Topics: Culture › Tradition
Type: Narrative Essays
Sample donated: Donna Jimenez
Last updated: May 10, 2019
What happened to Great Britain’s sense of community?
Great Britain’s sense of community had disappeared and was replaced by the isolation of urban life
Modernism
an attempt to make sense of the fragmented worlds
A trait of modernism
sense of alienation, loss and despair
A trait of modernism
rejection of traditional values and assumptions
A trait of modernism
elevation of the individual
Source of Anxiety for modernists
WWI
Source of Anxiety for modernists
Psychology: understanding and accepting that all minds are not “normal” and that all identities are constricted- we are all counterfeiting
Source of Anxiety for modernists
Religion: old answer doesn’t seem to fit new and uncertain times Nietzsche: “God is Dead”
“Anxiety of influence”
effect of tradition on individual writers, trying to get out of under perceived weight of the past
Type of literature modernism is a movement away from
Romanticism
Type of literature modernism is a movement away from
Victorianism
Type of literature modernism is a movement away from
Realism
What does modernism reflect?
reflects the lack of order seen in a growing urban society
What does modernism celebrate?
celebrates passion over reason
What does modernism question?
questions traditional moralities
Formal Characteristics of Modernist Literature
open and experimental form
Formal Characteristics of Modernist Literature
discontinuity
Formal Characteristics of Modernist Literature
juxtaposition
Formal Characteristics of Modernist Literature
intertextuality
Formal Characteristics of Modernist Literature
classical allusions
Major Theme of Modernism
Breakdown of social norms
Major Theme of Modernism
Spiritual loneliness
Major Theme of Modernism
Alienation
Major Theme of Modernism
frustration when reading the text
Major Theme of Modernism
disillusionment
Major Theme of Modernism
rejection of history
Major Theme of Modernism
objection to religious thoughts
Major Theme of Modernism
two world wars effects on humanity
Intellectual Literature
had to be different from that which pleased the masses- modernists believed that art had to be perceived as elitist and “hard” to have value
What does intellectual literature bring in?
anthropology, mythology, psychology, and science
What does intellectual literature challenge?
challenges the readers’ knowledge and expectations
“Stream of Consciousness”
attempts to recreate the thinking of characters in works, to find a literary equivalent for how minds work
James Joyce (Modernist)
Irish author who pioneered the stream of consciousness from in which a character’s thought process are given written form
Sigmund Freud (Modernist)
stated that people were complex, inconsistent, and unpredictable; driven by irrational urges that might be hidden even to themselves
Virginia Wolf
highly experimental; a narrative, frequently uneventful and common place; is seen through the warped perception of the characters; dark, depressing, and hopeless
D.H.
Lawrence (Modernist)
focused on the dehumanizing effects of modernity and industrialization; often faced persecution and censorship for “inappropriate” material
Postmodernism
takes modernism to a logical place, through extreme conclusions; dismantling literature entirely to examine its inner works
Event that undermined the Geneva Convention
Atomic bombings
Event that undermined the Geneva Convention
Holocaust
Event that undermined the Geneva Convention
Fire bombing of Dresden
Event that undermined the Geneva Convention
Japanese-American internet
How did the perception of language change during modernism?
-No longer seen as transparent, allowing us to “see through” to reality-Considered the way an individual constructs reality
How was the language “thick” with meaning?
Language is “thick” with multiple meanings and varied conative forces
Jacques Derrida
French philosopher who stated “there is nothing outside of the text” meaning there is nothing outside of context– In other words, until an item or concept is given a name and put into a context, it does not exist– As humans, we are trying to always understand context
Jean Paul Sartre
-French philosopher who was known for his contributions to philosophy and literature-declined the Nobel Prize for literature in 1964 because he did not want to be “institutionalized” as a public figure– In Being and Nothingness, Sartre said humans are “left alone, without excuse” and therefore responsible for their actions and can not blame them on a higher power
Samuel Beckett
author of Waiting for Godot
What did Waiting for Godot explore?
explored the absurdity of the human condition
What are the three fundamental questions that every human being must come to terms with in order to truly live?
death, human existence, and the question of God
Jacques Lacan
French psychoanalyst who first identified the “mirror” stage– Stated that as infants, humans become fascinated with their own images in mirrors– However, infants are unaware that mirrors are not everywhere– Therefore, they believe every person is a reflection of themselves, eventually creating a devastating break
Postmodern Poet
Philip Larkin
Postmodern Poet
W.H. Auden
Postmodern Poet
Stevie Smith
Postmodern Poets
Ford Maddox Ford
Postmodern Poets
Seamus Heaney
Postmodern Poets
Margaret Atwood