Modernism and its effect on Literature and Society

Modernism is a change in society that was influenced by the effects of World War I. It was a time period from the 1900s to 1940s when society and everything consisting of it changed. In English literature, stories were told in an incomplete, choppy, or fragmented way which represents the shape of society after World War I. And this style of writing would change English literature forever. Before modernism, stories were written in a very concrete and straightforward but after the concept of abstract writing came into view. This was around the time when the United States saw an industrial boom and many machines that made things in life easier or quality-of-life inventions were starting to get made. This period was also the introduction of the Jazz Age which became popular after WWI as well. Modernism was also when the space for art changed and poets and writers were able to take advantage of this. There were also advances in education which made them more important than ever before. One example of English Literature during this time is The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This story is mostly about the American dream and is one of the most popular novels of all time. There was also a rise and difference in topics that were being written about in English Literature. Stories were mostly only written in America and about America, but after WWI the concept of other countries came into view and many other stories arose about other countries in America. Poems and stories also became shorter but rich words were used, which provoked Imagery as well as the stream-of-consciousness style which showed up in writing. This made the landscape of English Literature much more diverse and gave it more variety. If the Modernistic era did not exist, I think many things about not just writing, but life would be different right now, and it was an era that gave America and the World the character it needed.

Comments

  1. AnonymousOctober 8, 2023 at 2:07 PM

    I like how you noted the differences in literature before and after modernism, I also like that you included context about the time period.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Aswin GopinathOctober 11, 2023 at 5:16 PM

    I like how you explained that modernism didnt only affect literature arts but affected other arts too like music. I like you gave examples for the modernistic literature such as the Great Gatsby. I like you said at the end that without the modernism era our world wont be the same because i think its true and i agree with u.

    ReplyDelete

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