The Age of Anxiety and the Century of Light: Twentieth-Century Literature, the Poet’s Mission, and the Vision of World Unity

Abstract

The twentieth century was a period of crisis and promise, a Century of Light and an “Age of Anxiety. ” Among the literary figures who recognized and confronted the spiritual and intellectual crisis of their time were W. B. Yeats, T.S. Eliot, W. H. Auden, and Kahlil Gibran, among others. Through reference to their works, this article examines the mission of the poet—to bear witness, to maintain the integrity of language, to express and to live those eternal truths and values that lift and inspire the human spirit and which can serve as the basis of a culture of peace and unity.