modernism现代主义

modernism现代主义WhatisModernism?TheFirstWorldWarchangedfundamentallythewayinwhichpeoplethoughtandwrote.Before1914,Englishliteratureandideaswereinmanywaysstillharkingbacktothe19thcentury.After1918,Modernismbegantodefinethe20thcentury.Modernismisoneofthekeywordsofthefirstpartofthecentury.Modernismisnotatermtowhichasinglemeaningcanbeascribed.UnlikeRomanticism,onecannotlistasetofphilosophicalbeliefsorstylisticcharacteristicsthatwouldbroadlyapplytoeverymodernwriterandthinker.Modernismcoversmanypolitical,culturalandartisticmovementsrootedinthechangesinwesternsocietyattheendofthe19thandthebeginningofthe20thcentury.Itwasappliedbothtothecontentandtotheformofawork,ortoeitherinisolation.Itreflectsasenseofculturalcrisiswhichwasbothexcitinganddisquieting,inthatitopenedupawholenewvistaofhumanpossibilitiesatthesametimeasputtingintoquestionanypreviouslyacceptedmeansofgroundingandevaluatingnewideas.Modernismismarkedbyexperimentation,particularlymanipulationofform,andbytherealizationthatknowledgeisnotabsolute.Asamovement,Modernismcanberecognizednotonlyinliteraturebutalsoinpainting,philosophy,music,sculpture,psychology,architectureetc.Inliteraryworld,Modernismisanomnibustermforanumberoftendenciesintheartswhichwereprominentinthefirsthalfofthe20thcentury.InEnglishliterature,itisassociatedwiththewritingsofT.S.Eliot,VirginiaWoolf,andJamesJoyceetc.VirginiaWoolfusesavividmetaphor“killingtheAngelintheHouse”inherarticleProfessionforWomentodescribeherresolutiontoavoidthetraditionalwoman’sroleasasympathizertomen.Andsheattemptednewwaysoftracingtheflowofcharacters’thoughtsintheirstream-of-consciousnessstyle.Theworkingsoftheunconsciousmindbecameanimportantsubjectandalltraditionalformsbegantolosetheirplace.Whatemergedwasfocusedonstream-of-consciousness,imagesinpoetry,anewuseofuniversalmyth,andasenseoffragmentationbothofindividualityandofsuchconceptsasspaceandtime.AlienationandlonelinessarethebasicthemesofModernism.Intheeyesofmodernistwriters,themodernworldisachaoticoneandisincomprehensible.Althoughmodernsocietyismateriallyrich,itisspirituallybarren.Itisalandofspiritualandemotionalsterility.Humanbeingsarehelplessbeforeanincomprehensibleworldandnolongerabletodothingsthattheirforefathersoncedid.Modernismwasbuiltonasenseoflostcommunityandcivilizationandembodiedaseriesofcontradictionsandparadoxes,embracedmultiplefeaturesofmodernsensibility.Itismarkedbyastrong,intentionalbreakwithtradition(includingestablishedreligious,political,andsocialviews).Thecharacteristicsofmodernistwritingscanberoughlysummedupasbelow.(1)Theworksofthemodernistwritersarecomplexandobscurebecausetheyexpressthesubjectiveworldofindividualwriters.Astheconsciousnessandsubconsciousnessofaparticularwritershiftsfromtimetotime,spacetospace,usuallythereisnotimesequenceandnolimitationofspaceintheirworks.(2)Asymbolissomethingthatrepresentsorstandsforsomethingelse.Themodernpoetsandwritersfindinsymbolameanstoexpresstheirinexpressibleselves.(3)Bymeansofallusion,themodernistwritertriedtowritethepast,present,andfuture.Allusionenrichesthemeaningofthework,givesitdepth,andmakestheworkunderstandabletotheelite.Itcanalsohelptoachieveeffectsofirony.Toputitinanutshell,Modernismwasarevoltagainsttheconservativerealismwiththemotiveofrejectingtraditioninsupportoftheunconventional,abstract,andlargelyuncertainethicofmodernity.