Kaarten: 20th century class 1 and 2 | Quizlet

What does the term "Modernism" reflect in literary history?

It reflects a fluid, overlapping period rather than a sharply defined era, with constant interaction between action and reaction in literary movements.

What does Samuel Beckett warn against in literary categorisation?

"The danger is the neatness of identification"—meaning rigid labels and periods can oversimplify the complex evolution of literature.

What does the Latin root "modo" of the word "modern" mean?

It means "current," highlighting that the term is inherently time-bound and relative.

When does the 'modern period' in English literature arguably begin?

It begins in the late 19th century, though the term 'modern' can be loosely applied as early as the 16th century.

How did Arthur Rimbaud describe the ideal literary attitude?

"Il faut être absolument moderne." (One must be absolutely modern.)

Did modernists call themselves modernists?

No, the term was applied retrospectively.

Who first used the term "modernity"?

Baudelaire in 1863 in his essay The Painter of Modern Life.

How did Baudelaire define "modernity"?

As fashionable, fleeting, and contingent, in contrast to the eternal and immutable values of classical art.

How does Foucault define modernity?

As an attitude rather than a historical period—one marked by continual reinvention since the 16th century.

What is the anthropocentric aspect of modernity?

It focuses on human emancipation and autonomy, especially from religious authority.

What does modernity suggest about the individual?

That human reason and knowledge are central; the individual becomes the focal point.

What does Jurgen Habermas argue about modernity?

It is a project of enlightenment and emancipation through progress and productivity.

What optimistic belief underlies modernity according to Descartes?

"I think, therefore I am" → Emphasises the power of human reason and capability.

What are the key criticisms of modernity?

It reduces individuals to cogs in a capitalist machine, strips life of meaning, and reflects Eurocentric imperialism.

What is Durkheim's view on labour in modern society?

Labour is divided and fragmented; workers no longer perform entire tasks as in pre-modern times.

What does Max Weber say about modern reason?

It leads to disenchantment and a loss of meaning.

What is Ferdinand Tönnies' theory about modern society?

It reflects a shift from gemeinschaft (tight-knit community) to gesellschaft (impersonal, urban society).

What was the Frankfurt School's aim?

To apply Marxist critical theory to culture, politics, and society, questioning dominant ideologies.

Who were the main thinkers in the Frankfurt School?

Theodor Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Walter Benjamin.

What is Walter Benjamin's 'Angel of History' metaphor?

History is a catastrophe piling up wreckage; the angel wants to fix the past but is pushed into the future by a storm—this storm is 'progress'.

What does the Angel of History represent?

The tension between longing to repair the past and being helplessly driven into the future by unstoppable progress.

What did urbanisation look like around 1900?

Mass migration to cities caused overcrowding; London and New York had ~5 million people, Paris 3 million, Berlin 2 million.

What inventions symbolise modernity in the early 20th century?

Camera, diesel engine, Ford motor car, electric motor, fridges, radios, etc.

How did Ford revolutionise industry in 1913?

He introduced the assembly line and conveyor belts to mass-produce affordable cars.

What were some key modern inventions between 1894 and 1909?

Gramophone (1894), radio (1895), cinematography (1895), x-ray (1895), Wright brothers' flight (1903), Blériot crossing the Channel (1909).

What symbolised architectural modernity in 1889?

The Eiffel Tower, built for the Paris Exposition, showcased industrial progress and reached 324m in height.

What can architecture tell us about a certain period or culture?

It is a good way to describe a specific era or mindset and shows us a lot about history.

Why is architecture accessible as a historical medium?

You don't have to go to a museum to see it; it captures the spirit of an era in a visible, lived way.

What is the practical and social purpose of architecture?

It serves a functional purpose and is also seen as a means to improve society, not just an aesthetic pursuit.

What did Le Corbusier believe about architecture?

He saw it as a means to change society and pursued utopian projects through architectural design.

What was 'Ville Contemporaine' (1922)?

An unrealised utopian planned community for 3 million inhabitants designed by Le Corbusier.

What was the 'Plan Voisin' (1925)?

A planned redevelopment of Paris by Le Corbusier.

What was 'Ville Radieuse' (1930)?

Another unrealised utopian architectural project by Le Corbusier aimed at rational, healthy living spaces.

How did some people respond positively to technological progress?

They celebrated it, focusing on speed, power, and the energy of modern life.

What did Fillippo Tommaso Marinetti write about in the 'Manifesto of Futurism'?

He glorified speed, machines, and modernism, claiming "Time and Space died yesterday" and praising the beauty of racing cars.

How did Le Corbusier describe modern speed and power?

"Cars, cars, fast, fast!... the joy of power. The simple and naive pleasure of being in the midst of power, of strength."

How did many anglophone modernist writers respond to modernity?

With despair and apocalyptic visions—Yeats, T.S. Eliot, and Ezra Pound were not enthusiastic about the new technological and social changes.

Who are the pioneer thinkers that form the intellectual context of modernism?

Karl Marx, Charles Darwin, Sigmund Freud, Henri Bergson, Friedrich Nietzsche, Ferdinand de Saussure, Albert Einstein

What did Karl Marx criticise about capitalist society?

That capitalism is never satisfied and always wants more, causing societal instability and alienation

What concept did Marx use to describe how workers feel disconnected from their labour?

Alienation

What is alienation according to Marx?

The worker is detached from the end result of their labour and its meaning, causing a psychological and moral disconnection

How does alienation link to modernist literature?

Modernism reflects a crisis of values and meaning, similar to Marx's idea of alienation

What key texts did Marx write?

'The Communist Manifesto' (1848) and 'Das Kapital' (1867-1894)

How did Marx describe capitalism's internal instability?

It thrives on recurrent crises

How does capitalism impact old values according to Marx?

It erodes traditional hierarchies and moral systems, leading to disillusionment

What is one potential benefit of capitalism according to Marx?

It introduced meritocracy - the idea you can work your way up

What did Charles Darwin publish and when?

'On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection' in 1859

What was Darwin's theory of evolution?

Nature and humans are always evolving through natural selection - nothing is fixed or divinely ordered

What major belief did Darwin challenge?

The religious idea that humans are divinely created and special

What concept did Herbert Spencer develop from Darwin's ideas?

Social Darwinism - the idea that only the strongest survive

What idea did Francis Galton derive from Darwinism?

Eugenics - improving the race by eliminating the 'weak'

How did Max Nordau link Darwinism to modern anxieties?

Through degeneration theory - associating homosexuality and mental illness with societal decay

How did Darwin's theory contribute to colonialism?

It fuelled racial superiority claims, as seen in texts like Conrad's Heart of Darkness

Who was Sigmund Freud and what was his field?

An Austrian neurologist who founded psychoanalysis and studied the unconscious mind

What is the core of Freud's psychoanalytic theory?

The conflict between the id (repressed desires) and the superego (internalised norms)

What does Freud say about society's effect on desires?

Society represses our true desires, especially sexual ones

What literary technique is influenced by Freud's theories?

Stream of consciousness - capturing thoughts as they flow freely

Who first described stream of consciousness as a technique?

William James

What did Henri Bergson say about time?

There are two kinds of time: objective (clock time) and subjective (personal duration)

How does Bergson's theory appear in modernist literature?

In novels like Mrs. Dalloway, where time is experienced differently by each character

What are the Apollonian and Dionysian elements in Nietzsche's theory?

Apollonian = reason and order; Dionysian = chaos, emotion, pleasure

What famous declaration did Nietzsche make?

"God is dead and we have killed him"

What is Nietzsche's concept of the Übermensch?

The self-overcoming human who creates their own values and meaning

How did Nietzsche view religion and morality?

He believed they were no longer necessary - humans must guide themselves

Which of Nietzsche's ideas were later misused?

The Übermensch was co-opted by Nazi ideology

What does Nietzsche's 'death of God' imply for modernist literature?

A loss of divine purpose and rising anxiety about meaning

Who was Ferdinand de Saussure and what did he study?

A Swiss linguist who laid the groundwork for structuralism and semiotics

What did Saussure argue about language?

Words are arbitrary and get meaning only in relation to other words

What is the difference between langue and parole?

'Langue' is the language system; 'parole' is individual speech acts

Why are Saussure's ideas important for modernism?

They challenge the idea of fixed meaning, opening the way for ambiguity and interpretation

Who was Albert Einstein and what theory did he develop?

A German physicist who developed the Theory of Relativity

How did Einstein's theory challenge previous ideas?

It overturned Newtonian physics and introduced the idea that all observation is relative

How did Einstein's relativity influence modernist narrative techniques?

It inspired fragmented perspectives, unreliable narrators, and subjective focalisation

How is relativity reflected in Mrs. Dalloway?

Each character experiences the same day differently - no single truth or objective view

What does Malevich's painting Black Square represent in the context of modernism?

It represents modernism metaphorically by having no story, only a black square; it illustrates the break from traditional representation and meaning.

When did the period of modernism roughly take place?

Modernism as a period lasted from about 1890 to 1930.

Why is the year 1922 often called an Annus Mirabilis for modernism?

Because major modernist works by writers such as Woolf, Joyce, and Mansfield were published that year.

Which important works were published after World War I that reflect modernism?

T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land, James Joyce's Ulysses, and Katherine Mansfield's The Garden Party.

Why is it difficult to define modernism strictly as a literary period?

Because many works written during the period (e.g., by Beckett) don't fit neatly into a modernist framework, and there was debate about whether modernism was positive or negative.

How is modernism understood as a literary genre?

As a genre, modernism is associated with innovation, complexity, and formal experimentation; it often involves fragmented narratives, unreliable narrators, and ambiguous meanings.

Which narrative techniques are characteristic of modernist literature?

In medias res, stream of consciousness, unreliable narration, multiple focalisation, fragmentation, obscurity, and lack of closure.

What does Norman Cantor (1988) define as key features of modernism as a model?

1) Anti-historicism 2) Focus on microcosm vs macrocosm (individual vs social) 3) Self-referential art 4) Disintegration of structure 5) Emphasis on aesthetics over Victorian morality.

What does Harold Rosenberg mean by "the tradition of the new"?

That modernism responds to modernity's crisis by creating new artistic forms that become a new kind of tradition in themselves.

How is realism defined in relation to modernism?

Realism aims for verisimilitude, depicting real people and social issues authentically and fully. It was once innovative but became conventional compared to modernism.

What does Ian Watt say about the purpose of the realist novel?

To portray the full range of human experience through individual, unique perspectives using formal narrative procedures.

How does Watt describe the shift in realism over time?

It became more focused on society rather than the individual, which led writers who explored inner lives (like modernists) to move away from the realist tradition.

What is Virginia Woolf's critique of realism in her essay Modern Fiction?

She questions whether novels must follow realist conventions, since life isn't always like that—modernist fiction should reflect consciousness more accurately.

What is the aim of modernist fiction according to Woolf?

To render human subjectivity and consciousness in a way that is "more real than realism."

What aspects does modernism focus on in literature?

Individual consciousness, perception, and emotion rather than societal representation.

What is significant about James Joyce's Ulysses in the context of modernism?

It marks a shift from romantic classicism and formal realism toward a "new realism," setting a new direction for literature that combines stream-of-consciousness and internal perception.

How does a passage from Ulysses reflect modernist technique?

It uses internal monologue, fragmented thought, and sensory detail to reflect consciousness without clear narrative direction or traditional structure.

What does Peter Childs argue about the difference between realism and modernism?

Realism proposes a shared world perceived similarly by everyone, whereas modernism sees reality as fragmented and subjective, varying with individual perception.

What are the two main pillars of literary modernism?

THE "Make it New" by Ezra Pound and the "Look Within" by Virginia Woolf

What does Ezra Pound's slogan "Make it New" (1928) emphasize?

Radical formal innovation and overturning existing modes of representation

Does "Make it New" mean abandoning tradition entirely?

No, tradition is still used—modernists often twist or recontextualize it

Give an example of tradition used in modernist writing.

James Joyce's Ulysses uses intertextuality from The Odyssey

How does Beckett show modernist use of tradition in Murphy?

The opening line is an allusion to the Bible, but twisted into a modern form

Quote the opening line from Murphy and its meaning.

"The sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new"; the sun is a victim of its fate (according to Childs)

Where does the phrase "Make it New" originate from?

An old Chinese story about a man renewing a disliked washing basin

What does Virginia Woolf's "Look Within" (1919) emphasize?

Focus on the individual mind and interior psychological life