INTRODUCTION TO MODERNISM
Recapitulation session - Lecturer: Miss BENIA
INTRODUCTION
➤ Modernism is a trend of
thought seen in arts and
literature, that affirms the
power of human beings to
“Modernism is a response by create, improve, and
clusters of intellectuals and artists reshape their environment
to the converging process of with the aid of scientific
industrialization” knowledge, technology, and
experimentation.
➤ It started at the end of the
19th Century and lasted
throughout the first half of
the 20th Century
➤ It has mainly sought to break free from traditions, and it is considered a
reaction against established religious, political, and social standards and
viewpoints.
➤ Most Modernist artists and writers seek to find new forms of expression
and reject traditions or ideas that are held as true. They also questioned
the morally upright victorian image as false and flawed, and they held the
view that morality was not as simple as black and white.
➤ Additionally, they question the nature of truth, and this has been an
influence from Philosophers Nietzsche and Schopenhauer.
➤ Generally speaking they are interested in the place that human beings
occupy in this new and changing world, therefore, their interest in the
human is central.
➤ This idea originates from Renaissance Humanism.
➤ The movement has also been influenced by other schools of thought,
especially Psychology and the works of Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung , the
philosophies of Empiricism, and art schools such as Impressionism, in
addition to the revolutionary theory of Charles Darwin.
“What can be safely called Modernism
emerged in the middle of the last century—and
rather locally, in France, with Baudelaire in
literature and Manet in painting, and perhaps
with Flaubert, too, in prose fiction…"
Modernists were called avant-garde and society was
hesitant to embrace the movement’s sometimes brash
and aggressive stance to promote its philosophy.
People still wanted to embrace what was familiar and
reassuringly traditional.
LITERARY MODERNISM
➤ It is hard to put a specific date on when exactly literary
modernism started, but it was a dominant movement
between the two World Wars in America (1914-1946). In
Europe it started a little earlier.
➤ It highlighted innovation in literary form and language,
especially in poetry.
➤ Modernist Literature reflected both the times as well as
looked forward fearlessly into a future filled with
possibilities both positive and negative.
➤ Writers and poets such as T.S. Elliot, D.H. Lawrence,
Franz Kafka, Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein, and Virginia
Woolf are some of the main figures in this movement.
They have sought to portray the human condition both at
its best and at its worst.
THE LOST GENERATION
➤ This term refers to a group of writers and individuals
who came of age during the 1st world war. Most of
them were expatriates (to Europe), and were led by
Gertrude Stein. They have established their reputation
during the 1920s.
➤ They were lost in the sense that they were
disoriented, wandering aimlessly. They were
spiritually alienated from American standards, and
they have suffered disillusionment after WWI.
➤ The most famous members were Gertrude Stein,
Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and T.S. Elliot.
➤ “Ours was a generation grown up to find all gods dead, all
wars fought, all faiths in man shaken…” Fitzgerald.
FAILURE OF THE AMERICAN DREAM
➤ What is the American Dream?
➤ Aspects of the American dream include: The pursuit
of happiness, fulfilling success and cumulating wealth
at a young age, freedom and control over one’s
decision, the pursuit of material gain.
➤ In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author
criticises the American Dream and eventually, we
perceive that the dream has failed and that material
acquisition may bring ruin and despair. No happiness
achieved.
MAIN CHARACTERESTICS IN LITERATURE
➤ Experimentaion: Modernist writers broke free from
traditional forms of writing. they experimented with both
form and content. For example, in poetry they have
abandoned the tradition rhymed scheme and opted for the
free verse. They have used new techniques of Narration such
as stream of consciousness. The works became more open
ended, and language was highly symbolic.
➤ Fragmentation: both stylistic and thematic. It reflected the
fragmented state of world during the two WW. this can be
seen in the non-linear plots and the mental fragmentation of
the character.
MAIN CHARACTERESTICS IN LITERATURE
➤ Individualism: The individual becomes more interesting than
the community and this can be seen in the complex
characterisation and focus on the internal state of being rather
than the plot and events. Writers presented the world and
society as a challenge to the integrity of their characters.
➤ Stream of Consciousness: It is a narrative technique often
associate with modernism. This technique gives the reader
access to the flow of thoughts in the mind of a character.
➤ Example: William Faulkner’s The Sound and The Fury.
MODERNISM
IN ART
➤ Dadaism
➤ Cubism
➤ Surrealism
➤ Futurism
Cubism
Surrealism
Futurism
