Modernism's Mythic Pose: Gender, Genre, Solo Performance (Modernist Literature & Culture) (Modernist Literature and Culture)

The ancient world served as an unconventional source of inspiration for a generation of modernists. Drawing on examples from literature, dance, photography, and film, __Modernism's Mythic Pose__ argues that a strain of antimodern-classicism permeates modernist celebrations of novelty, shock, and technology. The touchstone of Preston's study is Delsartism--the popular transnational movement which promoted mythic statue--posing, poetic recitation, and other hybrid solo performances for health and spiritual development. Derived from nineteenth-century acting theorist Fran�ois Delsarte and largely organized by women, Delsartism shaped modernist performances, genres, and ideas of gender. Even Ezra Pound, a famous promoter of the "new," made ancient figures speak in the "old" genre of the dramatic monologue and performed public recitations. Recovering precedents in nineteenth-century popular entertainments and Delsartism's hybrid performances, this book considers the canonical modernists Pound and T. S. Eliot, lesser-known poets like Charlotte Mew, the Russian filmmaker Lev Kuleshov, Isadora Duncan the international dance star, and H.D. as poet and film actor. Preston's interdisciplinary engagement with performance, poetics, modern dance, and silent film demonstrates that studies of modernism often overemphasize breaks with the past. Modernism also posed myth in an ambivalent relationship to modernity, a halt in the march of progress that could function as escapism, skeptical critique, or a figure for the death of gods and civilizations. Frontmatter Foreword (page vii) Acknowledgments (page xi) List of Figures (page xiii) Introduction (page 3) I. Modern, Antimodern, and Mythic Posing (page 3) II. Gendered Identity and Embodiment (page 11) III. Biblical Typology and Classical Ritual (page 14) IV. Solo Genres (page 18) V. Modernist Kinesthetics (page 21) 1. The Solo's Origins: Monodramas, Attitudes, Dramatic Monologues (page 26) I. Galatea's Reach: Gestures of the Monodrama (page 28) II. Veiled Motions: Emma Lyon Hamilton's Attitude (page 32) III. Goethe's Proserpina and Later Posers (page 39) IV. Barrett Browning: Naming "Aeschylus" and "The Virgin Mary..." (page 44) V. Types and Housewives in Christina Rossetti and Augusta Webster (page 51) 2. Posing Modernism: Delsartism in Modern Dance and Silent Film (page 58) I. Delsarte's Aesthetics of the Attitude (page 60) II. Disseminating Delsarte (page 67) III. Performing Delsartism: Genevieve Stebbins and the Early Motions of Modern Dance (page 73) IV. Performing Delsartism (Take Two): Denishawn and Hollywood (page 82) V. The Russian Delsarte: Kuleshov and Film Montage (page 91) 3. Positioning Genre: The Dramatic Monologue in Cultures of Recitation (page 100) I. Expression, Recitation, and Literary Interpretation (page 102) II. Charlotte Mew: The Magdalene in "Madeleine in Church" (page 110) III. T.S. Eliot's "Magus": Impersonality, Objective Correlative, and Mythical Method (page 117) IV. Chautauquas, "Sextus Propertius," and Ezra Pound's History (page 125) V. Amy Lowell's Polyphonic Emma Lyon Hamilton (page 134) 4. The Motor in the Soul: Isadora Duncan's Solo Dance (page 144) I. The Shock of Solo Expression (page 147) II. The Proto-Motor: Duncan and Delsartean Posing (page 152) III. The Joints of Early Modernism: Conjunctures of Materialism and Metaphysics (page 160) IV. The Multiplied Body of the Motor (page 167) V. Motorized Propulsion and Modernist Ritual (page 173) VI. Repetitions of the Motor: Will and Spontaneity (page 177) VII. The Weight of a Thigh and the "New Woman" of Modernism (page 182) 5. Ritualized Reception: H.D.'s Antimodern Poetics and Cinematics (page 191) I. Imagism Unstuck: H.D.'s Dissent and Pound's Revision (page 194) II. Stepping from Stone: Dramatic Monologues of The God (page 198) III. The Ritual Chorus and a Soloist's Suspicion in Ion and "The Dancer" (page 204) IV. Types of Participation: H.D.'s Film Essays and Reviews (page 212) V. H.D.'s Attitudes on Film (page 218) VI. Montage, a Classical Technology (page 225) VII. The Soloists of Trilogy (page 231) Afterword (page 239) Notes (page 250) Bibliography (page 319) Index (page 343) The ancient world served as an unconventional source of inspiration for a generation of modernists. Drawing on examples from literature, dance, photography, and film, Modernism's Mythic Pose argues that a strain of antimodern-classicism permeates modernist celebrations of novelty, shock, and technology.The touchstone of Preston's study is Delsartism--the popular transnational movement which promoted mythic statue--posing, poetic recitation, and other hybrid solo performances for health and spiritual development. Derived from nineteenth-century acting theorist François Delsarte and largely organized by women, Delsartism shaped modernist performances, genres, and ideas of gender. Even Ezra Pound, a famous promoter of the "new," made ancient figures speak in the "old" genre of the dramatic monologue and performed public recitations. Recovering precedents in nineteenth-century popular entertainments and Delsartism's hybrid performances, this book considers the canonical modernists Pound and T. S. Eliot, lesser-known poets like Charlotte Mew, the Russian filmmaker Lev Kuleshov, Isadora Duncan the international dance star, and H.D. as poet and film actor.Preston's interdisciplinary engagement with performance, poetics, modern dance, and silent film demonstrates that studies of modernism often overemphasize breaks with the past. Modernism also posed myth in an ambivalent relationship to modernity, a halt in the march of progress that could function as escapism, skeptical critique, or a figure for the death of gods and civilizations. The ancient world served as an unconventional source of inspiration for a generation of modernists. Drawing on examples from literature, dance, photography, and film, Modernism's Mythic Pose argues that a strain of antimodern-classicism permeates modernist celebrations of novelty, shock, and technology. The touchstone of Preston's study is Delsartism--the popular transnational movement which promoted mythic statue--posing, poetic recitation, and other hybrid solo performances for health and spiritual development. Derived from nineteenth-century acting theorist François Delsarte and largely organized by women, Delsartism shaped modernist performances, genres, and ideas of gender. Even Ezra Pound, a famous promoter of the'new,'made ancient figures speak in the'old'genre of the dramatic monologue and performed public recitations. Recovering precedents in nineteenth-century popular entertainments and Delsartism's hybrid performances, this book considers the canonical modernists Pound and T. S. Eliot, lesser-known poets like Charlotte Mew, the Russian filmmaker Lev Kuleshov, Isadora Duncan the international dance star, and H.D. as poet and film actor. Preston's interdisciplinary engagement with performance, poetics, modern dance, and silent film demonstrates that studies of modernism often overemphasize breaks with the past. Modernism also posed myth in an ambivalent relationship to modernity, a halt in the march of progress that could function as escapism, skeptical critique, or a figure for the death of gods and civilizations. The Ancient World Served As An Unconventional Source Of Inspiration For A Generation Of Modernists. Drawing On Examples From Literature, Dance, Photography, And Film, This Book Argues That A Strain Of Antimodern-classicism Permeates Modernist Celebrations Of Novelty, Shock, And Technology. The Touchstone Of This Study Is Delsartism - The Popular Transnational Movement Which Promoted Mythic Statue-posing, Poetic Recitation, And Other Hybrid Solo Performances For Health And Spiritual Development. Delsartism Shaped Modernist Performances, Genres, And Ideas Of Gender. Introduction -- The Solo's Origins : Monodramas, Attitudes, Dramatic Monologues -- Posing Modernism : Delsartism In Modern Dance And Silent Film -- Positioning Genre : The Dramatic Monologue In Cultures Of Recitation -- The Motor In The Soul : Isadora Duncan's Solo Dance -- Ritualized Reception : H.d.'s Antimodernist Poetics And Cinematics. Carrie J. Preston. Based On Author's Thesis (ph. D.)--rutgers University, 2006. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 319-341) And Index. Modernism's Mythic Pose recovers the tradition of Delsartism, a popular international movement that promoted bodily and vocal solo performances, particularly for women. This strain of classical-antimodernism shaped dance, film, and poetics. Its central figure, the mythic pose, expressed both skepticism and nostalgia and functioned as an ambivalent break from modernity This book recovers the tradition of Delsartism, a popular international movement that promoted bodily and vocal solo performances, particularly for women. This strain of classical-antimodernism shaped dance, film, and poetics. Its central figure, the mythic pose, expressed both skepticism and nostalgia and functioned as an ambivalent break from modernity.