Origin of modernism and historical context

Driven by a turbulent historical context, where major transformations were underway, modern artists and intellectuals began to rethink the way they produced art and literature. They increasingly valued critical thinking.

Thus, modernism took place in a scenario of technological achievements, industrial progress, and the deepening of the capitalist system and inequalities.

It was also at this time that major conflicts occurred, such as the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the emergence of totalitarian regimes.

We can say that the modernist movement lasted until the 1950s, after the Second World War.

Characteristics of modernism

The characteristics that we can observe in modernism in general are related to the rupture with the current artistic-literary models and the search for innovation.

In this way, modernists began to produce transgressive works with greater creative freedom, without necessarily following rules and standards.

In both literature and other artistic fields, we can list the following as particularities of modernist works:

Refusal of academic models;
Creative and expressive freedom;
Appreciation of experimentation;
Search for approximation to popular language;
Spontaneity and irreverence;
Breaking formalisms;
Irony and comic spirit.