Modernism period of American Literature - 1900-1946

Content:

• dominant mood: alienation and disconnection
• people unable to communicate effectively
• fear of eroding traditions and grief over loss of the past

Genre/Style:

• highly experimental
• allusions in writing often refer to classical Greek and Roman writings
• use of fragments, juxtaposition, interior monologue, and stream of consciousness
• writers seeking to create a unique style

Effect:

• common readers are alienated by this literature

Historical Context:

• overwhelming technological changes of the 20th Century
• World War I was the first war of mass destruction due to technological advances
• rise of the youth culture

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• American Literature through Time
• Puritan Times
• Rationalism/Age of Enlightenment
• American Renaissance/Romanticism
• Gothic
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• Modernism
• Harlem Renaissance
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