Introduction
The early 20th century brought many changes to life in the Western world. It saw the introduction of the automobile, a rise in industrialism and mechanization, the breakdown of old traditions and the introduction of new rules of behavior. World War I ravaged both the face of Europe and an entire generation of its young men. The first two decades of the 20th century also saw new ideas and movements arising from the old, and the arts -- music, dance, literature, poetry, and art itself -- would never be the same.
While the Romantic Age had given the world many justly famous poets, e.g. Keats, Byron, Shelley, and Tennyson, the movement was languishing. Poetry at the end of the 19th century was as formal, heavy, and cluttered as a posh Victorian sitting room, dependent on set forms, rhyme, and meter. American poets like Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson had gone against these traditions in their own works, but it was not until 1909 that the Modernist movement in poetry truly began.
Task
Your task on this Webquest is to learn the basics of the Modernist poetry movement -- how it came about, what other artistic movements were going on at around the same time, and who were some of the people involved. You will do this by checking recommended websites on the history of the Modernist movement and then exploring some of the central poets and artists.
You'll be investigating both poets and artists in this webquest because nothing happens in a vacuum. The fine arts influence not only the greater world around them but each other as well. At the same time that poetry was undergoing a drastic change, art was moving away from its long history of being representational and into new territory, e.g. Surrealism and Cubism, dance was expanding beyond classical ballet, and even architecture was influenced, as the innovative designs of Frank Lloyd Wright proved. To start you off, here's a short video on Modernism in poetry and art:
Process
After viewing the video, please read the articles on the following sites:
A brief guide to Modernism: http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/brief-guide-modernism
Modernism: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/learning/glossary-term/modernism
Modernism Centennial, London - 2009: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/mar/25/hulme-modern-poetry-ezra-pound-imagists
Poetic Modes of the Late 19th & early 20th century: http://faculty.gvsu.edu/websterm/Poetic_Modes.htm
The next part of your webquest relates to both the art and poetry of the Modernist movement. Below you'll find a list of poets and artists who were important in that period.
1. Choose one of the poets and follow the link which will take you to a website featuring their biography some of their poetry.
2. Read through the material and choose a poem that you like or that you feel truly represents what you've learned about the Modernist movement.
3. Once you've chosen a poem, click an artist link and look through the art shown there. Try to find an example that's from the same time period as the poem. For instance, if the poem you chose was written in 1923, look for a piece of artwork from the early 1920s.
4. Compare the poem and the artwork you've chosen. Are there stylistic similarities? How do you think each piece exemplifies the Modernist movement? Do you think the pieces reflect each other in any way, either stylistically or emotionally?
Poets –
Ezra Pound: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/ezra-pound#poet
H.D.: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/h-d
Wallace Stevens: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/wallace-stevens
Marianne Moore: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/marianne-moore
E.E. Cummings: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/e-e-cummings
William Carlos Williams: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/william-carlos-williams
Artists
Pablo Picasso: http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/pablo-picasso
Henri Matisse: http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/henri-matisse
Rene Magritte: http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/rene-magritte
Paul Klee: http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/paul-klee
Georgia O’Keeffe: http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/georgia-o-keeffe
Piet Mondrian: http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/piet-mondrian
Evaluation
To complete your webquest, write down your comparison of the poem and art you chose in the spaces below.
In the top left box, put the name of the poet & poem you chose. In the top right box, put the names of the artist and painting you chose. If possible, add an image of the artwork there.
In the lower left box (under the poem), write down the Modernist qualities that you noticed in the poem. In the lower right box, do the same for the painting. Please be thorough. This exercise is worth 20 points divided between the poem and art.
Conclusion
It has been a full century since the Modernist movement began, and many changes in art and literature have happened since then. While poetry has gone through a number of other movements through the 20th century, our poetry aesthetic is still profoundly influenced by the imagery, minimalism, and precise language promoted by the Modernists. As such, our study of this movement serves as a foundation for for much of the rest of this course.
Credits
Photo credits:
Jazz age: http://americanlit2.wikispaces.com/file/view/jazz1.jpg/93507122/jazz1.jpg
