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Literature of the American South William Faulkner
Modernism in literature.pdf
Themes of modernist literature
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Recommended: Literature of the American South William Faulkner
William Faulkner, T.S. Eliot and Robert Frost all had an amazing ability to write and were at the forefront as literary authors of modernism which was not a period, but a faction, an attitude that focused on individualism, randomness of life, etc. Their writings were based on a worldly position that included most poets. They contributed intellectually to literature as well as made aesthetic innovations in a modernist context. Their uniqueness as authors set them apart from the average author of their day. Their literary modernism themes were of dishonesty and decay, failure and despair, race affairs, and inescapable revolutionize. These elements were mainly founded on the world transformation as to the reaction of war and depression. Not only were they in a place of melancholy but also the economy was at risk. Therefore, taking a deeper look at the role of aesthetic innovation in a modernist context of the works of William Faulkner, T.S. Eliot and Robert Frost reveals their originality as modern literary authors. The original stance of William Faulkner was intriguing. He used the recurring settings in some of his collection of works, for example in The Sound and the Fury (1929) and As I Lay Dying (1930). For instance, in the storyline, at least with these two fiction tales, he mentioned Yoknapatwpha County. Faulkner does the same thing with regards to a few of his characters, for example, Vernon and Cora Tull who are in As I Lay Dying as well as in The Hamlet (1940). His books tie together because he had recurring locations and characters. Moreover, Faulkner used the American South as a universal theme throughout his novels. Additionally, with As I Lay Dying the narration structure and/or plot structure is not con... ... middle of paper ... ...imes via their themes of life and death. It was apparent, with a dark tone that the attitude of the modernist was of melancholy. Faulkner, Eliot and Frost were great authors who included modernism content throughout their works. Today, they stand among the greatest of literary classical authors of all time. Works Cited Faulkner, William. The Sound and the Fury (1929), As I Lay Dying (1930), and The Hamlet (1940). The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 2nd Volume, 4th Edition. Frost, Robert. Stopped By Woods on a Snowy Evening (1923), Home Burial (1915), and The Road Not Taken (1915). The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 2nd Volume, 4th Edition. King David. The Holy Bible. “Psalm 22:6.” T. S. Eliot wrote, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (1915). The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 2nd Volume, 4th Edition.
Eliot, T.S.. "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." An Introduction to Poetry. 13th ed. of the year.
William Faulkner is often considered to be the greatest writer in the America history. His fame rests largely on his novels, especially for his closely examination of the southern culture. "That evening sun" is a good example of it.
Eliot, T.S.. "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M.H. Abrams. New York: Norton, 1996. 2459-2463.
Eliot, T.S.. "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Ed. M.H. Abrams. New York: Norton, 1996.
William Faulkner, one of America’s great modernist writers, born in New Albany, Mississippi on September 25, 1897 and died on July 6, 1962. He was the author of many novels and short stories… and was even awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1950. One of his most famous novels written was, As I Lay Dying. Faulkner spent most of his writing life in Mississippi and set all of his fiction there. Using his literary prowess, Faulkner ultimately created an entire world out of his various novels in which he named Yoknapatawpha.
William Faulkner was born in New Albany, Mississippi, in 1897. He wrote a variety of short stories, plays, and novels, including the classic As I Lay Dying. This innovative novel, published in 1930, has a sense of dark humour and shock value. It has an unconventional narrative style, with 15 first person narrators. As I Lay Dying features The Bundrens, an incredibly poor family who live on their farm in Yoknapatawpha County, a fictional county in Mississippi.
The. Print. The. 2 vols. The “William Faulkner.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 9 Oct 2013.
The modernist period, stretching from the late 19th century to approximately 1960, is a very distinct phase in the progression of American literature, employing the use of novel literary techniques which stray away from the traditional literary styles observed in the time preceding the period. Modernist writers explore new styles themes, and content in their compositions, encompassing issues ranging from race (Kate Chopin) to gender (H.D.) to sexuality (James Baldwin), as well as many others. The Modernist movement, however novel and unique, did not develop spontaneously. A few writers leading up to the movement exhibit obvious modernist views in their writing. These include male writers Ralph Waldo Emerson and Walt Whitman, both of which had literature widely published through out their lives, influencing modernist writers to come. There is also, however, another writer who, though lesser known to the earliest modern composers, was one of the first female writers to show an obvious propensity towards modernist ideals; Emily Dickinson. Though chronologically placed in the Romantic period, Emily Dickinson’s poetry, most published after her death beginning in 1890, exemplifies many modernist tendencies. Her stylistic oddities, such as her interesting diction, capitalization, rhythms, and use of the dash, as well as her feminist views, detach Dickinson from the other poets of her time. Once finally published posthumously, Dickinson’s writings came to influence modernist writers through out the 20th century. One writer in particular who “was immensely influenced by Dickinson’s poetry and sought to probe the extreme reaches of consciousness and truth just as Dickinson had” (Langdell, 84)...
The birth of the modernist movement in American literature was the result of the post-World War I social breakdown. Writers adopted a disjointed fragmented style of writing that rebelled against traditional literature. One such writer is William Faulkner, whose individual style is characterized by his use of “stream of consciousness” and writing from multiple points of view.
Ryan, Michael, Gregory Castle, Robert Eaglestone, and M K. Booker. "Modernism." The Encyclopedia of Literary and Cultural Theory. Malden: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011. Web.
William Faulkner’s work has influenced many people today. He is known for his use of words and his theme. William Faulkner is also known as one of the greatest American authors of the twentieth century. His greatest work is A Fable, which won a Pulitzer Prize. William Faulkner was raised a southern boy, whose writing was influenced by two people and one major event, and his greatest work A Fable. A preeminent figure in twentieth-century American literature, Faulkner created a profound and complex body of work in which he often explored exploitation and corruption in the American South. Many of Faulkner’s novels and short stories are set in Yoknapatawpha County, a fictional area reflecting the geographical and cultural background of his native Mississippi. Faulkner’s works frequently reflect the history of the South while developing perceptive explorations of the human character. Faulkner used a variety of narrative techniques to enrich his exploration of this struggle.
To conclude with, William Faulkner was an author that used uncommon technique in his works. The complexity of his themes make readers feel more engaged into thinking deeper and feel the beautiful Southern setting Faulkner describes ( William Faulkner: PBS). Faulkner based his stories on his childhood experiences and the experience of being an adult in the South (Unger, 67). Faulkner represents the Southern man in his works and the beautiful scenery of the South. William Faulkner wrote about his experiences of his childhood, his time in the war, adulthood, and Southern society (William Faulkner: Biography). Faulkner’s journey to find his passion in writing, the novels he created that would make him stand out from other authors, and the legacy he had on readers is what made William Faulkner a significant author in American history.
Arising out of a rebellious mood, the late 19th and early 20th century was a time where many writers broke away from tradition by using modernism to take a radical approach on the way society viewed literature (Modernism/literature.com). Experimentation and individualism became virtues, where before they were looked down upon. Modernism was set in motion after a series of cultural shocks. The first of these great shocks was the Great War, known now as World War One. At the time, this “War to End All Wars” was looked upon with such horror and disgust that many people simply could not envision what the world was going to become. Thus, came along many writers including Mr. Robert Frost, who used traditional aspects of poetry and converted
Michael Levenson said in The Cambridge Companion to Modernism that Modernism fiction was “involved in the radical modern departure, across all of the arts, from representational verisimilitudei”. It was stylistically and thematically focused on rebellion against the way art was presented in the past and what its main focus was.
Blythe, Hal. "Eliot's 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." Explicator v. 52, n. 3, p 170 Spring 1994. Http://arts.ucsc.edulgdeadlagdllstella.html#eliot