Modernism

Voices from the times The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough” –Ezra pound Poets in our civilization, as it exists at present, must be difficult… The poet must become more and more comprehensive, more allusive, more indirect, in order to force, to dislocate if necessary, language into it’s meaning. –T.S. Eliot

Voices Four be the things I am wiser to know: Idleness, sorrow, a friend, and foe. Four be the things I’d been better without: Love, curiosity, freckles, and doubt. –Dorothy Parker

Voices Which of us has known his brother? Which of us has looked into his father’s heart? Which of us has not remained forever prison-pent? Which of us is not forever a stranger and alone? –Thomas Wolfe

Voices The further you go in writing, the more alone you are. –Ernest Hemingway You are all a lost generation. –Gertrude Stein, to Ernest Hemingway

World War I First large scale modern war Modern technology Civilization, as it had been known, was being destroyed Uncertainty reins –distinguishes the era

End of Idealism Roaring Twenties Corruption More money, more stuff Radios = Jazz Cars = freedom to go Speakeasies = illegal alcohol Movies Corruption Politics gangsters

Something new in literature Modernism grows as a direct response to social change Writers need a NEW form for expression of a NEW modern consciousness Disillusioned from the war Appalled by materialism “Make it new!” –Ezra Pound

Characteristics of Modernism Mass society threatens the individual, especially the artist Characters are almost always alienated Withdrawn Unresponsive Hurt by unnamed forces

Characteristics of Modernism Experimentation Stream of consciousness (Holden) Dramatize the INTERIOR life Meandering patterns of thinking Short fragmentary stories No traditional beginning or ending Reflects the fragmentation (breaking apart) of experience Hemmingway, Richard Wright

Characteristics of Modernism Fragmentation in poetry Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot wrote verses made of: Pieces of dreams, feelings, dialogue, images, and allusions Artists Picasso, Matisse, Duchamp Visual fragmentation Cubist design, cutouts, collages

Characteristics of Modernism What they leave out, rather than what they include No narrative voice Reader is left alone No explanations or details Figure it out on your own INFER what characters and speakers are thinking and feeling Demanding Put together the pieces

Finally… Everything is subjective Fragmented view of society EVERYTHING is influenced by the POV a story is told from There is no single truth Fragmented view of society Society is not a whole that operates together Stories feature a sense of great loss or sadness or loneliness The American Dream is represented as something that is false, or unattainable