Answer the following question:
‘My own theory is that [the genesis of modernism] is related to an imbalance
between the two tensions from which art springs: these are the tension between the
artist and his material, and between the artist and his audience, and that in the last
seventy-five years or so the second of these has slackened or even perished. In
consequence the artist has become over-concerned with his material (hence an age
of technical experiment), and, in isolation, has busied himself with the two principal
themes of modernism, mystification and outrage’ (PHILIP LARKIN).2
question: Discuss Larkin’s argument in relation to the work of TWO authors you have studied
on the module.
The two authors to look at are; James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and
Ezra Pound, Hugh Selwyn Mauberley
Please note: Writing style is MHRA which includes footnotes and bibliography.
please include quotes from critics to ensure that the essay is supported by evidence.