BRITISHBringing

LITERATURE
out their 20th contributions
WHAT CAN YOU SEE IN THIS PAINTING?
What is illusionary in this painting?
The twentieth century has been viewed as a time of
expectations and disenchantment. What in this
painting might reveal that disenchantment?
“
“The beauty of the world has two edges, one of
laugther, one of anguish, cutting the heart asunder.”

Virgina Woolfy
Queen Victoria died at the age of 82 due to
cerebrovascular hemorrhage.
People mourned as they saw her as their idol.
As her son, King Edward VII steps in as their ruler,
they worried that his personal life may carry into the
public domain.
However, he died only nine years after being a king
due to heart attack.
HISTORY OF THE TIME - EDWARD VII

He was the one who secured friendship of several

major Europeans countries, leading the group called
Entente Cordiale.
Because of this, he earned the title of Edward the
Peacemaker.
With him died the peace, power, and privilege of the
people.
HISTORY OF THE TIME - WORLD WAR I

When Belgium was invaded by the Germans, King

George V - son of King Edward VII - took it as threat
and declared war.
Britain, France and Russia joined against Germany,
Austro-Hungary, and Turkey.
It only ended as they made Germany sign the Treaty
of Versailles.
HISTORY OF THE TIME - WORLD WAR II

In 1933, Adolph Hitler, head of the National Socialist

German Labor Party or “Nazi” became the chancellor
of Germany on a platform of rabid nationalism and
vengeance.
He conquered with his Blitzkrieg or Lightning war.
When he invaded Poland, Britain and France declared
war. Thus, the World War II began.
HISTORY OF THE TIME - WORLD WAR II

In 1941, London was destroyed and 60,000 civilians died.

Winston Churchill, head of the Cabinet joined forces with
US President Roosevelt to end the war.
On June 6, 1944, US and Britain Forces landed in
Normandy, France.
After a year, Germany surrendered and Hitler with his
wife committed suicide.
HISTORY OF THE TIME - MODERN DAY

British Empire dissolve into federation of

independent countries: Canada, Australia, New
Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Nigeria,
Sierra Leone, and the West Indies.
The economy suddenly fluctuated.
In 1997, Tony Blair became the youngest prime
minister for almost 200 years.
HISTORY OF THE TIME - WOMEN’S RIGHTS

All women over twenty-one were granted the right to

vote.
They also entered workforce.
Laws designed protection to women’s rights like the
Equal Pay Act of 1970.
In 1979, Margaret Thacter became the first woman
prime minister and elected three times in a row.
LIFE OF THE TIME - TECHNOLOGY
• This is known as the Age of Technology.
• Beginning of radio (where King Edward VIII was
the first king who abdicated)
• First TV system began
• Microprossesor was invented
LIFE OF THE TIME - IMMIGRATION
• Immigrants from West Indies, began to arrive from
547 in 1948 to 19920 ten years later.
• There were also Indian, Asians, Africans, and
Middle Easterners.
LIFE OF THE TIME - FIRSTS
• First motor buses in London
• American-born Lady Astor became the first woman
member in House of Commons
LIFE OF THE TIME – FOOD AND FASHION
• Women begun using undergarments that creates an
illusion of S-shaped body in the Edwardian Era.
• After World War I, skirts and hairs became
scandalously short.
• World War II brought clothes that are very simple like
uniforms.
LIFE OF THE TIME – FOOD AND FASHION
• Sixties era brought miniskirts, bell-bottoms, punk, and
hip-hop styles.
• Britons enjoyed Indian and Chinese as they welcomed
the convenience of “carry-out” dining and fastfood.
• More than 800 supermarkets opened between 1956 to
1961 alone.
LIFE OF THE TIME – ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
• 1920s – Henry Moore’s soulpture
• 1945- cinema
• The Beatles, The Who, and The Rolling Stones
• 1909 – Gordon Selfridge opened the first true department
store in London.
• Football – soccer to Americans – grew popular as a sports.
LITERATURE OF THE TIME – PEOPLE ARE READING…

• War Poems – Many authors were inspired to write after

the horrors of the World War.
• Tabloid – in 1962, tabloid was developed as a
supplement to the Sunday newspaper. People were so
angry to tabloid journalist for fabricating them.
However, they were praised after their scoop with the
death of Princess Diana.
• World Wide Web
LITERATURE OF THE TIME – PEOPLE ARE WRITING…

• Letters
• During wartime, letters provided emotional
lifelines to soldiers and those who were left
behind
• In the latter part of the century, people started to
send through emails
LITERATURE OF THE TIME – THEMES

• Modernism
• Stream of Consciousness
1. The one who secured friendship of several major
European countries.
Answer: Edward VII
2. Which of the following is not one of the
independent countries which the British Empire has
dissolved into?
Answer: Nepal
3. The common themes of British literature often stray
from modernism and stream of consciousness.
Answer: False
4. King Edward VII took the invasion of Belgium by
Germans as a threat.
Answer: False
5. What marked the end of World War I?
Answer: Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles
6. During the World War II, when was London
destroyed causing the death of approximately 60,000
civilians?
Answer: 1941
7. The first woman member in the House of
Commons.
Answer: Lady Astor
8. After the first World War, the clothing of people
became simplistic.
Answer: False
9. The age of technology brought about the following
except:
Answer: storage drives
10. People of the time read war poems that are based
on the horrors of the aftermath of the World War.
Answer: True
11. A law designed to protect woman's rights during
that time.
Answer: Equal Pay Act of 1970
12. Who was the youngest Prime Minister of Britain
for almost 200 years?
Answer: Tony Blair
13. Adolf Hitler's conquering strategy called
"________" or Lightning War.
Answer: Blitzkrieg
14. All women over eighteen were granted the right to
vote.
Answer: False
15. The first woman Prime Minister and was elected
three consecutive times.
Answer: Margaret Thatcher
16. This type of newspaper was developed in 1962 as
a supplement to the Sunday newspaper.
Answer: Tabloid