Modernism

1. Delta Caraulia, Felipe Diaz, KatereenFarol, Lee Lacasa Modernism

2. Context • 1900s: A time of advancement and innovation • Changing view of the universe • Avantegardeart movements • Industrial transformation • 1914: World War I • Resulted in catastrophic events

3. Overview • Revolutionary force • Poets turn to untraditional sources for inspiration • Willingness to experiment with new forms • Want to be avantegarde • Follows after the symbolist and romantic movement • However, much more daring • Heavily influenced by World War I • Created a sense of disillusionment because of the horrific war events (mass killings of soldiers and civilians) • Focuses on how an individual relates to one’s environment • A movement that breaks with the past

4. Techniques & Themes • Personification and symbolism • Giving inanimate objects or animals human characteristics • Giving deeper meanings to inanimate objects and animals • Allusions • References to well known works or historical events • Influenced by artistic movements of the time • Especially cubism • Themes that are sympathetic towards human consciousness and create a sense of disillusionment

5. William Carlos Williams • (1883-1963) • Attained a medical degree from University of Pennsylvania • Practiced medicine as a family doctor by day, wrote poetry at night • Initiated poetic career with a New York group called “The Others” consisting of writers and artists • Experienced mostly negative critiques during his poetic career from fellow poets, experienced overshadow during his movement by author T.S. Eliot, which deterred from his Modernism approach. • Contributed effort into influencing younger poets. • Significant influence in American literary movements such as: Beat movement, San Francisco Renaissance, and the Black Mountain School. • Suffering from constant heart attacks and strokes from the age of 64 • Notable works: • Kora in Hell (1920), Spring and All (1923), Pictures from Brueghel and Other Poems (1962), The Five-Volume Epic Paterson (1963, 1992), Imaginations (1970)

6. Marianne Moore • (1887-1972) • Moore was born in Kirkwood, Missouri, where she was raised by her grandparents. Her father was placed in a mental hospital before he was born. • She received an education at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania then later began to publish her poetry in 1915. • When Moore moved to New York with her mother, she met many other poets like T. S Eliot, and Ezra Pound. • From 1925 to 1929 she was an editor of literary and cultural journals where she began to encouraging young poets. • Notable works : • Collected Poems (1951), Like a Bulwark (1956), Nevertheless (1944), O to Be a Dragon (1959), Observations (1924), Poems (1921)

7. Helen Doolittle “H.D.” • (1886-1961) • American poet, novelist and memorist in early 20th –century and also part of avant-garde imagist group • 1911: she moved to London and emerged to imagist movement • During WWI, Helen suffered the death of her brother and divorce with her husband, Richard Aldington • Interested in Ancient Greek literature • 1930: become friend with Freud • Awards: Gold Medal from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and Brandiers and Longview Awards later • Notable Work: • Sea Garden (1916), The God (1917), Translations (1920), Hymen (1921), Heliodora and Other Poems (1924)

8. Wallace Stevens • Attended Harvard University and intended to become a lawyer • Had friends among the New York writers and painters in Greenwich Village • William Carlos Williams, Marianne Moore, E.E Cummings • Moved to Connecticut in 1916 and found employment at Hartford Accident and Indemnity Co. • Officially away from the world of law and business • Influenced by English Romantics and French symbolists • Concerned with the transformative power of imagination • Spend a lot of time alone at his desk • Notable works: • Harmonium (1923), Ideas of Order (1935), Owl's Clover (1936), The Man With the Blue Guitar (1937), Notes Towards a Supreme Fiction (1942), Parts of a World (1942)

9. Visual Representations Street, Dresden Kirchner Guernica Picasso

10. Quiz • Which event in history was significant in the development of Modernism? • What type of emotions did Modernism evoke? • What are common techniques that poets of this movement used?

11. AP Style Prompts • Read “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird” by Wallace Stevens carefully. Then, write a well-developed essay in which you analyze how the poet uses an single object to convey several meanings • Read “Helen” by H.D. carefully. Then write a well-developed essay on how the poet conveys the thoughts of a civilization. • Read “DanseRusse” by William Carlos Williams carefully. Then, write a well-developed essay in which you analyze how the poet describes himself as breaking from a social norm.

12. Links • http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5664 • http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/119 • http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/234 • http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/96 • http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/124