presentation on paper:110 MA sem 2

1. Difference between Modernism
and postmodernism
Name::- Sneha Agravat
Batch:- 2020-22 (MA sem 2)
Paper 10:- History of English Literature from 1900 to 2000
Roll no.:-16
Enrollment no.:-3069206420200001
E-mail Id :- snehaagravat2000@gmail.com
Submitted to:- S.B.Gardi Department Of English Maharaja krishnkumarsinhji
Bhavngar University

2. What is Modernism?
• Modernism is a literary and cultural
international movement which
flourished in the first decades of the
20th century. Modernism is not a term
to whicha single meaning can be
ascribed. It may be applied both to the
content and to the form of a work, or
to either in isolation.
• Modernism is a comprehensive
movement which began in the closing
years of the 19th century and has had a
wide influence internationally during
much of the 20th century.

3. What is postmodernism?
• Postmodernism is a term, which was not
existed earlier, but with the passing of
time including the gradual growth of
modernism, it came into existence and got
establishment as a major term, separated
from modernism. The term
‘Postmodernism’ is often applied to the
literature and art after World War 2 (1939-
1945).
• Postmodernism provided the best
references like Dick Hebidge, Jorgen
habremas, Terry Eagle ton and Christopher
Norris have rallied and railed against the
turn towards postmodernism.

4. • “A work can become
modern only if it is first
postmodern. Postmodernism
thus understood is not
modernism at its end but in
the nascent state, and this
state is constant.”
• — Jean-Francois Lyotard

5. Characteristics of Modernism
• Refusal of coherent meaning
• Rejection of realism
• Subjectivity
• Split temporalities
• Unstable identity
• Idiosyncratic language
• Metafiction
• Experimental forms
• Split identities
• Focus on interiority
• Unreliable narrator

6. Characteristics of postmodernism
• Ambivalent stance towards realism
• Split temporalities
• Ironic narrator
• Metafiction
• Fragmentation
• Multiple points of view
• Focus on exteriority
• Pastiche
• Irony
• Black humour
• Intertextuality

7. Modernism
Postmodernism
V/s

8. Modernism Postmodernism
• Postmodernism is a school of
thought that took place after
World War II. 2.
• Postmodernism believed in
the irrationality of things.
• Postmodernist era was
characterized by the
advancement in technology
and its use in different media.
• Postmodernists did not believe
in universal truth.
Modernism is a school of thought
that took place in late 1800s and
early 1900s.
Modernism advocated rational
thinking and the use of science and
reason for the advancement of man.
Modernist era was characterized by
the simple and elegant original
works of gifted artists
Modernists believed in universal
truth

9. Modernism
• Modernist were not political
• Focus on the writer.
• Focus on interiority
• Unreliable narrator
• Rejection of realism
• Literature is self-contained
Postmodernism
• Postmodernists were very
political.
• Focus on the reader.
• Focus on exteriority
• Ironic narrator
• Ambivalence towards realism
• Literature is open and
intertextual.

10. Modernism
• High-brow genres
• Rejection of literary conventions
• Idiosyncratic language
• Modernism emerged around the time
of the second industrial revolution
(1870-1920), which was marked by
the decline of stable social classes,
the beginning of professionalism, and
a sense of urban alienation.
Postmodernism
• Mixing of high- and low-
browgenres
• Parody of literary conventions
• Simple language
• Postmodernism generally refers to
cultural phenomena with certain
characteristics that emerged after
the Second World War. When
exactly postmodernism starts vary
according to national contexts and
individual critics.

11. Conclusion
• In sum up we can say that some belives that
postmodernism was a response to has consideredAnd
hence consider them as two aspects of the same
movement.and further we see some Major differences
between modernism and postmodernism. These
distinctions make clear , the basic difference in ways of
thinking that led to these movements.The difference
between modernism and postmodernism in literature
depends on their themes and literary and narrative
techniques.

12. • Duignan, Brian. "Postmodernism". Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 Sep. 2020,
https://www.britannica.com/topic/postmodernism-philosophy. Accessed 24
June 2021.
• Herman,David J.”Modernism versus Postmodernism: towards an Analytic
Distinction.” Poetics Today,vol.12,no.1 1991,pp.55-
86.JSTOR,https://www.jstor.org/stable/1772982 Accessed 24 June 2021
• Kuiper, Kathleen. "Modernism". Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 Mar. 2020,
https://www.britannica.com/art/Modernism-art. Accessed 24 June 2021.
• VIRGINIA, MATTEO. “What’s the Difference Between Modernism and
Postmodernism in Literature?” Https://Owlcation.Com/Humanities/Whats-
The-Difference-Between-Modernism-and-Postmodernism, 29 May 2018,
owlcation.com/humanities.