American Modernism: Literary Era and Key Figures

Modernism in American Literature (1915-1945)

Historical Context of Modernism

• Overwhelming technological changes
• World War I: The first war of mass destruction
• Grief over loss of past; fear of eroding traditions
• Rise of youth culture

Modernist Literary Style and Genre

• Dominant mood: alienation and disconnection
• Writing highly experimental: use of fragments, stream of consciousness, interior dialogue
• Writers sought to create a unique style

Key Modernist Writers

• Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)

  • Writing style: concise, direct, spare, objective, precise, rhythmic
  • Major works include The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Old Man and the Sea
  • A larger-than-life hero: big game hunter, sport fisherman, headliner; won Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prize for Literature

• F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940)

  • The Great Gatsby: ironic and tragic treatment of the American success myth
  • His work and life illustrate American culture of the 1920s

• William Faulkner (1897-1962)

  • As I Lay Dying
  • The Sound and the Fury (his masterpiece)
  • Considered the most original writer of his time
  • Primary subject was his heritage: Southern memory, reality, myth

Prominent 20th Century Poets

• Robert Frost (1874-1963)

  • America's best-known and best-loved poet
  • Used traditional verse forms and the plain speech of rural New Englanders
  • Notable works:
    • Death of the Hired Man
    • Birches
    • Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
    • The Road Not Taken
    • Mending Wall

The Harlem Renaissance (1915-1929)

• A Black cultural movement that emerged in Harlem during the 1920s; literature, music, and art flourished
• Langston Hughes: Most successful Black writer in America; wrote poetry, drama, novels, songs, movie scripts, etc.