Enlightenment, Romanticism, Realism, Modernism, and Postmodernism

The enlightenment was an intellectual movement that brought an age of reason to the world that occurred during the 17th and 18th centuries. First, this

The Enlightenment was a period in the eighteenth century where change in philosophy and cultural life took place in Europe. The movement started in France, and spread to Great Britain, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Germany at more or less around the same time, the ideas starting with the most renowned thinkers and philosophers of the time and eventually being shared with the common people. The Enlightenment was a way of thinking that focused on the betterment of humanity by using logic and reason rather than irrationality and superstition. It was a way of thinking that showed skepticism in the face of religion, challenged the inequality between the kings and their people, and tried to establish a sound system of ethics. The ideas behind the

The time period a piece of literature is written effects multiple factors of the work. The author may base the themes and morals of a novel around issues taking place during that time period. Character in the novel may be influenced by real public figures from the author’s time or even be a parody of said public figure. Two distinct time periods of literature are Enlightenment and Romanticism. Both of these time periods have noticeable characteristics that form the ideals that the mentioned periods are known for. Enlightenment is described as a “philosophical movement that sought to promote ideas of reason and rationality and to use them to challenge the teachings and organization of church and state in order to reform society” (Castree). This historical and literature movement pushed society away from the church and into a

Modernism took place in the late 19th century and early 20th century, more specifically the years following World War I (“Modernism in literature” 1). The novel Angela’s Ashes, written in 1996, is considered a work of modernism. Writers often talked about historical events, due “ (feeling) that they were at the end of history.” (“Modernism” 504).

The modernist movement is a time where the enlightenment ideas are rejected and replaced by truth and reality. The modernist writers began to use things such as ambiguity, alienation, fragmentation, and estrangement in their works to shock or surprise the reader. Many of the modernist works try to show readers that they cannot know every meaning of a word that is put on paper or if what is happening is real or fake. These concepts are reasons why the modernist movement became so important to this time period. The modernist made it so that one would question reason, truth, and reality leaving one unsure of what was happening.

During the eighteenth century, a style of writing called romanticism that challenged societal norms began to emerge. It worked against the Age of Enlightenment and encouraged emotional, visual, and knowledge as the reservoir for influence. From this time six important authors surfaced: William Blake, William Wordsworth, Percy Shelley, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Byron, and John Keats. Included in this list should be Dorothy Wordsworth and Mary Wollstonecraft. The eighteenth century produce material that shattered the fundamental’s of society.

Modernism was a movement in literature, art, and music that began with the thought that everything there was to be written had already been written. Modernist writers believed that in order to create new works, they needed to create a completely new genre, using new styles of writing. These writers wanted to differentiate themselves from past literary movements, especially those of the Victorian era, dated roughly from 1837 to 1901 (Kirschen). Although Modernism was a collective movement, Modernists came from all different walks of life. Modernists also come together on one important issue, the push to form something new. They felt that in the new time of industrialism, old ideas of traditionalism were becoming quickly outdated. Modernists, in literature at least, were people who wanted to create a new relationship between reader and author. Generally, though, Modernists aimed to create a new form of expression.

The Modernist Period was first a reaction against the previous Victorian culture. Intellectuals and artists of the 20th century believed that the previous era’s way of doing things was a cultural dead end and they wanted to break away from traditions.

The history of humanity is an extraordinary span of countless years that consists of wonderful advancements, extremely significant developments, new constructions of ideas, and astounding movements. Humans have continuously driven to develop new ways of understanding the world and have tried reshaping the intricate perceptions of the world throughout the course of time. While the entire past of humanity is full of astonishing explorations and powerful events, only very few centuries could possibly challenge the importance of the twentieth century. The early portion of the twentieth century was a very crucial period of time that carried great momentum for multiple revolutions across the globe, multiple wars, and major developments in constructing the world. This influenced not only extravagant ways of thinking and understanding new concepts, but also drove new movements of art and literature into cultures everywhere. This gave ideas such as Surrealism, Naturalism, Futurism. Realism and Romanticism the ability to thrive and reform the perceptions of literature as a whole. However, one of the artistic key movements in the early twentieth century that shaped literature today and made these other movements in literature possible is the Modernist movement. Modernism was substantial in Europe throughout the early twentieth century, sweeping the minds of many marvelous writers and artists such as Virginia Woolf and James Joyce. These two authors are significant influences not just

The progression of the attitudes that are reflective of the society of a culture can be expressed through literature. Near the end of the eighteenth century and carried on throughout the middle of the nineteenth century, romanticism was at the forefront of literature. It was known for embracing emotion and providing an escape from reality in order to entertain an audience. Around the mid-nineteenth century romanticism evolved into realism which took the opposite role of romanticism. Realism is the attitude or practice of accepting a situation as it is presented and being prepared to deal with it accordingly. Realism does just that by focusing on real, ordinary people in the middle and working class and depicts their everyday struggles in a real and true manner. Authors Tolstoy, Al-Shaykh and Tagore were noted for expressing this idea of exposing hardships people faced day by day in their novels.

The 20th century was a unique period of time. It was full of thinkers and writers who changed culture and literature. Modernism is a major movement that was very different form the Victorian age. Modernism has major characteristics that distinguished it from other literature work form other period of times. The modern literature was the very opposite of the Victorian literature. It broke the rules that were set by the Victorian age. Modernism did not accept authority and was rebellious against all kind of authorities represented in religion, family or government. Also, what the Victorian age encourage and accepted was rejected by modernism; it rejected the taboo themes set by the Victorian age and

In the same manner in which one looks to structuralism to identify the main ideas of post structuralism, one must look to modernism to understand postmodernism. Modernism in literature reflected the same rejection of fundamental elements as musical, visual art, and architectural styles. More specifically, “traditional realism” in literature was abandoned” in favour of experimental forms of various kinds.” (Barry 79) Modernism enjoyed its highest point of popularity between 1910-1930, especially reflected in the writings of English speaking writers such as T. S. Eliot, James Joyce, and Virginia Woolf; and in the writings of German and/or French speaking writers like Marcel Proust or Franz Kafka. These writers sought to place a new emphasis on impressionism; deviate from traditional prose and poetry style by using fragmented writing styles; and increase subjectivity of character and narrator, no doubt to distinguish themselves from the overtly moral liberal humanist model. In general, this represented a shift in literature “dedicated to experimentation and innovation.” (Barry 79) What then, was postmodernism?

Literary modernism gained popularity in places like Europe and North America during the early 20th century. Modernism was a rejection of old Victorian writing styles and a movement towards new and experimental ideas. This denial of old ideals stemmed from the recently fought World War One. The war, as well as the many atrocities that were witnessed during it, caused many people to reassess the way they thought about the world and the direction it was heading. Modernist authors many of whom fought in the war saw the world transforming before their eyes; they witnessed entire cities shift towards modern day industrialization. Many authors saw this change as a movement away from the common man and as a migration towards machines and equipment. This is evident in many prominent modernist works of the time which were predominantly written in the first person to show these changes and the effects they had on the average person. Authors tended to promote this self-evaluation and inquiry through symbolic narratives while using many different viewpoints. Specific characteristics of a traditional modernist work include multiple viewpoints, secondary meanings or allusions, and non-traditional formatting. This break from tradition and the new form of writing style has transformed modern literature as a whole and has produced some of the most well-known writers and poets of our generation.

Postmodernism is a literary period that took place from 1950 to now, some qualities that occur in postmodernism are no heros, social issues, magic realism, emotion provoking writings, new age or new millennium, and acceptance. This American literary period most identifies with my personality when the traits like acceptance, equality acts, and social issues come into the picture. I believe strongly in many of the subjects that are involved with postmodernism and believe in changing old ways and beginning new, as does the literary period postmodernism.

A literary movement is a period of time in which literature shared religious, intellectual, and artistic influences. Throughout history, authors and poets of literature have had a tremendous impact to communities in the way that the people of a certain society expressed and lived their lives. Over 30 literary movements/periods dating from as far back as the year 1066 to present time have been created. Literature is constantly evolving and concerns from different groups of people and historical periods emerge. In many cases, literary periods merge into one another, however the author’s and poet’s similar thoughts and ideas are what truly defines a literary movement.