General Characteristics Of Modern Age

Name : Radha GhevariyaRoll No: 22Paper : (09) The Modernist LiteratureEnrollment No. : PG14101013Year : 2015- ‘16Email: radhaghevariya55@gmail.comSubmitted to : Smt. S.B. Gardi Department of English Bhavnagar University

What is Modernism? •According to M.H.Abrams ,

“The term modernism is used to identify new and distinctive

feature in the subject’s forms , concept and style of literature

and other art…..”

Characteristics of Modernism

• Note of pessimism, disillusionment and melancholy in writing.• sense of fragmentation and loss of faith.• use of symbol and scientific methodology.• reflection of the modern chaos and confusion.• the decay of plot and characters in writing.• passion for humanity and humanitarianism.

Modern Age

• The Modern Age is the most complex, complicated, baffling and revolutionary age in the history of the world.• The modern period has been a period of significant development in the field of Science, Politics, Warfare and technology.• totally opposite from Victorian age • world war first and second create chaotic situation in society, literature.

Characteristics of Modern Age - Anxiety and Interrogation -Art for life’s sake-Growing interest in the poor class and the working class- psychology and literature - The impact of socio-economic conditions on literature-The influence of Radio, Cinema and Television- The impact of the Two World Wars

Anxiety and Interrogation

* It is called the age of anxiety and interrogation. * Men and Women showed an extraordinary enthusiasm for speculation, experiment and reform. * The mood of persistent scepticism and interrogation has increased disproportionately for want of a new set of values.

Art for life’s sake

•They rejected the doctrine of “art for art’s sake”. They evovled the creed of “art for life’s sake”, or at least for the sake of the community.• The poetry and prose of this period turned to a serious mood and had a definite purpose.

Growing interest in the poor class and the working class

• The mid-Victorian writers, Dickens. • Thackeray, Kingsley, Reade, Mrs. Gaskell etc. were critical of the injustice done to the poor working classes.• Bernard Shaw, who questioned everything , spread for at least a generation “ the interrogative habit of mind”.

The Influence of Radio, Cinema and Television

Edward Albert

“ In so far as the radio stories, plays and literary discussions and opened up an entirely new field for authors, its influence was for the good…….at the same time it must be remembered that film techniques were the basis of a number of experiments in the

novel”

Psychology and Literature

* New psychological researches influenced literature. Intellectual convictions appeared to be rationalizations of emotion needs.

• The modern age may be termed as the age of rationalization in sexual behavior.

• The new theory of psychology and sex gave us “ the stream of consciousness novel.

Conclusion

* age of science and scientific discoveries

* Reconstruction of new values

* Because of political turmoil revolutionary ideologies rise:

Facism, Nazism, communism takes place