In 1901, when Queen Victoria died, became king her son as Edward VII.

Although his reign was short, he gave his name to an age: the Edwardian Age. He modernized monarchy and brought a sense of fun to a royal court. He demonstrated his skill when he signed an agreement with France (Entente Cordiale 1904) which established that France could pursue its interest in Egypt and France in Morocco. He also signed another agreement with France which established that Britain could count on France and Russia. Socially there werent any important reforms between Edwardian and Vicotrian Age because for example there still were the inequality of wealth or class distinction. Just in 1906 with the victor of the Liberals started the first social reforms regarding the poor. The Liberals where divided into two groups: those who supported the traditional liberal values, and those who supported a New Liberalism. One of New Liberals was David George Lloyd who believed Government had responsibility toward poor people. Another important New Liberal was Winston Churchill. The Childrens Charter was a series of laws helping children, so for example free meals were given to poor children. One of the main causes of poverty was the age, but also unemployment. In 1909 were fixed minimum wages and in 1911 workers were given benefits. These reforms were the beginning of welfare state. Liberals decide that House of Lords must be reformed. In 1911 the Parliament Act made it impossible for the Lords to reject a bill about money and general elections would be every five years. In 1900 woman were still the second class of citizens and thy couldnt vote. So they founded Womans Social and Political Union and the suffragettes started publicity because they would have the right to vote. In 1918 woman aged 30 and over could vote. In this period started to appear popular newspapers such as The Times. Soon after was launched in 1896 the Daily Mail, it cost only halfpenny , the articles were short, the vocabulary was simple and the layout attractive. About transport the underground railway was electrified only after 1905. BRITAIN AND WORLD WAR I Edward VII was succeeded in 1911 by his son crowned as George V. This period is the period of WW1. Europe was divided into two parts: the Triple alliance between Germany, Austria and Italy; and the Triple Entente between French, Britain and Russia. The rivalry between Austria and Russia broke out in 1914 when Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo. Austria had to defend Serbia against Germany. But when Germany wanted to attack French, marching on Belgium, Britain declared war on Germany(august 1914) . In Britain there were a lot of people with romantic ideas so they wanted to do war. Also the government persuaded men by propaganda. During this people a lot of people die so the government introduced conscription for all men aged 18-41. So woman replaced men in their jobs and this aspect contributed to bring womans suffrage. German expected a brief conflict so it had better equipment and it was helped by French in the Battle of the Marne. Another important front of the war was at sea because Germany decidet to attack Britain with submarines but Britain was helped by USA which send fresh troops to block Germany. The war ended in November 1918. The peace was signed in 1919 at Versailles by Britain, French, Italy and USA. The American president, Wilson fourteen points to prevents future wars. THE TWENTIES AND THE THIRTIES. In 1916 the Irish volunteers organized a rebellion and proclaimed an Irish Republic. The rebellion was crushed but became a symbol of Irish heroism. In the 1918 election Sinn Fein party won and they set up so Irish Parliament in Dublin and once more proclaimed an irish republic. In 1919 irish volunteers prepared for civil war , which began during Easter 1920. In 1921 the Irish Free State was established under De Valera and in 1949 took place the official proclamation of the republic of Ireland. After the war the constant disputes between the coal miners and the mine owners led to General Strike on 1926.

Europe and America knew a period of depression while when King decide to marry a divorced American woman met the opposition of all parties so he decided to abdicate and was succeeded by George VI. The Spanish war drugged on April 1939 and won Francisco Franco with the assistance of Mussolini and Hitler. The most important changing concerned Britain after the war is the difference between North and South. During this period newspapers were supplemented by the development of radio. THE SECOND WORLD WAR In 1938 Germany took over Czechoslovakia and Britain, according with Hitler, was convinced that Germany would go no further but six month later Germany invaded the rest of country and Britain thought war was inevitable. Whereas in 1939 Germany invaded Poland and World War II broke out. Between 1939 and 1940 Germany had many successes, in 1940 nobody expected Hitler to be defeated. There were several reasons for German defeat for example Germany didnt manage to get control of the air over English Channel. In 1941 Hitler decided to invade the URSS but German army was destroyed by the long Russian winter so German had to surrendered in 1943. The American intervention in 1941 followed a Japanese air-attack on Pearl Harbor. France and Belgium were liberated in 1945 and Germany finally surrendered after Hitler suicide. In the same year was ordered the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. THE AGE OF ANXIETY At the end of 19th century the Victorian system come to an end and prevails the positivistic faith in progress and science which helped people to believe that all human misery would be eliminate. Also social and economic investigation were done following scientific principles. The First World War left the country in a disillusioned and cynical mood and the 19th century proved comfortable only for the privileged classes. During this period increase a sense of frustration, nothing seemed to be right or certain. Scientist and philosophers destroyed the old conception of universe sustained by Victorians. The first set of new ideas was introduced by Freud which discovered the unconscious side of human life, so mans action were motivated by irrational forces. Freud give enormous importance on the libido, manifested in the Oedipus phase in which the child sees the father as a rival for his mothers affections. The relationship between parents and children was altered; the Freudian concept of infantile sexuality focused attention at the childhood. The philosophe introduced a new method of investigation of the human mind through the analysis of dreams and concept of free association. Soon after Jung continued Freuds studies and added the concept of collective unconscious , as a cultural memory containing the universal beliefs of human race. Only the psychologist could understand these symbols and explain them. The growing crisis of confidence was also due with the introduction the theory of relativity by Albert Einstein, which discarded the concepts of time and space. The world view lost its solidity and the scientific revolution was complemented by the verbal experimentation and the exploration of memory in literature. The concept of time was studied by William James which thought that our mind records every single experience as a flow of the alredy into the not yet. Another philosopher was Henry Bergson which distinguished historical time, external and linear; and psicological time, internal and subjective. Bergson gave guidance to writers to capture the effects of emotional relativity. MODERNISM The main artistic center of the 20th century was Paris, and this period brought extraordinary originality and vitality in art. The term modernism is used to refer to this powerful international movement reaching through western cultures. It covers a variety of trends and currents that contributed to expressing the nature of modern experience. This movement expressed the desire to break with established forms and try to explore psychological side of characters under the influence of Freud. This aspect introduced the stream of consciousness technique and the interior monologue.

About poetry it mixed slang with elevated language and often employed symbols and fragmented images. MAIN FEATURES -the distortion of shapes -the breaking down of limitation in space and time -the subjectivity in writing, the stream of consciousness -the seem of poetry at documentary and prose at poetic -the use of allusive language -the importance given to the sound of words -the importance of unconscious as well as conscious life -the need to reflect the complexity of modern urban life in artistic form