Modernism

Originating in the late-19th and early-20th centuries, the hallmarks of literary Modernism include an emphasis on the individual rather than society, stream-of-consciousness and other breaks from traditional literary formats, and rich psychological symbolism. This study guide collection summarizes and analyzes titles from some of the most renowned Modernist writers, including but not limited to T.S. Eliot, J.D. Salinger, Virginia Woolf, Ernest Hemingway, and Katherine Mansfield.

Publication year 1947

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Mental Health, Marriage, Environment, Death, Apathy

Tags Historical Fiction, Addiction & Substance Abuse, British Literature, Modernism, World History, Classic Fiction

Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry is a modernist novel published in 1947. Set in Quauhnahuac, Mexico, in 1938, it follows the Consul, a former British diplomat with an alcohol addiction, on the day of his death. In addition to the Consul, the small cast of characters includes the Consul’s half-brother, Hugh, his ex-wife, Yvonne, and his friend-turned-enemy, Jacques Laruelle. Malcolm Lowry, who spent time in Mexico and was known to have experienced addiction himself... Read Under the Volcano Summary

Publication year 1992

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Mental Health, Fear, Death, Self Discovery

Tags Historical Fiction, Existentialism, Psychology, Philosophy, Modernism, American Literature, World History, Psychology, Classical Period, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

When Nietzsche Wept is a 1992 novel written by Stanford University Professor of Psychology Irvin D. Yalom. Set in Vienna in 1882, the novel imagines a working relationship between the famous German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and the eminent physician Josef Breuer. Breuer believes that Nietzsche’s physical ailments have psychological causes, and he embarks on his newly invented “talking cure”—effectively a precursor to talk therapy and psychoanalysis. Eventually, through an agreement between the two men, it... Read When Nietzsche Wept Summary

Publication year 1919

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Community, Loneliness, Memory, Regret, Coming of Age, Place, Family, Social Class, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Classic Fiction, American Literature, Modernism, US History, World History

Originally published in 1919, Winesburg, Ohio: A Group of Tales of Ohio Small Town Life, is a short story cycle by American author Sherwood Anderson. Anderson drew inspiration from the Ohio town of Clyde, where he spent his childhood. By the late 20th century, many scholars considered Winesburg, Ohio a seminal text of American Modernist literature.Winesburg, Ohio focuses on the people who inhabit the eponymous town at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. Among them... Read Winesburg, Ohio Summary