Modernism Just another Word for the 20th Century - 599 Words

Modernism is just another word for 20th century. It was a movement which started in the beginning of the 20th century and carried on until about the 1960’s. To understand the reasons behind the rise of modernism, one must understand the eras that came before it, namely the Romantic Period and the Victorian Era. Romanticism is mostly concerned with subjectivity. Poets and others such as composers drew inspiration from their own experiences and feelings. They exalted emotion over reason and senses over intellect. Romanticists also loved (drew inspiration from) nature and often used it in their poems or compositions. Whereas in the Victorian era (which came after the Romantic Period), the subject matter for poetry was often socially-oriented. Victorian literature often saw a drive for social advancement. There was a set of standards and codes of conduct making people have, what was seen as â€Å"proper† behaviour. This in turn led to Modernism. The Modernist Period was first a reaction against the previous Victorian culture. Intellectuals and artists of the 20th century believed that the previous era’s way of doing things was a cultural dead end and they wanted to break away from traditions. What further contributed to the rise of modernism was the First World War, which shell-shocked many. People lost their sense of certainty and it made them change their points of views. It made modernists question civilisation. This is seen in T.S Eliot’s poem â€Å"The Wasteland† which questionsShow MoreRelatedEssay on Modernism in Literature1532 Words   |  7 PagesThe turn of the 20th century conveyed revolution in psychological, social, and philosophical thought. It was time for something neoteric. It was time to break out of the mundane tradition. This time of revolution conceded men, such as Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, and Sigmund Freud, to rise to fame with their radical and cutting edge theories. Also, women were exasperated of their modeled roles in society. They sought to be independent, they longed to have the ability to vote, and most of all, theyRead MorePostmodernism And The Future Of Literature1214 Words   |  5 PagesPostmodernism and the Future of Li terature During the 19th and early 20th, Western world experienced numerous historical events and influential changes, including the Word Wars and technological revolutions. These phenomenons affected the society at large, including in the aspect of art and literature. Literary historians often classified literature from late 19th century until the end of World War II as modernism and literature after World War II as postmodernism. Although there are no explicitRead MoreModernism : The Age Of Rebellion Essay1228 Words   |  5 Pages Modernism was a progress to society, in many ways it helped shape and form what we call the western culture. Modernism was a time period during the 20th century that promoted changes to the Western culture. Many of the changes occurred in the attitude and functioning of society, modernism is often referred to the age of rebellion. During this time many people were rejecting the social norms that have been practiced for years and finding more about their own individuality. Modernism was not onlyRead MoreEssay on The Bloomsbury Group1644 Words   |  7 Pagesthese aspects as well as a few others. The most well recognized writer of this group was Virginia Woolf. The Bloomsbury Group is a popular collective designation for, a number of English intellectuals prominent in the first quarter of the 20th century, all of whom were individually known for their contributions to the arts or to the social science (www.funkandwagnall.com/encyclopedia/low/articles/b/6003001758.html). Bloomsbury is a residential and academic district in London. Bloomsbury beganRead More`` Design Is For Living ``1601 Words   |  7 Pageswere a husband and wife team whose unique synergy led to a whole new expression in furniture and architecture. The couple advocated the principles of Modernism through the adaptation of innova ¬tion from wartime technology .Their design style can be branded as â€Å"California Modernism,† a term that is often used interchangeably with â€Å"Mid-Century Modernism.† This distinct style embodied an approach to design that opposed the â€Å"social conscience† of the Bauhaus in order to embrace looser, warmer design whic hRead MoreToni Morrison And Virginia Woolfs The Bluest Eye1629 Words   |  7 PagesEssentialists’ claim by making a novel about racism, and how it affected African American culture in the 20th century. Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid’s Tale, challenged this notion by addressing issues about sexual violence and political issues, except in the shape of an extremist and dystopian world. Moreover, Virginia Woolf, author of To the Lighthouse, not only helped bring about modernism in the early 1900s, but dared to give a time to start it. I want to address and prove the Essentialists’Read MoreModernism In The Great Gatsby1728 Words   |  7 Pages Modernism in The Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby is a novel by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald that follows the story of Jay Gatsby in the Jazz Age of the United States. Although this novel tells a fictional tale, it also gives readers a window into the social and economic environment of America in the time period following World War I. For this reason, The Great Gatsby is considered one of the most important examples of Modernism in American literature. The Modernist themes in this novel comeRead MoreDominion of Death1106 Words   |  4 Pagesheaven if they were to live holy and sinless lives. However towards the beginning of the 20th century this belief started to weave towards the belief that the afterlife would be the eternal end of ones life on physical earth, with some even believing that there wouldn’t be an afterlife. This all leaded to people overall living happier and longer lives. This all inspired a type of writing style called modernism; to be more specific Neo-romanticism. One of the most famous writers of this genre was DylanRead MoreAnalysis Of Joseph Conrad s Heart Of Darkness And The The Mystic Masseur 1544 Words   |  7 Pages In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and V.S. Naipaul’s The Mystic Masseur, the concept of modernism is established through two supporting characters, both of which have only brief physical interactions with our protagonists. Kurtz, from Heart of Darkness, and Mr. Stewart, from The Mystic Masseur, both represent the idea of modernism through both their beliefs and their actions, in a time when modernism was finding its footprints and was viewed differently to those foreign to the movement. AlthoughRead MoreModern Poetry978 Words   |  4 PagesA word that can be heard in every day conversation is the word â€Å"modern†. Everything has to be modern in the 21st century: modern technology and books and clothes, nobody wants the old stuff anymore because it is not worth as much as what is around now. Modern poetry is: â€Å"For artists and writers, the Modernist project was a re-evaluation of the assumptions and aesthetic values of their predecessors† (http://www.poetryfoundation.org/learning/glossary-term/Modernism). Even poetry that has been around