American Modernization
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American Modernization
Leading up to the turn of our present century, changes in culture and society of America triggered modernization throughout much of our commerce, social, artistic and educational lives. The past century or so has brought new obstacles and opportunities for the nation of America. This changing is reflected through some of the works by writers such as, Robert Frost, William Williams, Ezra Pound, and T.S. Eliot. Examining peoples mindset in modernization one common feeling of people is “nervousness” which is due to the nations reluctance to change. T.S. Eliot is quoted with the statement “the immense panorama of futility and anarchy which is contemporary history.”1 Modernism generally, varies greatly between previous times in the 19th century which breaks stride with the traditional lifestyle of the middle-class working public.
Modernists portray a dull, gloomy and pessimistic picture of culture in America during this time period. This despair is often caused by an apparent boredom and the peoples feeling of uncertainty, of changes to come. Modernism uncovered has an anti-traditionalist theme instilled in it, because of the inevitability that changes will occur. “Modern” itself possesses the qualities, such as being simple and spontaneous along with an indefinite time frame to allow peoples acceptance of unknown. In many ways, this movement is difficult to define, but it can be generally applied to the work of writers who shared the belief that modernity and the reshaping of tradition were necessary conditions of their art. Much of the passion for a modernist change in art can be seen to arise from a need to compensate for new conditions in modern experience.
William Williams was a modernist writer in the early 20th century who expressed his dim views on his present day society. Williams poem “To Elise” is the poem that lashes out at American society describing how raunchy and distasting life really is. Williams clearly is unhappy with the present time and reflects back to an earlier time of tradition in these lines:
“and young slatterns, bathed/ in filth/ from Monday to Saturday/
to be tricked out that night/ with gauds/ from imagination which have no/
peasant