The Fin-de-Siècle and the Rise of Modernism
The Fin-de-Siècle: Consolidation of the Industrial Revolution and Reaction Against Victorianism
Characteristics of Fin-de-Siècle
- Mechanical Age
- Social Class Shift: Money, religion, and good manners became increasingly important as markers of status.
- Art: Poor imitations of artistic works, with a focus on superficial beauty rather than substance.
- The artist was seen as a special individual, and their work was considered an elitist product.
Characteristics of Postmodernism
- Post-technological Age
- Social Class Shift: Money became even more important, while religion and good manners declined in significance.
- Art: Poor imitations of works of art were replaced by technological procedures.
- The artist was replaced by their strategies, and their work became a commodity that produced money.
Utopian Works
William Morris’s News from Nowhere is an example of a utopian work that envisions a society without money or private property. It contrasts liberalism, which advocates for minimal government interference, with socialism, which advocates for state control of the economy.
Aestheticism
Aestheticism emphasized the importance of beauty, both physical and eternal. It rejected materialism and sought to avoid the physical world in order to find beauty. Music was considered the model for art, as it was non-material and could evoke emotions.
Symbolism
Symbolism used images to allow readers to”leav” reality and”ente” a different world. Yeats believed in magic, and for him, symbolism was a form of witchcraft.
Cycles of Irish Literature
Irish literature has a rich history, with the oldest surviving manuscripts in Western Europe written in the Irish language. The Book of Invasions, the Red Branch of Ulster, and the Fenian Cycle are examples of early Irish literature.
Yeats and the Irish Literary Revival
Yeats was a leading figure in the Irish Literary Revival. He saw England as a black island and believed that industrialism was ugliness. His symbolic plays, such as The Land of Heart’s Desire, explored themes of youth vs. old age, risk vs. safety, and native life vs. the new order.