The Romantic Period came in a time where artists and writers felt a need to reflect on the old and maintain a connection to the world around them, avoiding change as much as possible. In contrast, Modernism came around in a time where artists and writers felt that the world needed to change. The modernist view is one that focuses on the here and now, not so much on maintaining connections to older traditions and views. Although bleak, Modernism is something that, in the time that is relevant, that mankind needed. Modernism helped people realize that the world around them was not beautiful, and was not easy to live in. Writers and artists in the Modern Era focused on the expansion of “civilization” and the perpetual lust for power that all of …show more content…
Poets and authors of the late nineteenth century and twentieth century were (in truth) terribly unhappy with the direction that mankind was heading. A good look at Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness would give one a good understanding of what writers in the Modern Era thought of the world. Poets and authors absolutely detested the ideal of imperialism, which was prevalent in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, and the expression of the lust for power within mankind. The writers of the Modern Era put their feelings into their works and creates beautiful masterpieces—masterpieces that changed the literary world. The Modern Era crafted many great authors, who still influence others to this day. When discussing Modernism his book review of Jean Paul Riquelme’s book Gothic and Modernism: Essaying Dark Literary Modernity, Jeffrey Longrace says Modernism is “generally associated with the work of T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, James Joyce, and Virginia Woolf, among others” (Longrace 207). Longrace names a few of the prominent writers of the Modern Era, and it is a list that most readers could glance at and know the names on …show more content…
Modernism survived into the mid-twentieth century, seeing both World War One and World War Two. The Modern Era lasted as long as it needed to, staying with mankind until it had progressed through one of its greatest trial periods. The killer of Modernism and the Modern Era? Postmodernism. Postmodernism arrived in the mid-twentieth century and led mankind away from a focus on art. The Postmodern Era focused less on the narrative and trying to put meaning behind art and literature—it avoided the abstract, going against views of the Modern Era. Rajendra Kumar Dash, in his paper “Is Postmodernism Dead?” states:
It is a continuation of modernism (Woods 8) but with a difference. For example, instead of the modernist quest for meaning in a chaotic world, the postmodern author accepts that knowledge and meaning are evasive and therefore lamenting the loss of meaning or search for essence is totally uncalled for; on the other hand, existence should be celebrated. These principles too more or less govern the postmodernist literature.
Modernism represents those who felt that old forms were becoming outdated in the new age of the industrialised world – characteristic of modernism is the experimentation with form, and the idea of rejecting realism. (Wikipedia
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
The modernist style of writing is one of disillusionment, frustration and loss of hope. The modernist writers did not try to point out silver linings or brighter futures, instead they explored the depths of the sorrows of life in the time of the great depression and the long road to recovery from it. Most of these writers blamed the modernization of America for the stock market crash that brought on the great depression. Likewise, modern politics drew America into not only one, but two world wars. At the same time, modern intellectual advancements challenged or usurped traditional beliefs and values.
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.
Modernism can be defined through the literary works of early independent 20th century writers. Modernism is exp...
Modernism is defined in Merriam-Webster's Dictionary as "a self-conscious break with the past and a search for new forms of expression." While this explanation does relate what modernism means, the intricacies of the term go much deeper. Modernism began around 1890 and waned around 1922. Virginia Wolf once wrote, "In or about December, 1910, human character changed." (Hurt and Wilkie 1443). D.H. Lawrence wrote a similar statement about 1915: "It was 1915 the old world ended." (Hurt and Wilkie 1444). The importance of the exact dates of the Modernist period are not so relevant as the fact that new ideas were implemented in the era. Ideas that had never before been approached in the world of literature suddenly began emerging in the works of many great authors. Two of the pioneer Modernist writers were Joseph Conrad and T.S. Eliot. The tendencies to question the incontestable beliefs embedded in all thinking and to focus on the inner self dominated. Old viewpoints were tossed aside to make way for the discovery of modern man's personal spirituality. Two works that are considered important forbears in the Modern period are T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland and Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad follows an unnamed narrator as he tells the story that a man named Marlow told him. Marlow takes a job where he is sent down to Congo, Africa and is the captain of a ship. The ship’s job is to travel along the river and give supplies to the different ivory camps, but along the way he hears about Mr. Kurtz and becomes enthralled with this mysterious man. All the while, Marlow is building up these expectations of what Kurtz will be like, only to be let down when he meets the man in the flesh. While Conrad certainly did make this novella historically accurate, he did chose to focus primarily on the idea of inhumanity and savages. Conrad actually inverts the common ideas of savagery and portrays the Europeans as the savages instead of the opposite. This theme can also be
The 20th Century stands out not merely as an age of growth or refinement, but one of absolute transcendent recreation. This new era, presenting the world with radical new ideas and invention, ushered in shocking changes and previously unheard of notions and theory over the views of man. This new phase of humanity brought about the conception and birth of Modernism. Joseph Conrad in particular rushed forward to slam a door on the Victorian Age and end the century of optimism, reproving the human race's ideologies on virtue and purity with the more skeptical realities of the bleakness of real human nature and the power of unfortunate circumstance. Conrad's novel Lord Jim cleaved into the supporting pillars raised by previous Victorian value and set a foundation for his notions of High Modernism; his characters and their reactions to irresolute situations, and even the situations themselves, present the absence of the divine and holy to take the skeptical stance that men, imperfect as they are, face an existential existence.
It is a period when traditional values start to change.This movement causes innovations in science,art,culture,ethics,philosophy and psychology.It intends to find new or hidden meanings in the human experience.It’s main aim is to deal with new ideas.It is a break with the tradition.Modernist Poetry occurs between the 1890 and 1970.It’s key elements can be experimentation,anti realism,individualism.Experimentation means searching constantly.Anti-realism means to be against realism and concreteness.Individualism means to be an intellectual and to be an individual who has a self-confidence.The stress is mainly on the human mind rather than emotions.Many Modernist poets are from Universities,they appreciate their work a lot.It is a movement which is complex and diversed.It takes some of the important aspects from the movements.Modernism supports that every aspect from industry to philosophy should be interrogated.In this way,culture’s elements could be replaced by the new ones.The Modernist English poets write against the rules that are put by Victorian Poetry.They never deny the past poets or past works.They see themselves as they are respecting the earlier periods and other cultures.Their poems seem to be in longer form i...
In Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, a chaotic form of writing takes place which is characteristic of the Modernist's experiments in their style of literature of stream-of-consciousness. Written before WWI took place, he spoke of a different type of chaos and uncertainty present in the world at this time; the issue of slavery.
In the 1950s, authors tended to follow common themes, these themes were summed up in an art called postmodernism. Postmodernism took place after the Cold War, themes changed drastically, and boundaries were broken down. Postmodern authors defined themselves by “avoiding traditional closure of themes or situations” (Postmodernism). Postmodernism tends to play with the mind, and give a new meaning to things, “Postmodern art often makes it a point of demonstrating in an obvious way the instability of meaning (Clayton)”. What makes postmodernism most unique is its unpredictable nature and “think o...
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.
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.
The years leading up to and during the modernist period were tumultuous. Attitudes and lifestyles were changing as people sought new philosophies of life and cast off the previous ways of thinking that proved to be no longer relevant in a rapidly changing world. Authors, such as William Faulkner, used the elements of modernism to pen stories for this new era.
Modernism began as a movement in that late 19th, early 20th centuries. Artists started to feel restricted by the styles and conventions of the Renaissance period. Thusly came the dawn of Modernism in many different forms, ranging from Impressionism to Cubism.