Modernity In The Early Twentieth Century

There was a lot of change that occurred throughout the period of the early twentieth century, bringing it hurtling into the modern era, and there were many poets who chose to interact with this change and the events that helped shaped such change and explore it through their work. We will look at 3 examples of poems that approach the new era of modernity in different ways, ranging from the modern and graphic subject of D.H. Lawrence’s Tortoise Shout, to the melancholic tone representing many people’s attitudes at the time brought out in In the Pink by Siegfried Sassoon, and also the experimentation with a unique and prose-like style present in John Masefield’s The Everlasting Mercy. While all three bodies of work incorporate the various elements …show more content…
A prime example of this is seen in the interesting stylistic choices made by John Masefield in The Everlasting Memory. This poem is very visually stimulating, and does not appear to stick to any sort of cohesive style that runs throughout the poem. Instead, it is more free and explorative and almost seems to mimic the style of prose rather than traditional poetry styles. This could be seen as figurative of the movement of the literary world moving into the twentieth century and choosing to throw off the chains of tradition that weighed it to the rule-based and rigid structure of poetry of the latter centuries. It symbolises a move into modern attitudes. It can also be interpreted to mean that the simple prose style allows the reader to focus on story, which, in this case, is a story of growth and self-discovery. The prose-like stanzas emphasise the growth of the character by not distracting the reader form his …show more content…
This poem covers the modern element of tone, as it explores current events and creates a tone that most likely seems to reflect what a large majority of modern attitudes toward one specific event at the time. The subject explored is that of the first world war and the overarching tone of the piece is one of melancholy and mourning. Mixing with this sadness however, is imagery and markers to supply a silver lining to the tone; hope among the desolation, that there will soon be an end to the “winter” that the war represents. The sadness of the poem is seen throughout, in lines such as “Tonight he 's in the pink; but soon he 'll die. | And still the war goes on; he don 't know why.” It reflects the uncertainty felt at the time that there is no guarantee to one’s safety and that any day could be the last. The abruptness of the tonal shift in the same line shows just how unpredictable this war is. The contrast of the words “pink” and “die” shows just how powerful this event was. “Pink” is associated with youth and innocence, it is soft both in sound and imagery and represents the innocence of the young men fighting in the war and the youth and happiness that once were. It is then overshadowed by the end of the line by death. It serves as a way of demonstrating just how quickly something can change, and in this instance, it’s the idea that the war has taken the innocence and happiness of so many away in such