Post-modern period (ca. 1945 – present)
Sophie: Finally, the end!
Ahmed: Actually, I’m kind of sad that it’s almost over.
Christopher: Don’t be. Literature will continue to change. Only now, you will be the ones to experience it yourself. Bask in the joy of getting to see the themes and characteristics of literature changing around you.
Sophie: Yes, yes, we’re happy, but let’s get to it now.
Ahmed: Come on, Sophie, didn’t you find the stuff we learned interesting? Not even a little bit?
Sophie: Hmm… Maybe. I understood it – that’s what counts.
Christopher: Yes, understanding is the first step. Maybe one day you will grow to love it as well.
Ahmed: So, what is postmodernism?
Christopher: Do you remember how I told you about modernism being about the chaotic human mind and people trying to find meaning in life? Well, post-modernism is essentially about embracing the chaos of life. People started to question everything, maybe not necessiarily in the hopes of finding an answer but rather to just think of the endless possibilites. They started to see that not everything they see is the ultimate truth.
Sophie: Normally, you start with major historic events happening? What happened during this period?
Christopher: Well, the second world war just ended but the views now varied from the ones after the first world war. That is because the second world war was of a different dimension. Do you remember an important event of the second world war?
Ahmed: The atomic bombs which were dropped in Japan.
Christopher: Precisely. Those nuclear bombs changed the view on science completly. People understood the major threat coming from science while at the same time questioning how humanity was capable of such horrendous actions and how God could let this happen.
Sophie: So, the literature of postmodernism focused on that? Science, morality and God?
Christopher: Yes, those were some of the topics. Though, sometimes literature of that time leaned more into the chaotic aspect, for example with absurdism. Absurd theater rose to fame with plays like “Waiting for Godot” by Samuel Beckett. In this play nothing really happens. It is really just about two men waiting for Godot, but at the same time it touches upon multiple themes like loneliness, hope and the meaning of life and God. Absurdism states that it isn’t worth to search for meaning in life because there is no meaning to life.
Ahmed: Okay, so would Brave New World by Aldous Huxley also be postmodern? We read that one last year. It mentions the threat of science and also discusses God at some point, I don’t really remember, though.
Christopher: Well, while it touches on similar themes, postmodern literature essentially distinguishes itself through its literary techniques. And Brave New World does not really implement them that much.
Sophie: Oh, so postmodern literature is more about the way it is written?
Christopher: That’s right. And there are a myriad of techniques to choose from: irony, intertextuality, which is simply the reference to other texts, then there is also something called pastiche in which an art style is imitated in a celebrating manner. There is metafiction, fragmentation, hyperreality…
Sophie: Stop, stop, stop! That’s too much to remember!
Ahmed: Yeah, my head is spinning… Can’t you shorten that?
Christopher: Let me try… Postmodern literature tries to push the boundaries of narratives possibilites more than ever. We have the story being told in small fragments, sometimes in multiple points of views. Then we also have stories about stories or the art of storytelling. There is also the breaking of the fourth wall-
Ahmed: That’s what Deadpool always does in the movies!
Christopher: And another important one is the unreliable narrator. Remember, what you see, or read in this case, is not always the truth.
Sophie: Thank you. That was easier to grasp.
Christopher: My pleasure. I hope you enjoyed our little trip through the literature periods.
Ahmed: So, this really is the end?
Sophie: Are we prepared enough for the exam?
Christopher: The history of literature is very complex. The different periods don’t just stop and start at a certain day, often they evolve gradually over time and dip into the other periods. You will always find discourse on the topic and sorting novels into a particular period can sometimes be very difficult – the date of publication is not nessecarily an indicator for how well the novel fits into a period’s characteristics.
Ahmed: So, we might run into the problem that some books don’t fit into a period?
Sophie: Then how do we sort novels, if not by their literature periods?
Christopher: Well, how do you sort movies?
Sophie: Oh, right – genres.
Christopher: Way easier. And less to remember.
Ahmed: Can’t you take us through the different genres as well? Like, what is a fable and what defines dystopian fiction?
Sophie: Yes, please…
Christopher: Maybe another time. But for now, let’s get you both back so that you can ace your exams. Good luck to you both and to everyone who read along!
So, this is the end of the series! I will actually consider making Christopher explain the different genres as well but I don’t think it would require much talking between the characters. Most genres are very self-explanatory. Maybe I can find something else…
Anyway, thank you for joining this ride! I wish you all the best in your studies!
This post relied heavily on the Youtube video “Postmodernism & English Literature” by Flippin English, so go check that out! Of course, I also saw other vidoes and read through websites but I think this one mentions the most literary techniques, so if you want to hear more about them, maybe see it for yourself.
Yours,
Tanniyan