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modern poetry characteristics of modern poetry
poetry
trends and movements in modern poetry
modernism a broadly defined
multinational cultural movement or
series of movements that took hold in
the late 19th century and reached its
most radical peak on the eve of world
war one it grew out of the philosophical
scientific political and ideological
shifts that followed the industrial
revolution up to world war one and its aftermath
aftermath
for artists and writers the modernist
project was a re-evaluation of the
assumptions and aesthetic values of
their predecessors
it evolved from the romantic rejection
of enlightenment positivism and faith in reason
reason
modernist writers broke with romantic
pieties and cliches such as the notion
of the sublime and became
self-consciously skeptical of language
in the early 20th century novelists such
as henry james virginia woolf and joseph
conrad experimented with shifts in time
and narrative points of view while
living in paris before the war gertrude
stein explored the possibilities of
creating literary works that broke with
conventional syntactical and referential
practices ezra pound vowed to make it
new and break the pentameter while t.s
eliot wrote the wasteland in the shadow
shortly after the wasteland was
published in 1922 it became the
archetypical modernist text rife with
illusions linguistic fragments and mixed
registers and languages
other poets most often associated with
modernism include h d w h orden heart
grain william butler yates and wallace stevens
stevens
modernism also generated many smaller
movements also ciacmism dada free verse
futurism imagism objectivism
postmodernism and
surrealism modern poetry spans from 1900
to the end of world war one around 1918
some changes occurred thanks to the
first generation modernists especially
ezra pound and t s eliot the influence
of war poetry
ezra pound an american poet and critic
contributed to modernist poetry through
to literary and artistic movements that
were greatly influential imagism
vorticism to keep it simple we can
define imagism as an artistic movement
which aimed at writing poetry in a new
way by fixing clear thoughts in simple
and clear images pound tended to replace
abstractions with concrete details ezra
pound founded vorticism in 1914
influenced by cubism poems written
following this artistic trend had to
avoid the use of traditional language
they had to celebrate energy speed and
dynamism according to pound poetry
should show the movement and the
stillness inside the image
beside pound t
s eliot has an essential role in
developing modern poetry his poem the
wasteland is considered the central
modernist poem
signature public domain in the wasteland
elliott introduces the use of myth and
anthropology in poetry moreover his poem
is built around the idea of the failure
of the western civilization being imbued
as it is by images of sterility and chaos
chaos
furthermore the poem corresponds to the
characteristics of modernism for example
elliott uses time shifts to reveal the
use of the stream of consciousness technique
technique
the extensive use of time shits together
with the use of the stream of
consciousness technique generate a
complete absence of narrative order
many quotations from various authors are
also inserted inside the text in many
different languages elliot hints at
different philosophies and episodes from
diverse religious traditions as well
the second generation modernist poets is
mainly represented by the oxford poets
so called because they all were students
from oxford
they appeared around the 1930s
unlike the first generation modernist
poets the oxford poets did not have a
nihilistic vision and they did not use
experimental techniques
they preferred writing in traditional
forms and a less obscure language instead
instead
their poems were mainly concerned with
social problems both in the uk and abroad
abroad
their leader was wisdom hugh ordon
his social and political commitment is
expressed in the poem refugee blues in
the musee des beaux-arts he deals with
the men's solitude in an indifferent world
world
the new romanticism started thanks to
the new apocalypse poets
they were a group of british poets
mostly born after the world war who
eventually elected d h lawrence as their
poetic forefather
they considered him the singer of the
great elemental forces of nature as
opposed to mechanical things for them
lawrence was also the writer who chose
to regard emotion as superior to rationality
rationality
dylan thomas a welsh poet followed this
literary trend he is best known for his
sensual love for words and his
fascination with nature and the world of
childhood like the metaphysical poets
and the romantics
characteristics of modern poetry 1.
modern poetry is written in simple
language the language of everyday speech
and even sometimes in dialect or jargon
like some poems of rudyard kipling in
the jargon of soldiers
2. modern poetry is mostly sophisticated
as a result of the sophistication of the
modern age e g t
s eliots the wasteland
3. alienation the poet is alienated from
the reader as a result of the alienation
of the modern man
4. fragmentation the modern poem is
sometimes fragmented like a series of
broken images and again like the wasteland
wasteland
5. modern poetry is highly intellectual
it is written from the mind of the poet
and it addresses the mind of the reader
like the poems of t.s eliot
6. it is interested in the ugly side of
life and in taboo subjects like drug
addiction crime prostitution and some
other subjects like the poems of alan
ginsberg 7. modern poetry is pessimistic
as a result of the bad condition of man
in many parts of the world such as most
of the poems of thomas hardy 8.
modern poetry is suggestive the poem may
suggest different meanings to different readers
readers 9.
9.
modern poetry is cosmopolitan
it appeals to man everywhere and at
every time because it deals with the
problems of man or humanity 10.
10.
experimentation is on of the important
characteristic feature of modern poetry
poets try to break new grounds i e to
find new forms new language and new
methods of expression
11. it is irregular written without
meter and rhyme scheme and sometimes
written in prose like the prose poem 12.
interest in politics and the political
problems of the age 13.
13.
interest in the psychology and in the subconscious
subconscious
many poets wrote unconsciously under the
effect of wine or drugs 14.
14.
irregularity of form
modern poetry is mostly written in free
verse and prose the prose poem 15.
ambiguity most of the modern poetry is
ambiguous for many reasons 16.
16.
interest in myth and especially greek
myth 17. interest in the problems of the
average man and the lower classes of
society now we are going to talk about
the trends and the movements in modern poetry
poetry
much that is traditional and victorian
still persists in modern poetry 20th
century poetry is a curious mixture of
the traditional and the experimental
it is a curious mixture of the old and
the new
it is complex and many sided
complexity abundance of output revolt
against tradition love of nature pity
for the poor and the suffering
disillusionment loss of faith in
religion the metaphysical note the
romantic strain the influence of music
and other fine arts and new techniques
are main trends of modern poetry
in the poetry of thomas stern's elliot
we see several of these trends
in a sense he has broken completely the
bridge between romanticism and modernism
moreover he has influenced modern poetry
to a great extent and main trends of
modern poetry the modern poetry is a
poetry of revolt
it results largely from the impact of
science the poet turns away from the
older romantic tradition
the tradition still persists in georgian
poetry of the early years of the new
century the revolt is best exemplified
in the poetry of t.s eliot the poet sees
life in its naked realism even the most
prosaic and commonplace subjects are
considered suitable the heavy thud of
bus creaking of tram cars the raffling
noise of railway trains the drone of an
aeroplane all these find their echo in
modern poetry
the squalor and dinginess of an
industrial civilization are reflected
everywhere in the works of t s eliot
after the great war poems appear in an
ever increasing number on the
destructive means of warfare the imagery
and vocabulary of the modern poet
reflects the influence of science and
scientific inventions realism in subject
matter has led the modern poet to reject
the highly ornate and artificial poetic
style of the romantics in favor of a
language which resembles closely the
language of everyday life the new poetry
is realistic the poet's consciousness of
the grim realities of life has shattered
all illusions and romantic dreams
the tragedy of everyday life has induced
in the poet a mood of ten disillusionment
disillusionment
so the poetry today is bitter and pessimistic
pessimistic
the pessimism of the modern poet is very
poignant and heart-rending it is even
sharper than the pessimism of hardy
because it arises out of the
contemplation of the stark realities of life
life
there is nothing sentimental about it
the great war was a nerve-shattering experience
experience
man lost faith in accepted values as a
consequence this note of bitterness is
even more pronounced after the war the
wasteland of elliot reflects the tragic
gloom and despair of the post-war world
as a result of science and the spirit of
rationalism the poet is skeptical about
god hardy laughs ironically at him
houseman does not hesitate to call him a
brute or a black guard
but this does not mean that religion is
no longer a source of inspiration in poetry
poetry
in t s eliot and francis thompson we
find a revival of christian mysticism
the everlasting mercy of massfield has a
religious theme
there are many fine devotional lyrics
scattered all over his work even today
there are mystical poets in the
tradition of blake and wordsworth
besides the influence of science
religion and mysticism many other
influences are at work on the modern
poet there has been a revival of
interest in the poetry of dunn and the
other metaphysical poets of the 17th century
century
grierson's edition of dun's poems was
published in 1912 ever since english
poetry has reflected more and more the
intellectual qualities of dunn's poetry
elliot has done much to bring about this
metaphysical revival thus we find in his
poetry the same use of startling
far-fetched imagery the same bringing
together of opposites the desire to
startle and surprise in this way he is
able to capture attention
despite its stark realism in theme and
treatment there also runs a vein of
romanticism in modern poetry
much of georgian and edwardian poetry is
in the romantic strain we find this
strain of romance in the poetry of
walter de la mere john massfield and yates
yates
in spite of all their earthliness they
have the romantic longing for a more
perfect world
they would like to escape into a fairyland
fairyland
love is the dominant theme of the romantics
romantics
it has not altogether died out in their
poetry robert bridges has left behind
him some fine love lyrics wb yates has
been called the greatest love poet of
the 20th century
modern poetry has been influenced by the
techniques of music sculpture painting
and other arts the modern poet freely
uses the vocabulary and techniques of
the other arts
however it is music which has exercised
the profoundest influence
the variations and repetitions in t s
eliots the wasteland are like the
movements of a symphony
as a result l a
richards calls his poetry the music of
ideas like a musician's phrases his
ideas are arranged the technique of the
cinematograph is also exploited by the
poet of the wasteland
the modern poet is constantly
experimenting with new verse forms and
poetic techniques
the use of slang and colloquialism has
become common
the language and rhythm of poetry
approximate more and more to those of
common speech
the bonds of meter have been loosened
rules of rhyme or meter are not followed
stresses vary according to emotion verse
rhythm is replaced by sense rhythm the
influence of modern psychologists freud
jung and bergson has become a
commonplace emphasis has shifted from
the externals to the rendering of the
soul or psyche
however impressionism imagism and
surrealism are some other innovations in
the 20th century
the impressionists seek to convey the
vague and fleeting sensations passing
through their minds by the use of a
novel imagery and metaphor the imagists
are headed by ezra pound
they aim at clarity of expression
through the use of hard accurate and
definite images to convey their ideas
and emotions the surrealists try to
express whatever passes in the
subconscious without any control or
selection by the conscious
these innovations increase the
complexity of modern poetry and the
bafflement of the reader
t s elliot becomes an idol and the chief
exponent of modernism in his poetry
he and modern poetry go hand in hand his
influence in this respect is undeniable
throughout history there have been
hundreds of major and minor poetic
movements and trends the innovation and
experimentations on the form and style
of poetry in the modern period arouses
wide attention of poets of different
schools and as a result many poetical
movements have emerged during the period
some of the major movements that greatly
shaped and influence modern poetry are
discussed as follows
imagism imagism was a major modernist
movement in poetry led by poets of both
england and america in the early 20th century
century
this school of poetry flourished in
england and america between 1912 and
1914. ezra pound the founder of the
school later developed his idea into
three imagist poetic principles
imagism emphasized the virtue of clarity
compression and precision of language
they used sharp language and embrace
imagery the movement reached its climax
in 1914 when pound published both in
england and america the anthology of
imagist poetry entitled as imagists
the anthology contained poems by pound h
d richard aldington f s flint amy lowell
james joyce and william carroll williams
when pound found vorticism to be more
appealing in 1914 amy lowell took over
the leadership of the movement
the criteria of the school of imagism 1.
direct treatment of the thing whether
subjective or objective 2. to use
absolutely no word that does not
contribute to the presentation 3.
3.
as regarding rhythm to compose in
sequence of the musical phrase not in
sequence of the metronome in setting
these criteria for poetry the imagists
saw themselves as looking backward to
the best practices of pre-romantic writing
writing
imagist's poets used sharp language and
embrace imagery
their work however was to have a
revolutionary impact on english language
writing for the rest of the 20th century
between 1914 and 1917
four anthologies of imagist poetry were published
published
in addition to pound flint hd and
oldington these included work by skip
with cannell amy lowell william carlos
williams james joyce ford maddox ford
allen upward john cornos d
h lawrence and marianne moore
with a few exceptions this represents a
roll call of english language modernist
poets of the time
after the 1914 volume pound distance 12
himself from the group and the remaining
anthologies appeared under the editorial
control of amy lowell
surrealism surrealism is one of the
chief channels of 20th century modernism
it is a modernist movement in the arts
attempted to express the workings of the
unconscious by fantastic imagery and
incongruous juxtaposition of content
the movement grew out of dadaism was
orchestrated by andre breton the french
poet and critic depending on its
proponents the movement drew on the
troubled politics of the entire war
years the dream theories of jung and
freud studies of the occult and irrational
irrational
the surrealist sought to represent the
true process of thought and true reality
though painting is the main arena for
surrealism to show its talent it also
included important poets and novelists w
h orden dylan thomas ted hughes robert
bly allen ginsberg robert duncan etc
symbolism symbolism is a major literary
movement of the 19th century based in france
france
it is often associated with other labels
decadence aestheticism
neo-romanticism hermeticism modernism
and imagism
it is the usage of literary historians
symbolism designates specifically a
group of french writers which included
charles baudelaire arthur imbord paul
verlaine stefan mallim and paul valerie
the french symbolists exploited an order
of private symbols in poetry of rich
suggestiveness rather than explicit signification
signification
this technique had an immense influence
throughout europe and in england and
america on poets like arthur simmons
ernest towson w b yates ezra pound dylan
thomas heart grain wallis stevens etc in
the decades after world war 1 was a
notable era of symbolism in literature
many major modern poets exploit symbols
some of which are drawn from religious
and esoteric traditions and some are invented
invented
symbolism was the poetry of disgusted
and sometimes disillusioned idealists
who sought in poetry an escape from the
ugliness hypocrisy and rapacity of the
19th century industrialized society in
contrast to the materialist utilitarian
and practical view of the world
symbolist poetry emphasized an ideal
world beyond the material and sought in
ideal languages to express that world
objectivism objectivism is a term to
designate a loose-knit group of
second-generation modernists who emerged
in 1930s mainly in america
the objectivists were highly influenced
by ezra pound and william carroll
williams objectivism is developed out of
imagism the objectivist presents
concrete objects not in order to convey
abstract ideas but for the sake of their
sensuous qualities
it reflects the poet's primary interest
in composing a structure of
relationships apprehensible as a whole
rather than in offering interpretations
of experience
the objectivists also like to use
language more literally than figuratively
figuratively
they produced a considerable diversity
of styles and were highly influential
for later generations of writers working
in the tradition of modernist etc
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