At the Violet Hour: Modernism and Violence in England and Ireland (Modernist Literature and Culture)

Literature has long sought to make sense of the destruction and aggression wrought by human civilization. Yet no single literary movement was more powerfully shaped by violence than modernism. As Sarah Cole shows, modernism emerged as an imaginative response to the devastating events that defined the period, including the chaos of anarchist bombings, World War I, the Irish uprising, and the Spanish Civil War. Combining historical detail with resourceful readings of fiction, poetry, journalism, photographs, and other cultural materials, __At the Violet Hour__ explores the strange intimacy between modernist aesthetics and violence in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.The First World War and T. S. Eliot's __The Waste Land__ demonstrate the new theoretical paradigm that Cole deploys throughout her study, what she calls "enchanted" and "disenchanted" violence-the polarizing perceptions of violent death as either the fuel for regeneration or the emblem of grotesque loss. These concepts thread through the literary-historical moments that form the core of her study, beginning with anarchism and the advent of dynamite violence in late Victorian England. As evinced in novels by Joseph Conrad, Henry James, and others, anarchism fostered a vibrant, modern consciousness of violence entrenched in sensationalism and melodrama. A subsequent chapter offers four interpretive categories-keening, generative violence, reprisal, and allegory-for reading violence in works by W. B. Yeats, J. M. Synge, Sean O'Casey, and others around the time of Ireland's Easter Rising. The book concludes with a discussion of Virginia Woolf's oeuvre, placing the author in two primary relations to the encroaching culture of violence: deeply exploring and formalizing its registers; and veering away from her peers to construct an original set of patterns to accommodate its visceral ubiquity in the years leading up to the Second World War.A rich interdisciplinary study that incorporates perspectives from history, anthropology, the visual arts, and literature, __At the Violet Hour__ provides a resonant framework for refiguring the relationship between aesthetics and violence that will extend far beyond the period traditionally associated with literary modernism. Literature Has Long Sought To Make Sense Of The Destruction And Aggression Wrought By Human Civilization. Yet No Single Literary Movement Was More Powerfully Shaped By Violence Than Modernism. As Sarah Cole Shows, Modernism Emerged As An Imaginative Response To The Devastating Events That Defined The Period, Including The Chaos Of Anarchist Bombings, World War I, The Irish Uprising, And The Spanish Civil War. Combining Historical Detail With Resourceful Readings Offiction, Poetry, Journalism, Photographs, And Other Cultural Materials, At The Violet Hour Explores The Strange Intimacy Between Modernist Aesthetics And Violence In The Late Nineteenth And Early Twentieth Centuries.the First World War And T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land Demonstrate The New Theoretical Paradigm That Cole Deploys Throughout Her Study, What She Calls Enchanted And Disenchanted Violence-the Polarizing Perceptions Of Violent Death As Either The Fuel For Regeneration Or The Emblem Of Grotesque Loss.^ These Concepts Thread Through The Literary-historical Moments That Form The Core Of Her Study, Beginning With Anarchism And The Advent Of Dynamite Violence In Late Victorian England. As Evinced In Novels By Joseph Conrad, Henry James, And Others, Anarchism Fostered A Vibrant, Modern Consciousness Of Violence Entrenched In Sensationalism And Melodrama. A Subsequent Chapter Offers Four Interpretive Categories-keening, Generative Violence, Reprisal, And Allegory-for Reading Violence In Works By W. B. Yeats, J. M. Synge, Sean O'casey, And Others Around The Time Of Ireland's Easter Rising. The Book Concludes With A Discussion Of Virginia Woolf's Oeuvre, Placing The Author In Two Primary Relations To The Encroaching Culture Of Violence: Deeply Exploring And Formalizing Its Registers; And Veering Away From Her Peers To Construct An Original Set Of Patterns To Accommodate Its Visceral Ubiquity In The Years Leading Up To The Second World War.^ A Rich Interdisciplinary Study That Incorporates Perspectives From History, Anthropology, The Visual Arts, And Literature, At The Violet Hour Provides A Resonant Framework For Refiguring The Relationship Between Aesthetics And Violence That Will Extend Far Beyond The Period Traditionally Associated With Literary Modernism. Enchanted And Disenchanted Violence -- Dynamite Violence: From Melodrama To Menace -- Cyclical Violence: The Irish Insurrection And The Limits Of Enchantment -- Patterns Of Violence: Virginia Woolf In The 1930's. Sarah Cole. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Literature has long sought to make sense of the destruction and aggression wrought by human civilization. Yet no single literary movement was more powerfully shaped by violence than modernism. As Sarah Cole shows, modernism emerged as an imaginative response to the devastating events that defined the period, including the chaos of anarchist bombings, World War I, the Irish uprising, and the Spanish Civil War. Combining historical detail with resourceful readings of fiction, poetry, journalism, photographs, and other cultural materials, At the Violet Hour explores the strange intimacy between modernist aesthetics and violence in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The First World War and T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land demonstrate the new theoretical paradigm that Cole deploys throughout her study, what she calls "enchanted" and "disenchanted" violence-the polarizing perceptions of violent death as either the fuel for regeneration or the emblem of grotesque loss. These concepts thread through the literary-historical moments that form the core of her study, beginning with anarchism and the advent of dynamite violence in late Victorian England. As evinced in novels by Joseph Conrad, Henry James, and others, anarchism fostered a vibrant, modern consciousness of violence entrenched in sensationalism and melodrama. A subsequent chapter offers four interpretive categories-keening, generative violence, reprisal, and allegory-for reading violence in works by W. B. Yeats, J. M. Synge, Sean O'Casey, and others around the time of Ireland's Easter Rising. The book concludes with a discussion of Virginia Woolf's oeuvre, placing the author in two primary relations to the encroaching culture of violence: deeply exploring and formalizing its registers; and veering away from her peers to construct an original set of patterns to accommodate its visceral ubiquity in the years leading up to the Second World War. A rich interdisciplinary study that incorporates perspectives from history, anthropology, the visual arts, and literature, At the Violet Hour provides a resonant framework for refiguring the relationship between aesthetics and violence that will extend far beyond the period traditionally associated with literary modernism. This book argues that the literature of the early twentieth-century in England and Ireland was deeply organized around a reckoning with grievous violence, imagined as intimate, direct, and often transformative. The book aims to excavate and amplify a consistent feature of this literature, which is that its central operations (formal as well as thematic) emerge specifically in reference to violence. The book offers a variety of new terms and paradigms for reading violence in literary works, most centrally the concepts it names “enchanted and disenchanted violence.” In addition to defining key aspects of literary violence in the period, including the notion of “violet hour,” the book explores three major historical episodes: dynamite violence and anarchism in the nineteenth century, which provided a vibrant, new consciousness about explosion, sensationalism, and the limits of political meaning in the act of violence; the turbulent events consuming Ireland in the first thirty years of the century, including the Rising, the War of Independence, and the Civil War, all of which play a vital role in defining the literary corpus; and the 1930s build-up to WWII, including the event that most enthralled Europe in these years, the Spanish Civil War. These historical upheavals provide the imaginative and physical material for a re-reading of four canonical writers (Eliot, Conrad, Yeats, and Woolf), understood not only as including violence in their works, but as generating their primary styles and plots out of its deformations. Included also in this panorama are a host of other works, literary and non-literary, including visual culture, journalism, popular novels, and other modernist texts Content: Series Editors' Foreword Acknowledgements Introduction Violence and Form Power, Force, Political Violence Confronting War, Imagining History Chapters 1. Enchanted and Disenchanted Violence The Waste Land 2. Dynamic Violence: From Melodrama to Menace Imagining Revolutionaries and their Acts Explosion and Melodrama: The Secret Agents Dynamite and the Future 3. Cyclical Violence: The Irish Insurrection and the Limits of Enchantment The Long Past: Keening The Rising: Generative Violence The Years of War: Reprisal Past, Present, Future: Architectural Allegory 4. Patterns of Violence: Virginia Woolf in the 1930s Theorizing Violence in the 1930s The Spanish Civil War Action and Pacifism Virginia Woolf Early Patterns: The Voyage Out The 1920s: Jacob's Room, Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse Overwhelming Force: The Years, Three Guineas, Between the Acts Conclusion Notes Works Cited Index 'At The Violet Hour' offers a richly historicised, trenchant look at the interlocking of literature with violence in British and Irish modernist texts