Modernism Essay -- Comparative Literature Essays Papers

Modernism Modernism is defined in Merriam-Websters vocabulary as a self-conscious break with the past and a search for new forms of expression. While this explanation does relate what modernism means, the intricacies of the term go much deeper. Modernism began around 1890 and waned around 1922. Virginia Wolf once wrote, In or about December, 1910, human character changed. (Hurt and Wilkie 1443). D.H. Lawrence wrote a similar avowal about 1915 It was 1915 the old world ended. (Hurt and Wilkie 1444). The importance of the exact dates of the Modernist period ar not so relevant as the fact that new ideas were apply in the era. Ideas that had never before been approached in the world of literature all of a sudden began emerging in the works of many great authors. Two of the innovate Modernist writers were Joseph Conrad and T.S. Eliot. The tendencies to question the incontestable beliefs embedded in all thinking and to concenter on the inner self dominated. Old viewpoints were toss ed aside to make way for the discovery of modern mans personal spirituality. Two works that are considered alpha forbears in the Modern period are T.S. Eliots The Wasteland and Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness.virtuoso attribute of Modernist theme is Experimentation. This called for using new techniques and disregarding the old. Previous writing was often even considered stereotyped and inadequate (Holcombe and Torres). Modern writers thrived on originality and verity to themselves and their tenets. They wrote of things that had never been advanced before and their subjects were far from those of the past eras. It could be discovered that the Modernist writing completely contradicted its predecessors. The past was rejected with vigor and... ...hing, 1971. 37-66.Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. natural York Dover Publications, 1990.Cox, C.B. Joseph Conrad The Modern Imagination. Totowa, NJ Rowman and Littlefield, 1974.Eliot, T.S. Collected Poems. New York Harcourt Brace, 193 6.Holcomb, John, and Patricia Torres. Modernism in Literature. 2002. LitLangs. 6 September 2003 .Hurt, James, and Brian Wilkie. Literature of the Western World wad II Neoclassicism Through the Modern Period. Upper Saddle River, NJ scholar Hall, 2001.Monroe, Harriet. A Contrast. meter A Magazine of Verse xxi (1923) 325-330.Rpt. in Studies in A Waste Land. Ed. Matthew Bruccoli and Joseph Katz. Columbus Merrill Publishing, 1971. 19-22.Smith, Grover JR. T.S. Eliots Poetry and Plays. Chicago University of Chicago Press,1956.