MODERNISM & IMAGISMEarly 20th century

MODERNISM

Early 20th century movement Virginia Woolf: human nature went through a

fundamental change “on or about December 1910” – fervent desire to break with the past

Writers reject literary traditions/norms that no longer seemed to suit an era of technological breakthroughs and global violence

WWI (1914 – 1918): end of European domination and the beginning of “The American Century”

F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby

IMAGISM

Strand of Modernism, lasted from 1914 - 1917

Manifesto of the movement: “to use the language of common speech, but to employ always the exact word, not the nearly-exact, nor the merely decorative”

Aimed to replace muddy abstractions with exactness of observed detail, apt metaphors, and economy of language

Poets: Amy Lowell, William Carlos Williams, Hilda Doolittle, Ezra Pound

EZRA POUND

“That which presents an intellectual and emotional complex in an instant of time.”

In a Station of the MetroThe apparition of these faces in the crowd;Petals on a wet, black bough.

A LONDON THOROUGHFARE 2 A.M.

1. What do you notice about Lowell’s diction in this poem? Circle examples of diction that supports her message.

2. Discuss the poem’s structure: where does Lowell break lines, and how does she use punctuation? Make notes on your copy of examples of how her structure supports her meaning (ex: “Cabs go down it/One,/ And then another” emphasizes each individual cab, but also the never-ending supply of cabs that fills the city)

3. Using your glossary of poetic terms, find at least 3 other poetic devices that Lowell uses. Underline these devices, and discuss with your group how these devices support Lowell’s meaning.

THIS IS JUST TO SAY

I have eaten the plums that were in the icebox

and which you were probably saving for breakfast

Forgive me they were delicious so sweet and so cold

PICKY EATER

I made salad for dinnerand there aremore than a few mushrooms which I know youso dislike My desire to make you happywas overrunby my desire to saythere’s a fungusamong us