One of the most gifted poets and writers of the modernism era was and still is Ezra Pound. Ezra Pound, the author of Hugh Selwyn Mauberly and “The Cantos”, is one of the most famous literary figures from the modernism era. He brought, in his writing, a style of making people visualize the scene to an extent in which they believed that they were there. This poet accomplished this by using literal meanings instead of symbolism throughout his poems. His writings were very critical upon the time’s societal problems.
Another amazing literary figure of the modernism era is Charles Darwin. This man, who revolutionized the thought process of the entire human population with his ‘evolutionary theory’, wrote many books based on evolution and survival of the fittest. These literary masterpieces were revolutionary in the eyes of many, although they did cause many a controversy, and completely reversed the thought process of many, many people.
In “The Second Coming”, one of the most quoted poems of the modern era, the Irish writer William Butler Yeats wrote: “Things fall apart; the center cannot hold . . . .” These words could sum up the modernism era. This is the basic attitude of the people who occupied the planet during this era. This author wrote from his mind, and, not by coincidence, but by knowledge of his people and their collective societal problems.“I made my song a coat Covered with embroideries Out of old mythologies From heel to throat But the fools caught it, Wore it in the world’s eyes As though they’d wrought it. Song, let them take it, For there’s more enterprise In walking naked.” This quote was the mindset of Yeats and is very similar to most of the people during the time.
Near the end of his life, Pablo Picasso predicted to a friend he would be remembered as a “Spanish poet who dabbled in painting, drawing, and sculpture.” This formidable artist and writer was right. He was remembered deeply for his poetry and writing. Pablo Picasso wrote, much like many other writers of this era, in the style of a realist and idealist at the same time. He writes about reality yet has symbolism that seems real. These are the features that caused Pablo Picasso to be remembered for such a long time.
T.S. Eliot represents the dryness and lack of emotion of the poets between the two world wars. His character, J. Alfred Prufrock, represents the paradox of society during the modernism era. The Waste Land is a perfect representation of the spiritual degeneration of the modernism era. Writers would, at that time, be inclined to write closer to the realist side of things rather than the spiritual and emotional side.
Modernism 101 