modernism- an overview

for literature students

1. MODERNISM (1914 – 1940)

2. What is modernism? Strong and international break with tradition against established religious, political, social views No connection with history or institution No things as absolute truth-all are relative People make their own meaning in the world Rise of mass communication Celebration of inner strength (It was) international and interdisciplinary movement

3. 1. instability 2. futility Characteristics of Modernism

4. 3. pessimism

5. 5. Loss of faith 4. chaos

6. 1910: Vs. 1920: Prohibition, “flappers,” more open about sexuality, drug-use 6. Collapse of “Morality”

7. 7. Disillusionment: a feeling of disappointment resulting from the discovery that something is not as good as one believed it to be

8. Modern age Totally opposite from Victorian age Believed in rational thinking Prose created the most(bitter satire, scientific fiction, realistic) World war first and second create chaotic situation in society, literature. Anti war literature and absurd theater Includes science and psychology –impact of colonialism New term AVANT-GARDE introduce

9. Different branches of Modernism Imagism Cubism Dadaism Expressionism Surrealism Symbolism Impressionism Existentialism Futurism

10. Characteristics of Modern Literature Formal/Stylistic Characteristics : Free indirect speech & free association Stream of consciousness & interior monologue Discontinuous narrative & multiple narrative points of view Quotation & wide use of classical allusions, etc. Thematic Characteristics : Life is viewed as incoherent, experience as fragmented, reality as a matter of perception. Alienation & spiritual loneliness Objection to traditional thoughts and moralities Disillusionment and despair of the individual Breakdown of social norms, etc.

11. IV. Some Important Modernists: Ireland : James Joyce , W. B. Yeats England : Virginia Woolf , Dylan Thomas , D. H. Lawrence , E. M. Forster , Joseph Conrad , Katherine Mansfield , Samuel Beckett France : Marcel Proust (pioneer of 意識流 ) Italy : Luigi Pirandello (relativist) Bohemia : Franz Kafka (alienation) America : T. S. Eliot , Gertrude Stein , H. D . (Hilda Doolittle 意象派 Imagist ),, Ezra Pound , William Faulkner , Ernest Hemingway , Katherine Anne Porter , F. Scott Fitzgerald , Robert Frost

12. V. Some Famous Modernist Works: Ulysses by Joyce Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf Waiting for Godot by Beckett Remembrance of Things Past by Proust Six Characters in Search of an Author by Pirandello Metamorphosis by Kafka The Waste Land by T. S . Eliot The Sound and the Fury by Faulkner The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway

13. Modern Poetry

14. Famous Modern Poets T.S. Eliot e.e. cummings Ezra Pound Wallace Stevens Marianne Moore Edgar Lee Masters

15. Features of Modern poetry Juxtaposition of ideas Intertextuality use of allusions and multiple association of words borrowings from other cultures unconventional use of metaphors massive use of alliteration and assonance no regular rhyming scheme visual images in distinct lines

16. Characteristics of Modern Poetry Stylistic Experimentation Stream of Consciousness Syntax The theme of alienation: characters feel disconnected from people and/or society/the world

17. Stream of Consciousness stream of consciousness is a narrative mode that seeks to portray an individual's point of view by giving the written equivalent of the character's thought processes, either in a loose interior monologue, or in connection to his or her actions . T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock ” is an example of the use of stream of consciousness.

18. Syntax the way in which linguistic elements (as words) are put together to form constituents (as phrases or clauses) b : the part of grammar dealing with this. e.e. cummings experimented heavily with syntax. One example of this is his poem “anyone lived in a pretty how town.” “anyone lived in a pretty how town (with up so floating many bells down) spring summer autumn winter he sang his didn't he danced his did”

19. Semantics The study or science of word meaning in different contexts

20. Symbolism The use of objects, people, places and actions that have meanings in and of themselves and that also stand for some abstract idea Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” is loaded with symbolism .

21. MODERN DRAMA Drama is a literary art which usually have Characters, Plot, Dialogue and acts on stage. The difference between ‘traditional drama’ and ‘modern drama’ is actually the THEME/STYLE.

22. Traditional drama dealt with Supernatural elements, Fate, Heroic deeds etc whereas Modern drama deals with Realism, Absurdism etc. Some of famous Modern Playwrights are, Henric Ibsen, George Bernard Shaw, Edward Albee, Aurther Miller etc. Among them Henric Ibsen considered as “Father of Modern Drama”.

23. Characteristics of MODERN DRAMA . These are given below. • Naturalism • Absurdism • Realism Absurdism (Playboy of the Western World) Realism (The Zoo Story) Naturalism (A Doll’s House)