20thB-Non-Poetry+Movements

[[image:books1.jpg width="195" height="227" align="right"]] 
by Tara Slagle

Introduction
 A dramatic change occurred from the end of the refined ways of the Victorian nineteenth century to the twentieth. The twentieth century experienced two devastating world wars, exponential improvements in technology, and the rise of communism, all of which contributed greatly to an altered lifestyle for the world's citizens. Congregating primarily in cities at the dawn of this grand new century, urban-dwellers found themselves feeling isolated, despite the close proximity to their neighbors. Surviving two global wars, the people became disillusioned with the world and became critical of the lives of human beings. Minorities and women began clamoring for more rights, and the up-and-coming generations yearned to separate themselves from their predecessors and their trends, including the Beat generation in the United States, which reflected the materialistic youth of the 1950s, and Generation X that was inspired by the fall of the Berlin Wall as well as imperialism. The language arts of the century of innovation can be seen as divided into two large sections: modernism, and post-modernism.

Modernism
 The modernist movement was just barely beginning to come to life prior to the First World War, but after this catastrophic event is when the movement fully came into bloom. The orderly ways of the Victorian era were shattered by World War I, which brought much pain to and greatly disillusioned the generation. These ill feelings and distorted views were reflected in the works of writers during this time period. Novelist John Buchan, in //The Thirty-Nine Steps// (1915), dealt with the politics involved with World War I. Writers' disillusionment caused them to break with the ordered ways of realist fiction, and attempted to portray reality as they saw it: multi-layered, discontinuous, and deceiving. In his //Clayhanger// trilogy (1910-1915), Arnold Bennett worked to divide his novels from the writing styles of the Victorian Era, and E.M. Forster, in //A Room with a View// (1908), also dealt with separating from the Victorian attitudes towards relationships. Two decades later, J.B. Priestley wrote about social issues in //Time and the Conways// (1937), in which the Conway family refused to adapt to the social expectations of their time, and thus their downfall ensued. Experimenting with the portrayal of reality, writers moved time and landscape to the internal, and left their works open-ended as to better reflect the reality that time has no end. Some authors, such as James Joyce in //Dubliners// (1914), //The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man// (1917), and //Ulysses// (1922), worked with frank content and experimented with different types of narration. Virginia Woolf, the first prominent female author of the century, also dealt with brazen content in //Mrs. Dalloway// (1925). Both authors intentionally went against what society found to be appropriate contents, criticizing it in a way.

In drama, many [|twentieth century playwrights] also strove to break with the realist canon of the previous century. For many, this meant rejecting the teachings of Henrik Isben, the father of realist drama whose plays dealt primarily with social issues. Rising out of the realist era and discarding the trends of that time came the most prominent of all modern British playwrights, George Bernard Shaw. He is accredited to some 47 plays, including his most famous, //Pygmalion// (1913), that is known for its protestation against class prejudices. Other modernists joined in attacking the values present in society during the period.

Common themes used in works during the Mordernist period were: 
 * The amount of truth or reality in an experience
 * The absense of God, or a higher being, and finding meaning in a world void of this
 * Criticism against tradtitional values of the culture
 * How to deal with the loss of meaning and hope in modern society

Post-Modernism
 After World War II, the modernist period declined and gave way to post-modernism. This movement, as with its predecessor, lashed out against the trends of the era prior to it. Responding to modernism, post-modernists found modernists to be too harsh in their divions between the life of the common man and those of a higher class. Members of the post-modernist movement also responded to cultural changes, and advances in media and technology that were reultant of World War II. Disillusionment occurred after the Second World War as with the First; however, instead of writing about their pain, post-modernists instead acknowledged the struggles of the world and related that they felt experiences were no longer organic, but simulations of what reality should be. Post-modernists rejected the codified ways of the modernists, challenged their limits, fragmented series of events, and no longer trusted rationalization. Despite the playful manner taken towards some subjects, darker works emerged from the post-modern period, including Anthony Burgess's novel //A Clockwork Oranage// (1962) which warns against excessive violence, and William Golding's //Lord of the Flies// (1954) which describes the failures of men's creations. Other works were less dismal, but still political, such as George Orwell's criticism of communism in //Animal Farm// (1945), followed by his warnings against a powerful central government in //Nineteen Eighty-Four// (1949). All three of these works tested their boundaries and used alternate, inorganic societies as analogies for ideas about their own world. Due to the success of Virginia Woolf, as well as the involvement of women and minorities in World War II, these previously unrepresented groups were able to make a way into the once white-male-dominated field and express their ideas, as well. Margaret Drabble wrote a purposefully experimental novel, //The Waterfall// (1969).

Experimenting with dramatic works, the [|Theater of the Absurd] developed during the post-World War II era. Samuel Beckett launched this new movement that aimed to portray the writer's sense of confusion and wonder. //Waiting for Godot// (1955) is Beckett's most famous play, and perhaps the most well-known absurdist work. Many of these dramas rebelled against traditional drama, politics, and society, such as Tom Stoppard's absurdist play //Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead// (1966),which is a twist on Shakespeare's classic //Hamlet//.

The majority of post-modern works, both literary and dramatic, strove to loosen the somewhat more rigid structure of modernism and portray reality to be as bewildering as they found it to be.

Citations
 1. Crabb, Jerome. "Theatre of the Absurd." //Theatre Database//. 03 Sep 2006. Web. 19 Nov 2009.  <http://www.theatredatabase.com/20th_century/theatre_of_the_absurd.html>. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> 2. Gillies, Mary Ann. "Modern Drama." //Simon Fraser University Department of English//. Web. 19 Nov 2009. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><http://www.sfu.ca/english/Gillies/engl207/moddra.htm>. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> 3. "Twentieth Century Literature." //enotes//. Web. 19 Nov 2009. <enotes.com/topics/century-literature>. 4. Lye, John. "Some Cultural Forces Driving Literary Modernism." //Department of English Language & Literature//. 07 Jan 2009. Brock University, Web. 19 Nov 2009. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><http://www.brocku.ca/english/courses/2F55/forces.php>. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> 5. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">Lye, John. "Some Attributes of Post-Modernist Literature." //Department of English Language & Literature//. 30 Apr 2008. Brock University, Web. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> 19 Nov 2009. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><http://www.brocku.ca/english/courses/2F55/post-mod-attrib.php>. 6. "20th-Century English Literature." //The Free Dictionary by Farlex//. Helicon Publishing, Web. 19 Nov 2009. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><http://encyclopedia.farlex.com/20th-century+English+literature>.