TERMENI:

Modernism: has its origins in the last 19th and early 20th century and it was a movement that shaped the development
of poetry, music, fiction, painting, drama, architecture and other forms of art. The literary movement was driven by a
conscious desire to raise against the traditional ways of expression and writing. The modernist authors felt that the
institutions they were taught to believe in betrayed them and made the world start the World War I. Therefore, they
tried to find new answers within themselves. Thinkers such as Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx were the first ones to
question the traditional ideas. British Modernists that followed this movement include the following: James Joyce,
Virginia Woolf, Aldous Huxley, D.H. Lawrence, and E.M. Forster.
1922: it is considered to be the peak of Modernism. Its the year marked by the publication of James Joyces Ulysses
and T.S. Eliots The Waste Land. According to some specialists, 1922 was the beginning of a new age: the birth of
mass-media along with the launch of BBC. The main point is that those two writers mentioned above had the
courage and the power to change the literary fiction forever.
Surrealism: (began in the 1920s) a movement founded by a group of artists and writers who wanted to find a way of
joining together the contradictory conditions of dream and reality. They allowed their unconscious to express itself,
using the element of surprise, which led to the Dada activities/movement. It relies very much on the ideas introduced
by Sigmund Freud and his way of questioning the psyche of the man. It glorified Modernity and aimed to liberate
itself from the weight of the past.
Dadaism: was an artistic movement of the 20th century and it began as a protest against the bourgeois and the
political interests, which many Dadaists believed were the root of the World War I. They expressed their rejection
against the artistic, cultural and intellectual conformity. Dada ignored the aesthetics and didnt believe in nay
particular meaning, but only in randomness. It relies very much on the ideas introduced by Sigmund Freud and his
way of questioning the psyche of the man. It glorified Modernity and aimed to liberate itself from the weight of the
past.
Vorticism: a movement that only lived for a short time in the British art and poetry, in the 20 th century. It was
inspired by Cubism and, also, it was closely related to Futurism. Its characterized by dynamism, speed, machines,
violence, harsh colours and bold lines. It glorified Modernity and aimed to liberate itself from the weight of the past.
Futurism: it was an artistic movement of the 20 th century, which had its origins in Italy. Its characterized by
dynamism, speed, machines, violence, harsh colours and bold lines. It glorified Modernity and aimed to liberate
itself from the weight of the past.
The Pre-Raphaelites: both an artistic and literary movement. The term originates from the association with The PreRaphaelite Brotherhood (Hunt, Rossetti and Millais) who wanted to defy all the conventions in art, to emphasize
humble objects, but still use the well-known concepts of painting, including the imitation of static nature. It glorified
Modernity and aimed to liberate itself from the weight of the past.
The Bloomsbury Group: was a group of British artists and writers who had the will to influence literature and
aestheticism. Two well-known members of this group were Virginia Woolf and E.M. Forster
Epiphany: is a sudden realization that allows a situation to be understood from a clearer point of view, from a deeper
perspective. When used as a literary device, even though the character has the epiphany, it may be narrated in such
way that the reader has the feeling of having it, and not the character. There are many example of epiphany writing
in the works of James Joyce. In fact, this was so important to him that he used it and even defined it in a particular
and individual way. This is very significant in his story The Dead from the collection Dubliners, where the main
character realizes the death is inevitable. The main feature of James Joyces epiphany is that it is vulgar and sublime
at the same time.

Aestheticism: was an artistic movement of the 19 th century that dedicated itself to emphasizing the importance of
aesthetic beauty and taste as a fundamental standard for literature, music and other arts. The British decadent writers
thought that life should copy art, that it doesnt have any didactic or political purpose, and, moreover, that it only
needs to be beautiful. Their philosophical slogan was art for arts sake. In England, The Pre-Raphaelite
Brotherhood (Hunt, Rossetti and Millais) showed the first signs of Aestheticism by cultivating sensibility towards
art.
The androgynous mind: is a concept theorized by Virginia Woolf in the book A Room of Ones Own. Long before the
cognitive scientists were able to explain how the mind works, Virginia Woolf affirmed that any individual brain
contains elements of both male and female qualities. The two of them live in harmony together and they
spiritually cooperate with all the other parts of ones identity in order to show emotions without impediments, to
be naturally creative. She says that a great mind is androgynous and that when the fusion takes place, the mind is
fully fertilized and it uses all of its faculties to create art. The character Lily Briscoe from To the Lighthouse seems
to be the embodiment of this concept. The manages to create a painting so powerful that is able to contain a
separation and a union at the same time. Therefore, she admits that I have had my vision.
The Oedipus complex: is one of Freuds most controversial idea. Essentially, it is used to describe the fact that a boy
can see his father as a competitor for the attention and the affection of the mother. This concept comes from the
Greek character Oedipus, who kills his father and marries his mother, Jocasta, without knowing that they were his
parents. In the British literature, we find this concept present in the novel Sons and lovers written by D.H. Lawrence.
The nature of Pauls relationship with his mother reflects the Oedipus complex in this writing. Mrs. Morel rejects
Miriams love for her favourite son because she couldnt bear to see some other woman giving Paul the affection she
used to give to him. After his mother dies, he feels empty and meaningless but resits the urge to commit suicide
because he wanted to do something with his existence. The Oedipus complex is the leading theme of this novel,
which was inspired by the real life experience of the author.
Big Ben: is a central London monument that it is often mentioned in the novel Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. In
her writing it has the role to emphasize the fact the time passes and nothing can make it stop. Even though its an
one-day novel, the iconic clock constantly signals with his bells what the time is, as a reminder that death is
inevitable, but also to show how important the daily rhythms are. Also, we find the Big Ben in Aldous Huxleys
novel Brave new world, where is called Big Henry (from Henry Ford)...
Stream of consciousness: is a narrative device used in literature to describe in words the flow of thoughts in the
minds of the characters. It can also be referred at as interior monologue because the character addresses the words
to itself. Some 20th century writers that used this literary device were James Joyce in Ulysses and Virginia Woolf in
her novel Mrs. Dalloway, where, by using the stream of consciousness, the characters have the opportunity to travel
back and forth through time. Moreover, we get the chance to be given an insight into the complex character of Mrs
Dalloway.
Bourgeois Modernity: is a concept that characterizes the Europeans from the 19 th century, who were beginning to
create a new lifestyle in which the bourgeois activities, people, attitudes and values had an essential role.
Dandy: the man the reinvented himself in reaction to society, who claims to have hobbies, to be superficial, to show
through his clothes and accessories all of his aesthetic ideas. A man who is fashionable, elegant, refined and very
self-controlled. Dandy writers were considered to be Baudelaire, Mallarme, Oscar Wilde who somehow wanted to
live a novelistic, fictional life.