Similarities and differences between modernism and postmodernism
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Modernity
A time period which started in the 17th century with the transition from feudalism to capitalism. It is characterised by a scientific, secular worldview and discourses of progress and rationalisation.
Modernism emerged around the time of the second industrial revolution (1870-1920), which was marked by the decline of stable social classes, the beginning of professionalism, and a sense of urban alienation.
Postmodernism generally refers to cultural phenomena with certain characteristics that emerged after the Second World War. When exactly postmodernism starts vary according to national contexts and individual critics.
Postmodernity
The period after modernity. Some critics argue it started after WW2, whereas others situate its beginning in the 1980s or even 1990s.
The boundary between modernism and postmodernism in many cases is fuzzy. There was some programmatic disavowal of modernism on the part of postmodern writers, and yet postmodernism continued with and developed some modern ideas and techniques. Whether postmodernism should be seen as a definite break with modernism or its continuation is a matter of ongoing critical debate.
Comparison of Modernism and Postmodernism
Modernism
Postmodernism
Adheres to Western hegemonic values
Contests Western hegemonic values
Focus on the writer
Focus on the reader
Focus on interiority
Focus on exteriority
Alienation
Collective voices
Unreliable narrator
Ironic narrator
Rejection of realism
Ambivalence towards realism
Literature is self-contained
Literature is open and intertextual
High-brow genres
Mixing of high- and low-brow genres
Rejection of literary conventions
Parody of literary conventions
Metafictional
Metafictional
Idiosyncratic language
Simple language
A time period which started in the 17th century with the transition from feudalism to capitalism. It is characterised by a scientific, secular worldview and discourses of progress and rationalisation.
Modernism emerged around the time of the second industrial revolution (1870-1920), which was marked by the decline of stable social classes, the beginning of professionalism, and a sense of urban alienation.
Postmodernism generally refers to cultural phenomena with certain characteristics that emerged after the Second World War. When exactly postmodernism starts vary according to national contexts and individual critics.
Postmodernity
The period after modernity. Some critics argue it started after WW2, whereas others situate its beginning in the 1980s or even 1990s.
The boundary between modernism and postmodernism in many cases is fuzzy. There was some programmatic disavowal of modernism on the part of postmodern writers, and yet postmodernism continued with and developed some modern ideas and techniques. Whether postmodernism should be seen as a definite break with modernism or its continuation is a matter of ongoing critical debate.
Comparison of Modernism and Postmodernism
Modernism
Postmodernism
Adheres to Western hegemonic values
Contests Western hegemonic values
Focus on the writer
Focus on the reader
Focus on interiority
Focus on exteriority
Alienation
Collective voices
Unreliable narrator
Ironic narrator
Rejection of realism
Ambivalence towards realism
Literature is self-contained
Literature is open and intertextual
High-brow genres
Mixing of high- and low-brow genres
Rejection of literary conventions
Parody of literary conventions
Metafictional
Metafictional
Idiosyncratic language
Simple language
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