This stems from the duality between “the cult of beauty and the self […] [and] the expression of profound pessimism, a tendency to focus on the imagery of doom, decay, and a society in decline”15 which prevailed in the last decades of the nineteenth century. The label “Decadence” has been, sometimes falsely, attributed to many works produced in the last decade of the nineteenth century. It is indeed a term that had been coined by the public of the time to label the works which shocked them, or as Dowling puts it, works with “sensational or lurid overtones.”16 It is such a problematic term because it implies that all the works perceived by the public as sensational can be gathered in one group thus reducing Decadence to mere perversity and indecency. The generalization on the part of the public, and consequently on the part of critics, undermines the diversity of art that was produced during the fin-de-siècle era. However, Symons’s article on Decadence is not to be entirely disregarded in favour of his book on Symbolism: in his article, he does mention that Decadence is made of two art movements, which are Symbolism and Impressionism.
A Comparative study of Victorian and War poetry As we know that Victorian literature is produced in the reign of Queen Victoria(1837-1901) the era in which we see England undergoing a tremendous cultural upheaval and all forms of literature were under a great radical change. Thus poets of this era mostly used sensory elements like imagery etc and more of sentimentality in their poems. However they restrained themselves to no specific subject, we find topics from romance to nature, from criticism of politics to religious institutions etc exploring the feelings of love, loss and desire. This is the era which created a bridge between Romantic movement and the Modernist movement of the 20th century. Whereas the war poetry lacks such romanticism.
Angel Hsu Ms. Lin AP English Literature and Composition 12A 18 November 2014 Poetry Project Research Paper Robert Frost, often hailed as one of the greatest poets in American history, is a dominant vanguard of the modern poetry movement – “modernism”, which aims to re-evaluate the assumptions and aesthetic values of preceding poets. Frost’s integral role in modernism not only reshapes traditional poetry but also inspires an unprecedented style of poetry, one that merges both traditional poetic conventions with vivid descriptions and uninhibited lyricism. Frost has composed many celebrated poems in which he tactfully utilizes poetic meter, rhyme, and various other similar effects to create vivid imagery and bring comprehensive vignettes of
Romanticism emerged in the late eighteenth century in reaction to the rationalism of the Enlightenment. Wordsworth and other Romantics emphasized the vigor of everyday life, the importance of human emotions, and the enlightening power of nature. Romanticism also stressed the power of imagination, which encouraged freedom from standard conventions in art and sometimes provocatively reversed social conventions (Newworldencyclopedia.org, n.d.) He helped to unite the serenity of nature and the inner emotional world of men; poetry that reunited readers with true emotions and feelings. (Shmoop, 2008). He became England's poet laureate in 1843, a role he held until his death in 1850 (Kettler, n.d.) Originally inspired by the French Revolution and the social changes it brought, Wordsworth tried to create poetry of the people, in the language of the common man.
Alfred Prufrock” was and still is a popular poem of T.S. Eliot’s, his most well known work is The Waste Land, which epitomizes the modern era. He uses the poetic elements of fragmentation and allusions to depict an image of the modern world through perspective of a man finding himself hopeless and confused about the condition of the society (Rhee 4). This poem also does not continue in a linear direction; although it may seem disjointed, these elements coherently communicate what modern society ultimately believes. This pattern is easily found in every aspect of the poem.
In religion, the Victorians experienced a great age of doubt, the first that called into question institutional Christianity on such a large scale. In literature and the other arts, the Victorians attempted to combine Romantic emphases upon self, emotion, and imagination with Neoclassical ones upon the public role of art and a corollary responsibility of the artist (Landow). In ideology, politics, and society, the Victorians created great change: democracy, feminism, unionization of workers, socialism, Marxism, and other modern movements took form. In fact, this age of Darwin, Marx, and Freud appears to be not only the first that experienced modern problems but also the first that attempted modern solutions. Victorian, in other words, can be taken to mean parent of the modern.
The term is derived from the Latin “modo”, meaning “just now” (Mastin). Used in literature, it was a deliberate philosophical and practical estrangement or divergence from the past, taking form in any various innovative movements and styles. It was a general movement in literature that stressed newness and stylistic innovations to reflect modern life (World Book Encyclopedia 685). The Modernist Period began in the twentieth century and was marked by sudden and unexpected breaks with traditional ways of viewing and interacting with the world (Rahn). Initially, the movement
INTRODUCTION John Milton’s style in Paradise Lost (1667) has justly been described as the grand style. The word “sublimity” best describes the mature style of Milton. It was a quality he attained only after years of stern experience. The merits of Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained do not depend upon the reader’s taste in theology, but upon the stark grandeur of many descriptive passages, and the passionate love of Nature which glows throughout the poet’s work. Broadbent holds the view that “Milton is among the few English writers whose style can be called scholarly, his images unique and his words elevated” (6).
Modernism , broadly , comprises the creations and the actions of those who realized that the conventional forms as art , literature , architecture , sciences , religious faith became old-fashioned in the modern industrialized world . Baldick stated that Modernist literature is characterized chiefly by a rejection of 19th-century traditions and of their consensus between author and reader ( 159 ) . This literary movement had its root in the late 19th-century and early 20th-century . T.S, Eliot , one of the modernist poets , had a great impact on English culture in the 20th-century . He wrote “ the waste land “ , one of the most famous and remarkable poems in the 20th-century .
In fact, she sat on the throne from 1837 to 1901. In addition, identifying the point where Victorianism gives way completely to Modernism it is not an easy task. The literary periods had no discretion. The Victorian writers use some habits of the previous eras also, at the same time they are pushing arts and letters in new and interesting directions. After, some of the later Victorian novelists and poets are nearly indistinguishable from the Modernists who followed shortly thereafter.