I. II.

This is the period between 1900 and 1930. This period is sharply divided by World War I. A. B. The first part is dominated by naturalism. The second part is dominated by developing symbolism in literature.

III. IV. V.

Isolationism marked the period before World War I. After World War I, there was a growing international awareness & sensitivity to European literary models. The first decade— A. B. Mark Twain, William Dean Howells and Henry James The muckraking magazine 1. McClure’s 2. Cosmopolitan

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VI.

The second decade— A. B. C. Sees the birth of modern American poetry in writers like T. S. Eliot and Robert Frost. The realistic novel continues in works by Ellen Glasgow, Willa Cather, and Edith Wharton. In plays, Eugene O’Neill became popular.

VII.

The third decade—The lost generation repudiated American culture in three ways: A. One group became expatriates. 1. 2. They were mainly from the east They went back to Europe and become involved in movements such as Dadaism and nihilism.

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VIII. Dadaism: A. A movement that was a revolt by certain 20th-century painters and writers in France, Germany, and Switzerland. B. They revolted against smugness in traditional art and Western society. They rejected conventional ideas and traditional forms of beauty. C. Their works illustrated absurdity, nonsense, travesty, and incongruity. D. For example, paintings of purposeless machines and collages of discarded materials, expressed their cynicism about conventional ideas of form and their rejection of traditional concepts of beauty

IX. Nihilism A. A rejection of all moral and religious values. Nothing is intrinsically moral or immoral (moral nihilism). B. Life is without meaning, purpose, or value