI fostered the rise of
dictators in Italy, Germany, and Russia.
•In Italy, Benito Mussolini was in power from 1922–
1943.
•In Germany, Adolf Hitler was in power from 1933–
1945.
•In Russia, Joseph Stalin was in power from 1941–
1953.
World War II (1939–1945)
World War II was the bloodiest and largest war in
history.
•The war between the Axis powers and the Allies
•caused millions of deaths worldwide, including the
deaths of six million Jews in Europe
•was the first and only conflict in which atomic bombs
were used
British Literature after World War II
After World War II, a group of young novelists and
playwrights known as the Angry Young Men emerged.
The Angry Young Men criticized
•the pretensions of intellectuals
•the bland lives of the newly prosperous middle class
•what they viewed as institutional, conventional, and
conforming aspects of society
The End of the British Empire
•Loss of India (1947)
•Because most of Britain’s resources were devoted to
rebuilding its economy after World War II, Britain lost
most of its colonies, including India.
•Peace in Ireland (1998)
•After thirty years of violent conflict in Northern Ireland, a
peace agreement was signed and the first all-Ireland
election since 1918 was held. However, in 2000, rule over
Northern Ireland was restored to Britain because of
instability.
British Literature Today
Today, British literature
•is “worldwide” because it includes works by many
writers from Britain’s former dependencies
•has varied themes, such as
•political concerns
•human suffering
•problems of personal identity
•effects of cultural domination and racism
What Have You Learned?
1. In the twentieth century, artists were most concerned with
a. following the past traditions
c. finding beauty in nature
b. experimenting with new forms
d. exposing social ills
2. The twentieth century embraced new ideas in
a. science
c. psychology
b. economics
d. all of the above
3. The British Empire ended when _________________________.
a. Britain lost most of its colonies
c. World War I started
b. World War II started
d. Queen Victoria died
The End