Modernism in Literature Notes
Modernism
• The period was marked by sudden and unexpected breaks with traditional ways of viewing and interacting with the world. Experimentation and individualism became virtues, where in the past they were often heartily discouraged. Modernism was set in motion, in one sense, through a series of cultural shocks. The 1st of these great shocks was WWI
• Preoccupation of Modernism is with the inner self and consciousness.
• Modernist cares rather little for Nature, Being, or the overarching structures of history
• Modernist intelligentsia sees decay and a growing alienation of the individual.
• The machinery of modern society is perceived as impersonal, capitalist, and antagonistic to the artistic impulse.
• The Modernist Period in English literature was first and foremost a visceral (proceeding from instinct rather than from reasoned thinking) reaction against the Victorian culture and aesthetic, which had prevailed for most of the nineteenth century.
• They could foresee that world events were spiraling into unknown territory. The stability and quietude of Victorian civilization were rapidly becoming a thing of the past.
• The20th century witnessed the beginnings of a new paradigm between first the sexes, and later between different cultural groups.
• In American Literature, the group of writers and thinkers known as the Lost Generation has become synonymous with Modernism.
• The term itself refers to the spiritual and existential hangover left by four years of unimaginably destructive warfare.
• The artists of the Lost Generation struggled to find some meaning in the world in the wake of chaos.
• As with much of Modernist literature, this was achieved by turning the mind’s eye inward and attempting to record the workings of consciousness.
• No means immune from the self-conscious, reflective impulses of the new century.
• Modernism introduced a new kind of narration to the novel, one that would fundamentally change the entire essence of
• The period was marked by sudden and unexpected breaks with traditional ways of viewing and interacting with the world. Experimentation and individualism became virtues, where in the past they were often heartily discouraged. Modernism was set in motion, in one sense, through a series of cultural shocks. The 1st of these great shocks was WWI
• Preoccupation of Modernism is with the inner self and consciousness.
• Modernist cares rather little for Nature, Being, or the overarching structures of history
• Modernist intelligentsia sees decay and a growing alienation of the individual.
• The machinery of modern society is perceived as impersonal, capitalist, and antagonistic to the artistic impulse.
• The Modernist Period in English literature was first and foremost a visceral (proceeding from instinct rather than from reasoned thinking) reaction against the Victorian culture and aesthetic, which had prevailed for most of the nineteenth century.
• They could foresee that world events were spiraling into unknown territory. The stability and quietude of Victorian civilization were rapidly becoming a thing of the past.
• The20th century witnessed the beginnings of a new paradigm between first the sexes, and later between different cultural groups.
• In American Literature, the group of writers and thinkers known as the Lost Generation has become synonymous with Modernism.
• The term itself refers to the spiritual and existential hangover left by four years of unimaginably destructive warfare.
• The artists of the Lost Generation struggled to find some meaning in the world in the wake of chaos.
• As with much of Modernist literature, this was achieved by turning the mind’s eye inward and attempting to record the workings of consciousness.
• No means immune from the self-conscious, reflective impulses of the new century.
• Modernism introduced a new kind of narration to the novel, one that would fundamentally change the entire essence of