1. General Characteristics Of Modern Age
Name : Radha Ghevariya
Roll No: 22
Paper : (09) The Modernist Literature
Enrollment No. : PG14101013
Year : 2015- ‘16
Email: radhaghevariya55@gmail.com
Submitted to : Smt. S.B. Gardi Department of
English Bhavnagar University

2. What is Modernism?
•According to M.H.Abrams ,
“The term modernism is used to
identify new and distinctive
feature in the subject’s forms ,
concept and style of literature
and other art…..”

3. Characteristics of Modernism
• Note of pessimism, disillusionment and
melancholy in writing.
• sense of fragmentation and loss of faith.
• use of symbol and scientific methodology.
• reflection of the modern chaos and
confusion.
• the decay of plot and characters in writing.
• passion for humanity and humanitarianism.

4. Modern Age
• The Modern Age is the most
complex, complicated, baffling and
revolutionary age in the history of the
world.
• The modern period has been a period
of significant development in the field
of Science, Politics, Warfare and
technology.
• totally opposite from Victorian age
• world war first and second create
chaotic situation in society, literature.

5. Characteristics of Modern Age
- Anxiety and Interrogation
-Art for life’s sake
-Growing interest in the poor class and the
working class
- psychology and literature
- The impact of socio-economic conditions
on literature
-The influence of Radio, Cinema and
Television
- The impact of the Two World Wars

6. Anxiety and Interrogation
* It is called the age of anxiety
and interrogation.
* Men and Women showed an
extraordinary enthusiasm for
speculation, experiment and
reform.
* The mood of persistent
scepticism and interrogation has
increased disproportionately for
want of a new set of values.

7. Art for life’s sake
•They rejected the doctrine of
“art for art’s sake”. They evovled
the creed of “art for life’s sake”,
or at least for the sake of the
community.
• The poetry and prose of this
period turned to a serious mood
and had a definite purpose.

8. Growing interest in the poor
class and the working class
• The mid-Victorian writers, Dickens.
• Thackeray, Kingsley, Reade, Mrs.
Gaskell etc. were critical of the
injustice done to the poor working
classes.
• Bernard Shaw, who questioned
everything , spread for at least a
generation “ the interrogative habit
of mind”.

9. The Influence of Radio,
Cinema and Television
Edward Albert
“ In so far as the radio stories,
plays and literary discussions and
opened up an entirely new field
for authors, its influence was for
the good…….at the same time it
must be remembered that film
techniques were the basis of a
number of experiments in the
novel”

10. Psychology and Literature
* New psychological researches
influenced literature. Intellectual
convictions appeared to be
rationalizations of emotion needs.
• The modern age may be termed as the
age of rationalization in sexual behavior.
• The new theory of psychology and sex
gave us “ the stream of consciousness
novel.

11. Conclusion
* age of science and scientific
discoveries
* Reconstruction of new values
* Because of political turmoil
revolutionary ideologies rise:
Facism, Nazism, communism
takes place