The document provides historical context for the 20th century, including the Edwardian Age in Britain at the turn of the century, the social reforms of that time like old age pensions, and the outbreak of World War I. It discusses the social context of the early 1900s as well, including the struggle for women's suffrage and the Irish rebellion against British rule. Finally, it covers the literary context, noting how Freud, Darwin, Marxism, and World War I influenced revolutionary works by Eliot, Joyce, Owen, and others.

1. The Twentieth
Century
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2. Historical Context
 The Edwardian Age
 The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 and
the succession of her son, Edward, marked the
end of the Victorian era. At the beginning of the
twentieth century Victorian ideals of progress and
reform still prevailed. New liberal governments
instituted a series of important social reforms, free
school meals for children, the first old age
pensions and labour exchange for instance. In
1911 national insurance was introduced: all
working people contributed to funds which would
protect the sick.

3. These were the beginnings of the so-called welfare
state, which was to reach its apex under the Labour
Government after the Second World War.
Important Parliamentary reform also occurred in 1911
with the Parliament Act the House of Lords lost the right to
veto financial legislation approved by the House of Commons.
The rise of the Labour Party also began: by 1906 there were
twenty-nine Labour MPs in Parliament.

4.  The First World War
Tension in Europe increased steadily: Germany and the
Austro-Hungarian empire, on the one hand, and Russia
and France, on the other, formed military alliances.
The murder of an Austrian noble in Serbia led to the
declartion of war between these two countries; Russia
was forced to defend Serbia and Germany then came to
the aid of the Austro-Hungarian empire.

5. When Germany marched through Belgium,
which was neutral territory, in order to attack France,
Britain was dragged into the war. The bitter trench
warfare, which characterized the First World War,
leaving a total of 750.000 dead and two million
seriously injured among the British alone.

6. Social Context
 Women
Women’s rights had been a key issue for
many years. But it was only after a hard
struggle that some women over thirty gained
the right to vote in 1918, partly in recognition of
women’s invaluable contribution to the
domestic war effort.

7.  Ireland
The British feared civil war in Ulster and called on
the Irish to volunteer for the British army. However, a
group of patriots resented Britain’s rather
condescending treatment organized an armed
rebellion in Dublin on Easter Monday 1916. It was
quickly crushed but became a near-legendary
symbol of Irish heroism in the face of oppression,
especially when the British cruelly executed the
leaders of the movement.

8. Republicans won almost everywhere, but
preferred to constitute their own Parliament in Dublin
and declare Ireland an independent republic. Britain
agreed to the independence of Southern Ireland in
1921, although Ulster, or Northern Ireland, remained
united with Britain.

9. Literary Context
The First World War, though the end of an era in
many ways, was not the only factor producing decisive
change in the intellectual climate of the early years of the
century. Freud’s work, beginning with The Interpretation
of Dreams in 1901, revolutionized our view of the human
mind.
Darwin’s theory of the evolution of the species had
contributed to the demolition of the Victorian world-view,
and this process was accelerated by the interest in
marxism and socialism.

10. In the twenties, the poetry of Eliot, with
its wealth of allusions to other works, its
abrupt transitions and numerous
juxtapositions of seemingly unrelated
parts, and the profusion of richly
expressive styles pouring from Joyce’s pen
were truly revolutionary.

11. Poetry (War Poetry)
The horrors of the First World War led to a
painful consciousness of the emptiness of the
patriotism espoused by writers.
A number of extremely promising poets were
killed in action (Wilfred Owen, Isaac Rosenberg); but
their work has survived to give us a gripping account
of the brutality and absurdity of the war.

12. The post-war years were dominated by the
figures of T.S. Eliot and W.B. Yeats, both of whom
had long careers spanning a wide range of styles and
forms, although Thomas Hardy, better known as a
novelist, also produced a fine body of original work,
and D.H. Lawrence also contributed some important
thought-provoking lyrics, treating much the same
themes as his better-known novels.