1.Introduction (by Paola Enguix Fernández)

2.Influence of Byronism until World War II

2.1 Byron’s influence on Victorian writer Charlotte Bronte (by Mª José Jorquera Hervas)

2.2 The 20th century

2.2.1 The first decades of the 20th century (by Josué Álvarez Conejos)

2.2.2 The thirties (by Manuela Elisa Blanes Monllor and Julia Fernández Chiva)

From the beginning of the 20th century, poetry has been acquiring many forms. By the 1930s it was regarded as Modernist poetry both in its form and its content. In general, it was characterized by the extensive use of free verse and for the fact that the main poets left aside the romantic idea of an unproblematic poetic ‘self’ directly addressing an equally unproblematic ideal reader or audience.

In particular, this kind of poetry was characterized by:

- Open form.
- Free verse, as mentioned before.
- Discontinuous narrative.
- Juxtaposition.
- Intertextuality.
- Classical allusions.
- Borrowing from other cultures and languages.
- Unconventional use of metaphors.

Thematically, the poets paid attention to the problems of the period. By the 1930s, people in general and poets in particular knew that the First World War, that had taken place little time before, was not going to be the last war ever. It had left many problems behind and many of these influenced the poetry of the time. The themes to which the poetry was often dedicated were:

- Breakdown of social norms and culture sureties.
- Dislocation of meaning and sense from its normal context.
- Disillusionment, which was a general feeling towards the WWI.
- Overwhelming technological changes of the 20th century.
- Product of the metropolis of cities and urbanscapes.
- Rejection of history.

The models to which this poetry resorted were different from those of former times; the poets gave importance to Greek literature, Japanese and Chinese poetry, the troubadours and Dante.

In England, modernism could be found in the form of magazines and publications, which were read by a dedicated though small audience.

During this period two other groups of poets appeared: the Objectivists and the Surrealists. The first group stood out for the fact that they considered a poem as an object, whose main task was the transmission of sincerity, intelligence and a clear view of the world.

The other tendency (Surrealism) emerged from the poets’ interest in French Poetry. Among the British poets belonging to this trend there are David Gascoyne, George Becker and Hugh Sykes. However, this particular tendency had more strength in Ireland, many of whose poets emigrated to Paris moved by their interest in French Poetry and their desire to join the circle of James Joyce. Among these poets, the most important were Samuel Beckett, Thomas MacGreevy, Brian Coffey and Denis Devin.

2.2.3 The forties (by Jessica Aguilar Vinyoles and Cristina Camps Pérez)

3.Conclusion (by Aina García Coll and Mª Llanos García Martínez)