Modernism in The Return of the Native- Andrew and Ryan

Modernism, which arose within the arts in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, impacted architecture, art, and literature. We see the elements of modernism in Thomas Hardy's The Return of the Native. Modernism is characterized by a change from the classic, more rigid writing style of past works of fiction. Different narration techniques were experimented with, and more descriptive writing styles were used. Hardy's novel is just that. We immediately see the description of the heath as an example of modernism. Hardy's flowing, descriptive style with the use of multiple deep literary devices is an example of modernism. Where description like this may have taken place in a novel of a previous era, it wouldn't have the long, run on sentences and extensive metaphors that Hardy uses. This writing style continues throughout the novel, making it a modernist novel in the heart of the modernist era.