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Delve into the origins and characteristics of Modernist literature from the late 19th to early 20th centuries, marked by a break from traditional forms, self-consciousness, and a sense of decay. Learn about the Lost Generation, a group synonymous with Modernism, through the eyes of artists like Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and Stein. Discover the intellectual and allusive nature of Modernist poetry and novels, where the search for truth is not absolute. Join the exploration of creativity and existentialism in a chaotic world post-WWI, echoing in the works of Yeats, Woolf, and Duchamp. Recommended viewing: "Midnight in Paris" by Woody Allen.
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… • Modernist literature has its origins in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, mainly in Europe and North America. • Roughly from about 1900 until around 1940.
Why the change? • “Generally, modernists were driven by the belief that the assurances once provided by religion, politics, or society no longer sufficed. This belief intensified after World War I, when it seemed to many that history itself was coming to an end and that modern life was horrific, chaotic, and ultimately futile.” • http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americannovel/timeline/modernism.html
Characterized by: • A break with traditional forms of poetry • Self-consciousness/stream of consciousness • Instead of progress and growth, the Modernist sees decay and a growing alienation of the individual. • A general disdain for most of the literary production of the last century.
… • Often characterized by highly intellectual, allusive poetry • Novels – unreliable narrator, multiple points of view • Idea that the truth is not absolute • Sense of the serious responsibility of the artist (often resulted in very long poems and books)
“Lost Generation” • In American Literature, the group of writers and thinkers known as the Lost Generation has become synonymous with Modernism.
… • After WWI, some American artists chose to live abroad as they pursued their creative impulses. These included Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald, and the painter Waldo Pierce, among others. The term itself refers to the “spiritual and existential hangover left by four years of unimaginably destructive warfare. The artists of the Lost Generation struggled to find some meaning in the world in the wake of chaos.” • http://www.online-literature.com/periods/modernism.php
… • Midnight in Paris – a film by Woody Allen • Suggested viewing as it visits the Lost Generation during their time in Paris
Artists we will study in class: • William Butler Yeats • Ezra Pound • TS Eliot • Jean Toomer (also part of the Harlem Renaissance) • Virginia Woolf • Marianne Moore • Marcel Duchamp
