How do I know if a poem/poet is modernist or not?
Modernist poetry, namely, a poetry which departs radically from the traditional school of the old masters, emerged after World War II. Deep social changes finally challenged the venerable literary tradition in a drastic fashion and eroded its foundations. It dispensed with the necessity of rhyme and consistent metre, but it rejected the imagery of traditional poetry and departed noticeably from its mode of expression. In modernist poetry, all formal canons, thematic and imagistic conventions, as well as mystical dimensions of the traditional school are abandoned, and the poets (taking their cues from the West rather than from native traditions) feel free to adapt the form of their poems to the requirements of their individual tastes and artistic outlooks. Hence the great variety of styles among modernist poets. It is not poetry in the old-fashioned and beautiful way because Modernists can’t write proper poetry and it is usually a lot of pony.
