The Hollow Men Modernism
Emmanuel Solorzano
Dr. Mary Warner
English 112B
May 3, 2014
Unit of Study: “The Hollow Men” as a Bridge into
Modernism and Poetry
Why Teach Modernism and Poetry Together
The turn of the century presented writers with a variety of changes. Intellectual life was rapidly changing. Freud proposed a new, unsettling psychoanalytic method of understanding the self. His work undermined cultural and religious conceptions about human nature. Sir James
Frazer’s anthropology in Golden Bough also challenged cultural and religious stability. Frazer undermined a Eurocentric view of religion by comparing Christ to the pagan fertility gods that died and resurrected to usher in the seasons. In philosophy Nietzsche pronounced God dead and encouraged people to accept their inability to change reality and stoically affirm their fate.
Spiritually, intellectually, and culturally, the West was changing fast (Stallworthy and Ramazani
1828-29).
Everyday life changed too. Increasing urbanization and the spread of new technologies such as cinema, electricity, and the radio made information more readily available, as did the widespread literacy that many gained as a result of compulsory education (Stallworthy and
Ramazani 1827-29). Encouraged by so many changes, early modernist writers had a utopian view of the future (“modernism”). However, their optimist was shattered. From 1914 to 1918,
Europe lost a generation of young men to the First World War. The times were new, and they required a new art, one that could speak meaningfully to such a tumultuous age.
Modernist poetry attempted to provide a voice to the bewildered West during the first half of the 20th century. Modernist poets sought to account for the rapid changes and disruption of conventional life that occurred at the turn of the century by departing from many poetic
conventions of the previous century. Due to its rejection of conventions, modernist poetry can be difficult to understand and enjoy, as it often lacks regular rhyme,
Dr. Mary Warner
English 112B
May 3, 2014
Unit of Study: “The Hollow Men” as a Bridge into
Modernism and Poetry
Why Teach Modernism and Poetry Together
The turn of the century presented writers with a variety of changes. Intellectual life was rapidly changing. Freud proposed a new, unsettling psychoanalytic method of understanding the self. His work undermined cultural and religious conceptions about human nature. Sir James
Frazer’s anthropology in Golden Bough also challenged cultural and religious stability. Frazer undermined a Eurocentric view of religion by comparing Christ to the pagan fertility gods that died and resurrected to usher in the seasons. In philosophy Nietzsche pronounced God dead and encouraged people to accept their inability to change reality and stoically affirm their fate.
Spiritually, intellectually, and culturally, the West was changing fast (Stallworthy and Ramazani
1828-29).
Everyday life changed too. Increasing urbanization and the spread of new technologies such as cinema, electricity, and the radio made information more readily available, as did the widespread literacy that many gained as a result of compulsory education (Stallworthy and
Ramazani 1827-29). Encouraged by so many changes, early modernist writers had a utopian view of the future (“modernism”). However, their optimist was shattered. From 1914 to 1918,
Europe lost a generation of young men to the First World War. The times were new, and they required a new art, one that could speak meaningfully to such a tumultuous age.
Modernist poetry attempted to provide a voice to the bewildered West during the first half of the 20th century. Modernist poets sought to account for the rapid changes and disruption of conventional life that occurred at the turn of the century by departing from many poetic
conventions of the previous century. Due to its rejection of conventions, modernist poetry can be difficult to understand and enjoy, as it often lacks regular rhyme,
Cited: 2011. Web. 5 May. 2014. Appelt, Kathi. Poems from Homeroom. New York: Hery Holt and Company, 2002. Print. Engle, Margarita. Hurricane Dancers. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2011. Print. "modernism." Merriam Webster 's Encyclopedia of Literature. Springfield, MA: MerriamWebster, 1995. Literature Resource Center. Web. 1 May 2014. Mora, Pat. Dizzy in Your Eyes: Poems About Love. New York: Ember, 2010. Print. Soto, Gary. A Fire in My Hands. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2006. Print. Norton & Company, 2006. 1827-50. Print.