Modernist poetry is, first and foremost, a rebellion against the excesses of Victorian romanticism, which put emphasis on beauty as the highest achievement of verse. Romantic poetry was considered overly flowery in its use of words and traditional aestheticism. The poems were less symbolic and more straightforward in approach, utilizing less metaphors and similes in the process. The desire for simplicity in poetry led to shorter, more compact lyrics. Eventually though, longer poems were also written as part of the Modernist literature (Modernism Poetry in English. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modernist_poetry_in_English# Modernist_poetry).
             Modernist poetry is believed to have begun in the 20th Century. The approach is mostly free verse and markedly influenced by Imagism. Imagism is fairly simple in its principles: neither subjective nor objective; compact; and, musical rather than metronomic (Modernism Poetry in English. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modernist_poetry_in_English# Modernist_poetry). Modern poetry was considered an avante garde movement, with emphasis on sincerity, intelligence and the poet's clarity of vision. But how can a movement that has spanned more than a century be considered "modern"?
             Ezra Pound, the poet credited with employing free verse in his poetry, was an imagist and the cornerstone of Modernist Poetry. He had influenced various writers, such as T.S. Elliot, William Yeats, James Joyce, Robert Frost, Ernest Hemingway, D.H. Lawrence and George Oppen. Most of these writers are modernists in their own right. His style is best explained as "experimental",
             as Pound brought forth poetry from various influences – Greek, Latin, Chinese, Japanese and Provencal. His writings, such as the Cantos, proved to be the strongest beginnings for Modernism in poetry.
             From Pound, William Yeats gained distaste for Victorian romanticism. Before his sojourn to London to meet Pound, Yeats was considered ...