Modernism Vocab

Modernism

A literary and artistic movement (1900–1950) focused on experimentation and disillusionment.

American Dream (Modernist View)

The belief in American success that became questioned and criticized.

New Eden

The idea of America as a land of beauty and promise.

Optimism

Belief in progress and opportunity.

Self-Reliant Individual

Someone who trusts their own abilities.

Bold Experimentation

Use of new and unconventional styles.

Fragmentation

A broken or disordered view of society.

Disillusionment

Loss of faith or disappointment in beliefs.

Modernist Hero

A flawed, disillusioned hero.

Grace Under Pressure

Remaining calm and dignified in hardship.

Stream of Consciousness

A technique showing a character’s thoughts as they occur.

World War I

A war that caused loss of innocence and idealism.

Great Depression

Economic collapse that increased pessimism.

Loss of Innocence

Shift from idealism to cynicism.

Jazz Age

The 1920s era of jazz and social change.

Prohibition

The ban on alcohol in the U.S.

Bootleggers

Illegal alcohol sellers.

Speakeasies

Secret clubs selling alcohol.

Flappers

Women who challenged traditional roles in the 1920s.

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Writer who named the Jazz Age.

Women’s Liberation

The movement for women’s rights.

19th Amendment

Granted women the right to vote.

Edna St. Vincent Millay

A poet who symbolized modern women.

Expatriates

Writers who left America to live in Europe.

Paris

A hub for American expatriate writers.

Ernest Hemingway

A leading Modernist writer.

New American Hero

A tough, honorable, disillusioned man of action.

Harlem Renaissance

A cultural movement celebrating Black art and literature.

Traditional Harlem Poets

Poets using conventional forms.

Jazz and Blues Poetry

Poetry inspired by African American music.

Langston Hughes

Harlem Renaissance poet.

Claude McKay

Harlem Renaissance poet.

James Weldon Johnson

Harlem Renaissance poet.

Countee Cullen

Harlem Renaissance poet.

Symbolism

Using images to express deeper meaning.

Imagism

A focus on clear, precise images.

Ezra Pound

A Modernist poet.

T.S. Eliot

A Modernist poet.

Robert Frost

A poet who used traditional forms.

Edwin Arlington Robinson

A poet focused on realistic Americans.

Edgar Lee Masters

A poet portraying everyday American life.

Psychoanalysis

The study of the subconscious mind.

Sigmund Freud

Founder of psychoanalysis.

Subconscious

Part of the mind outside awareness.

Free Will

Control over one’s own actions.

Marxism

A theory linking society to economics.

Karl Marx

Founder of Marxism.

Economic Determinism

The idea that economics shape society.

Modernism and the Past

Shared themes like self-reliance and identity.