Modernist drama

Ezra Pound was one of the most famous and influential figures in the Modernist literature movement. “Make it new” was his philosophy and the rallying cry for Modernist literature. Whilst the Modernists tried to capture the new by a “persistent experimentalism", it rejected the traditional (Victorian and Edwardian) framework of narrative, description, and rational exposition in poetry and prose” . Modernist literature not only rejected the old in terms of form, but also in subject matter- Modernism

From pages 90 - 100 of Mrs. Dalloway, we see the interaction between Septimus, Dr. Holmes, and Dr. Bradshaw. Dr. Holmes tries to force Septimus to see that he is not crazy, that there is absolutely nothing wrong with him, which doesn’t help either Rezia or Septimus. Then there is Dr. Bradshaw who sees that there is something wrong with Septimus, but his only method of helping him is to put him in a home to rest, away from the rest of society. Both men should be trying to help him, but they are alienating

thoughts, and sorrows in their fragmented societies. Authors such as James Joyce, T.S. Elliot, and Virginia Wolfe gave voice to these individuals through their implementation of a stream of consciousness writing style that became a key feature in the modernist literary movement. In his short story “The Dead”, the final tale in his collection Dubliners, James Joyce represents the struggles of a well-respected figure whose depression and low self-esteem causes him to agonize over an annual speech he gives

Modernist Style in Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway The period of modernism, and the new way of thinking and writing it brought, was hugely influenced by the changes in society occurring in the Western world at the beginning of the 19th century. World War I awakened the topic of the meaning of life and death, and together with the modernizing industrial societies and growing cities, altered people’s view of the world. During this period, writers responded to the change in the perception of the world

Virginia Woolf was born Stephen in 1882, she passed away in 1941. She had four siblings and grew up in London, but St. Ives in Cornwall was the long-term summer residency of her family. Her mother passed away in 1895, which was the starting point of Virginia Woolf’s history of depression, within a ten year period her father and her elder brother also died (Lavizzari 1991 251). These biographical aspects are relevant, in so far that some events of to the Lighthouse are influenced, or mirror them.

Streetcar Named Desire and A Long Day’s Journey Into Night are two plays that exemplify the style of modernism. Journey is a modernist novel with a tragic storyline about the Tyrone family. The main conflict in Streetcar is modernist because of the traditional, fundamentalist thinking. Each of these plays contains a character who represents a very important aspect of modernist literature: the burden of the past. This device is used distinctively in each of these two plays. While some similarities between

The Power of Horace McCoy’s They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Professor’s Comment: The premise of this essay is to highlight the capacity of Noir literature to defy Modernist values and pioneer later avant-garde literary movements. This student produced a focused, organized, well supported essay. Nearly half a century has passed since most films and texts in the Noir tradition were created, yet one may wonder how much is really known about these popular American products. Scholars remain fascinated

turn led to Modernism. 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. What further contributed to the rise of modernism was the First World War, which shell-shocked many. People lost their sense of certainty and it made them change their points of views. It made modernists question civilisation. This

John Lye suggests that the vestiges of ‘Impressionism’ in modernist literature contributed significantly to an intimate presentation of “the texture or process of structure of knowing and perceiving” (Lye, 1997). Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity renounced the concept of “universal time” and theorised that experience is both a subjective and an intrapersonal experience. Einstein’s concept of relativity coincided with the Modernist narrative, and helped attribute to new and abundant artistic

The Modernist period in history was a time of great change in society and politics. E.E Cummings was a poet who wrote radical Modernist poetry. Two poems which reflect some of his radical ideas are “I sing of Olaf Glad and Big” and “O sweet spontaneous”. These poems openly criticise aspects of society most people at the time would have been afraid to question. Cummings satirises the government, science, religion and philosophy over the course of these two poems. Cummings uses not only the content