Features of Modern English Poetry II 20th Century English Poetry It's Characteristics and Tendencies

 

MODERN ENGLISH POETRY,

20^th Century English Poetry                                   

Introduction:

The famous critic A. C. Ward writes:

“When the 20th century opened Tennyson had been dead nine years and there was a wide spread impression that English poetry had died with him.”

Many critics believed that the glorious period of English poetry was over with the death of Tennyson. They believed that high serious or high scale poetry was not possible and what was possible was only obscure, wayward and petty poetry. But the fact is that there was no death of poetry in modern times. Modern poetry is so pure and effective that it can stand the test of the time. The poets like T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, Robert Frost, W.B. Yeats, Mansfield, Galsworthy and others have imparted to poetry the respect and high serious meaning in more than times.

Features of Modern English Poetry:

The characteristics of modern poetry are as under:

1.   Variety of Themes

2.   Humanitarian and Democratic Approach

3.   Realism

4.   Pessimism

5.   Religion and Mysticism

6.   Psychological Approach

Variety of Themes:

Modern poetry is written on almost any subjects. The modern poets find inspiration from railway stations, telephones, the snake charmers, women, games etc. Modern poets don't accept the theory of great high serious subjects for their poetry. They write on the themes of real life experiences. They also explore the fields of religion, mysticism and fairyland sometimes. Thus, there is a great variety of subjects of themes in modern poetry.

Humanitarian and Democratic Approach:

Modern poetry is marked by a note of humanitarian and democratic approach. More than Wordsworth, the modern poet is interested in the life of laborers, workers, toilers, miners and farmers. The day to day struggle and conflict of these people are reflected in the modern poetry with a strong sense of humanitarianism. Sympathy for the poor, the downtrodden and the wretched is visible in modern poetry. The poets like Mansfield, Gibson and Galsworthy were very famous in this matter. Mansfield writes in one of his poems:

“Others may sing of the wealth and the mirth

Mine be the dirt and the dross

The dust and the scum of the earth.”

Realism:

Realism is visible in modern poetry. The modern poet sees life as it is and paints it as it is with all its ugliness, meaninglessness and horrors of the 20th century. The modern poet clears the veil which the romanticists had hung between real life and art. Robert Frost, Gibson and Blandon are the true realists of modern poetry. However, the best expression of realism is found among the war poets like Owen Graves and Sasson who have described vivacity as well as horrors of war in their poetry.

Pessimism:

There is a note of pessimism and disillusionment in modern poetry. In the times of technological and scientific advancement, the life of modern man has become meaningless and absurd. Human relations have lost their values. As a result, this pessimism and disappointment have entered in men's life. This pessimistic note of modern life is expressed by the poets like T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, Hardy, Huxley and others. T. S. Eliot has beautifully expressed the futility of man's life in his masterpiece ‘The Wasteland’:

“What are the roots that clutch -

What branches grow

Out of this rubbish story

Son of man,

You cannot say, or guess

......................................

And the dead tree gives no shelter,

The cricket no relief.”

Religion and Mysticism:

The modern age is the age of science but even in this scientific age, we have poems written on the subject of religion and mysticism. G. K. Chesterton, Francis Thomson, W. B. Yeats and others are the great modern poets who have kept alive the flame of religion and mysticism in their poetry. Thomson's poem ‘Hounds of Heaven’, Chesterton's  poem ‘The House of Christmas’ are very popular in this field.

 Psychological Approach:

The development of psychology in 20th century has greatly influenced the modern poetry. The modern poet dives deep into the inner psyche of modern man and tries to express the subconscious mind. The poems of Eliot and Ezra Pound are sometimes difficult to understand because they have given the expression of the psychological reality of modern man. W. J. Long rightly remarks about the complexity of modern poetry:

“We feel that much poetry is very difficult and that it does not always repay the labour involved. In working it out in the last hundred years the complexity has been more and more.”

Conclusion:

Thus, modern poetry is full of realism, humanitarianism and pessimism which is found in modern man. Poetry is criticism of life, so it must have a close contact with life. Modern poetry is the expression of modern life. It is realistic in tone and expresses the spirit of the age. It is marked by simplicity and sincerity. W. J. Long rightly remarks:

“The poetry of 20th century is less vague, less verbose, and less eloquent than most poetry of the Victorian period. It has set before itself an ideal of absolute simplicity and sincerity."

Click to watch a video on Victorian Drama.