Modern Literature

Although the dictionary definiton of the word modern is 'of present-day' or 'contemporary', in the context of literature it refers to a period that began almost over a century ago. Modernist literature refers to the literary period that began towards the end of the 19th century and developed well into the first half of the 20th century. This tradition was the successor of Victorian literature in that sense. However, many things had changed since the Victorian era and literature was among these.

One of the most important elements of literary modernism is its relation to life itself. It wouldn't be entirely wrong to say that when compared to previous traditions, modernism was more intertwined with daily occurences. If nothing, it was hand in hand with the politics of the age. Two of the most important events of the century were undoubtedly the world wars. Although it is up to debate, modernist literature is believed to be the most prominent literary movement or tradition up until the second world war. The shadows of these events would undeniably cast themselves upon the thought of the period. For this reason, the literature of this age was heavily political and had certain themes. One of these themes have been emphasized constantly in Western literature and thought: the individual. The individual has ever been the concern of Western thought but its relation to the society or the collective has been the higlight of modern literature. Modernist writers often dealt with the relationship between the public sphere and the individual.

Existentialism has also been another important concern in this tradition as well. The early half of the century was constantly dominated by the fear of death. The rising tensions in the international realm was felt by everyone and has been expressed by writers. Existentialism wasn't a new topic, the Western world has been questioning it's existence since it's civilization took it's roots back in Ancient Greece and has been dealt with for thousands of years. However, it would be safe to say that the 20th century took this concern to the extreme. After all, the century itself was named 'the age of extremes' by many. One of the key characteristic that defined the age was this extremity. Polarization wasn't uncommon in the daily life. This was especially felt within the ideologies of the age. Fascism and totalitarianism was on the rise. Italy, Germany, and Japan became authoritarian regimes that became the manifestations of these ideologies. Far-right extremist movements such as the Nazi regime were gaining strenght day by day. However, the left-wing politics were also a part of this polarization as well. The Russian Tsar was overthrown by those who would later establish the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Everything in this age was present with its exact other half.

Some important and well known authors of this age are as follows:

Kafka, who wrote extensively on the indiviudal's existence within the growing bureaucracy.

Virginia Woolf, who dealt with the issue of gender and women's rights amidst all this chaos as well as mental illnesses. It was also she that came up with the technique of stream of consciousness.

Ernest Hemingway, who has personally been affected heavily by war itself and wrote about his experiences and how his mental health and sanity has been affected.

Ezra Pound, who is a central figure to the shaping of modernism and is still a famous literary critic today that gave into fascism.

T.S. Eliot, who shaped and reinvigorated English poetry when forms of this age were colliding with each other.

Marcel Proust, who articulated time and memory.

James Joyce, with his book Ulysses, became a central figure to modernism as it embodied the spirit of its time.

Although these are some of the major authors, literary critics, playwrights, and poets of the age, there are still many others who have put out major works in this tradition as well. Modernist movement is both important and huge. In my opinion, it is one of the most significant movements in literature from the perspective of the 21st century. It is the spirit of a world and society that was shaking up from it's foundations. For these reasons, I believe that it is a topic that everyone should be familiar with.

Bibliography

Andrew Heywood - Politics

Eric Hobswam - Age of Extremes

Wikipedia

Encylopedia Britannica

Images

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