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Revolution of Literature - 19th and 20th Centuries

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An influential English Modernist Virginia Woolf once said, On or about December 1910, the world changed. This statement is regarding the drastic change in the culture of society with the beginning of exploration of the meaning of life and the patterns that society are prone to following. This brought about curiosity and the religious affiliated explanations were no longer sufficient. The dissatisfaction for many, and believing mindlessly in something with no real evidence was intolerable. Societys intellect was expanding with the impacts of the scientific revolution and new discoveries, the potential for the expansion of perspective was now present. Ontology as a philosophical viewpoint on life is defined as, The science or study of being; that branch of metaphysics concerned with the nature or essence of being or existence. (Oxford English Dictionary). Exploring ontology and the many other philosophical branches that derived from it resulted in many new perceptions of viewing the nature of a human being and the society. That being said, the narrative of literature has changed drastically from the 18th Century to the 19th/20th centuries. At the peak of the 19th century there was a revolutionary shift and rise in the popularity of writers rejecting the concept of romanticism in their novellas and novels. According to the Encyclopedia Brittanica; Romanticism emphasized the individual, the subjective, the irrational, the imaginative, the personal, the spontaneous, the emotional, the visionary, and the transcendental. Rejecting these concepts was among many of the cultural forces that drove literary modernism. Romanticism was a convenient way of writing, and thinking due to the traditional expectancies people had based on their religious based knowledge and replacing the harshness of society with an idealistic view on life. Many writers from this time completely changed these expectations society had from romantic literature figures preceding them and took on entirely new perspective in their writing. Literature being only one of the victims of this rise of new revolutionary spirit and intellect in society, was a new beginning with freedom for writers to expose the societal issues, and express their personal thoughts as writers. Due to this innovation of modernism as a style for writers, the exploration and infinite directions resulted in writers experimentation as modernism became a muse for their own creativity. The rise of modernism goes hand in hand with an entire society progressing their intellect and awareness of who they are as humans and the dynamics of society. Among the many Writers/Novelists of this time period some of the most influential writers include: James Joyce, Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, Stephen Crane, Gustave Flaubert and, Frantz Kafka; All of whom are not only prime examples in rejecting the romantic perspective in their writing, but are also masters in exhibiting freedom in altering the form, and substance throughout their writing to adequately exemplify motifs of modernism. While Joyce, Crane, James, Hemingway, Flaubert, and Kafka all master the incorporation of modernist ideals in their writing, each writer individually has a unique style. Evidently any writers personal lifestyle and experiences influence who they are, therefore influencing what drives them to write what they do. While the content and structure vary, the overlying concept of modernism is always present in these writers stories. Each one masterfully exposes their persona through their writing. Reading was and still is a dominant pastime for civilizations world wide and is constantly evolving in correlation to the occurrences of society of its time. Fiction being the most popular choice for recreational readers is exciting because it gives any reader a chance to believe and in-vision something that they are not particularly exposed to in everyday life. Therefore relationship between the reader and the writer becomes a surprisingly strong relationship that never excavates into anything more than a readers escape from reality. As Vladimir Nabokov once said; There are three points of view from which a writer can be considered: he may be considered as a storyteller, as a teacher, and as an enchanter. A major writer combines these three- Storyteller, teacher, enchanter- but it is the enchanter in him that predominates and makes him a major writer Reading modern literature however does the opposite. It provokes thought and evaluation of reality. These stories create an entire new world for readers and explores fictional people/circumstances from a realistic lens that they can or cannot relate to in a completely different way than they have ever before. Reading is a muse and escape for many just like many other forms of the arts; modern writers strived to outvie the romantic perspective from literature by conquering fictional literature with modern influence. Some of the ways this was accomplis

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