I have recently taken interest in the complex literary approach of postmodernism. Can anybody elucidate some key features of the genre?
{edit}
Postmodernism in literature
I have recently taken interest in the complex literary approach of postmodernism. Can anybody elucidate some key features of the genre?
{edit}
Last edited by Scheherazade; 03-08-2012 at 06:34 PM. Reason: URL
Wow, that's a pretty broad topic!
Postmodernism, just like any school of literary theory really, isn't a universal approach; every theorist has a different take on the matter. Put simply, in the most general sense, postmodernism is a reaction to modernism (also hard to define), and lacks the unity and, for lack of a better word, neatness that often mark modernist texts.
This is expressed in a multitude of ways - disassociation, irony, pastiche, metanarratives, the intertext, problems of perspective, temporal problems, etc. There's really no specific key features; it's a multitude of possibilities.
My best advice: read some postmodern texts! The classic examples are often cited as Catch-22, Foucault's Pendulum, Generation X, and The Crying of Lot 49. But branch out!
Alyson of Bathe's feeble attempt at completing the 1001 books challenge. You would think a former English major would have a better start than this. For the Reading.
Thanks Alyson, that's a great encapsulation! Have you ever read 'The Night Driver' or 'Checkov and Zulu'?
Chekov and Zulu by Rushdie? I wouldn't really classify it as postmodern, well I guess there are definitely some postmodern elements, but if I had to label it I would probably favor post-colonial; the influence of Western culture (e.g. Trek) on Eastern countries as a sort of metaphor for England-India political relations, it's all very post-colonial.
Alyson of Bathe's feeble attempt at completing the 1001 books challenge. You would think a former English major would have a better start than this. For the Reading.
I would beg to differ. I think it is a brilliant example of postmodernist literature, merely employing post-colonial themes.Originally Posted by AlysonofBathe
I think it's just a difference of semantics - Chekov and Zulu has elements of both.
Alyson of Bathe's feeble attempt at completing the 1001 books challenge. You would think a former English major would have a better start than this. For the Reading.
I just want to point out that I started this topic about a month ago and we've had some good discussions about it in that thread:
http://www.online-literature.com/for...ad.php?t=67227
"If I knew for a certainty that a man was coming to my house with the conscious design of doing me good, I should run for my life." -Thoreau
Ní mar a dtarraingím mo chuid anála ach mar a dtugaim mo ghrá a bhfuil mé i mo chónaí
(Not where I breathe but where I love, I live)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote