This document summarizes characteristics of modern literature from 1900 onwards. It discusses literary movements like Imagism and features of poets like T.S. Eliot, Robert Frost, Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. Modernism rejected Victorian traditions in favor of experimentation, fresh techniques, and questioning of existing beliefs and institutions. Poets expressed themes of nature, love, and pessimism through symbolism and mysticism.

1. University of Sargodha
BS English department
SS1 Evening
History of english literature
Mam Ammara Ijaz
Group : A6
Topic : Modern Literature

2. Presentation no : 6
Students Name

3. Characteristics
Formalis
m
Surrealis
m
Absurdit
y
Symbolis
m
Futuris
m
Cubism
Dadais
m
Expressionism

4. Students Name
Zainab Rauf
Roll no: 31

5. ❏ Literary modernism, or modernist literature, originated in the late
19th and early 20th centuries, mainly in Europe and North America,
and is characterized by a self-conscious break with traditional ways
of writing, in both poetry and prose fiction writing.
❏ Modern Literature was directed by mental
attitudes moral ideals and spiritual values
things were questioned

6. ❏ After death of queen victoria in 1901 victorian age ended
❏ Modernism was rex against victorian age
Postmodernism
19th-world.W * After word.W
Logical * Irrational
Poets : Robert Bridges (1840-1930) T. S. Eliot (1888)
Poets after T. S. Eliot Robert Bridges (1840-1930)
Robert Bridges (1840-1930) . The ―Georgian‖ Poets
The Imagist Trench Poet
W. B. Yeats (1865 – 1939)
Modernism
Modern literature

7. § Hypocritical and stupid § Based on mental moral and spirtual
values
§ Considered voice of authority § Questioned every thing
§ Permenance of institutions § Nothing was permamnant
§ Self complacency § Against it
§ Wrote in old manner § Failure of values
§ Provoked fresh techniques
§ Had themes of divine love ,nature etc § Considered divine plane a wasteful force
§ Authors and readers satisfied eachother § Readers and writers were not at same
point
§ Basicallynif carried old themes § It cancelled previous things and provoked
expeeimentaion
Victorian Modern
Victorian Modern

8. Characteristics
Social being.
Experimentation.
Fresh techniques.
Questioning.
Eradication of old ways.
Scientific impacts.
Views about nature and divine love.
Ø Conflicts between writer and the readers.
In short form new techniques, ,new mind,experimentation, and neglecting every previous and old theme
Conclusion
20th century writers exploited their enthusiasm.
Ø Eradicating the old themes of nature, divine love, etc were not a safe play.
Readers and writers show different approaches. Hence, the writers were forced to revitalize

9. Students Name
Wafa Fatima
Roll no: 28

10. ❏ · Modern poetry is entirely
different from romantic and
Victorian poetry.
❏ T.S Eliot was the greatest
poet and was the chief
representative of modern poetry.
• .

11. Features
Diverse variety
of themes
Realism
Experimentation
Religion and
Mysticism:
Nature
Love
Pessimism

12. Diverse variety of themes:
● · Poetry in modern period can be written on almost
every subject.
Realism:
● · The poetry of 20th century is marked with a note
of realism.Realism in its broad sense has comprised
many artistic currents in different civilizations.
Famous poets:
➢ · Robert frost
➢ · Gibson

13. Love: Love which received value in every era, is the subject of
modern poetry.
Famous poet
Robert bridges
Pessimism: Opposition to optimism,There is a note of pessimism and
disillusionment in modern poetry.
Famous poets:
· T.S Eliot
· Hardy
Nature: Nature attracts the modern poets no less than the poets of
previous ages.
Humanitarian tone: Modern poets seem interested in common man

14. Religion and Mysticism
· This age is age of science but we have poems written on
the subject of religion and mysticism.
Famous poet:
· Robert graves
Experimentation in diction and style
■ Modern poets believe in experimentation. They have
chosen to be free in the use of meter.
■ · Verse rhythm is replaced by sense rhythm.
■ · It is suggestive and gives different meanings.

16. Students Name
Qaiser Safeer
Roll no: 30

17. Biography
Born at walmer, kent in England on 23
October 1844 and died in 21 April 1930.
Poet laureate from 25 july 1913 to 21 April
1930.
His poems reflect a deep Christian faith ,and
he is the author of many well-known hymns.
Was preceded by Alfred Austin and
succeeded by john Masefield.

18. Personal and professional life
He was the fourth son of john Thomas bridge.Bridge was
educated at Eton college and corpus
Christi college, Oxford.
. Literary work
His best work is to be founded in his shorter poem (1890) and a
complete edition of his poetical
works was published in 1898_1905.
.Major works
Poetry collections
Verse dramas
prose

19. ● The first revolt against the Victorian Romantic
poetic tradition came from a group of poets
called
● the imagists. Their activities extended for about
ten years from 1912 to 1922.
.Overview of imagism in poetry
In 1913 the issue of magazine poetry
there appeared a note titled "imagisime",signed by
one F.
S Flints offering this description of
the imagistes
.Pound's rules of Language, Rhythm

20. imagists, manifestos and anthologies
The first anthology of imagists poets, "Des
imagistes" was edited by pound and published
in
1914 ,presenting poems by
Pound,Doolittle,Aldington as well as Flint,
Skipwith Cannel,Amy
Lowell,James joyce,Allen Upwards and John
cournos

21. Students Name
Abeera Riaz
Roll no: 29

22. Biography
English poet and Jesuit ( Catholic ) priest
Came from a large artistic family
Showed talent in music , drawing and poetry
Dies in Dublin .
His poetry was not published until 1918 during his lif time
Major Theme
His poetry is characterized by intense experience
New rhythmic effect
Sprung rhythm
Very interested in ways of rejuvenating poetic language .
Elevation of individual perception and sensation to something rare and beautiful.

23. Journals
Struggle With Faith
Hopkins was deeply affected by his Roman Catholic
There are hints at manic depressive behaviour
His poetry celebrated and interrogated that faith ( carrion comfort for example)
Journal entry of February ,1870
Related to moment when he overcome by sorrow.
Suddenly began to cry and sob and could not stop
He attempts to capture this feeling of being pierced by the unexpected.
God’s Grandeur
· Presence of God in the world
· Compared to
· Electricity
· Oil- resources to be tapped
· How do human fail to listen ?

24. . Carrion Comfort
· Speaker struggle to confront and overcome the stagnation of his despair
and desolation.
· Despair is personified -temptation to feed on it .
· Not choose not to be ( Reference to Hamlet)
· The speaker refuses to accept despair ,but cannot fully move past it.
· Tries to find an answer to the dilemma
· Distance himself through imagination.
Poems of Hopkins
· The poem of Hopkins are about God nature and man
· And all are pervaded with immanence of God.
· His greatest poem is The Wreck Of Deutschland.

25. Biography
· W.B Yeats was born in Dublin Ireland .
· Use of Irish mythology and folklore can be seen in work .
In 1923 was awarded with the Nobel prize for literature .
· W.B Yeats is a symbolist poet.
W.B Yeats as a modern poet
· He was one of the modern poet who influenced his contemporaries and successor
. By nature ,he was a dreamer ,thinker who fell under the spell of the folklore
He felt himself as a stranger in the world of technology and rationalism.
· He was realistic poet though his early poetry was not realistic.
3.

26. Characteristics Of Yeats Poetry
Obscurity Theory of mask
Occultism Bluntness
Mysticism Juxtaposition
Irish mythology Pessimism
Use of symbolism Humanism
Stark Naked brutality
. Uses Symbols in Yeats Poetry
In Yeats Poetry generally symbols are of two kinds.
· Traditional
· Personal
·

27. Famous Poems Of Yeats
· The lake Isle of Innisfree
· Adam’s curse, Byzentium
The Wild Swans at coole
An Irish airman foresees his death
The Second Coming
Sailing To Byzantium
Leda And The Swam
CONCLUSION
· Yeats was unique poet
· At the same time , traditional and modern poet
· Started his poetic career as a romantic poet.

28. Students Name
Iqra Manzoor
Roll no: 48

29. BIOGRAPHY
Great classical scholar
l Attended Oxford University
l Studied Classical literature, philosophy
l Worked in Patent Office
l Latin Professor- University College in London

30. FEATURES OF HOUSMAN'S POETRY
Poem’s themes
Grief fleeting youth
pastoral beauty death
unrequited love patriotism.
FAMOUS WORKS
Two volumes of poetry are
l A Shropshire Led (1896)
l Last poems (1922)

31. BIOGRAPHY
One of the dominant figures of twentieth century literature and
thinking
Born in USA
playwright
Chief representative
Literary critic and editor
Classicist
l A social philospher

32. FEATURES OF ELIOT’S POETRY:
l Totally against the Victorian and Romantic poetry
l The disappearance of religious faith
l regular metre have been discarded
l no regular rhyming scheme
l Juxtaposition of ideas
l Use of free verse Use of irony
l Use of metaphors
l Imagism
l Symbolism
l They use the Common language
l They used exact words instead of decorative words
l They create new rhythms

33. FAMOUS WORK
The Waste Land(1922),
The Hollow Men(1925),
The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock (before WWI)
"Fragment of a Prologue"(1926)
" Fragment of an Agon"(1927)
OTHER POEMS
The Lovesong of J.Alfred Prufrock
Burnt Norton
East Coker
The Dry salvage

34. CONCLUSION
Thus T. S. Eliot who is a force in modern English literature is a many-
sided personality.
He is a
Classicist,
innovator,
critic, poet,
social philosopher and mystic—all combined into one.
He makes the reader aware not merely of the problems of modern life
but also of mankind as a whole.

35. Students Name
Zainab Nawaz
Roll no: 33

36. Georgian poetry
➔ Set of literary characteristics
➔ School of british poetry
➔ During reign of George V
➔ Post Victorian era
Georgian Anthologies
➔ Edmund Marsh
➔ Collection of poetry
➔ Appeared successively from 1912 to 1922

37. ➔ Edmuch spencer proclaimed
“English Poetry is putting on new Strength and poetry”
Features of Georgian poetry
Intellectual inexperienced
weakly escapist
emotionally uninspired
themes are derived from nature, familiar objects, and common experience
Technically slack

38. Poets
Edmund Marsh
Robert Brooke
W.H.Davies
Walter De le Mare

39. Conclusion:
Not so prominent
Contributed as :
➔ Freshness to nature
➔ Colloquial
➔ Lack strength

40. Students Name
Ali Hassan
Roll no: 32

41. ● · Background
● · Definition
Famous poets:
· Siegfried Sassoon
· Wilfred Owen
Siegfried Sassoon
· War poet
· September 1883 – September 1967
· Leading poet of First world war
· In his poetry we find a mood of indignation and satire

42. Wilfred Owen :
● · War poet
● · March 1893 – November 1918
● · Influenced by his mentor Siegfried
Sassoon
● · In his poetry we find a mood of
reconciliation and elegy
● · Speaking about his own poetry Owen
remarked :
● “ Above all, I am not concerned with poetry.
My subject is War and poetry of War. The
poetry is in the pity…… all a poet can do today
is to warn. That is why the true poets must be
truthful.”

43. · T.S Eliot dominated the English poetic scene till 1930.
Famous poets:
· Wystan Hugh Auden
· Stephen Spender
· Cecil Day Lewis
W.H Auden:
· The most original and the most poetically exciting among
modern poets is W.H Auden
· He also considers waste land as symbolic of modern
civilization

44. Stephen Spender:
· Began writing under the influence of Auden
· His poetic style was autobiographical
Cecil Day Lewis:
· He is called the academic poet of the present
age
· Early poetry was under influence of Auden