Edwardian Period

 

Edwardian Period (England 1901 1914)

 

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  Named for King Edward Edward   So Some sees as a continuation

of

Vi Vict ctor oria n peri period od;; howe ho weve ver, r, the the stat status us quo is ian increasingly threatened.   Th The e Edwar dwardi dian an peri eriod is som sometime timess imagined as a romantic golden age of long lo ng summ summer er afte aftern rnoo oons ns and and gard garden en parties, inpire are. sun that never sets on the the basking Brit Britis ish h Empi Em . This Th is perc pe rcep epti tion on was created in the 1920’s  and later by those who remembered the Edwardian age with nostalgia, looking bac ba ck of to the their ei r child hildh hoods od s Edwardian acr across the abyss great war. The age was also seen as a mediocre period of pleasure between the great achievements of the preceding Victorian age and the catastrophe of the following war .

 

Edward Edw ardia ian n So Socie ciety ty •

  Thi Thiss period period covered covered the reign reign of King Edward Edward VII (1901 1901 to 1910), 1910), Edward was part of a fashionable elite which set a style influence by the art and fashions of continental Europe. The era had ha d sign signif ific ican antt shif shifts ts in poli politic tics, s, grea greatt soci social al chan change gess and and the the solidification of the power and luxury of the ruling elite. Wealth was abundan ndantt and near early inc income tax-f ax-frree, soc society iety was no longer a small, exclusive circle confined to those of aristocratic birth; the arts produced genius and modern movements; travel was cheap and easy and technological advances were thrilling and amazing. The British class system was very rigid and there was an increasing interest in socialism, attention to the plight of the poor and the issue of   women’s  suffrage, as a result of rapid industrialization.

 

Edward Edw ardia ian n Lit Litera eratu ture re •

  Li Litterature of the Edwardian ian era reflected the the restless ambi am biva vale len nce of the the new milille len nnium nium.. Some play laywri wrights (main mainly ly Geo George rge Bern Berna ard Shaw) haw) trans ransfo forrmed Edwar dwardi dia an theatre in a way of debate over the issues of his time: politi poli tic cal organi ganizzatio tion, arm armamen ments and and war war, fami amily and marr ma rria iage ge,, for for inst instan ance ce.. The The Edwa Edward rdia ian n era era gave gave birt birth h to a number of literary and poetic movements such as; Imagism, Futurism and the Lost Generation.

 

Imagi gissm, Futurism, and The Last Generation •

  Ima Imagis gism m descr describe ibess a movem movement ent in Americ American an and and Britis British h poetr poetry y beginning in 1910 that borrowed from haiku and free verse.

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  Futur Futurism ism was born in Europe Europe and advocated advocated the abandonmen abandonmentt of conventional syntax and the use of images drawn from the age of technology.

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  Th The e Los Lost Gener enerat atio ion n refe efers to expat patri ria ate Americ erican an writ writer erss including Ernest Hemingway and Francis Scott Fitzgerald, who came into prominence after the WW1 and whose works reflected a deep disillusionment with their society.

 

Major Authors and Works

 

Joseph Conrad •

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  was a Polish-British Polish-British writer writer regarded regarded as one of the greatest novelists to write in the the Engl Englis ish h lang langua uage ge.. Thou Though gh he did not speak English fluently until his twenties, he was a master prose stylist who brought a non-English sensibility into English Literature.   Conrad rad wrote rote stori tories es and and nove ovels ls,, man ma ny with a nauti tic cal set setti ting ng,, tha that depict trials of the human spirit in the midst of what he saw as an impassive, inscrutable universe.

 

Heart of Darkness •

  is a novella by Polish-English nove no velilist st Jose Joseph ph Conr Conra ad abou aboutt a narr arrated ted voy voyage age up the the Cong ongo River into the Congo Free State in the so-called heart of Africa. Charles Charl es Marlo Marlow, w, the narrat narrator, or, tells tells his story to friends aboard a boat anc ncho hore red d on the the River ver Tha Thames. mes. This setting provides the frame for  Marlow's story of his obsession with the ivory trader Kurtz, which enables Conrad to create a par ara alle llel betw twee een n what Conra onrad d calls "the greatest town on earth", Lond Lo ndon on,, and and Afri Africa ca as plac places es of darkness.

 

Lord Jim •

  is is a novel by Joseph Conrad orig or igin inal ally ly publ publis ishe hed d as a seri serial al in Blackwood's Magazine from October 1899 to November 1900. An early and primary event in the stor tory is the abandonment of a pass pa ssen eng ger ship hip in dist distrress ess by its crew rew, inc includi luding ng a young oung Bri Britis tish seaman named Jim. He is publicly censur cens ured ed for for this this acti action on and and the the novel follows his later attempts at coming to terms with himself and his past.

 

H. G. Wells •

  Herbert George Wells   (21 September  1866   –  13   13 August 1946) was an English writer. He was prolific in many genres, writing dozens of novels, short stories, and works of social commentary, satire, biography, and autob au tobiog iogra raphy phy,, and even even includ including ing two books on recreational war  games. He is now best remembered forr his fo his scie scienc nce e fi fict ctio ion n nove novels ls and and is often called a "father of science fict fictio ion" n",, alon along g with with Jule Juless Verne erne and and Hugo Gernsback.

 

The War of the Worlds •

  is is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by Pearson's Magazine in the UK and by Cosm Co smop opol olit itan an maga magazi zine ne in the the US. US. The The nove no vel'l'ss firs firstt ap appe pear aran ance ce in hard hardco cove ver  r  was in 1898 from publisher William Heinemann of London. Written between 1895 18 95 and and 1897, 897, it is one one of the earli arlie est stories to detail a conflict between mankind and an extraterrestrial race. The novel is the first-person narrative of both an unnamed protagonist in Surrey and of his younger brother in London as southern England is invaded by Martians. The novel is one of the most comm co mmen ente ted d-on work workss in the the scie cience fiction canon.

 

E. M. Forster •

  Edw Edward ard Morgan Morgan Forst Forster er   OM CH (1 Januar January y 1879 1879   –   7 June 1970) was an Englilissh novelilisst, short story writer, essayist and librettist.

 

A Room with a View •

  is a 1908 1908 novel novel by Engl Englis ish h writ writer er E. M. Forster, about a young woman in the restrained culture of Edwardian era England. Set in Italy and an d Engla ngland nd,, the the stor tory is both both a romance and a humorous critique of English society at the beginning of the 20th century. Merchant Ivory produced an award-winning film adaptation adaptation in 1985.

 

A Passage to India •

  is a novel by English English author author E. M. Forster  Forster  set against the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian independence movement in the 1920s. It was selected as one of the 100 great works of 20th century English literature by the Modern Library and won the 1924 James Tait Blac lack Memorial Prize for  fict fictio ion. n. Time Time maga magazi zine ne incl includ uded ed the the novel in its "All Time 100 Novels" list. The novel is based on Forster's experiences in Ind India, der derivin ving the title from Walt Whitman's 1870 poem "Passage to India" in Leaves of Grass.

 

George Bernard Shaw •

  k kn nown at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic cri tic,, polemi polemicis cistt and politi politica call activ activist ist.. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 1880s to his death and beyond. He wrote more than sixty plays, including major works such as Man and Supe Su perm rman an (1902 1902), ), Pygm Pygmal alio ion n (1912 1912)) and an d Sain Saintt Joan Joan (1923 1923)). With ith a rang range e incorporatin ing g both contemporary sati sa tirre and his histori torica call alle alleg gory, ry, Shaw haw beca be came me the the lead leadin ing g dram dramat atis istt of his his generation, and in 1925 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

 

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  is a three-a three-act ct Engl English ish play play by George Bernar Bernard d Shaw, written and premiered in 1905 and first published in 1907. The story concerns an idealis idea listic tic young young woman, woman, Barbara Barbara Undersh Undershaft, aft, who is engaged in helping the poor as a Major  in the Salvat vation ion Army rmy in Londo don. n. For For many yea ears rs,, Barb Barbar ara a and and her her sibl iblings ings have have been been

ajor Barbara

e stranged who fromnowth eir fathe r, a rich Andand re w Undershaft, reappears as succ su cces essf sful ul muni muniti tion onss make maker. r. Unde Unders rsha haft ft,, the the fath fa ther er,, give givess mone money y to the the Salv Salvat atio ion n Arm Army, whic wh ich h offe offend ndss Majo Majorr Barb Barbar ara, a, who who do does es not not want to be connected to his "tainted" wealth. Howe Ho weve ver, r, the the fath father er argu argues es that that pove povert rty y is a worse problem than munitions, and claims that he is doing more to help society by giving his workers jobs and a steady income than Major  Barbara is doing to help them by giving them bread and soup.

 

A. C. Bradley •

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  Andr Andrew ew Ceci Cecill Brad Bradle ley y, FBA (26 March 1851   –  2 September 1935) wass an Engl wa Englis ish h lilite tera rary ry scho schola lar, r, best remembered for his work on Shakespeare.   H He e was the youngest of the twen wentyty-one child hildre ren n born to the the prea pr each cher er Char Charle less Brad Bradle ley y (1789 1789 –  1871 18 71)) who was vic vicar of Glas lasbury and a noted evangelical preacher  and leader of the so-called Clapham Sect.

 

Shakespearean tragedy •

  is the desig designat nation ion given given to most tragedi tragedies es writte written n by playwri playwright ght William Shakespeare. Many of his history plays share the qualifiers of a Shakespearean tragedy, but because they are based on real figures throughout the History of England, they were classified as "his "h isto tori ries es"" in the the Firs Firstt Folio Folio.. The The Roma Roman n trag traged edie iess — Julius Julius Caesar, Caesar, Anton tony and Cleo leopat patra and and Cori riol ola anus nus — are also based on historical figures, but because their source stories were foreign and ancient they are almost always classified as tragedies rather than histories. Shakespeare's romances (tragicomic plays) were written late la te in his his care career er and and publ publis ishe hed d orig origin inal ally ly as eith either er trag traged edy y or  comedy. They share some elements of tragedy featuring a high st stat atus us cent centrral char charac acte terr but but end end happ happilily y lilike ke Shak Shakes espe pear area ean n come co medi dies es.. Seve Severa rall hund hundre red d years ears afte afterr Sha Shakesp kespea eare re's 's deat death, h, scholar F.S. Boas also coined a fifth category, the "problem play," for plays that do not fit neatly into a single classification because of their subject matter, setting, or ending. The classifications of certain Shakespeare plays are still debated among scholars.

 

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