9th Annual WML Academic Symposium

Time: 1:30
Room: 224
Presenter(s): Alexis Janoczkin
Title: Juxtaposition of the Theme of Sorrow in the Modernista Poetry of Amado Nervo and Alfonsina Storni
Developed under the guidance of Dr. Ann Ortiz , Foreign Language

The Modernista literary movement in Latin America aimed to move from traditional writing standards toward a focus on individual stream of consciousness. While this movement meant to free writers of stylistic and topical conformity, it ultimately trapped some within their own thoughts. This study investigated the concept of freedom that Modernism should have permitted through a juxtaposition of the theme of sorrow in the works of two Latin American poets, Amado Nervo and Alfonsina Stroni, in the late 19th century. Geographical and historical constraints coupled with societal norms shaped their world views in vastly different ways through poetic symbols of overpowering forces, freedom, and identity.