Unit-4

Postmodern Period

Learning Outcomes

Prerequisites

Keywords

Post WWII, Features, Fiction, Poetry, Drama

Discussion

Postmodernism is incomparable with oth-er literary movements. This is because of its tendency to reject patterns or hierarchies. One way of approaching postmodernism is to understand it through its differences from modernist tendencies.

On the one hand, modernist literature possessed many different directions – symbolism, imagism, absurdism and so on. Postmodern-ism tends to collapse the boundaries between these various movements. It did not view them as fundamentally different literary expressions.

Both modernism and postmodernism rejected singular or universal meanings. Rather, readers were viewed as drawing their own meanings from literary texts, based on their individual perspectives. Postmodernism, how-ever, emphasised the significance of the form in shaping meanings.

Modernism laments the loss of faith and social structure. Postmodernism celebrates the same. It stands for plurality, discontinuity, decentring and fragmentation in theme and technique. As opposed to deliberately styling literature, postmodernism accepts incompleteness of form and content.

Where experimental and modern works attempted to look forward or into the future, postmodernism historicised, i.e, it gave historical context to its literature. While modernism tried to break down time and place, postmodernism asserted the particularity of time-space. It rejects the possibility that art, literature and theatre stand separate from each other. Instead, all three borrow techniques, themes and styles from the others’ fields. It deliberately mixes “high” and “low” art, “popular” and “elite” forms.

In effect, postmodernism is an extension of the modernist movement. It continues some of the major experimentations of modernism, including the use of self-conscious parody, irony, fragmentation, generic mixing, ambiguity, simultaneity and the breakdown between high and low forms of expression. The major difference between the two arrives with the tone of celebration that postmodernism takes.

There are certain common threads in the postmodernist movement. They include:

1. Liberation from authority
   Postmodernism celebrates liberation from an age when faith and authority were intact.
2. Fragmentation
   Postmodernist literature moves towards fragmentation in all aspects of literature. To achieve this effect, it uses collage-style forms, non-linear use of time, and significant jumps in character and place.
3. Embrace of randomness
   In the absence of absolute or universal meaning and truth, postmodernist works use randomness and disorder.
4. Playfulness
   Postmodern literary works use techniques, such as black humour, wordplay, pun and irony to create layered narratives.
5. Intertextuality
   Postmodernists borrowed from previous literary and cultural texts to present interconnected meanings.
6. Pastiche
   Postmodernist works often put together different types of literature and texts to create a pastiche or a new style made from the mixing of different existing types.
7. Metafiction
   Postmodern literature emphasised the literary nature of the text, bringing in commentary on the constructedness of the work. This tendency of a work to refer to its own fictional nature is known as metafiction.
8. Open to multiple interpretations
   Postmodern works often do not directly con-vey meanings. Rather, they are ambiguous and open to several interpretations.

Using these features in varying ways, postmodernism seeks to depict life as centrally meaningless and dehumanising. Individuals and activities in postmodernist literature are often portrayed as losing their specific characteristics, and becoming representative of an age or time.

Theorists, such as Michel Foucault, Jean Baudrillard, Frederick Jameson, and Francois Lyotard have been influential in shaping postmodernism. Their concepts on centre/periphery, power, othering, narratives, and reality explore the various dimensions of the post-modernist movement.

The influence of writers, such as Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986) and Italo Calvino (1923-1985) can be seen in postwar British literature. Borges, an Argentinean poet and prose-writer, is known for creating prose which incorporates serious scientific and social problems in the form of adventures or detective stories.

He uses real historical events and facts in relation with the fictional occurrences in his works. This creates the feeling of authenticity. Despite not belonging to the postmodern era as such, Borges employs postmodern techniques, such as intertextuality, pastiche and metafiction.

Italo Calvino (1923-1985), an Italian writer, has composed works that employ metafiction and self-reflexivity. For instance, his novel If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller narrates the story of a traveller who is attempting to read a work titled If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller.

By the middle of the twentieth century, in the postwar period, the British novel had changed its tone and themes. The uncertainty of the war years is reflected in the rejection of positive optimism. Violence and sadism appear as themes, throwing light on the fact that the world had become accustomed to conflict, death and chaos.

The novel of this age is mostly a mixture of realism, cynicism, dark comedy, doubt and satire. The search for purpose and stability is often portrayed as meaningless or futile. One of the subgenres of the novel that rose to popularity during this time is Science Fiction. It explores the world in terms of space, futuristic warfares and alien life.

The foundations of this category of novels had been laid with H.G. Wells, who wrote works such as The War of the Worlds and The First Men in the Moon in the early twentieth century. Prominent authors of the genre in the postmodern era were Arthur C. Clarke, Douglas Adams, J.G. Ballard and John Wyndham. The novels of these writers may be considered postmodern in their creation of new realities and possibilities.

There were foreshadows of postmodernism in the novels of several British authors. How-ever, their fiction cannot strictly be classified as modern or postmodern. For instance, the works of Graham Greene (1904-1991) show tendencies towards postmodernism. His novels highlighted the materialistic ways of the world. They also dealt with the uncertainty and identity-crisis of the era. Most importantly, we may find elements, such as time shifts, pastiches, chaos and ‘magic realism’ in his stories. The most noteworthy of his works are It’s a Battlefield, Brighton Rock, Power and the Glory, The Heart of the Matter and The Quiet American.

Writers such as Kingsley Amis (1922-1995) and Alan Sillitoe (1928-2010) are also important in this regard. Amis’s stories revolved around ‘anti-heroes’, main characters who are morally and ethically imperfect. He portrayed such characters as trying to succeed within a social system that they despise, but are forced to compromise with. This is seen in his novels , such as Lucky Jim and Take a Girl Like You.

Alan Sillitoe’s fiction revolves around working-class discontent. His works such as The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, A Start in Life, and The Widower’s Son criticise society and present anti-social behaviour as a means of fighting back.

While these works are not experimental in form, they represent the postmodern mood of scepticism and doubt. Their themes, characterisation and plotlines show the emergence of new attitudes towards the world. They are significant in the development of the postmodernist movement.

Perhaps, one of the earliest authors to explore the connection between humanity, order and violence is William Golding (1911-1993). His works discuss the human instinct to destroy that which is good, as seen in his novel The Lord of the Flies. His other works such as The Inheritors, Pincher Martin, and The Scorpion God focus on different aspects of this condition.

In a similar fashion, Anthony Burgess (1917-1993) wrote A Clockwork Orange, The Wanting Seed, The Clockwork Testament and The Enderby Quartet [four novels in a series]. His works depicted bleak and darkly humorous settings. They often mingled horror, sat-ire, and pessimism to provoke deep questions about society.

In the works of Golding and Burgess, the breakdown of order and the presence of violence appear as common threads. Both authors present symbolic stories about the nature of the world around them and the ills of their society.

George Orwell (1903-1950), an English author, produced renowned fiction in this period. He is best known for his allegorical novels Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four. His imagination of dystopian realities in these works are crucial in the postmodernist sense. His style of writing is somewhat journalistic, excluding long, flowery descriptions. He does not use extended metaphors or unnecessary imagery. Rather, he conveys the story in direct, precise language.

Orwell is famous for coining neologisms or newly created words. His novels contain many words that were created to describe the imaginative situations or objects within the story. Many of these terms have, since then, started to be used in everyday language. His other famous works include Burmese Days, The Clergyman’s Daughter and The Road to Wigan Pier.

While there are many novels in British literary history that display the features of post-modernism, one particular novel is often considered to be representative of the style. This work is John Fowles’ (1926-2005) novel The French Lieutenant’s Woman which revoles around the disastrous love affair between Charles Smithson and Sarah Woodruff, set around the mid-nineteenth century.

The plot uses real historical personalities, such as the Rossettis (Pre-Raphaelite poets), and authentic details. It offers multiple endings, leaving the reader unsure of a proper conclusion to the story. Further, the narrator’s voice intervenes within the story with a personality of its own. Fowles’ other works are also considered to be placed between modernism and postmodernism. His novels such as The Ebony Tower, Daniel Martin, Mantissa and The Maggot are well-renowned.

Another significant postmodernist writer is Graham Swift (1949-). His novel Waterland is concerned with the relevance of history as a source of meaning in stories. The main narrator of the story is a history teacher who narrates tales from his recollections and memories to his class. The reader, who follows this oral discussion, takes the position of one of his students.

The novel gathers different stories together into a single narrative. In the backdrop of the history teacher’s individual story, larger historical events are depicted. This shows the interconnections between the personal and the historical – an important postmodernist theme.

Sometimes, the chapters in the novel do not conclude, and extend into each other (Nicol 115). The end of Chapter 2 is “…let me tell you…” The title of Chapter 3 is “ABOUT THE FENS”. The opening line of Chapter 3 is as follows: “… which are a low-lying region in Eastern England.” Read together, these separate phrases make a meaningful sentence.

Swift’s works have been critically acclaimed, winning prestigious literary awards. The most significant of his works include Shuttlecock, Last Orders, Light of Day and England and Other Stories.

Julian Barnes’ (1946) Flaubert’s Parrot is similar in structure to Waterland. The novel’s narrator, Geoffrey Braithwaite, is obsessed with the French writer, Gustave Flaubert. He is on a quest to identify the stuffed parrot that inspired one of Flaubert’s stories “Un Coeur Simple”.

As the novel progresses, its narrator tries to understand different aspects of Flaubert’s life. He wishes to know the writer directly through various historical evidences. But, as the novel makes clear, it is impossible to know the past exactly. Braithwaite’s investigation into Flaubert reveals that he is not an unchanging character, but a series of characters who conflict and contradict each other across a period of time.

Other than Flaubert’s Parrot, Barnes has produced other significant novels. These include The History of the World in 10 ½ Chapters, The Sense of an Ending, England, England, and The Only Story. Most of them employ postmodernist literary techniques, such as unreliable narrators, self-conscious narration, and the blending of different genres.

Ian McEwan (1948-) uses experimental narratives in some of his most acclaimed novels, such as Atonement, The Innocent and Black Dogs. For instance, Atonement presents a story that seems to have taken place, only for the reader to realise that they had been reading a novel written by one of the characters. Such overlap between fiction and reality is an important feature of postmodernism.

As with other postmodernists, McEwan uses historical settings to convey his stories. While Atonement makes references to WWII, Black Dogs revolves around the aftermath of the Nazi era in Germany.

Martin Amis (1949-), another significant postmodernist writer, examines the power of ‘market forces’ on society in his novels. Money, Time’s Arrow, Success, The Night Train, Yellow Dog and The Information are some of his noteworthy works. Amis is particularly noted for his skillful use of language, satire, and comedy. The emotional depth of his writing has often won him recognition as one of the best writers of the age.

A key characteristic of the postmodern novel is the mixing of realism and fantasy. This is seen, for example, in Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter (1940-1992). Its heroine, Sophie Fevvers, claims to have hatched from an egg. She also says that she has wings. Such plotlines are seen in many of Carter’s works, such as The Magic Toyshop, Heroes and Villains, The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman and Wise Children.

The fictional output of Salman Rushdie (1947-) also carries this feature. His most well-known work, Midnight’s Children, follows India’s history through the character of Saleem Sinai who has supernatural powers. Similar themes and narratives are present in his other productions, such as Grimus, The Enchantress of Florence, and Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights. Such works are said to use a technique known as magic realism, where realistic aspects of the world are combined with fantastical or magical elements.

British poetry in the postwar era saw changes in different aspects. As with fiction, poetry witnessed the influx of darker, more sceptical themes. The works of Vernon Scannell (1922-2007), Jon Silkin (1930-1997), and Neville Frederick Porter (1929-2010) are especially illustrative of the same.

Thom Gunn (1929-2004) explored themes of self-destruction, meaninglessness, and cynicism in his poetry. He used language economically to express countercultural ideas. The imagery that he used in his poetry was often startling, earning him comparisons to John Donne (a 17th century poet who used surprising imagery).

The most renowned of his works include Fighting Terms, The Sense of Movement, My Sad Captains and Touch. In the collection The Man With Night Sweats, Gunn powerfully examined his own sexuality, the AIDS pandemic, and the friends that he lost to the disease.

Seamus Heaney (1939-2013) was another important figure in British poetry. His works are acclaimed for their representation of a ‘pre-modern’ world. In other words, he wrote about the traditions, customs, and culture of his region, introducing them to the larger world. In works such as “Digging” and “The Grauballe Man”, Heaney expresses an interest towards history and politics. The most significant of his contributions are The Death of a Naturalist, Door into the Dark and Electric Light.

George MacBeth (1932-1992), a Scottish writer, is known for using a wide variety of styles. His poetry ranges from personal elegies, comic poems, and poetic fantasies to satires. He has published his work in collections such as A Form of Words, The Broken Places, Shrapnel, and Anatomy of a Divorce.

The Movement poets had put forward a traditionalist approach to poetry in response to the High Modernism of the years between the two world wars. As a reaction against this conservative approach, a modernist-inspired literary movement was sparked in the 1960s.

This was known as the British Poetry Revival. The poets of the British Revival were not connected together by common themes, styles, or language. Rather, they were only loosely associated through their rejection of the Movement philosophy. The significant poets in this school included Bob Cobbing, Paula Claire, Jeff Nuttall, Andrew Crozier, Lee Harwood, Allen Fisher, Iain Sinclair, Paul Buck, Lawrence Upton, Maggie O’Sullivan and Denise Riley, among others.

From the late 1950s to the mid-1970s, a large number of writer-performers were active in Britain. This included poets, such as A. Mitchell, Jeff Nuttall, Tom Pickard, Alexander Trocchi and Heathcote Williams. This poetry used open forms, often composed in the manner of folk songs or protest songs. There was a reflection of the ‘anti-war’ sentiments of the time, as well as a love for experimentation. They would perform the songs in readings and events. This style came to be known as ‘Underground Poetry’.

In the 1950s, a group known as the ‘Liverpool Poets’ came into prominence. The most sig-nificant poets of this literary movement were Adrian Henri (1932-2000), Roger McGough (1937-) and Brian Patten (1946-). They gained popularity by presenting and reading their works in clubs and coffee bars in Liverpool.

They wrote poetry meant to be read out aloud, with a young audience in mind. They wished for poetry to be considered a modern form of entertainment, much like a pop-song. In doing so, they democratised the art-form by making it accessible to a larger section of the public. The influence of American Beat literature is evident in the works of the Liverpool poets.

Postwar British drama saw the emergence of many significant playwrights, such as Ann Jellicoe (1927-2017), Arnold Wesker (1930-2012) and John Arden (1932-2016). They pushed the boundaries of English drama through their works.

Jellicoe encouraged ‘community plays’ which were written and produced by professionals, but performed entirely by members of the community. She developed new forms that challenged audiences. The Knack: A Comedy in Three Acts, Shelley, or The Idealist, and Three Jelliplays are some of her notable works.

Wesker became known for his ‘social optimism’, wherein he celebrated working-class life. He began to move towards presenting plays in smaller venues, using mostly monologues. Some of his works contain autobiographical content. The Kitchen, Chicken Soup with Barley, Chips with Everything, and Denial are among his significant contributions.

Arden, on the other hand, mixed poetry and songs with dialogues in his plays. Often he left the strong tensions in his plots unresolved. Some of his important plays are Sergeant Musgrave’s Dance, Live Like Pigs, The workhouse donkey: a vulgar melodrama, and Stealing Steps.

Around this period, John Osborne (1929-1994) produced plays that were critical of the political and social conventions of the time. His plays, such as Look Back in Anger and The Entertainer presented angry male characters who were unhappy with modern society. These types of plays were often called Kitchen Sink Drama. They followed a sharp, realistic style that was different from the ‘well-made’ plays of the previous era.

Postmodern drama is chiefly concerned with the question of language and experience. Taking off from the Dadaist Movement and the Theatre of the Absurd, the playwrights in the postwar period deeply examined the under-standing of reality.

One of the most significant postmodern dramatists was Harold Pinter (1947-2008). His writing career began in the late fifties, under the influence of modernism. However, his plays often challenged the boundaries between what is real and unreal. They also pointed out the instability of identity.

His dramatic style has been described as the ‘comedy of menace’, wherein dangerous situations are mingled with humour and comedy. This can be seen in Pinter’s plays such as The Room, The Dumb Waiter and The Birthday Party. The works of David Campton, Nigel Dennis and N.F. Simpson are also referred to using this term.

Another important name in postmodern drama is that of Tom Stoppard (1937-). His dramas often explored philosophical themes using postmodernist techniques. Some of his most prominent contributions are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Jumpers, Travesties, Arcadia, The Invention of Love and Rock ‘n’ Roll.

His dramatic style is intellectual, incorporating word play and puns. He often reworks pre-existing material into paradoxical narratives. This is seen in the play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, where two minor characters from Shakespeare’s Hamlet have been made the main leads.

The dramas of Edward Bond (1934-) had a tremendous role in the development of the British postmodern theatre. He has authored close to fifty plays, some of which are considered classics in contemporary English drama. The most renowned of his contributions are Saved, Narrow Road to the Deep North, Lear, Resto-ration, The Under Room, and The Edge. Influenced by Brecht, Bond’s plays display a social commitment. They often have working-class subjects, complex dialogues and sexual puns.

As such, the postmodernist era in English literature provoked serious questions about language and identity. The concept of absolute meaning is also rejected in postmodernist literature. Rather, there is a celebration of frag-mentation and plurality. Thus, postmodern works of art and literature ‘played’ with form and language, creating complex expressions.

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