MODERNISM AND MODERNIST SHORT STORIES IN ENGLISH LITERATURE
Abstract
This article explores the development of modernism in English literature, with a particular focus on the modernist short story. It discusses how early twentieth-century writers broke away from conventional narrative techniques and embraced stylistic experimentation, stream of consciousness, narrative fragmentation, and psychological depth. The study highlights the works of key figures such as James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, and Katherine Mansfield, whose short fiction redefined the boundaries of storytelling. By examining how modernist short stories reflect the complexities of modern life including alienation, inner conflict, and subjective perception the article demonstrates the genre’s lasting influence and continued relevance in contemporary literary practice.
References
1. Joyce, James. Dubliners. London: Grant Richards Ltd., 1914.
2. Woolf, Virginia. The Mark on the Wall and Other Short Fiction. Harcourt, 1944.
3. Mansfield, Katherine. The Garden Party and Other Stories. Constable and Co., 1922.
4. Bradbury, Malcolm & McFarlane, James. Modernism: A Guide to European Literature 1890–1930. Penguin, 1991.
5. Levenson, Michael. A Genealogy of Modernism: A Study of English Literary Doctrine 1908–1922. Cambridge University Press, 1984.
6. Cohn, Dorrit. Transparent Minds: Narrative Modes for Presenting Consciousness in Fiction. Princeton University Press, 1978.
7. Lodge, David. The Modes of Modern Writing: Metaphor, Metonymy, and the Typology of Modern Literature. Cornell University Press, 1977.
8. Matz, Jesse. The Modern Novel: A Short Introduction. Blackwell Publishing, 2004.
