English History

The twentieth century was a period of inevitable change and revolutions. As well as many other influences on it, the two world wars were an essential part of this century. The first war began in 1914 and ended in 1918 but soon followed by the second world war which started in 1939 and ended in 1945, these wars have left their mark on every aspect of human life with their destructive force that claimed millions of victims during World War I, causing massive social changes as well as great economic upheavals. These events generated lively debate throughout Europe on social values, national identity, ethnicity and religion; afterwards came also conflicts within countries between Communists and anti-communists after the 1917 October revolution in Russia.

Modern poetry reflected the new realities of modern life and its feelings, it is a consequence of modernism, which was a movement that emerged at the beginning of the twentieth century with several motivations; it represented a shift in philosophical thought (post-Impressionist art), mainly on the visual arts to reflect only what can be seen scientifically on an object. It also influenced literature for example modern poetry rejected romanticism ideas as they were too old fashioned, it took what was left after modernism rejection and formed its own aspects which include: stream of consciousness technique (which means: direct expression from experience, thoughts or emotions without intellectual interference) free verse (which meant that poets no longer had to write in strict such forms as sonnet or ballad) emphasises on the use of everyday language with a conversational style, colloquialisms (words that are used only in spoken communication). Other important aspects of modernism were: emphasis on subjectivity and a lack of structure; it also broke down existing rules and conventions.

Modern poetry had to reflect new ideas, new technology and the changes happening all around. Poets like W H Auden expressed how he felt about war through poetry saying: “I sit at your grave my Darling/ And listen for a while… For I am tired”. It was when he lost his brother during WW2 which made him write many poems about this tragic incident.

He expresses his feelings through words, different from the first line of the chorus in a rock song which expresses feelings or ideas by using images and symbols. Auden’s poem is also different to that of William Shakespeare because it uses the conventional poetic techniques. But although modern poetry was similar to all other types of poetry, it used language and imagery from everyday life during the 20th century instead of romanticism language.

Modern music has been influenced by modernist compositions such as Arnold Schönberg’s “Five Piano Pieces (Opus 23)”, whose dissonances, unusual harmonies and extended techniques inspired later composers like John Cage. Modern poems were characteristic with free verse but they were not formless, on the contrary, they had structure – modernist formal structures, which included: freedom from the metre, enjambment and a loose ordering of stanzas, which are characteristic features of modern poetry. Poems like “Do not go gentle into that good night” by Dylan Thomas used free verse but with the help of formal structures that reflected the modern life during those years.