Modernism

Modernism released us from the constraints of everything that had gone before with a euphoric sense of freedom.

Modernism is a radical break with the past and the search for new forms of expression. It refers to a global movement in society and culture that initiated a period of experimentation from the late 19th to the middle of the 20th century, particularly in the years ofWorld War I. This era was characterized by industrialization, rapid social change and advancements in science. Modernists felt a growing alienation which was different from Victorian morality and optimism.

Certain underlying principles that define modernist art are rejection of history and conservative values; innovation and experimentation with form; and an emphasis on materials and techniques. It has also been driven by various social and political agendas which were often utopian, and modernism was in association with ideal visions of human life, society and a belief in progress.

One of the major characteristic associated with modernism is Nihilism that is the rejection of all religious and moral principles in order to obtain social progress and the reason that they did so was not necessarily because they did not believe in God. With so many scientific discoveries and technological innovations taking place, the world was changing quickly so the culture had to re-define itself constantly in order to keep pace with modernity.

Modernism is typically defined as the condition that begins when people realize God is truly dead, and we are therefore on our own.

New ideas in the field of psychology, philosophy, and political theory proposed for new modes of expression. Artists around the world used new imagery and techniques to create artworks that reflected the realities and hopes of modern societies.

Many Modernists used to write in free verse and they included various countries and cultures in their writings. Somewrote using numerous points of view or they even used 'stream-of-consciousness'. These writing styles demonstrate how the scattered state of society affected the works at that time.

Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman areconsidered to be the mother and father of the Modernist movement because they had the direct influence on early Modernists but after their deaths,the Imagist poets began to gain importance. Imagist poets wrote shorter poems and they chose their words carefully so that their work would be rich and direct. The movement started in London, where a group of poets met and discussed about the changes happening in poetry.

Modernism was born in part out of the need to find fresh ways of expression, to describe a new world that was unlike anything that had gone before.

World War I broke out just after theImagism. Though works byHenry James,Joseph Conrad, and other writers are considered Modernist, Modernism as a literary movement is associated with the period after World War I and the Modernist literature reflected a sense of disillusionment and fragmentation which was the effect of the war.T.S. Eliot’s long poem'The Waste Land' showed the way poetry had shifted and portrayed a search for redemption and renewal in a spiritually empty landscape. With its fragmentary and destructive images the poem is typical of Modernism.

The Irish writer James Joyce's Ulysses published in 1922 was an event in the development of Modernist literature. Other European and American Modernist authors include Virginia Woolf, Marcel Proust, Gertrude Stein, and William Faulkner, etc.

Modernism is about space Postmodernism is about communication You should do what turns you on

Not all Modernist poets followed the writers who were making revolutionary changes to the world of poetics. Writers who had gained popularity towards the end of the Modernist era were inspired by less experimental poets such as Thomas Hardy and W.B. Yeats.

Post Modernism broke out in late 20th century and was a reaction against Modernism. This new period was different from the earlier one, yet was influenced by it. Irony and self-awareness became the postmodern style.