Characteristics of Modernism When Modernism was born, it was in reaction to the way of life that was becoming dominant

in society at large, the dominance of the way of the city. And maybe that was the reason that unlike Romanticism which was a reaction to experience, Modernism has always been a conscious recognition to the surroundings and atmosphere. Many people confuse Modernism with Postmodernism. While the two movements have similar characteristics, there were differences between Modernism and Postmodernism, especially since the latter was a reaction to the former. In this section, we discuss some of the main characteristics of the literary movement known as Modernism.

Stylistically too, Modernism was very different from its predecessors in the literary
world. There was the free use of indirect speech and allusion to myths and stories from another time. Another characteristic was the overwhelming use of figures of speech like personification, hyperbole, irony, metaphor, etc.

Many Modernist writers used the stream of consciousness method in their works.
Also predominant was the use of comparison, symbolism, discontinuous narrative, and psychoanalysis. Often the works had multiple narratives.

Thematically, works of Modernism often depicted a breakdown of societal norms,

depressive behavior in the face of uncertain future, loneliness, alienation from known things, etc. There was a sense of disillusionment and a rejection of social and cultural systems that seemed outdated.

There was an attempt to break away from traditions, especially political, religious,
and social views that were established, and cornerstones of society.

According to Modernists, and the works that they created, truth was relative and
there was no such thing as absolute truth. They were champions of the individual and celebrated the strength of soul that each individual possessed.

Their works had a deep concern for what is known as the sub-conscious and what
was not said but felt and believed. They also believed in unordered life.

The writers often compared their use of language to the use of raw material by an
artist or a sculptors. The form, style, and technique used became as important as the content itself.

Modernism describes a collection of cultural movements of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. It consists of a series of reforming movements in art, architecture, literature, music and applied arts. Modernism was characterized by a dramatic change of thought, whereby human intellect sought to improve their environment. There was a trend of improving every aspect of life by involving science and technology into it. Modernism brought about a reform in all spheres of life including philosophy, commerce, art and literature, with the aid of technology and experimentation. It led to progress in all the aspects of life by changing the approach of mankind of looking at them. Postmodernism means, 'after the modern. It was a reaction to modernism and was influenced by the disenchantment brought about by the Second World War. Postmodernism refers to the state that lacks a central hierarchy and one that is complex,

ambiguous and diverse. The developments in society, the economy and the culture of the 1960s were impacted by postmodernism. Major Modernist Writers

Bishop, Elizabeth (1911-1979) Conrad, Joseph (1857-1924) Doolittle, Hilda (1886-1961) Eliot, Thomas Stearns (1888-1965) Faulkner, William (1897-1962) Fitzgerald, F. Scott (1896-1940) Hemingway, Ernest (1899-1961) Hughes, Langston (1902-1967) James, Henry (1843-1916) Lawrence, D. H. (1885-1930) Lowell, Amy (1874-1925) Pound, Ezra (1885-1972) Shaw, George Bernard (1856-1950) Stevens, Wallace (1879-1955) Williams, Tennessee (1882-1941) Woolf, Virginia (1882-1941) Yeats, William Butler (1865-1939)