1. Poetry of 1900-1917 MAKE IT NEW

2. SYMBOLISTS A movement to change the direction of American poetry and make it truly American.

3. Symbolists: goals a. Tried to portray the emotional effects objects suggested b. Got rid of symbols and clichés of symbols c. Trusted in the nonrational d. Felt Imagination more reliable than reason and just as precise e. Believed poetry should be mysterious and intuitive f. Utilized self-discovery g. Had independence of thought h. Recognized individual important- the soul and nature i. Went against the mechanism of human life

4. Symbolists and Romanticism Symbolists much like early Romantics like Thoreau Believed in the individual Couldn’t find solace in nature Nature too defined by science; no more mystery Science has advanced life but humanity still had poverty, violence, and conflict Life had become spiritually debased What is a human in the face of a mass culture ( all alike)

5. IMAGISM (1912-1917) A new way to see and experience the world Poetry is better if- a. Precise b. Clear c. Unqualified images d. Imagery carries the emotion of the poem

6. IMAGISM No need for a. Stanzas b. Meter c. Pretty words d. Sentimentality e. Artificiality

7. IMAGISM Poems needs: a. Raw power of image b. Common speech c. Exact words d. Hard, clear words Haiku was the inspiration- short, one main idea, based on nature

8. Imagism and Symbolists Techniques common in poetry now Free verse new idea at the time Topics: anything from kitchen sink to the full moon Imagists and Symbolists- discovery: Free verse is as tough to write as rhyme and traditional poetry styles