General Characteristics of the twentieth century literature

 Hello friends !!

          Here I am going to write about the general characteristics of twentieth century literature. So here we had focused  on the history of the time. It is not easy to write about history without the things knowing and realizing. But the classroom understanding and my reading help me to write about the particular age of the twentieth century. But one thing is there what I mean for this that is not mean but a whole. So here I am trying to analyze the history of the age ,what type of literature introduce by writer etc:

• The Twentieth-century

• Historical background………

• Modernism and Art……….

• Characteristics of twentieth century literature……….

 

• Historical background  ……..

No.	Time - Period	Event
1.	1901 - 1910	The reign of the king Edward Vll ;
2.	1910	The Succession of the George V to the throne :
3.	1914 - 1918	World War I
4.	1921	Independence of Southern Ireland from Britain Anglo Irish Treaty of December 1921 established the Irish free state.
5.	1928	Women's suffrage women over the age of 31 are given the vote right.
6.	1929	The Great Depression originated in the United States in late 1929.
7.	1939 - 1945	World War 2

• The welfare state

• Urbanization

• Social Satisfaction and social mobility

• The world of work

• Education, religion and culture

The twentieth century was in contrast with the Victorian age. How Victorian ideals became stupidity in the twentieth century. Every aspect of life is changed with the industrial revolution and through the welfare state. The time has come to attract towards urbanization. So that's how we also understand the literature of that time.

         At this point, however, there is no need to distinguish between two groups of writers: the group that was already established in the first decade of the present century; and the group that had not so far begun to produce, but was shaping its ideas largely in conformity with a work which had had no public impact, G E Moore's Principia Ethica (1903). 

There are also two types of groups that are Fabianism, socialist movement and theory that emerged from the activities of the Fabian Society, and another one is Bloomsbury group of thinkers and writers.

• The Modern movement ...

        The Modern Movement of architecture represents a dramatic shift in the design of buildings, away from the traditional forms and construction techniques of the past and toward a new era of design. The styles of the Modern Movement, Art Deco, Moderne and International, began in Europe and spread to the United States in the 1920s. 

      The various inventions and wars are going on. There is a great effect of war on art and society as well as on literature also. World War I brought an end to this phase but indicated the beginning of a number of anti-art movements, such as Dada and Surrealism. The new ideas are developed about the interrelation of the arts, architecture, design, and art education. Cubism has been considered the most influential art movement of the 20th century.

Characteristics of the Twentieth-century literature :

     Twentieth century literature was in contrast with Victorian literature. There is an  impact of imperialism that we find in Rudyard Kipling's works etc. Another factor is Social Unrest because of the sudden Reformation in every factor of life that is quite dangerous for human beings.  Two World Wars that made a great effect on literature.

       

 For many, humankind was entering upon an unprecedented era. H.G. Wells’s utopian studies, the aptly titled Anticipations of the Reaction of Mechanical and Scientific Progress upon Human Life and Thought (1901) and A Modern Utopia (1905), both captured and qualified this optimistic mood and gave expression to a common conviction that science and technology would transform the world in the century ahead.

The Twentieth century  writing is highly self-reflexive and poems written during this time were much shorter and relied more heavily on free verse. Additionally, many poets used the theory of imagism in their writing, which involved concise language and sought to capture various images.

Among the English poets of the Modern Period, two of the most prolific were not English-born writers. T.S. Eliot was an American-born British poet who is often considered one of the most influential poets of the 20th century.

Novels at that time focus on man in his social circle to man as an isolated individual. This change emphasized the thought processes and unconscious impulses of man.  One writer who encompassed both Victorian and Modernist ideals was E.M. Forster. He was also talking about Escapism. While many of his works discussed class and hierarchy in social status, he also displayed an interest in individual values. His two most well known works are A Room with A View (1908) and A Passage to India (1924).

This particular time we find that a lot of war poets are there who write a poem about war. Twentieth century literature is about individualism, stream of consciousness, to read against power and religion, science fiction, short stories about class distinction, about workers etc.

Thank you !!!

The study of Modern images, Metaphors in this ten Short poems

Hello friends !!

   This is about academic writing task. The task is given by Dr. Dilip Barad sir. So the task is we have to go through the reading of ten short poems and to find out modern images and metaphors. How modern features are reflected in these poems.

        Click here to know more about this task click here and visit sir' blog.

1. Embankment : by T. E. Hulme

Once, in finesse of fiddles found I ecstasy,

In a flash of gold heels on the hard pavement.

Now see I

That warmth’s the very stuff of poesy.

Oh, God, make small

The old star-eaten blanket of the sky,

That I may fold it round me and in comfort lie.

       First of all the title itself gives us an image that the poem is about one place named as Embankment. (near Thames river) The Thames Embankment is a work of 19th-century civil engineering that reclaimed marshy land next to the River Thames in central London.

Oh, God, make small

The old star-eaten blanket of the sky,

That I may fold it round me and in comfort lie.

 

 So particular this line we can connect with the surrealism. Because he or she dreams of having their own home. Present speaker is facing the problem of homelessness. This poem connects with Oscar Wilde’s famous line, we can all look at the stars, but some of us are in the gutter. 

2. Darkness by Joseph Campbell

   

        I stop to watch a star shine

        in the boghole -

        A star no longer, but a silver

         ribbon of light.

        I look at it and pass on.

In the title we find that the modern characteristic is the use of negative words. One of the most important themes of Modern literature is Nothingness.  This theme we can relate to here. Joseph Campbell strict modern poet, his poem against the Victorian themes. The present poem's title itself suggest the contradiction between darkness and shiny star. speaker might be tell about the illusions in the life.

  3. Image by Edward storer

Forsaken lovers,

Burning to a chaste white moon,

Upon strange pyres of loneliness and drought.

The  image of  forsaken lovers that means the lover who separated but their sexual desire yet not fulfilled.

       The image of white moon cycle represents the fertile power of women and was considered the cycle of the 'good mother' as she was fertile in sync with the natural cycles of the earth (the full moon is considered as earth's most fertile time.)

      So the lovers are suffering from the theme of alienation in modernist literature. It is about sexual perversion.

4. In a station of the Metro" - Ezra Pound

    

   The apparition of these faces in the Crowd;

 Petals on a wet, black bough.

           In this particular poem poets use two images. Like the first one is the metro station and the crowd that we find from the title. Second one is about petals in black boughs. Here the poet used metaphors ' these faces' are like ' Petals on a wet, Black bough'.

The word  'crowd' shows here contrast.  There is a crowd but no one who is interested in talking with other people doesn't have time for that. Life became a machine like Metro.  Life became lifeless. Also we can say that poets try to show disinterestedness as characteristics of modern literature. He was talking about the wet and dark atmosphere  at the station and also the lives of people. As we know that petals don't stabl long life. We are also like that mortal in this darkness.

5. The Pool - Hilda Doolittle

 

 Are you alive?

 I touch you

 You quiver trembling like a sea-fish

Cover you with my net

What are you- banded one?

             The poem starts with the question, Are you alive ? Here the poet raised a question may be because the people don't have time for themselves, they worked like machines. So that question was raised by her.

      So the image of the pool is important here because the pool doesn't have a flow of water so life has also become flawless in this modern time.

However, another reading is also possible and perfectly persuasive. It was suggested by an IL reader in response to a previous piece of ours, and sees the rock-pool encounter in light of Hilda Doolittle’s pregnancy. When analysed this way, ‘The Pool’ might be interpreted as dramatising an encounter between Doolittle and her as-yet unborn child.

6. Insouciance -  by Richard Aldington

IN and out of the dreary trenches,

Trudging cheerily under the stars,

    I make for myself little poems

   

Delicate as a flock of doves.

They fly away like white-winged doves.The

To understand the poem we have to know about the background of the poet.  Aldington joined the British Army in 1916, during the Great War, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Royal Sussex Regiment during 1917 and was wounded on the Western Front. Aldington never completely recovered from his war experiences.

    So the first image is creating by first two lines. It seems like a war ground. The word 'star' suggests that he was under the protection of stars. And then the reference of doves comes. Dove is the symbol of peace. So speakers want a peaceful life. So 5he poem creates a war image, using a theme of war. This poem explores expressionism.

7. Morning at the Window - by T. S. Eliot

They are rattling breakfast plates in basement kitchens,

And along the trampled edges of the street

I am aware of the damp souls of housemaids         

Sprouting despondently at area gates.         

 The brown waves of fog toss up to me                 

Twisted faces from the bottom of the street,         

And tear from a passer-by with muddy skirts          An aimless smile that

hovers in the air    And vanishes along the level of the roofs.

                      The whole poem has negative words. The word 'Rattling' means vibrating, shaking plates and 'Damp' means in low spirits from loss of hope or courage. The fog and twisted faces gives negative glimpse and an aimless smile suggests artificiality of Modern civilization. This poem gives images and symbols of the dead spirit in people. In this poem we find that the Characteristics of modern poetry,that is the use of negative words. And also we see that the various images create by the poet. The poem tells a story of poor people.

8. The Red Wheelbarrow -  by William Carlos Williams

so much depends upon

a red wheel

barrow

glazed with rain water

beside the white chicken.

   

   The wheelbarrow is an enduring and universal tool, used by people for thousands of years. 

    By extension, the wheelbarrow here might be taken to represent the value of the working class. The people actually performing said manual labor, such as farmers, miners, construction workers, etc. Might be the water and the wheelbarrow is the most important part for farmers. This poem showed everyday life.The colours 'red' and 'white' are used in a dual way. It makes the poem difficult in understanding. This poem might be  against modern inventions. Poetry is important to craftsmanship.

9. Anecdote of the jar -  by Wallace Stevens

I placed a jar in Tennessee,   

And round it was, upon a hill.   

It made the slovenly wilderness   

Surround that hill.

The wilderness rose up to it,

And sprawled around, no longer wild.   

The jar was round upon the ground   

And tall and of a port in air.

It took dominion everywhere.   

The jar was gray and bare.

It did not give of bird or bush,   

Like nothing else in Tennessee.

        The poem is very hard to understand the exact concept of the poem.  It's very hard to connect the dots between the images like the jar, the wild area, the place Tennessee, hills and ground. The language is complex in structure. How to read the image of the jar that became difficult for me.

10. I - by E. E. Cumming

"A leaf  falls with loneliness"

This is the one line interesting poem. He writes that the fragmentation of the words "illustrates visually the separation that is the primary cause of loneliness". 

       The image of a single leaf falling down. That suggests the loneliness This poem reflects the modern time people were living in one country together like leafs live on a tree. Poem suggests the theme of Isolation. That is the characteristics of modern poetry.

So that's how I am able to read images and metaphors from this poem related to the twentieth century. Your perspective and view regarding this poem must be different ,if you want to add something  then write in the comment section.

Thank you !!

 

Frame Study : The Great Dictator by Charlie Chaplin

 Hello friends!

        Welcome to my blog ! This blog is about frame studying on the famous movie that Great Dictator by Charlie Chaplin.  THE GREAT DICTATOR, based on an original story written, directed and produced by Charles Chaplin and released through United Artists; musical direction by Meredith Willson. At the Astor and Capitol Theatres.

        Let's have look on slides and frame.

When he was playing with a glob balloon the map broke up. That through we assume that  he was not stable to rule over the world as long as he wanted. Maybe That is the sign of his fallout. When he was playing with a glob balloon the map broke up. That through we assume that  he was not stable to rule over the world as long as he wanted. Maybe That is the sign of his fallout.

As birds are no longer safe in prison but the situation of Jews is more dangerous. The Ghetto is like open jail. That we connect with the current situation of our country.

 

                The crowd goes wild when Hynkel shouts “Soldiers for Tomainia!”—but when he makes a gesture with his hand, they instantly go silent. That showed his control over them. In a final speech he doesn't make any gesture to make silent. It looks like I am here don't behavior against me.

• Value of artist ?
• Connect with Narcissism

              Another splendid sequence is that in which Hynkel and Napaloni, a neighboring dictator, meet and bargain. How Hynkel and Napaloni tries to show their power to one another. That one Dictator always wants to become more and more powerful. This particular sequence is portrayed as a funny way but it is explore characteristics of a dictator.

         Both Dictators wanted to take Photographs and Hynkel wanted to show their army and powerful weapons and all the things.  The public was also very enthusiastic about Napaloni. So we have to think about how we react at present time to this type of situation.

Final speech of The Great Dictator : ( click here to watch and read final speech )

The final speech by barabar is a symbolic one and very important.  The way Camara works at that time speech is going on. We have two different kinds of look and frame.

This  frame we connect with the present time. As our government wanted to increase our weapons. A decade ago Charlie Chaplin made fun of that.

The character of Schultz, who was against him that's why Hynkel gave a punishment. Schultz tries to persuade the Jewish family to assassinate Hynkel in a suicide attack, but they are dissuaded by Hannah. Troops search the ghetto, arrest Schultz and the Barber, and send both to a concentration camp.

Thank you !!

Frame study : Charlie Chaplin's movie The Modern Times and The Great Dictator

           "  Life  is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot.  "  - Charlie Chaplin.

Hello friends !

    Welcome to my world !! Here I am going to present my views on two movies by Charlie Chaplin. I am doing a frame study of this film. The movies are  The Modern Times and The Great Dictator.

     It is an interesting study through the perspective of the modern age and twentieth century. How the camera works, and  how the portrait situation relates to the particular history of the century. How he portrayed comedy with high seriousness, that became noticeable. If you watch both these movies without any deep understanding and context then you may say that these are great comedies. But , if you watch a movie in a critical way then this becomes more serious.

Let's know about  a comedy king with high seriousness, Sir Charles Spenser Cheplin was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film.

Let's have a glimpses of some of the frame that is important to related with the twentieth century.

The Modern Times :

        The opening scene is very metaphorical. Because it suggests that How human beings are bound by time itself.  If you think you are free then that is half truth. Because we are bound by time.we have to do work from time to time.  Because of The invention of the machine and all the things we have become slaves of time. Time is ruling over us in a very crucial way. That is also suggested that the clock showing 6 o' clock,that must be a time to go factory and work.

       

          Here we can see that in the opening scene that Chaplin portrayed a herd of sheep along the fade up scene with the herd of man. That shows us that people don't have enough thinking for their future plan. They do work like sheeps.  The workers assembly line possibly his greatest slapstick encounter with the twentieth century. Here we can see the herd mentality of mankind.

This particular frame shows us the helplessness of the worker. The feeding machine came up with an idea that if you use this machine for your worker then the lunch time will be eliminated and you have more production. And the owner who said let's have a demo.  The worker who can't be denied a demo. Chaplin who suffers a lot from that machine. This particular scene is the most hilarious one. But if we think deeply then we realize that the man who stands near Chaplin who doesn't think about his suffering… and he was working like Chaplin don't have emotions like machines. His behavior is like he was dealing with a machine but actually he experiments on lived human beings.

The final scene in 'The Modern Times' is stunning, and in many ways. There is a message of hope amidst the poverty of the Depression, with Chaplins responding to Goddard feeling overwhelmed and defeated by saying Buck up - never say die. We then see his signature move, walking off down the road, but this time he is not alone, he has Goddard with him, which could be viewed as overcoming through love and togetherness.

2) The Great Dictator :

Click here to reach blog on the Great Dictator... 

If you have another interpretation then write in comment section.

Thank you.