Concetti Chiave
- The decline of Victorian values was marked by disillusionment and cynicism due to utilitarianism, moral hypocrisy, and the aftermath of the First World War.
- Modernism emerged as a powerful international movement, breaking away from traditional forms, with innovations in literature influenced by Freudian psychology.
- Modern poetry, influenced by avant-garde movements, rejected conventional themes, using everyday language to depict the horrors of modern warfare.
- Imagism, a movement led by Ezra Pound, emphasized clear imagery, varied subject matter, and free verse, drawing inspiration from French symbolism.
- T.S. Eliot introduced a new poetic theory, viewing poetry as an escape from emotion and personality, contrasting with Romantic views of poetry.
Decline of Victorian Values
Age of anxiety: in the last 2 decades of the 19th century the system of Victorian values had already come to the end. The utilitarianism, the Victorian hypocrisy of morality,the consequence of the IWW led to disillusionment and left country in a cynical mood. Also the IWW left in soldier who participated a sort of sense of guilt for the horrors of thrench warfare (they became mad).
Modernism: the first decades of the 20th century were a period of extraordinary originality and vitality in the history of art. Innovation took place in all parts of the world (internationalism of the art). Modernismis the name of this powerful international movement that link together different trends and currents . Modernism want to break with established forms and subject, for example, the novel thanks the influence of Freud, explain a new sensibility for the psychology of the characters through the concept of the “stream of consciousness” and the technique of the “interior monologue”; while in poetry there is the mix up of different register and verses.
Characteristics of Modern Poetry
Modern poetry: the period of the I WW was characterized by the spread of the avant-garde groups influenced by the Victorian Romantic tradition like the War poets, a generation of young poets specially soldier who wrote a unconventional poems in theme and explain in an anti-rhetorical way the horrors of the modern warfare (like trenches) and they tried t experiment a new languages (everyday languages,cruel and violent).
Modern poetry began with Imagine which movement flourished between 1912-1917 and that name was invented by the American poet Ezra Pound .
The main aesthetic features are (were influenced by the French symbolism of Baudelaire) :
-use of clear images;
-choice of any matter for subject;
-poems usually short without comment ;
-free verse to increase the sound and musicality of the words.
However T.S.Elliot explain the new poetic theory and practice. He said: “Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion; it is not the expression of personality, but an escape from personality” vs the Wordsworth’s definition of poetry as “emotion recollected in tranquility”.
So the poet became an explorer of experience who used language to create something complex that is not easy to understand without an attempted analysis.
Domande da interrogazione
- What factors contributed to the decline of Victorian values in the late 19th century?
- How did Modernism impact the arts in the early 20th century?
- What are the key characteristics of Modern poetry, and how did it differ from previous traditions?
The decline of Victorian values was influenced by the disillusionment following the utilitarianism and moral hypocrisy of the era, as well as the aftermath of the First World War, which left the country in a cynical mood and soldiers with a sense of guilt from trench warfare.
Modernism, an international movement, brought extraordinary originality and vitality to the arts by breaking with established forms and subjects. It introduced new techniques like the "stream of consciousness" in novels and mixed registers in poetry, reflecting a new sensibility towards character psychology.
Modern poetry, influenced by French symbolism and movements like Imagism, emphasized clear images, diverse subjects, short poems without commentary, and free verse. It contrasted with previous traditions by focusing on complex experiences and using language to explore rather than express emotion, as highlighted by T.S. Eliot's poetic theory.
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