Modernist Style of Writing & Imagism
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At the turn of the twentieth century, the literary scene in both the United States and Europe began to undergo a significant transformation. The experience of World War I further fueled changes in literary conventions, as writers and critics began to turn away from the traditions created during the Victorian and Edwardian eras, and instituted a new narrative structure in both the poetic and prose forms. These changes are most effectively grouped under the banner of the Modernist literary movement, which broadly refers to the major shift in aesthetic and cultural awareness in literature between 1890 and 1939. However, within the parameters of Modernism, other literary movements soon sprang up, upholding the general tenets of the Modernism movement but veering off in more specific directions. Imagism was one such movement, as it attempted to revolt against the conventions of Romanticism by concentrating intently on the images within a poem. This paper will consider both Modernism and Imagism as literary movements, and examine the ways in which each developed during the early twentieth century. The Modernism movement is often difficult to define because it carries many different meanings. Indeed, some argue that Modernism refers to a specific literary period, while others believe it is a certain literary style or genre. However, it is generally accepted that Modernism connotes a kind of avant-garde writing, one that rebels against traditional literary conventio
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a Pound, also participated in the quest to produce radically new modes of expression (Calinescu 53). For poets, this usually meant a greater reliance on free verse, as well as a movement away from the formal poetic meters. Indeed, Modernist poets were highly influenced by Japanese forms of poetry, such as haiku and tanka, as the discussion of Imagism will further examine (Eysteinsson 25).
In tracing the roots of Modernism, one must journey back to 1890, where the phenomenon is generally considered to have begun, developing more fully as a literary movement in the early twentieth century. In many ways, Modernism reflects the influence of the psychology of Sigmund Freud and the anthropological studies of Sir James George Frazer. Indeed, the impact of Freud and Frazer lead to a certain cultural relativism within Modernist texts, as well as a newfound awareness of the unconscious mind and the irrational (Drabble 658). At the same time, Modernist writers were inspired to pursue their experimental work as a means of demonstrating that the ordered worldview of the nineteenth century was no longer valid in the chaotic post-World War I world. Thus, the movement signified a clear departure from the strict morality of the Vict
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1726
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)
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