Chapter 7 Sections 4 & 5

Music & Literature

of the 1920s

LECTURE FOCUS QUESTION

•How did changes in

music and literature

during the 1920s signal a

break from the past?

Explain.

MUSIC OF THE TWENTIES

• 20s were a time of

musical

experimentation

• Blues, ragtime

• These would

eventually lead to

jazz

• Musical theater was

extremely popular

• Provided a place

to perform new

styles of music

Irving Berlin

(Composer)

SIMON SAYS…

SIrving Berlin, an immigrant to

the U.S., is widely considered

one of the greatest composers

in American history. Most

people know him for his song,

“White Christmas.”

THE JAZZ AGE

• Roots: African-Americans

in New Orleans, then

Chicago and Harlem (NY)

• Jazz was based on

improvisation

• Louis Armstrong

• Jazz Clubs→ Cotton Club,

the Savoy

• Black musicians, white

audience

• Charleston and the

flapper

CONNECTION #1•Since the 1920s black music

artists have continued to contribute to the American music landscape. Who is your favorite black music artist? What makes him/her unique?

MODERNISM IN LITERATURE• Lost Generation: American writers of the 20s who were inspired by

their “lost” condition to search for new truths and fresh ways of

expressing those truths

• “lost”: disillusioned with cultural values of the Victorian era (pre-WWI)

MODERNISM CONT’D

• F. Scott Fitzgerald

• Explored reality of the

American dream of wealth,

success, & emotional

fulfillment

• “The Great Gatsby”

• Ernest Hemingway

• Felt betrayed by both the

American dream and by

literary language himself

• Wrote in stripped down

sentences, concrete style

• “A Farewell to Arms” Hemmingway

Fitzgerald

CONNECTION #2•Have you read “The Great

Gatsby” in English class yet? What do you think of it?• If not, what book have you

read that somewhat fits into one of the Lost Generation literary themes (see chart on an earlier slide)? What do you think of it?

BRAIN SNACK• Cinquains are identification poems. These short poems are designed to

capture the maid idea of a topic. Write a cinquain about what you’ve learned about music and literature in the 1920s so far. Follow the formula below.

• One word (the topic)

• Two words that describe

• Three action words (-ing) about the topic

• A four or five word phrase that describes the topic

• One word that could be a synonym for the topic

HARLEM RENAISSANCE•Harlem Renaissance: cultural, social, and artistic

awakening which took place in Harlem, NY

•Novelists, poets, and artists

• Celebrated African-American culture

• Explored questions of race in America

• Rejected stereotypes of blackface and minstrel shows

• Expressed joys and pains of being black in America

•Hubert Harrison: founder of Liberty League and

“The Voice” which emphasized the arts as way to

defy the past

NOTABLE NAMES

Langston Hughes, poet“Life Ain’t No Crystal Stair”

“I, Too, Sing America” Zora Neale Hurston, novelist“Their Eyes Were Watching God” Claude McKay, poet

“If We Must Die”

SIMON SAYS…

SHughes’ “I, Too, Sing America”

was written as a critical

response to Walt Whitman’s “I

Hear America Singing.”

MARCUS GARVEY• Wanted to combat

exploitation of blacks

• Called for the separation of

races

• Opposite of W.E.B. Du Bois

• Black pride and black

support

• “Back to Africa” movement

• Movement falls apart after

Garvey is deported to

Jamaica

SUMMARY: THESE NOTES ARE ABOUT…

(1-2 SENT)

(MAIN IDEA USE THE WIN

STRATEGY!)

W.I.N. strategy:

WHO/WHAT - Figure out the most important who or what (topic)INFORMATION - Figure out the most important information about

the who or what

NUMBER OF WORDS - Write the main idea using the fewest possible

number of words

LECTURE FOCUS QUESTION

•How did changes in music

and literature during the

1920s signal a break from

the past? Explain.

•Response = 3-4 well thought out sentences minimum! (topic sentence + supporting details)

NOTES GRADING RUBRICMIS: missing

INC: incomplete

✔: complete