Modernism in poetry took place between 1890 and 1950 in North America and Europe. This style of poetry expressed a poets emotions, culture, personal memories and imagination. It encouraged artists to use their intellect when expressing thoughts about events that happened around world.
A modernist poem typically presents fragmented imagery, nonlinear structure, and unconventional themes. Key characteristics of modernist poetry include experimentation with language, form, and subject matter, often challenging traditional norms. By examining these aspects in the poem, one can better understand how it aligns with the modernist movement in literature.
P urpose
O rganisation
E motion (tone)
T echniques
R hythmic words and phrases
Y Contrast
War, Reactions to society, Love, Hate, Death, Nature
It's very fragmented and uses concrete details.
it uses fragmentation and concrete details.
Im Gay
It's very fragmented and uses concrete details.
This poem is an example of Modernist poetry because it focuses on simple, everyday images rather than complex themes. The language is clear and concise, reflecting Modernist ideals of rejecting traditional poetic diction and structure. The poem also highlights the significance of ordinary objects, inviting readers to find meaning in the mundane.
The poem "Heat" (1919) does not display any of the sense of discontinuity present in much of the contemporary Modernist poetry.
Modernist writers used fragmentation in many ways. An example of how it was used would be James Joyce, who used a very fragmented poem to portray the decay and fragmentation of western culture. Through the poem lacking a central, unifying theme, the writer exhibited what they felt was happening to the culture of the time.
It uses Imagism to describe one object.
The modernist principle that reality is subjective is best explained when meaning is not found in the external world, but is created in the individual. An example would be Langston Hughes' poem, "Life is Fine", which is about an individual who attempts suicide but ends up deciding that "Life is Fine".The modernist principle that reality is subjective is best explained when meaning is not found.
HD most prominently uses the modernist technique of fragmentation in the poem "The Pool." By breaking up the narrative and language into disjointed images and symbols, she creates a sense of dislocation and complex layers of meaning. This technique reflects the modernist approach to representing the fragmented nature of experience and consciousness.
The poem "I, Too" by Langston Hughes exemplifies modernism through its emphasis on individual experience, themes of identity and race, and innovative use of language and form. The poem challenges societal norms and addresses issues of inequality and segregation, reflecting the modernist desire for experimentation and social critique. Hughes's incorporation of vernacular language and his creation of a strong, resilient voice for the African American narrator also align with modernist concerns with authenticity and unique perspectives.
They use dialect to make a link to that particular audience. For example, "Dem want more" or "I ain't". These quotes link to a Caribbean audience. This is done to connect them to the poem or story.
One example of a poem that does not rhyme is "The Waste Land" by T.S. Eliot. This modernist poem explores various themes without adhering to a rhyme scheme.
One modernist theme present in the poem "Gerontion" by T.S. Eliot is the fragmented self. The speaker's disjointed thoughts and memories reflect the disintegration of identity and sense of self in the modern world. This fragmentation underscores the theme of alienation and disillusionment that pervades much of modernist literature.
The poet of the poem "In a Station of the Metro" is Ezra Pound. He was an American modernist poet who wrote this iconic imagist poem in 1913.