(1) Automatic Writing

Automatic writing basically means that you scribble away without interrupting the thoughts, images, and sentences that come into your head. It's a kind of "free writing" that allows all kinds of interesting juxtapositions and associations to develop.

(2) Juxtaposition

The Surrealists loved juxtaposing extremely different images. For example, a chair might be described in terms of a salad, or hair could be associated with sentences in a book. This juxtaposition of contrasting imagery is one of the defining characteristics of Surrealism.

(3) Association

Association is another literary technique the Surrealists were nuts about. It's closely linked to automatic writing and juxtaposition, and it involves linking together thoughts and images in a flow—even when these thoughts and images may not seem to have much to do with one another.

(4) The Irrational

We've all got that crazy, irrational part of ourselves that makes us do things that are totally not in our self-interest—like eating a pint of Phish Food for breakfast. The Surrealists were very interested in the irrational and the way that the irrational shapes our identity and our perception.

(5) The Unconscious

According to the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, beneath the tip of our conscious mind lays the iceberg of the unconscious. It's that part of ourselves that's hidden and elusive. The Surrealists viewed the unconscious as the source of inspiration for their writing, and they tapped into it through techniques like automatic writing.

(6) Dream and Fantasy

Surrealist literature often evokes dream and fantasy worlds. The Surrealists were interested in escaping conventional reality as we know it, and dreams and fantasies provided them with a way out of the "real" into the "Sur-real."

(7) Revolution

It's the understatement of the century to say that the Surrealists were nonconformists. They not only wanted to transform literary conventions, they wanted to transform social and political conventions. It's no surprise, then, that that their work emphasizes change and transformation.

(8) Dada

No, we're not saying "father" in baby-talk. Dada was a movement in the visual arts and literature that preceded Surrealism. The Surrealists were inspired by the Dadaist's obsession with "anti-art" and their emphasis on the irrational. Some famous Surrealist poets started off as Dadaists.

(9) The First Manifesto of Surrealism

This manifesto, written and published in 1924 by André Breton, is your guide to all things melting clock. It defined many of the principles of the movement, including concepts like automatic writing, and the emphasis on creating new forms of perception.

(10) World War I

Surrealism developed shortly after World War I ended in 1918. The War, of course, caused massive destruction and death in Europe—millions of people died. Surrealism developed partly as a response to the "surreal" experience of the war itself. What could be more insane than poison gas and trench warfare, after all?