This blog is prepared as part of the lab activity assigned by Professor and Dr. Dilip Barad Sir, focusing on A. C. Ward’s essay “The Setting of Twentieth Century English Literature.”
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"From Certainty to Chaos: A. C. Ward’s Analysis of the Twentieth-Century Literary Landscape"
Here is the Mind Map Of A. C. Ward’s “The Setting of Twentieth Century English Literature.” Click Here
Concise Structure of A. C. Ward’s Essay on Twentieth-Century English Literature
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Here is a “BRIEFING DOCUMENT” (REPORT) on The Setting of Twentieth Century English Literature by A. C. Ward’s
A Synthesis of 20th Century English Literary and Social Transformation
Executive Summary
The first half of the twentieth century in England marked a period of unprecedented and violent upheaval, fundamentally reshaping the nation's social, moral, and literary landscape. This era was defined by a radical break from the Victorian mindset, which was characterized by a belief in the permanence of its institutions and an uncritical acceptance of authority. Driven by a "Scientific Revolution" that yielded both technological progress and moral relapse, the new century fostered an "interrogative habit of mind," famously championed by figures like Bernard Shaw. This questioning spirit, while invigorating to some, created a spiritual vacuum for the masses.
Literary culture fractured into distinct, often opposing, movements. Groups like the Fabian Society subordinated art to sociological and political aims, paving the way for the Welfare State, while the Bloomsbury Group sought to restore the primacy of art and intellectualism. The pivotal year of 1922, with the publication of James Joyce's Ulysses and T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land, signaled a profound shift, as literature "retreated into an esoteric fastness," creating a chasm between popular authors and an intellectual elite. This was accompanied by the rise of a "dictatorial intellectualism" in criticism that held the "common reader" in contempt.
The post-World War II era, despite the material benefits of the "affluent" Welfare State, did not produce contentment. Instead, it was marked by sullen discontent, the rise of mass consumerism fueled by manipulative advertising, and a "cult of immaturity" manifested in youth revolts like the Beatnik movement. The period saw a corresponding decline in cultural standards, with intelligent satire devolving into witless ridicule and Victorian reticence giving way to a culture of public exhibitionism.
I. The Twentieth-Century Upheaval: A Break from Victorian Certainty
The period separating the reign of Queen Victoria from that of Queen Elizabeth II witnessed a series of upheavals more remarkable than those of "perhaps fifty generations in the past." This transformation was driven by scientific advancement and a profound shift in worldview, leading to a complete rejection of the preceding era's core tenets.
A. The Dual Impact of the Scientific Revolution
The defining feature of the century was the Scientific Revolution, which produced contradictory outcomes of "progress and regress."
• Technological Progress: The perfecting of the internal combustion engine led to the aeroplane and the motor car, granting "almost unlimited mobility to millions." The development of nuclear power held the "possibility of world protection" through the fear of mutual annihilation.
• Moral and Spiritual Relapse: The same technologies enabled "mass slaughter in two world wars" and threatened "universal destruction." The mobility granted to youth allowed them to "exude natural parental guidance and control," contributing to a "revolt of youth" with unpredictable repercussions.
B. The Victorian Mindset vs. The Twentieth-Century Reaction
The early twentieth century defined itself in opposition to the Victorian age, which it viewed as "dull and hypocritical." The core values and mental attitudes of the two eras stood at "almost the opposite extreme."
Victorian Characteristic
Twentieth-Century Reaction
Acceptance of Authority: A "widespread and willing submission to the rule of the Expert" and an "insistent attitude of acceptance" of authority in religion, politics, and family life.
Interrogation of Authority: A restless desire to "probe and question." Bernard Shaw's creed was "Question! Examine! Test!", challenging every dogma until "personally examined and consciously accepted."
Belief in Permanence: A "firm belief in the permanence of nineteenth century institutions" such as the home, the constitution, the Empire, and Christianity, viewing them as "a final revelation." The Victorians saw themselves "living in a house built on unshakable foundations."
Sense of Universal Mutability: The Victorian idea of permanence was "displaced by the sense of a universal mutability." H. G. Wells spoke of "the flow of things" and described the world not as a home, but as "the mere sight of a home. On which we camped."
Unexamined Convictions: Victorian faith and morality often seemed to be "mere second-hand clothing of the mind and spirit," lacking a "core of personally realised conviction."
Demand for Personal Conviction: The new spirit, articulated by Shaw's character Andrew Undershaft, demanded the scrapping of "old prejudices and its old moralities and its old religions." This left some invigorated, while for others, the rock they "thought eternal... reeled and crumbled."
II. Competing Literary and Intellectual Movements
The revolt from Victorianism gave rise to several distinct intellectual and artistic factions, each with a different vision for the role of literature and the individual in society.
A. The Fabian Society: Art for the Community's Sake
Founded in 1884, the Fabian Society attracted authors like Bernard Shaw and H. G. Wells and was primarily driven by "sociological and political motives."
• Primary Goal: To spread "Socialist opinions" and achieve the "social and political changes consequent thereon." Literature was considered secondary to these aims.
• Key Figures: Beatrice and Sidney Webb were the "prime movers," whose research and reports, such as the Minority Report on poor-law reform (1909), became "essential manuals for socialists."
• Legacy: The Webbs were "the architects of the Welfare state." Their system of State control, while providing "unprecedented material and physical benefit to millions," was criticized for being "blind to the leaven in the social lump- the exceptional, the eccentric, the individually independent-minded." This focus on the collective led to the dominance of "Mass Man" over the individual.
B. The Bloomsbury Group: A Return to Art and Intellect
This circle of friends, including Virginia Woolf, E. M. Forster, Lytton Strachey, and J. M. Keynes, restored "though with a difference, the art-for-art's sake principle."
• Characteristics: They were intellectuals who valued good manners and felt themselves to be of "superior mentality," tending to be "contemptuous of lesser minds." They had firm contact with the world, though Virginia Woolf was seen to believe "the world was made in her own image."
• Keynes's Influence: J. M. Keynes stood out as a man of affairs. His economic theories revolutionized British thinking, and his book The Economic Consequences of the Peace (1919) was a "destructive commentary" on the Versailles Treaty. It is believed to have encouraged the German view that the treaty was "intolerably unjust, a humiliation that could only be wiped out by a war of revenge."
C. The Political Turn: Art as a Handmaiden to Politics
In the 1930s, as the European political scene darkened, a conviction grew among younger writers that "no art could justify itself except as the Hands made of politics."
• Proletarian Literature: This creed led to "much dreary polemics," as writers suppressed their creative ability for what they saw as social service.
• Intellectual Slumming: The author describes a trend where "Victorian Social slumming among the deserving poor was displaced by intellectual slumming among the workers."
• Forster's Dissent: E. M. Forster argued against the total submission of the artist to the community, citing "Boredom: disgust: indignation against the herd" as valid motives for retreat into the "Ivory Tower." He stated, "The community is a selfish and, to further its own efficiency, is a traitor to the side of human nature which expresses itself in solitude."
III. The Transformation of Literature and Criticism
The twentieth century witnessed a fundamental split in the nature of literature and the role of the critic, moving from broad public communication to specialized, esoteric discourse.
A. The 1922 Watershed: Joyce, Eliot, and Esoteric Literature
The publication of James Joyce's Ulysses and T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land in 1922 is identified as the moment when "literature left the highroad of communication and retreated into an esoteric fastness."
• The Pre-1922 Era: Leading writers like Hardy, Kipling, Shaw, Wells, Bennett, and Galsworthy were respected by critics and "enjoyed by the general body of averagely intelligent readers."
• The Post-1922 Era: The new literature appealed "only to a small and fastidious public," creating a new orthodoxy of intellectualism.
B. The Divide Between the "Common Reader" and the Intellectual Elite
A deep-seated "contempt for normal intelligence" characterized the new intellectualism.
• Stuart Gilbert on Joyce: An early interpreter of Ulysses, Stuart Gilbert wrote that Joyce "never once betrayed the authority of intellect to the hydra-headed rabble of the mental underworld."
• T. S. Eliot on Literature: In The Criterion, Eliot argued that those who see an "antimony between ‘literature’... and life are not only flattering the complacency of the half-educated, but asserting a principle of disorder."
• Enduring Popularity: The author counters this intellectual disdain by pointing to the commercial realities of publishing, noting that while critics claimed "‘Nobody reads Galsworthy now’", his novel The Forsyte Saga "progressed steadily towards its fiftieth impression."
C. Critiques of Academic Criticism
The new style of criticism, based on close textual analysis, is heavily criticized for its isolation, arrogance, and potential for error.
• Isolation from Life: Professional academic scholars are handicapped by their "isolation from ‘life’ as it is lived by the community at large." When literature becomes "little but raw material for university exercise," it becomes a "process of professional inbreeding, a kind of cerebral incest."
• The Empson Error: Professor William Empson's book Seven Types of Ambiguity (1930) was "taken as gospel by a generation of students." However, his entire analysis of a T. S. Eliot poem was based on a printer's transposition error in the third edition of the text, an error that "was not caught up until sixth edition." The syntactic ambiguity Empson admired was introduced by "the faulty printer- and not the poet."
IV. The Post-War Affluent Society and Its Cultural Consequences
The establishment of the Welfare State after 1945 created an "affluent State" but failed to produce the expected social contentment, instead ushering in a new set of cultural and moral problems.
A. The Welfare State: Material Gain and Spiritual Discontent
The removal of economic stress did not bring happiness.
• Unfulfilled Promise: A "mood of sullen discontent settled upon large numbers of those whom the new order had been designed to benefit."
• Unexpected Consequences: "Crime and prostitution, hitherto believed to be by–products of poverty, flourished as never before."
• Social Rootlessness: Increased educational opportunities bred young people who were "culturally served from their families and socially rootless."
B. The Age of Mass Man, Consumerism, and Manipulative Advertising
The era saw the rise of a consumer culture driven by sophisticated and often insidious advertising techniques.
• Conspicuous Waste: Habits once condemned as "'conspicuous waste' on the part of the 'idle rich' were in fact common to all classes when means permitted."
• Psychological Manipulation: Advertisers utilized "'depth psychology' which subtly inculcate the belief that there is an intimate connexion between human love and... beer, chocolates, gas stoves, refrigerators, corsets, face paint, footwear."
• Concerns for Youth: The National Union of Teachers expressed anxiety about advertising "slanted to suggest that it is manly and grown-up to smoke and drink" and the suggestion that "a girl’s sole purpose is to attract and keep man."
C. The Revolt of Youth: The "Cult of Immaturity" and the Beatnik Phenomenon
The "affluent society" fostered a youth revolt that received significant adult encouragement due to the "unprecedented and mainly undiscriminating spending power" of adolescents.
• The Beatniks: Originating in California around 1946, American beatniks professed "utter disgust" with debased society and chose to "contract-out." They abandoned respectable taboos, embraced promiscuity and drug addiction, and flirted with Zen Buddhism. British beatniks were a "twisted reflection" of this.
• Beatnik Characteristics: They were characterized by personal decrepitude, wearing shoddy "jeans" and baggy sweaters that made the sexes "often indistinguishable." In London, they existed in "high-principled squalor" in Chelsea.
D. A Decline in Manners: From Satire to Exhibitionism
The period was marked by a "contempt for authority" and a degradation of cultural norms.
• "Bastard Satire": What passed for satire in the 1950s "did not rise above witless innocence, an infallible recipe for popularity with the many who delight in ridicule and derision." It cheapened and degraded a high literary art.
• The Personality Cult: Victorian "commendable reticence and modesty" was replaced by a preference to "lives in public." Television and other media created a "passion for exhibitionism, not least among writers, scholars and politicians."
• Fickle Fame: The author concludes that "In no previous generation had it been so easy to gain a reputation, or so easy to lose it."
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- When I first started this lab activity, I explored the spirit of the twentieth century as explained by A. C. Ward, trying to understand how social, cultural, and intellectual changes influenced literature. I also learned to create Hindi podcasts and video summaries, which helped me explain literary ideas and key concepts from Ward’s essay in my own way.
- I developed the ability to prepare both concise and detailed reports, which allowed me to organize complex literary information and the social-historical context clearly and systematically.
- I gained experience in designing two types of infographics—one to summarize major literary movements and concepts visually, and another to show detailed relationships between authors, works, and historical events.
- Working with digital tools to combine text, images, and audio taught me how to present literary content in a more professional and engaging way.
- I practiced synthesizing and organizing literary and historical information, which deepened my understanding of modernist literature and its social, cultural, and intellectual contexts, and created mind maps to represent connections between literary movements, authors, critical ideas, and societal changes.
- Finally, I learned to manage the entire digital workflow from literary analysis to multimedia creation, infographic design, report writing, and mind mapping which helped me combine critical thinking, creative presentation, and digital skills to study literature in a modern and professional way.
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