Modernism

Modernism

Modernism is a period which is both progressive and optimistic.The Modern period starts with the Renaissance for historians.It’s stem �’Modern’’,comes from the Latin which means �’current’’.It is a cultural movement which involves changes in art,architecture,music and literature:

�’… the vast majority of attempts to offer alternative modes of representation in literature,music,painting,film and architecturefrom the middle of the 19th century to the middle of 20th century have been termed modernist’’(Childs 6)

It is a period when traditional values start to change.This movement causes innovations in science,art,culture,ethics,philosophy and psychology.It intends to find new or hidden meanings in the human experience.It’s main aim is to deal with new ideas.It is a break with the tradition.Modernist Poetry occurs between the 1890 and 1970.It’s key elements can be experimentation,anti realism,individualism.Experimentation means searching constantly.Anti-realism means to be against realism and concreteness.Individualism means to be an intellectual and to be an individual who has a self-confidence.The stress is mainly on the human mind rather than emotions.Many Modernist poets are from Universities,they appreciate their work a lot.It is a movement which is complex and diversed.It takes some of the important aspects from the movements.Modernism supports that every aspect from industry to philosophy should be interrogated.In this way,culture’s elements could be replaced by the new ones.The Modernist English poets write against the rules that are put by Victorian Poetry.They never deny the past poets or past works.They see themselves as they are respecting the earlier periods and other cultures.Their poems seem to be in longer form in the 20th century.The poets use new techniques such as collage,found poetry and visual poetry.Poetic sonic effects are also the poetic device of modernism.Modernists also put the emphasis on the surface of the poem.They generally deal with the literary meanings of the words rather than the metaphorical or symbolic meanings of them.

�’In poetry,modernism is associated with moves to break from the iambic pentameter as the basic unitof verse to introduce verse libre,symbolism and other forms of writing.In prose,modernism is associated with attempts to render human subjectivity in ways more real thanrealism:to represent through interior monologue,stream of

consciousness,defamiliarization,rhythm,irresolution(Childs12

They call this movement as a �’ revolution of the word’’.T.S Eliot’s The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot is a good example for Modernism.It represents its aspects successfully. It is a poem about a man who has some problems in life.Even though the narrator of the poem is a middle-aged man; the poem is obviously written by a young man.( T.S. Eliot himself ).

Eliot in his real life probably share Prufrock’s moods,feelings or anxieties about women.We see J. Alfred Prufrock’s dissapointment with the society he lives in.We see his ideas about everyday life which is described as vacant and repetitive by him.We can get the idea that Prufrock doesn’t content with his surroundings from the lines( line 6 ).It is so obvious from the lines that Prufrock doesn’t content with his life.In the poem he says that he has �’known them already,known them all-have known the evenings,mornings,afternoons’’.We understand from these lines that he got bored with his life and there is nothing left to excite him.There are also references to time but Prufrock doesn’t reflect time in a positive way,he approaches it in a desperate manner.Throughout the poem he asks questions to himself,so we understand that the poem reflects his inner feelings about life.He has failed to find the meaning and beauty of life.He’s never satisfied with what he has.He is obsessed with what