Exploring Literary Movements Using Music
There are many movements that we use to label and categorize major styles and themes prevalent in literature. These movements, overarchingly, were thought movements or philosophical movements. These were shaped by the mindsets of the society and the major ideals in discussion. Obviously, we can analyze these movements and seek to understand them by looking at the works of literature of the period. However, literature was not the only artistic medium. We can also look to music to help understand and define these movements.
We will be looking at four of these movements: Romanticism, Transcendentalism, Modernism, and Post Modernism.
Romanticism
Romanticism was a literary and artistic movement prevalent in Europe in the first half of the 1800s. Romanticism is characterized by expressionist writings that focused on emotion and feeling. Many works in this period focused on themes such as individual expression and glorification of the past and the natural world. Encyclopedia Britannica notes, “Romanticism emphasized the individual, the subjective, the irrational, the imaginative, the personal, the spontaneous, the emotional, the visionary, and the transcendental.” The movement focused much on cognivist and expressionist thinking. Knowledge in these texts was a very human thing and glorified by vivid imagery discussing emotion and human nature.
To further understand Romanticism, we can turn to the music that the movement bore. The music at the time often revolted against classical conventions and thus breaking free from limitations in order to express emotion and feeling in all ways possible.
The most well-known composer of the era was Beethoven. By looking at his Fifth Symphony, we can see traits relevant to the era. The composition utilized non-conventional tonalities and structure to create suspense and triumph. By breaking free from convention, and seeking to make sound that was completely human, Beethoven composed one of the most iconic pieces of music of all time.
Transcendentalism
Transcendentalism was a literary and artistic movement that bred itself from the European Romanticism that was prevalent at the same time in the early 1800s. The philosophies surrounding this movement were concerned with knowledge and where it resides. UShistory.org writes, “This knowledge comes through intuition and imagination not through logic or the senses. People can trust themselves to be their own authority on what is right.” This movement was highly influenced by the philosophies prevalent at the time. Works of David Hume and Immanuel Kant were influencing various artistic mediums including literature. Transcendentalism was an inherently optimistic movement focusing on the goodness and positivity of human nature in relation to the world we live in.
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We can even see transcendental influences in more modern music. An example of this is Journey’s iconic song, “Don’t Stop Believin’”. The song promotes something greater and staying strong to one’s beliefs and values. We can learn the most about ourselves from ourselves innately.
Modernism
Modernism was a thought movement that became prevalent in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Growing in population with the rise of modern industry and capitalism, modernism is characterized by a self-consciousness that, combined with logic and objectivity, promotes skeptics of the world around us. The Literature Network notes, “In contrast to the Romantic world view, the Modernist cares rather little for Nature, Being, or the overarching structures of history. Instead of progress and growth, the Modernist intelligentsia sees decay and a growing alienation of the individual.” Although mostly often spoke about as a means for literary criticism, Modernism was an overarching philosophy that was prevalent in all forms of art and expression.
The genre of Progressive Rock is a good example of modernism at work in music. Music that is written that breaks conventions but follows a contrasting convention of breaking convention. Early Progressive Rock bands include, Rush, Yes, King Crimson, and the Moody Blues.
Post Modernism
Postmodernism bred itself as a thought movement in direct contrast with modernism. Postmodernist agree that reality is not defined by a singular human understanding, however it is defined by an individual’s struggle to make sense of that reality. PBS writes, “Postmodernism is largely a reaction to the assumed certainty of scientific, or objective, efforts to explain reality.” There is multiplicity in meaning. Subjective truth triumphs over notions of objective truth. Most importantly, Postmodernism denies the purposes of metanarratives, or single answers to undefinable and wide breaching notions.
One example of Postmodernism in music is the use of multiple perspectives that explain one situation. Emphasizing the fact that there is always multiplicity in meaning, there are always multiple sides to the same story. The iconic song “Picture” by Sheryl Crow and Kid Rock showcases this. It offers two sides of a breakup. It offers two interpretations of the same picture.
References and Further Reading
https://www.britannica.com/art/Romanticism
https://www.theartstory.org/movement-romanticism.htm
http://www.ushistory.org/us/26f.asp
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Modernism
Writing With Music 