The modernist period in British and Irish literature was one of the most important and exciting times in literary history. The term modernist stemmed from the beginning of the 20th century labelled the modern period. The modern period was a time of confusion and transitions, mostly due to the result of people returning from World War I. The modern period was an era of massive unemployment and technological changes. Freud, Jung, and Marx were redefining human identity, Assembly lines and factories were being introduced, and gender differences were starting to crumble. The modern period was a time of change, and the field of Literature was no exception. Susan Gorsky, in her book titled Virginia Woolf, states that " Virginia Woolf perhaps spoke for the writers coming of age around WWI:" " We are sharply cut off from our predecessors. A shift in the scale - the sudden slip of masses held in position for ages has shaken the fabric from top to bottom, alienated us from the past and made us perhaps too vividly conscious of the present." (Virginia Woolf, 280). The continuous change in life and the constant "shift in the scale" forced writers to take a new approach to literature, creating some of the most read work of the twentieth century.
Modernist authors of the twentieth century reinvented literature. Instead of placing the main focus of storytelling on the story itself, they went one step further and based their novels on the concepts of truth, and the understanding of self. They explored the ideas of consciousness, alienation, and inner conflict within the mind, and asked important questions of the reader while testing the boundaries of the soul. Susan Gorsky, perfectly defines literary modernism, in her book Virginia Woo...
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...o inspire, and create, to make new.
The world of modernism is still an exciting world to visit, even today. Though some of the ideas no longer seem new to us, one must imagine what it must have been like to live in a world of so much change and creation. To imagine what it would have been like to read a literary work of James Joyce, Ezra Pound, T.S Eliot, or Virginia Woolf, for the first time, and honestly say you had never in your life read anything remotely similar, as. Writers alike stepped away from traditional values, and radically changed the rules of perception, and literature, as we now know it. Without the modernist period, many of the great authors, painters, and musicians of the world today may not have been inspired, and life as a whole would have suffered. Modernism is a very important, not only in the history of Literature, but in humanity itself.
Throughout the year we have read many different novels from many different time periods. We have read from the following five time periods Colonial, Revolutionary, Romanticism, Realism, and Modernism. All five of these time periods express the way of life in many different ways. By that I mean that throughout every time period the thought of life is very much so different. Each time period gives you a different perspective on life and also how much different we live now in comparison to any of these time periods with the exception of post modernism. Post modernism is the current way way of writing. These time periods range from 1607-current. We have read and learned the ways of writing from 400 years in the matter of nine months. We truly need more time to truly understand all of these ways of writing.
Modernist Poetry involves a movement away from the self and the emotions of the individual. Typically, the focus of Modernist poetry revolves around the rational notions of the self, unlike the Romantic period, which focused on the poet. Modernist poets ex...
Modernism can be defined through the literary works of early independent 20th century writers. Modernism is exp...
Thomas Stearns Eliot was a strong voice within the modernist movement, “the birth of modernism within poetry is usually defined by the publication date…The movement began within the end of 19th century after World War I and was continued into the mid 1900’s.” Authors like Modernist authors such as Joyce, Pound and Eliot had a different approach than others, “they were obsessed with the idea that literary artist could create any text in any medium, be in the novel, poetry or even a theatrical piece, that would freely and enthusiastical...
The term “modern” makes people think of words like bold and captivating. Literary modernism is just that. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, poets and writers steered away from the traditional styles of literature and moved towards expressing the true sensibilities of their time. Some writers that followed this trend are Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and T.S. Eliot. The techniques that these outstanding literary buffs used were rejection of traditional themes, subjects, and forms; bold experimentation in style and form reflecting fragmentation of society; sense of disillusionment and loss of faith in the American Dream; rejection of sentimentality; rejection of the ideal hero and instead using the flawed hero; interest in the workings of the human mind; and revolt against the spiritual debasement of the modern world. Many early authors, like the ones mentioned above, used these techniques to contribute to a unique American voice.
Both Hemingway and Fitzgerald capture the essence of the modernist period, and both approach different aspects of the same genre. The goal of the modernist writer was to create an enjoyable piece of literature, while confronting issues that had never before been raised in the literary world to date. The Modernist hoped to wipe away the images of perfection in the imaginary realties of the literary past and create a clean slate filled with the reality of the modernist period. The Modernist authors will always be remembered for their exploration of language and form, and for their dedication to keeping us in a well lit place, in an otherwise deceiving reality.
“There was truth and there was untruth, and if you clung to the truth even against the whole world, you were not mad” (Orwell).These words were uttered by the brilliant post modernism writer, George Orwell. The post-modernism movement took place in the late 1950’s. This was a time marked by consumption, the post-cold war era and World War II. Main topics of this literary movement dealt with moral and philosophical relativism, loss of faith in political authority and avoiding traditional themes. Post Modernism made one of the greatest impacts on fiction writing. George Orwell’s love for writing and fear of too much authority made this era of literary movement popular.
In the beginning of the twentieth century, literature changed and focused on breaking away from the typical and predicate patterns of normal literature. Poets at this time took full advantage and stretched the idea of the mind’s conscience on how the world, mind, and language interact and contradict. Many authors, such as Fitzgerald, Steinbeck, and Twain, used the pain and anguish in first hand experiences to create and depict a new type of literature, modernism. In this time era, literature and art became a larger part of society and impacted more American lives than ever before. During the American modernism period of literature, authors, artists, and poets strived to create pieces of literature and art that challenged American traditions and tried to reinvent it, used new ways of communication, such as the telephone and cinema, to demonstrate the new modern social norms, and express the pain and suffering of the First World War.
One attribute of Modernist writing is Experimentation. This called for using new techniques and disregarding the old. Previous writing was often even considered "stereotyped and inadequate" (Holcombe and Torres). Modern writers thrived on originality and honesty to themselves and their tenets. They wrote of things that had never been advanced before and their subjects were far from those of the past eras. It could be observed that the Modernist writing completely contradicted its predecessors. The past was rejected with vigor and...
Modernistic work is a response to regional writers, shift of social mores, and or technology originating in the late 19th century early 20th century. It was also a response to World War I with the uses of allusiveness and deliberate shifts of social norms. Modernist writers looked to international interest outside of what was currently around them. This in turn was their way of not looking for acceptance of their work although they wanted it noticed.
In the modernism there was no focus on the plot events, instead the writers focused on characters' consciousness. Ambiguity and complexity were valued at that time. Modernists often work towards open endings and used the narrative gaps. In the early modernism the technique of Stream of Consciousness was widely used to know more about the human sense. Modernism was influenced by naturalism and realism. Its social content is characteristically avant-grade (Drabble 682). Moreover, the 20th century is one of the most important periods in English drama. New ideas, terms and styles have been introduced as a result of the atmosphere. Writers on that time expressed their anger and scorn as a result of the wars and the revolutions. There were many social changes at that time and the playwrights started to tackle that in their plays (Innes
Modernists did not have faith in the external reality put forth by social institutions, such as the government and religion, and they no longer considered these avenues as trustworthy means to discover the meaning of life. For this reason they turned within themselves to discover the answers. Modernist literature is centered on the psychological experience as opposed to the external realities of the world. The experience is moved inwards in an attempt to make modernist works more representative of reality by making the experience more personal. The modernist era of literature is closely associated with the works of T.S. Eliot, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf, among others. These three authors stand out because they have made use of unique literary tactics and devices which emphasize the inward turn of modernist literature.
Many believed that Modernist works were not “art” because they did not always look like real life. But what is “real life”? A new outlook on reality was taken by Modernists. What is true for one person at one time is not true for another person at a different time. Experimentation with perspective and truth was not confined to the canvas; it influenced literary circles as well.
Modernism can be defined as the post-industrial revolutionary era, where which the western world began to see a change in all spheres of living. The effects of the industrial revolution became prevalent towards the end of the nineteenth century and the modernist movement drew inspiration from this widespread change. Artists, writers, architects, designers and musicians, all began to embrace the changing world and denounce their pre-taught doctrines and previous ways of producing work. Society felt the urge to progressively move forward toward a modern way of thinking and living.
Many may argue that the Modernist movement was a completely new and unique movement within British literature. The goal of this paper is to determine whether or not the Modernist Literary Movement was completely unique or not. The similarities found in the works of Modernist authors and poets, such as Joseph Conrad and Hilda Doolittle (H.D.), will be examined against Romanticism themes and authors such as William Wordsworth. What will be found is that Modernism is not a completely unique movement, but one that combines elements from previous literary movements.