Modernism

1914-1939

What is Modernism?

Modernism is a cultural movement that  includes the progressive art and architecture, music, literature and design which came together in the decades before 1914.

It was a movement of artists and writers  who rebelled against the late 19th century academic and historicist traditions, and enforced the new  economic, social and political aspects of the beginning of the modern world.

When and Where did Modernism Start and Take Place?

Modernism started in 1914 as a reaction to World War I and continues until the beginning of the next World War in 1939.

Unique movement in the sense that it did not originate in Europe and migrate to the United States.

Begins in America as it questions traditional American values.

Skepticism of Puritan tradition shifted the center of the movement from New England to the South, West and Midwest.

Causes and Influences of Modernism

World War I World War II Urbanization Industrialization Immigration Technological Evolution Growth of Modern Science Influence of Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx Expatriatism

Characteristics of Modernist Thought

Bold, Highly Innovative Experimentation Individualism Discontinuous writing, did not follow traditional

formats Break of formal tradition and conventional form

within writing which led to fragmentation Number of different narrators led to many narrative

points of view; shift in perspective, voice, and tone Use of interior monologue technique

Characteristics of Modernist Thought

Use of the consciousness technique which led to a large focus on a character’s consciousness and mind

Questioning of what makes up the nature of being Writers consciously adopted modern thought Lack of interest in nature Interest in the decay of the individual Assurances provided by religion, politics, and society

were no longer sufficient. After WWI, this expanded to include the belief that life

was horrific, chaotic, and futile. Art replaced religion as the provider of guidance,

coherence, and insight into the human condition.

Major People

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) Austrian psychologist and psychotherapist Discovered a new method to investigate the mind

through the analysis of dreams and psychoanalysis as in the means to study ones’ “unconscious”

Known for theories of the unconscious mind and defense mechanism of repression

Famous for therapeutic techniques such as the theory of transferring in the therapeutic relationship and value of dreams as sources of insight into one’s unconscious desires

Major People

Karl Marx (1818-1883) Marx had said that man should only depend upon laws

and structures made for him that were outside of their control and even beyond their knowledge of enforcing such laws and rules.

Marx had attacked the bourgeoisie the upper class and the political and economic systems that would eliminate and take out any order and structure that would be brought upon society.

Marx didn’t like the idea of not being able to have equality, or a sense of brotherhood among society this idea had foreshadowed the idea of communism in which everyone should be equal to one another.

Influence of Freud and Marx on Modernism

Modernist writers concerned themselves with the inner being more than the social being and looked for different ways to incorporate these new views into their writing.

Modernist writers looked inside themselves for their answers instead of seeking the “Truth.”

Marxism instructed even non-Marxist artists that the individual was being lost in a mass society.

Some modern writers believed that art should celebrate the working classes, attack capitalism, and forward revolutionary goals, while others believed that literature should be independent and non-political.

Modernist Writers

F. Scott Fitzgerald - American W.B. Yeats - Britain T.S. Eliot - Britain André Breton - France Virginia Woolf - Britain Ernest Hemingway - American Ezra Pound - American James Joyce - Britain George Orwell - Britain

Literary Impacts

Modernism was a period of literary experimentation. Symbolism was a form of expression that used

objects and the imagination to reveal a more truthful reality.

Mirrored Romantic ideals, encouraging individuals to discover themselves.

Imagism was similar in the sense that it sought to intensify poetry and literary techniques by relying on images to carry emotion and the message throughout the poem.

Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot both led these movements.

American Literary Themes

The stream of consciousness imitated a character’s thought process through memories and perception.

The use of language in a deeper sense; used sparingly to convey a more intense image.

Encouraging and looking for new ways of seeing and interpreting everyday life.

Use of ordinary objects/scenarios to invoke a revelation.

Rejection of the “infallible” hero in favor of a flawed one that still maintains a sense of poise.

Famous Literary Works

The Great Gatsby- F. Scott Fitzgerald The Waves - V. Woolf Four Quartets -T.S. Eliot The Waste Land -T.S. Eliot The Wind Among the Reeds - W.B. Yeats The Tower - W.B. Yeats Ulysses - J. Joyce Dubliners - J. Joyce Sons and Lovers - D.H. Lawrence The Rainbow - D.H. Lawrence Animal Farm - G. Orwell

POP QUIZ! On Information from the PowerPoint and the

Reading

1. During what years did the Modernist movement take place?

1914-1939

2. What international event had the largest effect on the Modernist

movement?

World War I

3. What two people played a significant role within Modernism?

Sigmud Freud and Karl Marx

4. Where did many Modernist writers go to gain inspiration?

Paris, France

5. Where were many Modernist writers from?

The South, the Midwest, the West (Not New England)

6. Referring to Question 5, who was a prominent exception to this

trend?

Robert Frost

7. What is a famous modernist literary work that we will be

reading this year?

The Great Gatsby

8. Who wrote The Great Gatsby?

F. Scott Fitzgerald

9. What were the three ideas central to the “American Dream”?

America as Eden

Continuous Progress

The Triumph of the Individual

10. What movement established an appreciation for African- American

talent in the United States?

The Harlem Renaissance

Bonus: What does the F. stand for in F. Scott Fitzgerald?

Francis