Examples Of Modernist Poetry

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The Modernist period stretched from 1860-1930. During this chaotic time in history, there were countless new developments in technology, science, and medicine. There was also a new concept call urbanization; people moving from rural areas into cities and other urban areas. This period in history brought out artists and poets like never before. They got the urge to express themselves in a way that the world had not seen the likes of at any time that came before it. This created new forms of poetry and art that heavily contrast that of previous periods of history. The Modernist movement would eliminate the precedents created by both Romanticism and the Victorian period. There are many examples of paintings and poems that scream Modernist …show more content…

For example, E.E. Cummings’ poem, “i(a)” was, and still is a unique Modernist poem. It reads vertically rather than horizontally, which was a radical idea at the time that it was written. If the poem is put together horizontally, it reads, “l (a leaf falls) oneliness.” This spells out loneliness, but separates the word with a leaf falls. This relates to the idea of Modernism, because many people felt alone during this period in history. The comparison that is being made is that leaves are all together on a tree, but they are separate, which in turn causes them to be alone. The poem can also see similarities to a Modernist painting called, “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.” The painting depicts many people relaxing in a park on a Sunday afternoon. However, it is apparent that the many different people aren’t really talking to or engaging with one another. This relates to the atmosphere of the Modernist movement, because of the idea of being completely surrounded, but being alone at the same time. This relates back to the poem of how leaves are all together, but are actually separate …show more content…

This showed the idea of actually being alone, versus being alone in a crowd. Being in a crowd and feeling alone is a terrifying feeling. I believe the poem shows this, because it says one leaf falling is like loneliness. However, that leaf came from a crowd of leaves on a tree, which was alone in the first place. The painting shows a crowd of people who are all within 100 feet of each other, but are extremely far away from each other on an emotional

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