Learn about Edward Arlington Robinson and modernist poetry. Discover the style and tone of the modernist poets and explore the elements of modernism in poetry.
Updated: 11/21/2023
Modernist Poetry | Definition, Elements & Topics
Table of Contents
Show
Frequently Asked Questions
What themes are common in modernist poetry?
Common themes in Modernist poetry are society, disillusionment, collectivism vs. individualism, and societal changes. They represent the changing times due to industrialization and the state of society post-WWI.
What is an example of modernist poetry?
Examples of Modernist poetry include "The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams, "The Wasteland" by T.S. Eliot, and "In a Station of the Metro" by Ezra Pound.
What is the style of modern poetry?
Modern poetry is characterized by its free verse and subject matter that often make a statement about society and realistically convey everyday life.
Table of Contents
ShowWhat is the definition of modernism in poetry? Modern poetry is a departure from traditional poetic forms and topics and reflects the attitude and culture of the 20th century. It was born in the aftermath of World War I, when poets like T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, Wallace Stevens, William Butler Yeats, Edward Arlington Robinson, and others began to question everything they knew about life. They saw that the world had changed drastically, moving from a rural and agrarian society to a more urban and industrial one.
The Modernists saw this change as an opportunity to reinvent language to express this new reality. They wanted their poems to reflect all aspects of life, even those things that were ugly or uncomfortable. Their poetry aimed to capture what it was like living during such tumultuous times.
Modernist Poetry Topics and Tone
- In contrast with earlier poets who wrote primarily about nature or love and wrote about topics in a romantic way, Modernists wrote about society and real-world events such as war and death. One example is "The Waste Land" by T.S. Eliot, who uses references from ancient myths to create a sense of timelessness for his readers living through similar economic struggles. These poems reflect a shift in poetic concerns from natural elements to the elements that reflect the changing, industrial post-WWI society.
- Modernist poets also changed their attitude from optimism to pessimism. During this period, a lot of change was happening in society: new technology was being developed as people moved into cities, and industrialization occurred. People had more power than ever before, but it was also a time of economic depression and war that caused many people to feel anxious or uncertain about their prospects and place in society.
Elements of Modernism in Poetry
In Modernist poetry, poets generally discarded traditional concerns about a meter in favor of free verse. The poetic meter is the regular rhythm of words in a line or poem. Free verse is poetry written without rhyme or meter. There are no formal rules about how many syllables or words should be in each line. Instead, it follows an author's own rhythm and cadence. It is also sometimes called blank verse, as it does not have a rhyme scheme or meter.
One example of free verse is T.S. Eliot's poem, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." Though there are examples of end rhyme or rhyme that occurs at the end of lines, it contains no regular rhyme scheme throughout the 131 lines of this poem.
The opening stanza of the poem reads:
Let us go then, you and I,
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a table;
Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets
Despite lacking regular rhythm, or meter, it still reads like poetry because it has meaningful imagery, symbolism, and alliteration. Free verse allows poets to experiment with rhythm and sound in ways that traditional forms do not allow. By breaking the formal conventions of the past, authors could experiment with language and express themselves more freely.
To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Create your account
You must cCreate an account to continue watching
Register to view this lesson
Are you a student or a teacher?
Create Your Account To Continue Watching
As a member, you'll also get unlimited access to over 88,000 lessons in math, English, science, history, and more. Plus, get practice tests, quizzes, and personalized coaching to help you succeed.
Get unlimited access to over 88,000 lessons.
Try it now
It only takes a few minutes to setup and you can cancel any time.
Already registered? Log in here for access
BackResources created by teachers for teachers
Over 30,000 video lessons
& teaching resources‐all
in one place.
I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. It’s like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. I feel like it’s a lifeline.
Jennifer B.
Teacher
Back
Your next lesson will play in
10 seconds
Edward Arlington Robinson's poetry is notable for its simple, stark imagery. In contrast to the flowery language and long descriptions that were popular in previous forms of poetry, Robinson's poems are simple. The themes of his poems are often dark, but they are not overly depressing as they are written in a straightforward and often brief manner. His writing style gives a sense of irony when he succinctly conveys a deep sense of emotion.
 |
In Richard Cory, the narrator describes a wealthy man named Richard Cory who lives up on the hill in a house that looks down on everyone else. He has everything he could want, but he ends his life suddenly one night because of his unhappiness. He is described as a clean man who is more prosperous than a king. The townspeople were even jealous that they lacked many of Richard Cory's things. This poem shows that wealth is not always to be admired as it does not equate to happiness. The last line of the poem describes his death abruptly and unexpectedly. The lack of description increases the emotion within the poem.
In "The House on the Hill," the narrator describes a house on top of a hill that has been shuttered and closed. It is empty, and everyone has gone away. The only thing that remains is broken walls and gray, through which the wind blows. There is nothing more to say about the people who once resided there, either positively or negatively. The poem takes on a sense of nostalgia, and the author's words echo that there is "nothing more to say." The last stanza of the poem reads:
There is ruin and decay
In the House on the Hill:
They are all gone away,
There is nothing more to say.
The "House on the Hill" poem makes a statement on the finiteness of life. Additionally, it explores the futility of life. In line with other Modernist poetry, it conveys a sense of pessimism in straightforward writing.
To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Create your account
Modern poetry is defined by its departure from the rules and themes of traditional poetry. Modernist poetry reflects the attitudes and culture of the 20th century. Modern poets, affected by events such as World War I and the effects of industrialization on society, wrote about everyday life, including the ugly and challenging aspects. The old traditions of flowery, descriptive poetry about topics such as nature were left behind to portray a more realistic worldview. Conventions such as rhyme schemes and traditional rules were thus cast aside. Modernist poets departed from convention by writing in free verse, lacking a regular rhyme pattern and meter. Meter is the rhythm of a poem. The shift from optimism to pessimism occurred and was evident in poets such as Edward Arlington Robinson, whose poems conveyed dramatic scenes concisely and straightforwardly.
To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Create your account
Video Transcript
What Is Modern Poetry?
Imagine that you were raised on a farm without television or Internet. You've never been away from your small community. Life is simple. There's a lot of work to do, but things are generally good. And then one day, you leave the farm and go to a big city. You are suddenly exposed to things that you've never even dreamed: skyscrapers, airplanes, factories, and all sorts of amazing things. But it's not all great: you discover pollution and crime. You feel walled in by the tall buildings. You come to realize that life moves faster and is more stressful in the city.
At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of American poets found themselves in that same situation. The world was changing at a very fast pace thanks to technological advances and the Industrial Revolution. And World War I changed the way many people felt about humanity. Suddenly, the world seemed like a different, more modern, and darker place.
 |
When faced with the changing times, poets decided to change the way poetry was written. They abandoned the old forms and themes and started a new movement in literature called Modernism. Modernism opened a whole new world of ideas.
Modernist poetry departs from the forms and ideas of traditional poetry and reflects the attitudes and culture of the 20th century. It reflected new and modern ideas of what poetry should be. Let's take a closer look at how Modernist poetry began, how it departed from traditional American poetry, and at one of the first Modernist poets, E.A. Robinson.
A Whole New World: The Industrial Revolution and Modern Poetry
Until the late 1800s, America was mostly agricultural. That is, most of the money in the United States came from farms. People mostly lived in small towns or in the countryside, and many people never traveled outside of their county. Poetry was often about nature: daffodils and clouds and other things from the country. But in the late 1800s, America became industrial. Many people began working in factories to make a living, and technology changed the way people lived.
Not only that, but people wanted to live near the factories where they worked, so cities began to get bigger and bigger. Americans were more isolated from nature, and daffodils and clouds seemed to be a long way away. Poetry began talking less and less about nature. Instead, poetry shifted its focus to society. That makes sense. After all, poets like to write what they know.
World War I and Modern Themes
And then World War I happened. At the time, war was very different from the way it is today. Back then, two countries went to war with each other and fought with bayonets and horses. But World War I was different. First of all, it involved many different countries - so many, in fact, that people said that the entire world was fighting in one war. For another thing, all of the new technology from the Industrial Revolution was put to use in fighting World War I. Airplanes, bombs, and other advances in warfare became a major part of the war effort.
People were horrified at the result. Many people died all at once, and not all of them were soldiers. And those who were soldiers came back from the war with serious mental issues. The public couldn't believe the stories they heard about the war.
 |
Before World War I, most poetry was pretty uplifting. Writers tended to take a generally optimistic view of the world. But after World War I, all that changed. Poets saw the horrors of the war as proof that the world was a cold and depressing place. Modern poetry is much more pessimistic than the poetry of the 1800s.
The Elements of Modern Poetry
As we've seen, Modernist poets responded to the world around them. They changed the subject of their poetry from mostly that of the natural world to that of society, and they changed their view of the world from optimistic to pessimistic. But that's not all they changed. As they began to break away from the old ideas, poets began to explore new ways of expressing themselves, too.
Two important elements of traditional poetry are meter and rhyme. Think about your favorite song as a poem. The meter of the song is the rhythm: how long the lines are and which syllables in each line are stressed. The rhyme of a poem is the repetition of sounds within or between lines.
Before the Modernist poets, rhyme and meter were required for all poetry. For example, look at these two lines from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem 'The Broken Oar:'
'A poet wandered with his book and pen,
Seeking some final word, some sweet Amen'
--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Each of those lines has ten syllables, which is its meter. And the final words of the lines, 'pen' and 'Amen,' rhyme. This is a classic example of a pre-Modernist poem.
But the Modernist poets wanted to shake things up. They had new things to say, so they wanted to say them in new ways. So many of the Modernist poets started ignoring traditional meter and rhyme schemes. In fact, some of their poems didn't have any rhythm or rhyme at all! Poetry without rhyme and meter is known as free verse.
E.A. Robinson and the Birth of Modern American Poetry
 |
So Modern poets basically shook up the establishment. They changed what poetry said and how it said it. But the movement from traditional to modern poetry didn't happen overnight. It was a gradual change that began with an unlikely fellow, Edwin Arlington Robinson, who was born in Maine in 1869.
Robinson was an unlikely man to start a poetry movement in the United States because Robinson was an unlikely man to be a poet at all. He had two brothers; one became a doctor and one became a businessman. But Robinson loved words, and at a very early age he decided to be a poet.
At the time, poetry was filled with flowery language and long descriptions. Robinson pared down the language, bringing a less-embellished sensibility to poetry. In this way, he paved the way for future poets to do away with meter and rhyme altogether, though Robinson himself hated free verse.
In addition to changing the language of poetry, Robinson also dared to talk about things that most poets before him avoided. Robinson didn't have an easy life, and as a result he had a dark view of the world. The characters in his poems were depressed, often wishing that they were dead. Sometimes, they even committed suicide!
Even when his characters were not killing themselves, Robinson's poems were depressing. Look at the following lines from his poem 'The House on the Hill:'
They are all gone away,
The House is shut and still,
There is nothing more to say.
Through broken walls and gray
The winds blow bleak and shrill:
They are all gone away...
There is ruin and decay
In the House on the Hill:
They are all gone away,
There is nothing more to say.
That's quite a departure from the happy poetry that people were used to!
Lesson Summary
Modernist poets changed the content, themes, and style of poetry. Before the Industrial Revolution and World War I, poetry was mostly optimistic and used images of nature. It also had a set meter and rhyme scheme. Starting with E.A. Robinson, the Modernist poets reacted to the drastic changes in their world by writing more pessimistic poetry. Many of them also let go of the previous expectations about meter and rhyme.
Learning Outcomes
After you watch this lesson, you should be prepared to:
- Differentiate between Modernist and pre-Modernist poetry, both in content and structure
- Discuss the factors that influenced Modernist poetry
- Identify E.A. Robinson and understand how he began the Modernist poetry movement
To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Create your account
Register to view this lesson
Are you a student or a teacher?
Unlock Your Education
See for yourself why 30 million people use Study.com
Become a Study.com member and start learning now.
Become a MemberAlready a member? Log In
BackResources created by teachers for teachers
Over 30,000 video lessons
& teaching resources‐all
in one place.
I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. It’s like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. I feel like it’s a lifeline.
Jennifer B.
Teacher
Back
Modernist Poetry | Definition, Elements & Topics
Related Study Materials
Explore our library of over 88,000 lessons
Browse by subject