Characteristics of Modern Poetry

The 20th century was like no time period before it. Einstein, Darwin,
Freud, and Marx were just some of the thinkers who profoundly
changed the Western Culture. These changes took distinct shape in the
literature of the 20th century. Modern poetry is full of Diversity.It is of a
cosmopolitan nature,with English,Irish and American poets achieving
eminence.The elements of modernism in English poetry is traced by the
end of Victorian era.English poetry in the modern age could no longer
afford to be limited in scope ,therefore the American and English poetry
seek to discover new modes,new techniques and so on. They began to
be influenced by the poetry of other countries for instance French
symbolism greatly influenced modern English poetry.

T.S Eliot was to modern poetry,what William Wordsworth had been to

Romantic poetry.Eliot was considerably influenced by symbolist poets.
W.B Yeats was an Irish nationalist and his poetry reflects his love for
Ireland.Modern poetry made up of diverse streams of poetry-regional
poetry(Frost),Patriotic romantic poetry (Yeats),the poetry of social
criticism (T.S Eliot) and so on.The essential base of modern poetry is
that of revolt.The modern poetry usually mocks and indicate fault
about the ways of the society.

The whole universe is the modern poet’s experience.It reflects

nature,patriotism,ghosts,religion,materialism and what not. A
prominent feature of modern poetry is the passion for humanity,and its
adoration of the life of the labourer,the farmhand and in general the
proletariat.The humanity of the modern poets such as Walter Dela-
Mare,G.K Chesterton Ralph Hudgeson etc is applicable even to animals
which are treated with cruelty by man. It is noticeable that the modern
poets has become more compassionate and humanitarian.

Modernist writers broke free of old forms and techniques. They

evolve different kinds of style and included it in their writings,Poets
abandoned traditional rhyme schemes and wrote in free verse.
Novelists defied all expectations. Writers mixed images from the past
with modern languages and themes, creating a collage of styles. The
inner workings of consciousness were a common subject for
modernists. This preoccupation led to a form of narration called stream
of consciousness, where the point of view of the novel meanders in a
pattern resembling human thought. Authors James Joyce and Virginia
Woolf, along with poets T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound, are well known for
their experimental Modernist works.

Consequently,in the major works of notable Poets it becomes evident

that Symbolism is featured, Modernist writers infused objects, people,
places and events with significant meanings. They imagined a reality
with multiple layers, many of them hidden or in a sort of code. The idea
of a poem as a riddle to be cracked had its beginnings in the Modernist
period. Symbolism was not a new concept in literature, but the
Modernists' particular use of symbols was an innovation. They left
much more to the reader's imagination than earlier writers, leading to
open-ended narratives with multiple interpretations. For example,
James Joyce's "Ulysses" incorporates distinctive, open-ended symbols
in each chapter.

Writers of the Modernist period saw literature more as a craft than a

flowering of creativity. They believed that poems and novels were
constructed from smaller parts instead of the organic, internal process
that earlier generations had described. The idea of literature as craft
fed the Modernists' desire for creativity and originality. Modernist
poetry often includes foreign languages, dense vocabulary and invented
words. The poet e.e. cummings abandoned all structure and spread his
words all across the page.

English poetry emerged in the early years of the 20th century

through various schools, styles, and influences:

School of imagism was the first phase of the movement,the style of

French symbolist poetry influence of Dome and the dominance of war
poetry, these were all different manifestations of modernism in English
poetry (1909-16)A.D. Imagist called for a return to more classical
values,such as directness of presentation,economy of language ;

Frequently,the modern poet utilize new verse-forms and poetic

techniques.The use of slang and colloquialism has become common.
The language and rhythm of poetry approximate more and more to
those of common speech. The bonds of metre have been loosened.
Rules of rhyme or metre are not followed. Stresses vary according to
emotion. Verse-rhythm is replaced by sense-rhythm. The influence of
modern psychologists, Freud, Jung and Bergson has become a
commonplace. Emphasis has shifted from the externals to the
rendering of the soul or Psyche.

However, impressionism, imagism and surrealism are some other

innovations in the 20th century. The impressionists seek to convey the
vague and fleeting sensations passing through their minds by the use of
a novel imagery and metaphor. The imagists are headed by Ezra Pound.
They aim at clarity of expression through the use of hard, accurate and
definite images to convey their ideas and emotions.These innovations
increase the complexity of modern poetry, and the bafflement of the
reader. T.S. Eliot becomes the chief exponent of modernism in his
poetry.His influence in this respect is undenial.

The Modern poetry is a poetry of revolt. It results largely from the

impact of science. The poet turns away from the older romantic
tradition. The tradition still persists in Georgian poetry of the early
years of the new century. The revolt is best exemplified in the poetry of
T.S. Eliot. The poet sees life in its naked realism.Realism in subject
matter has led the modern poet to reject the highly, ornate and
artificial poetic style of the romantics in favour of a language which
resembles closely the language of everyday life.

There are selected characteristics in Modern Poetry that makes it

different from others; Modern poetry can be written on almost any
subject. The modern poets find inspirations from railway trains,
tramcars, telephones and things of commonplace interest. Modern
poets have not accepted the theory of great subjects for poetic
composition.

The whole universe is the modern poet’s composition. He writes on

themes of real-life e.g. The Songs Train by John Davidson, Goods Train
of Night by Ashley, Machine Guns by Richard Aldington, Listeners by
Walter.

Nature also attracts the modern poet no less than the poets of the
earlier ages. But for the modern poet, nature is not a mystic. He does
not find any spiritual meaning in nature. He feels jolly at the sight of
nature’s loveliness.
He gives definite picture of birds, clouds landscapes, sea and
countryside in his poetry. Masefield, Robert Bridges, Edmund Blunden
etc are the great poets of nature in modern poetry.

Diction and Style is also a feature of modern poems.Poets have a

preference for simple and direct expression. Modern poets have
chosen to be free in the use of the meter. They have followed freedom
from the trammels of verse. Verse rhythm is replaced by sense rhythm.
There is free movement in 20th-century English poetry.

Modernist poet are also noted for their rejection of Romantic ideas and
artistic styles,preferring to approach language with more
suspicion,resulting in fragmented sentence structure.

REFERENCES

1.The Main Characteristics of Modernist Literature By Josh Patrick,June

13,2017.

2.LOEB Classical Library

3. ENCYCLOPEDIA OF LITERATURE

4. A History of Modern Poetry DAVID PERKINS

5. WIKIPEDIA

6. THE BRITANNIA

7. Modernist Poetry in English

Written By: Popoola Temiloluwa Josiah 2020/30991.