Literary Modernism

While researching Literary Modernism I found it most interesting to hear that poets struggled to find new ways to create pieces that reflected huge changes that occurred. When it came to style writers began to change the time and order, perspective, point of view and form. In poetry, this meant metaphors stacked on top of each other, mixing meters and free verse, and allusions to the past. They were willing to challenge the ideas of what were already in place on how and what to write about. Instead of a chronological order we saw many themes throughout our poems that we had to read for class that day. Just in case you forgot what we had to read, the poems included: “September, 1918”, “Thirteen Ways to Look at a Blackbird”, and “To Elsie”. We definitely got to see how each of these poets used modernism in their writing. The fact that they jumped and included more than one theme throughout the poem in ways other than chronological order suggests that they used the key concept that everything is relative no matter what the order. When we look at the characteristics of Literary Modernism that include: a break in tradition as a result of changes in the cultural, political, and artistic sensibilities that occurred in the years before, during, and after the war; there is no such thing as absolute truth. All things are relative; no connections with history or institutions; and concerned with the subconscious, we can definitely see many of these and how they stand out in the poems.

For example, when we look at “September, 1918” by Amy Lowell, I noticed that it was a free verse poem, which is another characteristic of which Literary Modernism has, and her poem has many themes that include: fall, nature, social commentaries, and war and conflict. To break down the poem I’ll take it line for line. The poem is found on page 713 of our text.

“This afternoon was the colour of water falling through sunlight”, this line suggests that nature is beautiful, and that it could possibly be raining if the water is falling through sunlight. “The trees glittered with the tumbling leaves”, which tells us that we are in the season fall. So now we get a picture that it is raining and the leaves are falling. Okay, fair enough. This poem could still follow a chronological order from what we know in the first two lines. “The sidewalks shone like alleys of dropped maple leaves”, when I think of an alley I think dark and dreary and a little scary. This could also suggest that it is now storming instead of sunlight beaming. “And the houses ran along them laughing out of square, open windows”, this line I don’t quite know what to suggest it could mean and where I become more lost than anything in the poem. I know that the houses have got to be a metaphor of some kind here. The next stanza begins with “Under a tree in the park”, now we just changes settings. “Two little boys, lying flat on their faces,” this now is where we see war might be taking place because of them trying to lay flat while gathering food. “Were carefully gathering red berries to put in a pasteboard box” they felt as if they had to hide what they were doing, or save the food for a hard time that they face ahead of them. The next stanza tells us more about why they were doing what they were doing. “Some day there will be no war.” Here we are reassured that the reasons they were picking berries and hiding on the ground while doing so was because of the war happening. “Then I shall take out this afternoon” Almost as a sign that they will have more freedom. “And turn it to my fingers”, put matters in their own hands. “And remark the sweet taste of it upon my palate”, and revisit how it feels to have what we want and need in a peaceful world. “And note the crisp variety of its flights of leaves”, knowing that there is more out in the world to explore like the seasons. “To-day I can only gather it”, referring back to the berries, “And put it into my lunch-box”, but with the next line it really makes me question if the berries were really berries in this poem. “For I have time for nothing”, if he/she didn’t have time for nothing then how can they put things into the lunch box? “But the endeavors to balance myself”, this is showing social commentary to the readers that there is more out there and to make a difference is to carry yourself at a different standard. “Upon a broken world”, in order for the world to be unbroken, we have to work together and get rid of war. We have to fix what is happening in a reasonable way.

With reading more about Amy Lowell it helped me understand that with her determined personality and sense of humor she was going to try with all of her effort to awaken American readers to contemporary trends in poetry. She wanted us, her readers, to know that there is still joy in this world with all of the bad things that are occurring. With layering her metaphors, it was difficult to see what was truly happening, but she definitely wanted her readers to be able to paint a picture with the imagist style that she displays.

In case you missed class on the day of my presentation feel free to ask me for my notes and powerpoint. I would be more than happy to share it with you! Also, when i was doing more research after my presentation I found a great youtube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVNBy5GHuqo) that explains more in depth what we talked about in class and can add to the presentation that I gave on March 9th. 
sources that I used to make my research and presentation possible include: 

http://www.shmoop.com/literature-glossary/modernism.html

http://www.brighthubeducation.com/high-school-english-lessons/29453-modernism-in-literature/

https://www.poets.org/search/node/william%20carlos%20williams%20poem%20to%20elise

https://www.cliffsnotes.com/cliffsnotes/subjects/literature/what-are-characteristics-of-modernist-literature-fiction-in-particular