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Planes, (subway) trains, automobiles and World War I—A dramatic shift in sensibilities ocurred as a result of these factors of modern life.
Images courtesy of American Memory
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Subject Areas |
History and Social Studies
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U.S. History - World War I |
Literature and Language Arts
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American |
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British |
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Poetry |
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Time Required |
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4-5 class periods (total) |
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Skills |
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close reading of a text
critical analysis and interpretation
comparison and contrast
using primary sources
Internet research
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Additional Data |
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Date Created: 01/14/05 |
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Introduction to Modernist Poetry
—Curriculum Unit Overview—
Introduction
“The English novelist Virginia Woolf declared that human nature
underwent a fundamental change "on or about December 1910." The
statement testifies to the modern writer's fervent desire to break with the
past, rejecting literary traditions that seemed outmoded and diction that
seemed too genteel to suit an era of technological breakthroughs and global
violence.”
—from the EDSITEment reviewed Academy
of American Poets “The
Modernist Revolution: Make It New”
Modernist poetry often is difficult for students to analyze and understand.
A primary reason students feel a bit disoriented when reading a modernist poem
is that the speaker himself is uncertain about his or her own ontological bearings.
Indeed, the speaker of modernist poems characteristically wrestles with the
fundamental question of “self,” often feeling fragmented and alienated
from the world around him. In other words, a coherent speaker with a clear sense
of himself/herself is hard to find in modernist poetry, often leaving students
confused and “lost.”
Such ontological feelings of fragmentation and alienation, which often led
to a more pessimistic and bleak outlook on life as manifested in representative
modernist poems such as T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred
Prufrock,” were prompted by fundamental and far-reaching historical, social,
cultural, and economic changes in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The rise of
cities; profound technological changes in transportation, architecture, and
engineering; a rising population that engendered crowds and chaos in public
spaces; and a growing sense of mass markets often made individuals feel less
individual and more alienated, fragmented, and at a loss in their daily worlds.
World War I (WWI), moreover, contributed to a more modern local and world view.
Understanding the context of literary modernism (specifically, modernist poetry)
is important for students before they analyze modernist texts themselves. To
that end, this three-lesson curriculum unit begins with Lesson
One: “Understanding the Context of Modernism Poetry,” followed
by Lesson Two:
“Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird,” which features “warm-up”
exercises to give students initial bearings for reading and analyzing modernist
poetry. The curriculum unit ends with T.S.
Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”; this lesson
requires students to analyze modernist poetry in more depth and detail. You
may extend the unit by teaching additional modernist poets such as Marianne
Moore, Jean Toomer, William Carlos Williams, and Ezra Pound.
Guiding Questions
- What are several historical, social, and cultural forces that prompted
the modernist movement? What were the effects of these influential factors?
- What are the primary characteristics of modernist poetry?
Learning Objectives
- Students will understand the literary context of modernism.
- Students will be able to define and understand in context common poetic
devices.
- Students will be able to analyze several modernist poems.
- Students will understand the historical, social, and cultural context of
modernism at large.
Preparing to Teach this Curriculum Unit
- Review the lesson plan. Locate and bookmark suggested materials and other
useful websites. Download and print out documents you will use and duplicate
copies as necessary for student viewing.
- To reference any literary device mentioned in this curriculum unit, visit
Norton’s Glossary
of Literary Terms, available via the EDSITEment reviewed American
Academy of Poets.
Unit Lessons
Extending the Lesson
Consider extending this lesson with the EDSITEment lesson plan Poetry
of The Great War: 'From Darkness to Light'?, which would work well in conjunction
with this unit’s Lesson
One: Understanding the Context of Modernist Poetry.
Selected EDSITEment Websites
- Academy of American Poets [http://www.poets.org]
- American Memory Project [http://memory.loc.gov/]
- Inventing
Entertainment
[http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/edhtml/edhome.html]
- 104th Street curve,
New York, elevated railway
[http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mbrsmi/edmp.1752]
- 9th Infantry boys'
morning wash
[http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mbrsmi/sawmp.1329]
- Lower Broadway
[http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mbrsmi/lcmp002.m2a23756], 1903
- Panorama of
Flatiron Building
[http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mbrsmi/lcmp002.m2b03516], 1903
- Panorama from
Times Building
[http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mbrsmi/lcmp002.m2a20934], 1905 (notice the people/cars
on the street from the 20-story height of the Times Building)
- 104th Street curve,
New York, elevated railway
[http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mbrsmi/edmp.1752], 1899
- Interior, New
York Subway
[http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mbrsmi/lcmp002.20761], 1905
- New Brooklyn to New
York via Brooklyn Bridge, no. 2
[http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mbrsmi/edmp.1734]
- American falls from
above, American side
[http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mbrsmi/edmp.4051]
- The Wilbur and Orville
Wright Timeline, 1901-1910
[http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wrighthtml/wrighttime2.html]
- The
Belief That Flight is Possible to Man
[http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wrighthtml/wrightchan.html]
- Market Street
before parade
[http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mbrsmi/lcmp003.m3a17771], filmed from automobile,
1903
- A trip down Market
Street before the fire
[http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mbrsmi/lcmp003.01142], filmed from San Francisco
cable car, 1905
- Building Big
[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/index.html]
- Center for the Liberal Arts
[http://www.virginia.edu/cla/]
- Internet Public Library
[http://www.ipl.org/]
- Learner.org [http://www.learner.org/]
Other Information
Standards Alignment
- NCTE/IRA-1
Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works. more
- NCTE/IRA-11
Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.
- NCTE/IRA-2
Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience. more
- NCTE/IRA-3
Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes. more
- NCTE/IRA-6
Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts. more
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