Overview

The Modernist Period marked a dramatic break from traditional forms and a search for new modes of expression. Influenced by two world wars, rapid industrialization, and social upheaval, American writers experimented with style and voice while probing themes of fragmentation, identity, alienation, and cultural disillusionment.

Key Themes and Authors

• Formal Innovation and Literary Experimentation:
  • Ezra Pound – Champion of imagism; stressed precision, economy, and modern form.
  • T.S. Eliot – The Waste Land: Explored cultural collapse and spiritual barrenness with dense allusions.
  • Gertrude Stein – Pioneered stream-of-consciousness and syntactic experimentation.
• Fiction and Disillusionment:
  • F. Scott Fitzgerald – The Great Gatsby: Exposed the glamour and emptiness of the Jazz Age.
  • Ernest Hemingway – The Sun Also Rises: Defined the “Lost Generation” with spare prose and stoic characters.
  • William Faulkner – The Sound and the Fury: Experimented with nonlinear time and multiple perspectives.
• Harlem Renaissance:
  • Langston Hughes – Blended jazz rhythms and social commentary in poetry and prose.
  • Zora Neale Hurston – Their Eyes Were Watching God: Highlighted Black womanhood, folklore, and self-discovery.
  • Claude McKay – Confronted racism and celebrated cultural pride through verse.
• Drama and Nonfiction:
  • Eugene O’Neill – Long Day’s Journey Into Night: Introduced psychological realism to American theater.
  • James Weldon Johnson – The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man: Examined race, identity, and passing in early 20th-century America.

Quick Tip

Modernism sought new truths in a fractured world. Understand how Modernist writers challenged conventions, chronicled cultural decline, and gave voice to marginalized identities through bold experimentation and deep introspection.