-Modernist Poetry-

Philip Janikow

ski

-Elements of the Movement-{Driving Values}

o Took place between 1890-1918 In Europe o Took place between 1918-1930 in America

-Catered to the need to break oneself from the past and look towards the future.

-Writers often times rejected literary traditions that seemed outdated and diction that seemed too proper and subtle to suit an era of technological advancements and global violence (WWI).

o Life took a faster pace and poets wanted to reflect this within their writing.

-Elements of the Movement-{Influenced By}

o Writings and poets majorly influenced by the emergence of new art forms.-Artists and thinkers began converging in European

cities as well as cities in general and a melding of the arts occurred.

o It was an era influenced by the critical mind-Major artist and writers were questioning and re-

inventing their art forms.-Artist developed more “modern” ways of thinking,

and thus created this new artphilosophy.

-Elements of the Movement-{Influence On}

o Modernist poetry had a major influence on the visual arts.-Collages, symbols began

appearing within poetry.

o Poets such as Ezra Pound also wrote operas and musical scores using modernist poet techniques.

-Major Poets-{Ezra Pound}

o Known to be the originator of the modernist form of poetry.

o Promoted Imagism.-Derived from the techniques

of classical Chinese and Japanese poetry favoring clarity and straight forward diction vs. traditional rhyme and meter.

-Major Poets-{Ezra Pound}

o Born on October 30, 1885 in Idaho, United States of America. o Got accepted and began studying at Penn State at age of 15.

-While studying there he met and befriended William Carlos Williams as well as H.D.

o Greatly influenced by William Butler Yeats while working and living with him in England.-Yeats and Pound studied Chinese and Japanese works together

leading to the popularization of Imagism.o Befriended T.S. Eliot while in England. o He also coined the term “vorticism” (twentieth century British

art movement stemming from cubism).o Began the The Cantos (his most distinguished work) in 1915

which took 50 years to complete.

-Major Poets-{Ezra Pound}

o Moved to Paris in 1920. -Became friends with Marcel

Duchamp and other artists of the DADA and surrealist movement, and Ernest Hemmingway.

o Moved to Italy in 1924.-Became acquainted with Mussolini

and spoke regularly on Italian radio in support of fascism.

o Brought back to U.S. to face charges of treason-Plead insanity and was transferred

to St. Elizabeth's hospital in 1946-1958.

-Major Poets-{William Carlos Williams}

o One of the principal poets of the Imagist movement.

o Greatly influenced by Ezra Pound.

o Believed in the average individual.-Broke off from European

culture and traditions.-Wrote about everyday

circumstances of life and the lives of common people.

-Major Poets-{William Carlos Williams}

o Born in Rutherford, New Jersey, in 1883.o Began writing in High school where he decided to become a

writer and a doctor.o Studied at the University of Pennsylvania, where he met and

befriended Ezra Pound.-In 1913 Pound published William’s second collection of works The

Tempers.o Williams sustained a practice in New Jersey the whole of his life. o His influence as a poet spread slowly during the twenties and

thirties, however, he was pushed to the shadows due to the increasing popularity of T.S. Eliot.

o Williams’ health began to decline after a heart attack in 1948 and a series of strokes, but he continued writing up until his death in New Jersey in 1963.

-Major Poets-{T.S. Eliot}

o Eliot took the ideas that he loved of the 17th and 19th century poets and he redefined their techniques to suit a more realistic world.

o Captured the discontent of the post WWI society while enforcing values in a concise poetic manner.

-Major Poets-{T.S. Eliot}

o Born in Missouri on September 26, 1888.o Studied at Harvard, contributed in the “Harvard

Advocate.”o Moved to England in 1914.

-While in England ha befriended Ezra Pound, who assisted him in publishing his first major work The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock in 1915.

o Wrote The Wasteland (the most influential work of the 20th century) after suffering a mental breakdown.-The writing is most well known for its form and lack of

transitions (fragmentary).

-Sample Poems-

o And the days are not full enough

-Ezra Pound

And the days are not full enough

And the nights are not full enough

And life slips by like a field mouse

Not shaking the grass

o An Immorality-Ezra Pound

Sing we for love and idleness, Naught else is worth the having.

Though I have been in many a land, There is naught else in living.

And I would rather have my sweet, Though rose-leaves die of grieving,

Than do high deeds in HungaryTo pass all men's believing.

-Summative Analysis-

o Themes/Messageso Excitement in innovation,

re-structure, and self reliance.

o New take on philosophy; revision of western philosophy towards a new eastern outlook, through an artistic lens.

o Surrounded WWI and the disenchanted outlook of the youth.

o Literary Canon o Break with traditional

poetic values.o Rejection of rhythm and

tempo.

THE END.

Word.

werd.