Trends and Movements

 This blog is based on Trends and Movement and this task was assigned by Megha Trivedi ma'am.

 Modernism

 Modernist literature emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, marked by a deliberate departure from traditional literary styles and forms in both poetry and prose. Writers associated with this movement sought to innovate and break away from established norms, as reflected in Ezra Pound’s famous call to “Make it new.” Modernism was fueled by a strong desire to reflect the changing social and intellectual landscape, driven in part by the devastating impact of World War I, which led many to rethink societal values and structures.

As society rapidly evolved due to technological advancements and shifting cultural values, modernist literature captured these transformations, exploring the anxieties and complexities of modern life. As Mary Ann Gillies observes in Modernist Literature, a key feature of the movement is a conscious rupture with the past. This break is a complex, multifaceted response to a world in flux, felt across different continents and disciplines. W. B. Yeats encapsulated this idea of disintegration with his famous line, "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold" from The Second Coming. Modernist writers often sought a stable 'centre' but found it increasingly elusive, as their work reflects the collapse of traditional certainties.

The modernist movement also interacted with and responded to the revolutionary ideas of figures like Darwin, Freud, Nietzsche, Einstein, and Bergson, whose theories reshaped our understanding of the human mind, society, and the nature of reality. This intellectual climate led to the development of groundbreaking literary techniques, such as stream-of-consciousness and interior monologue. These methods, with their emphasis on the inner workings of the mind, aimed to present a more psychologically realistic portrayal of human experience. Modernist writers experimented with multiple perspectives and narrative techniques, questioning the assumptions of realism and pushing the boundaries of what literature could convey about human consciousness and reality.

Postmodernism

Postmodernism was not a concept created by literary critics, but literature has undeniably served as a significant testing ground for postmodern ideas. This prominence may stem from the substantial presence of literary scholars and students in the 1970s and 1980s, especially when compared to those in fields like architecture, film studies, women's studies, or cultural studies, which were still emerging at the time. As a result, literary examples played a central role in shaping the discourse around postmodernism during these formative decades.

When it comes to literary postmodernism, the primary focus has been on narrative fiction. Influential works such as Linda Hutcheon’s A Poetics of Postmodernism and Brian McHale’s Postmodernist Fiction illustrate this emphasis on fiction. Interestingly, Hutcheon’s notion of a "poetics of postmodernism" finds its clearest expression in fictional narratives. The shift from modernism to postmodernism, in a way, mirrors a transition from poetry to fiction.

Modernist poetry often sought to compress the complexities of time and history into a singular, cohesive frame. This effort is evident in imagist poetry and long-form works like T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, Ezra Pound’s Cantos, David Jones’s In Parenthesis, and William Carlos Williams’s Paterson. These poems weave together a tapestry of allusions, meanings, and voices to present intricate historical and temporal dimensions within a confined poetic structure.

Pinpointing the exact rise and fall of postmodernism is difficult since stylistic movements rarely adhere to fixed timelines. However, 1941—the year of James Joyce’s and Virginia Woolf’s deaths—is sometimes considered a symbolic starting point for postmodernism. Another notable figure associated with early postmodern literature is the Irish novelist Flann O'Brien. His novel The Third Policeman, completed in 1939 but unpublished until 1967 after his death, is regarded by literary theorist Keith Hopper as one of the pioneering examples of postmodern fiction. Interestingly, a revised version, The Dalkey Archive, was published in 1964, two years before O'Brien passed away, further contributing to his legacy within the postmodern literary landscape.

Surrealism

Surrealism is an artistic and cultural movement that emerged in Europe after World War I, with the goal of allowing the unconscious mind to express itself. This often resulted in the creation of dreamlike or illogical scenes. The movement's leader, André Breton, described its purpose as seeking to "resolve the previously contradictory conditions of dream and reality into an absolute reality, a super-reality," or surreality. Surrealism influenced a wide range of artistic forms, including painting, writing, theatre, filmmaking, photography, and more.

Surrealist works are known for their element of surprise, unexpected juxtapositions, and non sequiturs. Many surrealist artists and writers saw their work as a manifestation of a broader philosophical movement, rather than simply as creative output. Breton emphasized this idea in the Surrealist Manifesto, describing surrealism as "pure psychic automatism." He also made it clear that surrealism was inherently revolutionary, with connections to political ideologies like communism and anarchism. The movement drew inspiration from the earlier Dada movement of the 1910s.

The term "Surrealism" was first introduced by Guillaume Apollinaire in 1917. However, the movement formally began in October 1924 when Breton published the Surrealist Manifesto, successfully claiming the term for his group over a rival faction led by Yvan Goll, who had published his own manifesto just two weeks earlier. Paris became the central hub for surrealist activity, but from the 1920s onward, surrealism spread globally, leaving a lasting impact on visual arts, literature, film, music, political thought, philosophy, and social theory across various cultures and languages.

Surrealism in literature is an artistic approach that aims to connect reality with imagination. Writers who embrace surrealism strive to dissolve the boundaries between the conscious and unconscious mind. They often craft strange or fantastical narratives, using unexpected contrasts and unusual combinations to challenge conventional perceptions of reality.

Expressionism

Expressionism is a modernist movement that first emerged in Northern Europe in the early 20th century, initially influencing poetry and painting. Its defining characteristic is the depiction of the world through a subjective lens, often altering reality dramatically to convey intense emotions and provoke specific moods or ideas.

Expressionism emerged as an avant-garde style before World War I and gained significant popularity during the Weimar Republic, especially in Berlin. The movement influenced various art forms, including architecture, painting, literature, theatre, dance, film, and music. Paris became a hub for Expressionist artists, with the School of Paris attracting many, including several of Jewish origin.

After World War II, figurative expressionism had a global impact, shaping artists and styles worldwide. While the term "expressionism" is often associated with a sense of angst, historical figures like Matthias Grünewald and El Greco are occasionally described as expressionists, despite the term being primarily linked to 20th-century art. The movement's focus on subjective, individual perspectives is seen as a response to positivism and a departure from styles like Naturalism and Impressionism.

 

 

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