Yellow Fog and Indecision
The term “modernism” refers to a movement which started in the late 1800s, following immediately after World War I, and was prominent past World War II into the late 1940s, when postmodernism began to take hold. The modernist movement included poetry, fiction, drama, painting, and music. As with any movement, it’s time table of influence is gradual and hard to pinpoint. In any case, the true birth of modernism in poetry is frequently noted as starting during T.S. Eliot 's "The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock" in 1915. T.s Eliot was a British publisher, literary critic, and one of the twentieth century 's major poets. Born in 1988 in St. Louis, Missouri T.s Eliot was a poet who exemplified the modernist movement and …show more content…
In his poem he references communication and not being able to communicate his desires or his inner truths and knowledges to his peer. Exemplified in the quote “It is impossible to say just what I mean!”(104) Knowing the time period of this poem is crucial to the deeper understanding of the poem, having been published in 1915 subsequent to the first world war. Although prufrock is portrayed as slightly older than his peers (and may not have been in the direct line of battle) he is exemplified as a token of the modernist sentiment and a person who symbolizes the misunderstanding and anxiety during this postwar period; he is hinted at having served during the war. A way which we can discern hat he may have been a part of the wartime effort is his quote “To say: ‘I am Lazarus, come from the dead,/Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all’” (94-95)he seems to be referencing to the war as him having viewed death as lazarus had come back from the dead similarly. He feels a great need to be understood by his peers but his inability to communicate with them on the very traumatising time of ww1 leaves him feeling anxious and unable to connect, these motif appear regularly in the poem along with uncertainty he feels with doing so. In much of the poem he debates himself on whether he should actually connect with his peers but in the end claims “No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;/ Am an attendant lord, one that will do”(111-112) and realizes that he is not one to act and is more likely to dwell on his inner turmoils. This modernist theme of feeling unfulfilled and unable to connect sets exemplifies the lost generation and their need and craving for fulfillment in their lives, T.S Eliot’s tone for his work and works to come. The modernist theme of post war anxiety was deeply understood by
The term “modernism” refers to a movement which started in the late 1800s, following immediately after World War I, and was prominent past World War II into the late 1940s, when postmodernism began to take hold. The modernist movement included poetry, fiction, drama, painting, and music. As with any movement, it’s time table of influence is gradual and hard to pinpoint. In any case, the true birth of modernism in poetry is frequently noted as starting during T.S. Eliot 's "The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock" in 1915. T.s Eliot was a British publisher, literary critic, and one of the twentieth century 's major poets. Born in 1988 in St. Louis, Missouri T.s Eliot was a poet who exemplified the modernist movement and …show more content…
In his poem he references communication and not being able to communicate his desires or his inner truths and knowledges to his peer. Exemplified in the quote “It is impossible to say just what I mean!”(104) Knowing the time period of this poem is crucial to the deeper understanding of the poem, having been published in 1915 subsequent to the first world war. Although prufrock is portrayed as slightly older than his peers (and may not have been in the direct line of battle) he is exemplified as a token of the modernist sentiment and a person who symbolizes the misunderstanding and anxiety during this postwar period; he is hinted at having served during the war. A way which we can discern hat he may have been a part of the wartime effort is his quote “To say: ‘I am Lazarus, come from the dead,/Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all’” (94-95)he seems to be referencing to the war as him having viewed death as lazarus had come back from the dead similarly. He feels a great need to be understood by his peers but his inability to communicate with them on the very traumatising time of ww1 leaves him feeling anxious and unable to connect, these motif appear regularly in the poem along with uncertainty he feels with doing so. In much of the poem he debates himself on whether he should actually connect with his peers but in the end claims “No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;/ Am an attendant lord, one that will do”(111-112) and realizes that he is not one to act and is more likely to dwell on his inner turmoils. This modernist theme of feeling unfulfilled and unable to connect sets exemplifies the lost generation and their need and craving for fulfillment in their lives, T.S Eliot’s tone for his work and works to come. The modernist theme of post war anxiety was deeply understood by