Download - Modernism in American Prose
MODERNISM1914-1945
American involvement in World War I left
many yearning for the isolation of previous
years.
The crisis point for the interwar period
occurred during the 1930s.
The literary aesthetic of “high modernism
Modernism began as a self-consciously
international and apolitical aesthetic.
American drama matured thanks to
experiments by playwrights reacting to
Broadway and successful mixtures of
various theatrical elements.
Poetry 1914-1945: experiments in
form
Ezra Pound (1885-1972)
Ezra Pound was one of the
most influential American
poets of this century.
He was a link between the United
States and Britain.
He championed various poetic approaches.
Pound’s interests and reading
were universal.
T.S. Eliot (1888-1965)
Thomas Stearns Eliot was born inSt. Louis, Missouri.
He studied Sanskrit andOriental philosophy.
One of the most respected poets of his day had revolutionary impact.
He also wrote influential essays and
dramas.
BETWEEN THE WARS
Robinson Jeffers (1887-1962) He lived in California and
wrote of the Spanish
rancheros and Indians.
He re-created themes of Greek
tragedy set in the rugged coastal
seascape.
Edward Estlin Cummings (1894-1962)
He known as e.e.
Cummings.
He also used
colloquial language,
sharp imagery, and
words from popular
culture.
Langston Hughes (1902-1967)
One of many talented
poets of the Harlem
Renaissance of the 1920s
was Langston Hughes.
Hughes incorporated
blues, spirituals,
colloquial speech, and
folkways in his poetry.
Hughes published numerous black
anthologies.
References:
http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/outlines/literature-
1991/modernism-and-experimentation-1914-
1945/
MODERNISM AND EXPERIMENTATION: 1914-1945
(VanSpanckeren, K. (2011). Outline of American
literature.)