Modernism Literature 1900-1950

Modernism in Literature 20th century in American history Great entrepreneurs, cheap labor, urban manufacturing, immigrants, population bursts, war-times etc. Many people still believed in the idealist view that work and merit, not social privilege, determined one’s fate in the U.S. Idealism became cynicism; writers became preoccupied with the flaws hidden beneath the optimistic simplicity of American ideals.

Modernism in Literature A. World War I (1914-1918) U.S. entered in 1917 after half-a-million soldiers were killed during a 10-month battle in France Beginning of change in America and loss of innocence. B. Modernist: a movement in literature, painting, music, and arts that called for bold experimentation and whole rejection of traditional themes, forms, and styles.

Modernism in Literature C. The war introduced new outlooks and ideas: New moral codes, short skirts, bobbed hair, slang expressions, and a loss of connection to the past America. D. The Great Depression: crash of the New York stock market in 1929 that brought suffering to millions of Americans.

Modernism in Literature E. Roaring Twenties (1920’s): more money and more things Political corruption World War I and The Great Depression severely damaged the American Dream ideals. Writers felt isolated by society Experimented with stream of consciousness and left the reader to figure out what the character/speaker is thinking or feeling.

At Home and Abroad: The Jazz Age Constitution in 1919: amended for alcohol prohibition. Prohibition is characterized as the age of: Bootlegger Speakeasy Cocktail Short-skirted flapper Rhythms of Jazz Gangsters

At Home and Abroad: The Jazz Age In 1920, women won the right to vote! Pursuit of happiness abroad; American writers escaped for France: Cheaper, sunny, exotic, filled with grace and luxury, and alcohol was legal. Signal that something had gone wrong with the American Dream.

The American Dream The American Dream outlines three central ideas in uniquely American beliefs: America is a new Eden full of promise, beauty, and bounty. Optimism for ever-expanding opportunity and continued progress. Importance and triumph of the individual—the independent, self-reliant person. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The New American Hero Writers expressed the bare bones of the truth away from Puritan plain style. New American Hero: protagonist and role model of action, a warrior, tough competitor, had a code of honor, courage, endurance, and “grace under pressure”. (Hemingway) “Don’t be disillusioned; snatch up the rare, good moments before they are gone.” - Hemingway

Poetry in New England and the Midwest Some poets ignored modernism and stuck to the traditional verse forms in plain American speech. Individual accents reveal the regional diversity of American life and characters. Edwin Arlington Robinson and Robert Frost are great examples of such poets. Midwest = more adventurous verse forms with rougher stanzas and looser lines (Edgar Lee Masters).

The Harlem Renaissance African American culture found expression in poetry in two ways: Conventional forms: wrote metrically regular and rhymed verse forms to make the most urgent concern un-disturbing. Cultural effects in America: rhythms of jazz, spirituals, and lyrics of the blues, along with street talk of the ghettos. Harlem Renaissance: a movement in literature which brought to light the long patronized black talent in American culture, combining a spiritual center and echoes of music.

The American Dream Revised Our own century has seen many changes in American attitudes, but many concerns/problems are consistent with concerns/problems of the past. Writers experimented with forms and subject matter, but questioned human existence, meaning, and purpose.