Modernist Poetry

This poetry Collection features poetic works by the Modernists, who sparked a new literary movement during the early 20th century. Characterized by its free verse structure and departure from the ideals of Romanticism, Modernist poetry represents a shift toward experimentation with structure, voice, and form. Poets represented in this Collection include T.S. Eliot, William Carlos Williams, and W.B. Yeats.

Portrait of a Lady

by T. S. Eliot

Publication year 1915

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Guilt, Truth & Lies, Music, Coming of Age, Midlife

Tags Poetry: Dramatic Poem, Narrative Poem, Modernism, British Literature, American Literature, Relationships, Love & Sexuality, Social Class, Classic Fiction

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The Highwayman

by Alfred Noyes

Publication year 1906

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Love

Tags Lyric Poem, Love & Sexuality

English poet Alfred Noyes wrote and published “The Highwayman” in 1906 during the early period of his literary career. The poem was written during the Edwardian Period of English literature but reflects influences from the romantic period a century earlier. Told as a narrative, “The Highwayman” recounts the doomed romance between a highwayman and a landlord’s daughter, Bess, who he visits in the night. Their love is sabotaged by jealousy; the poem romanticizes Bess’s sacrifice... Read The Highwayman Summary

The Second Coming

by William Butler Yeats

Publication year 1919

Genre Poem, Fiction

Themes Order & Chaos, Good & Evil

Tags Lyric Poem, World History, European History, World War I

“The Second Coming” is an allegorical poem that W. B. Yeats penned in 1919 and published in The Dial in 1920. The poem describes a declining, violent present and an impending apocalyptic future, marked by the approach of a sphinxlike monster. The poem is often considered an allegory for the fraught times Yeats was living in—namely, the end of World War I, the midst of the Spanish flu pandemic, and the beginning of the Irish... Read The Second Coming Summary