Modernity in Literature

Absurdism

a sense of living in a world without a larger, or transcendental, meaning

Existentialism

asks the question of what it means to live as a human being in a meaningless world (in a world without God)

Myth of Sisyphus

a cunning king condemned by the gods to roll a boulder up a hill for eternity, only for it to roll back down each time.

Allegory

a literary work in which characters, setting, and events convey another level of meaning

Foil

a character who emphasizes the qualities of another through implied comparison and contrast

Modernism

a movement that broke old rules in art and literature, embracing change, uncertainty, and new ideas in a changing world

Ironic

saying the opposite of what you mean

Epigraph

a short quote at the beginning of a book that sets the tone for the work

Dramatic Monologue

a type of poem in which a single character speaks to an implied audience, revealing their thoughts, emotions, and inner conflicts.

Allusion

often used to add meaning without directly explaining something

Sonnet

a 14-line poem with a specific rhyme scheme

Octave

a group of eight lines of poetry that follow a specific rhyme scheme

Sestet

a six-line stanza that follows a rhyme scheme

Volta

a shift or change in tone, perspective, or argument in a poem

Social Darwinism

the idea that human societies and groups follow the same natural selection principles as plants and animals in evolution