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The Fabian Society

an organisation dedicated to advancing democratic socialism through gradual reform rather than revolution

Aestheticism

advocates believed that beauty itself was the highest goal of art and artistic expression should be independent of ethical and social concerns

Decadence

indulging in artificiality, dandyism and exotic experiences

The Yellow Book

a key British journal, named after its bold, yellow cover. It’s influence caused the 1890s to be named the Yellow Decade

The Savoy

another magazine, rival to The Yellow Book

Modernism

Reacting against Victorian realism, modernist writers and artists experimented with form, perspective, and subjectivity, seeking new ways to express the rapidly changing world

Stream of consciousness

capturing the flow of human thought

Fragmented narrative

abandoning the usual plot structure

Epiphany

moment of sudden realisation

The Abbey Theatre

champions Irish drama and nationalism. Cofunded by W. B Yeats. Members: Lady Gregory, J. M Synge, Douglas Hyde

Irish Literary Revival

sought to create a distinctly Irish national literature

Gyre

Yeats idea of a historical cycle

Bloomsbury group

a group of writers who rejected victorian traditions in favour of progressive methods. Virginia and Leopold Woolf, Vanessa and Clive Bell, Roger Fry, Lytton Strachey, John Keynes, Duncan Grant, Dora Carrington

Edwardian fiction

a bridge between victorian and modernist fiction. Shifts focus towards the complexities of human relationships and psychological depth. Followed a linear structure, rich descriptions

Centre of consciousness technique

developed by Henry James, focused on the internal thoughts of a single character

Focalisation

developed by Henry James, this technique controls the readers’ acces to information by filtering events through the conciousness of a particular character

The Oxford Group

The Auden Circle: W. H Auden, Stephen Spender, Cecil Day

1940s

There was a shift from political activism to personal and philosophical exploration. Deep explorations of morality, evil, human nature, and spirituality