Book Reviews and Analysis

This genre is about ‘mak[ing] it new’ and diverging from literary tradition. This literary movement was driven by a conscious desire to overturn traditional modes of representation and express the new sensibilities of their time.

 

Characterised by a stream of consciousness technique, Modernism as a literary movement can also be seen as a reaction to industrialisation, urbanisation and new technologies. The term modernism covers a number of related movements; imagism, symbolism, futurism, Vorticism, cubism, surrealism, expressionism and Dada.

 

It has its origins in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and is characterised by a very self-conscious break with traditional ways of writing. It catalyses a reassessment of society and its ingrained institutions and modes of behaviour.

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In the 1880s increased attention was given to the idea that it was necessary to push aside previous norms entirely, instead of merely revising past knowledge in light of contemporary techniques. 

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Previously viewed as idealistic literature, Modernism shifted with the beginning of World War I, producing more cynical works that reflected a shared disillusionment. Many modernist writers also shared a mistrust of institutions of power such as government and religion and rejected the notion of absolute truths.