During the twentieth century a new term came to be used in classifying literature and it was
called modernism. Modernism is not easily summoned up with one or two characteristics because, two
writers could have varying styles and still be modernist. T.S. Elliot and William Carlos Williams are a
perfect example of the varying styles in modernism. The reason these two may have differed from each
other so strongly could be related to their different backgrounds. With all the variations in style and in
topics written about how can modernism be summed up properly?
Written works during the twentieth century can not be summed up by simply looking at one or
two different characteristics. Modernism is, “ a term that more clearly suggest the lively disagreements,
multiplicity of styles, and plurality of movements within the broad revolution of the arts” ( Belasco,
Johnson 529). Modernism was the revolution of the arts that dealt with the current issues being faced in
the United States and Europe. Different poetic styles were experimented with including those from
east. The different poetic styles as well as the different issues faced, by the individual poets is easily
seen in their work. The only thing that the different poets could agree about was, “the necessity of
poetry, it's vital role in culture and society.” ( Belasco, Johnson 530). To sum up modernism is not an
easy task because of all their various differences in the movement, but at the same time that is also why
it is easy to explain. Modernism was the style that dealt with current social issues, allowed for new
ideals to be implemented, styles from different countries to be used, and to move away from old
exploi...
... middle of paper ...
...why he wrote in the manner that he did. The style Williams was trying to
push forward was probably never taught in the schools Elliot attended so, that also may have been a
contributing factor. Both of these men wanted to make poetry more important and they did accomplish
that, just in different ways.
Modernism was a style of writing that focused on many different things. Ultimately the goal
was to replaced old ideals with those that were new and relevant. Writers such as Williams and Elliot
did just that by writing in ways that broke from the norm and by doing so moved things forward. They
went about their work in different ways more then likely due to the influence of their pasts. Those this
may have caused them to have problems with each other it still allowed for poetry to become more
important in the twentieth century.
From the 1900s to 1950, the mood of the world went from looking into the future with high expectations to never knowing what’s around the corner. This generation lived through the chaos of two World Wars, and the future looked bleak. Traditions and stability meant nothing to a constantly changing world. They shunned the quietude of European culture. They developed their own writing style characterized by a criticism on society and its flaws.
The points of comparison these two writers share are that they were both iconic poets of their day and that they wrote in what is referred to as “black dialect.” The differences between them are their cultural and educational backgrounds.
The poetry by these two poets creates several different images, both overall, each with a different goal, have achieved their purposes. Though from slightly different times, they can both be recognized and appreciated as poets who did not fear the outside, and were willing to put themselves out there to create both truth and beauty.
of his era but was writing for everybody in any time. Maybe he knew it
Modernism can be defined through the literary works of early independent 20th century writers. Modernism is exp...
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.
The modernist movement occurred between 1890 and 1950 and is based around famous poets such as T.S. Eliot, Robert Frost, and E.E. Cummings. The idea of modernism is to diverge from the past. Stein incorporates this powerfully as she reevaluates objects that have previously been standard similarly to how modernist poets revaluate old forms of poetry that have previously been standard. She causes readers to examine the difference between critical reading and creative reading. Readers of poetry often find themselves reading critically, focusing all their effort of analysis and comprehension of the poem. Stein writes as if she wants her readers to read creatively, putting little focus on the importance and seriousness of the
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...
...tradition and believes that it can not be inherited,it could be obtained by great labour.According to Eliot a poet should write through his own experiences so he could create a masterpiece.(Tradition and the Individual Talent)
In the early 20th century several movements occurred in America and Europe, therefore it was an era that characterized by the imperialism industrialization which polarized the nation into two categories of high and the low class. And the western culture dominated most of the world possessions. The U.S was able to have power over their land and they gained high economic and political power. The American did not allow other countries free trade to enter their lands. Furthermore, the Modernism Cultural movements allow many artists to present their styles in a unique form of expression. Modernism is characterized radically by breaking down the trends which occurred in the past of the 19th century. Moreover, Pablo Picasso, he was a phenomenal modern artist; Picasso was very famous for all of his work of art especially the cubism arts. Therefore, some viewers consider his art to be disturbing because they...
The Modernist period was a time in history when there were many changes. These changes varied from the American Dream to the literary styles and techniques. The American Dream became less complex and was more flexible than ever. It varied from the changing lifestyles to the change in literature. Helping to shape the nation into what we see today. People were focusing more on themselves and wanting to be known, and they also wanted to have money. Living life with an optimistic viewpoint.
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.
Poetry is a form of literature that has been very meaningful and successful in history. “Poetry has a long history, dating back to the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh.” (Dodd) Decades and decades before the twenty-first century, there were very well known poets that sat and wrote such intricate literature. Many wise men using their own form, layout, rhythm and techniques wrote long lasting master pieces that are still widely studied in the education systems today. Four known poets by the names of Wordsworth, Woolf, Pope and Aristotle were all mentioned in various texts throughout the Jacobus textbook. After reading such passages, it was made known that Pope and Aristotle have similar
The variations of them have to change to be concrete and abstract. So they will mix
During the time-period when they authored this essay, the commonly held notion amongst people was that “In order to judge the poet’s performance, we must know what he intended.”, and this notion led to what is termed the ‘Intentional fallacy’. However, Wimsatt and Beardsley argue that the intention, i.e., the design or plan in the author’s mind, of the author is neither available nor desirable for judging the success of a work of literary art. It is not available because the author will most certainly not be beside the reader when he/she reads the text, and not desirable because intention as mentioned already is nothing but the author’s attitude towards his work, the way he felt while writing the text and what made him write that particular piece of writing and these factors might distract the reader from deciphering the meaning from the text. This method of reading a text without any biographical or historical background of either the poem or the poet practiced by the New Critics was known as ‘Closed Reading’. This stemmed from their belief in the autonomy of the text.