Modernism
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Definition
Modernism is a difficult term to define, and applies to a cultural and literary movement/revolution that occured in the beginning of the twentieth century. Modernism can be applied to literature, art, music, and architecture. What makes Modernism so difficult to define is the realm of contradictions in which it resides. What one work of Modernism might embrace, another might deny. Modernism can be marked by the discarding of tradition. Many modernist works celebrate fragmentation and disrupture: for example, in a piece of literature, this could mean that the plot is not a linear one (see Winesburg, Ohio) and for an art it could mean a complete destruction and reinvention of form.
Historical Influences
The time period in which Modernism evolved was one of many changes. The world was becoming more and more industrialized, and methods of communication broadening to include the telephone- however, as the world was becoming more industrialized, the human race was discovering that they themselves knew less and less about what went on around them, in a sort of global identity crisis. Modern psychology/philosophy led people to the conclusion that they were not the key to their own destinies, but it was realyl a chain of outside forces that led them to make the decisions that they did. The theory of evolution misplaced man as the center of the universe around which a God created just for them into a realm in which man was just a series of upgrades. World War I, with chemical warfare and camoflauge uniforms instead of plain colors, left more and more battlefields twisted and barren than before. The world was a different place, and instead of the predictable world that it had been, mankind was thrust into confusion and doubt about who he was and what life meant.
People Who Influenced Modernism
A few key people from the beginning of the 20th century helped to redefine life as the world knew it:
- Charles Darwin- With Darwin's discoveries about evolution, man was recast and was no longer the center of the world that was created around him, instead taking more of a backseat to Mother Nautre and evolution's powers. Natural selection became the key to the human race maintaining it's heirarchy in the food chain, taking the control that man thought he was entitled to.
- Nietzche- Nietzche's claim that "God is dead" and his philosophical claims only helped in confronting the claims of a world once thought to be safe and the center of the universe, which combined with the war did nothing to comfort the human race. His cynicism rubbed off onto a people whose identities were already called into question with the discovery of natural selection and evolution.
- Sigmund Freud- Freud's assesment of dreams and the subconscious stated that we are not in charge of our choices, but forces beyond our control are (our subconscious desires). This, combined with discovery of natural selection and the claim that God was dead led humans to feel even less secure in our own ability to change the outcome of our lives, and instead realize that anything we do is the result of outside forces.
These people and their discoveries led to the breakdown of the human and social identity, and led to the abstraction that helped feed the Modernist community.
Characteristics of Modernist Literature
- Intertextuality
- Fragmentation (of plot and/or narrative)
- Meta-narrative (an "other" voice)
- Rejection of traditional thought
- Psychoanalysis
Examples of Modernism in Literature
Works Cited
"Modernism," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2009 <http://au.encarta.msn.com> © 1997-2009 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
