There are many common themes, forms, and poetic devices associated with poetry written during the first half of the century. Regionalism, Imagism, Modernism, and the Harlem Renaissance Movement were all very influential and greatly impacted the kind of poetry written at this time. Many poets focused on what they knew of the people and events/situations around them. In his poetry, Robert Frost focused on life in rural New England. Carl Sandburg wrote poetry about Chicago. Poets like T.E. Hulme were influenced by Imagism. Modernism was another movement that influenced a lot of the work produced at this time. Modernists focused on “making it new”. Meaning they aimed to avoid imitating other poets' ideas and expressions. The Harlem Renaissance was another influential movement. Artists, writers, and musicians in Harlem began to work together, expressing their ideas on racial identity, oppression, and equality (among other things) through their respective art forms. During this time, throughout all of the movements, themes of identity and the modern world challenging people's understanding of it. Another common theme was writing local, many writers during this era really focused on creating characters and settings representative of a specific region. With Modernist poetry making up a large number of the work produced during this era, forms and poetic devices tended to be less traditional and more experimental. Often, poets of this time used metaphors, repetition, and personification to create powerful works. Many Modernist poets were straying from traditional forms and experimenting with more modern forms, (such as free verse), and “making it new”. They aimed to be authentic and to make their work their own which meant seeing poetry that was quite different from traditional works. Some poets, however, such as Robert Frost, preferred to stay true to more traditional forms (like iambic pentameter). Poets like Robert Frost, whose work was still representative of Regionalism and Realism, continued to write with more regular meter and rhyme and avoid branching out to free verse and more experimental forms. And some poets simply didn’t adhere to or prefer any specific form, like Carl Sandburg. Sandburg once said, “If it jells into free verse, all right. If it jells into rhyme, all right.”
Explanation:
This question and answer were part of a study guide I used to prepare for an exam in English so this is just my best understanding of the question. I hope it helps! :)
