Modern English Poetry
The Modern Age in English literature is perhaps one of the most complex ages that English literature has ever seen.The literary movement we call Modernism rejected Romantic ideas. It grew out
of the philosophical, scientific, political, and ideological shifts that followed the
Industrial Revolution, through the shock of World War I, and its aftermath.
Modern age is characterized By
- Anxity
- Revolt
- Corruption
- Terrorism
- Absurdity
- Loneliness
- Cynicism
20th Century is a curious mixture of the traditional and the experimental, of the old and the new .Modern English poetry is a many-sided and complex .Modern poetry is marked with democratic note, cynicism, and realism.It ia much more complex than Victorian poetry. Modern English poets perfect rebels in matter of style and diction.
Characteristics of Modern Poetry
- Stylistic experimentation and disrupted syntax
- Stream of Consciousness (a term coined by American
psychologist William James to describe the natural flow of a
person’s thoughts)
- Theme of alienation: characters or speakers feel
disconnected from people and/or society/the world
- Focus on images
➽ Syntax
Syntax is how we structure sentences and language.
➽Stream of consciousness
A narrative mode that seeks to portray an individual's point of view by giving the written equivalent of the character's thought processes, either in a loose interior monologue, or in connection to his or her actions .
T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is one example of the use of stream of consciousness.
And indeed there will be time
To wonder, “Do I dare?” and, “Do I dare?”
Time to turn back and descend the stair,
With a bald spot in the middle of my hair —
* * *
Shall I part my hair behind?
Do I dare to eat a peach?
I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.
I do not think that they will sing to me.
--from “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (1915)