Modernism

by Peter Childs

Modernist movements radically transformed the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century literary establishment, and their effects are still felt today. Modernism introduces and analyzes what amounted to nothing less than a literary and cultural revolution.

In this fully updated, expanded, and revised third edition, charting modernism in its global and local contexts, Peter Childs:

details the origins of modernism and the influence of thinkers such as Darwin, Marx, Freud, Nietzsche, Saussure and Einstein
explores the radical changes which occurred in the arts, literature, drama, and film of the period
traces 'modernism at work' in literature, especially in writings by a range of British, Irish, American and other Anglophone authors including James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, Samuel Beckett, Nella Larsen, Gertrude Stein, Katherine Mansfield, T. S. Eliot, and many others
explains recent critical interest in the culture and worldwide impact of modernism
reflects upon the shift from modernism to postmodernism.

At once accessible and critically informed, Modernism guides readers from first steps in the field to an advanced understanding of one of the most important cultural phenomena of the last centuries.

Genres: Philosophy, Art, Nonfiction, Literary Criticism, Literature, Criticism, School

250 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

طریقه سنبل کردن!

[Lobstergirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a highly readable and mostly jargon free introduction to the idea(s) of modernism for a reader who dips casually into the canon and could benefit from a few analytical tools. After briefly checking out some of the patriarchs of modernism (Marx, Darwin, Freud, Nietzsche, Saussure, Einstein) it moves on to a discussion of genres (novel, short story, poetry, drama, art, film) and then looks at several authors and works more closely. A chapter on gender examines Katherine Mansfield's The Garden Party and Lawrence's Women in Love. A chapter on epistemology and narration delves into Heart of Darkness and The Good Soldier. A chapter on identity and war deals with Mrs. Dalloway and Rebecca West's The Return of the Soldier. The sex-and-race chapter looks at Nella Larsen and William Faulkner. Finally, a chapter on symbolism and language discusses A Passage to India, W.B. Yeats's Leda and the Swan, and James Joyce. Many more authors and works are discussed in passing.

The book is typeset pleasingly in Garamond for the main text and Scala Sans for headings, quotations, glossary, and bibliography.

[Aslı Can]

Modernizm üzerine yazılmış bir sürü kitap var bu şekilde. Bu kitabı modernizm ile ilgili okuduğum diğer metinlerden ayıran şey; modernist edebiyat ile modernist resim, müzik, heykel, sinema gibi sanat dalları arasındaki etkileşimlere dair bölümdü. Mesela ekspresyonist resmin edebiyattaki izdüşümleri, sinemadaki zamansallıkla edebiyattaki zamansallık ilişkisi gibi, bu incelemeler hoşuma gitti.
Modernizm akımını etkileyen düşünürlere dair bölüm de güzel hazırlanmıştı. Marx, Darwin, Freud, Nietzsche, Saussure ve Einstein'ın kuramları kısaca açıklanıp, bu kuram ve fikirlerin modernist edebiyat üzerinde etkileri incelenmiş. Düşünce tarihindeki birikmenin, kelimelerin bir araya getiriliş şekillerini nasıl da etkilediğini görmek keyifli bir şey benim için her zaman.

[Bahareh Sharifi · Rating 3 out of 5]

دو فصل اول که مفاهیم کلی و سیر تحول رو نشون می‌داد مفسد بود. ولی فصل آخر خصوصا مدام به داستان نویسندگان ارجاع می‌داد و چون خیلی‌هاشون برام ناشناس بود و نخونده بودم، گیج کننده بود.

[Yu · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book for general knowledge. From the author's background, we can see he is a high school teacher. But what he wrote is way out of a high school teacher. He knows how to explain things in a simpler way which is no longer existing in some Academic world. Very nice. But if you are looking for some serious quotes, this book can only be a cross reference.

[راحله پورآذر · Rating 3 out of 5]

دلچسب است وقتي از جايگاه ديگري به نويسنده‌ها و نوشته‌هايشان نگاه مي‌كني و رد متفكران و اتفاقات زمانه را در داستان‌ها مي‌زني.

[Shakiba · Rating 4 out of 5]

آشنایی کلی با مکاتب و دیدگاه مدرنیسم را فراهم می‌کند ولی در یک‌سری از موضوع‌ها که انتظار می‌رود عمیق‌تر برخورد بشود، سطحی می‌گذرد.

[Moeen · Rating 3 out of 5]

بیش‌ترشو خوندم، آخراش راجع به کتاب‌هایی بود که نخوندم که دیگه بی‌خیال شدم

[Nada Erihane Kamiche · Rating 3 out of 5]

My greatest achievement was reading this book😊

[Bob R Bogle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peter Child's 2000 book Modernism, in The New Critical Idiom series, is exactly what it sets out to be: a brief but diligent overview of modernism, the literary/cultural movement that arose in response to changing times at the turn of the century, signaled by increasing industrialism, urban life, technology, and eventually by the first World War.

As the world grew ever more complex, the capacity for individuals to understand the world diminished. It can be seen then why a prevailing philosophy of realism, in which it's assumed that all members of a rural society possess a basic, common-sense grasp of the world, should have been compelled to give way to a more internalized and subjective response, inherent to each individual, to the complicated urban world. Childs' vision of modernism is less as an artistic movement than an uneasily reacting society in crisis. Not that the new, complicated world was necessarily seen as dystopian, but that it was perplexing, demanding an unprecedented degree of sophistication.

The literary technique known as stream of consciousness is probably the most familiar characteristic trait of modernism. Stream of consciousness writing perhaps became inevitable as people moved out of the wide open country and retreated inside their own heads. Of no less importance was the need many modernist writers found to try to impose order on the new chaos through the imposition of systems or architectures of symbols to provide structure for their works: structure which now seemed lost in the world around them. The reassuring internal logic of these symbol-systems served in a role analogous to that formerly paid by stock-characters plowing through plot-heavy dramas in the preceding era of Victorian realism.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strong introduction to twentieth century modernism. Social, political and cultural changes that led to the modernist movement are well-explained, as are the philosophies of scientists and intellectuals who were major influencers.

[Dorsa🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 1 out of 5]

کتاب بسیار نامنسجم و سمبل شده بود و ترجمه روانی هم نداشت. انگار که هرچقدر پیچیده تر بخوان موضوع رو بیان کنن به ارزش متن افزوده می‌شه
یک سری مطلب جسته گریخته درباره چیستی و سیر مدرنیسم لابلای سیل عظیمی از تاریخ خسته‌کننده و ثقیل بود.

[Mike Van Helden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I believe this a very clear book which provides an overview of Modernism. It is written very well and goes into the various aspects of Modernism.

I think the chapters about the influence of great thinkers on Modernism and the various art forms is very clear (even for people who do not know any philosophy), although the first chapter is a bit messy.

[Michael Rickard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good survey of the modernist movement.

[Asma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has to be one of my favourite books.

[Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

a little basic, a little sloppy, but frequently interesting

[Virginia Rand · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing was a bit confusing, but this book helped me understand some others that I'd already read.

[أحمد عزيز سامي · Rating 4 out of 5]

كتاب رائع، و جميل، يشرح فيه أسباب نشوء حركة الحداثة الأدبية، و بالذات ادب اللغة الأنكليزية. و يتطرق الى أهم المؤلفين الذين ساهموا في هذه الحركة.

[Abtin lankarani · Rating 4 out of 5]

مطالعه تمام صفحات اين كتاب ضروري نيست چرا كه نويسنده به توضيح فيلم ها و داستانهايي پرداخته كه اكثر ان داستانها به فارسي ترجمه نشده،البته اين قضيه لطمه اي به درك ما از كتاب وارد نمي كند،ابهامات من پيرامون مدرنيسم تا حد زيادي با خواندن اين كتاب برطرف شد.
اشنايي و مطالعه اثار: كاترين منسفيلد،جيمز جويس،ويرجينيا وولف،فاكنر،به ما در شناخت مدرنيسم كمك شاياني مي كند!!

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

a good reference for understanding Modernism

[Erfan · Rating 3 out of 5]

خیلی خیلی خلاصه و تقریبا نامفهوم و غیر منسجمه. ولی برای کسی که میخواد راهشو در دنیای مدرنیسم پیدا کنه کتاب خوبیه

[Emylie]

helpful book