postmodernist thought concerning personal
truths and the meaning of individual lives
within the larger context of history.
Postwar Literature (1945–1999)
This particular genre appeared immediately
following the end of World War II. It often
reflected writers’ ideas about the West’s stature,
politically and geographically, as a result of war.
This literature also addresses the growing sense
of disillusionment and cynicism in the aftermath
of mass murder, the Holocaust, and the eventual
collapse of Soviet communism in the 1980s.
Writers such as George Orwell, Salman Rushdie,
and Samuel Beckett also addressed cultural
shifts regarding scientific, religious, and political
developments in the postwar United States and
in Europe.
In Warsaw, during World War II, Milosz
witnessed the defeat of the Polish underground
army, the subsequent occupation of Poland by
the German army, as well as the destruction of
the Jewish ghetto and much of Warsaw in 1944,
events that influenced much of his writing during
and after World War II. Often his poetry
addressed the trauma people experience during
wartime. His disillusionment is expressed in his
imagery, which shows the dark side of human
existence. He also began to question Christian
theology, posing difficult questions about the
meaning of existence, the presence of God, and
the belief in an afterlife.Metaphysical Poetry
Metaphysical poetry originated in the seven-
teenth century. John Donne, Andrew Marvell,
and John Milton, among others, are credited
with writing a new kind of poetry that deviated
from Elizabethan love poetry. Metaphysical
poetry was characterized by complicated philo-
sophical ideas and intellectual cleverness. Its fig-
urative language was unconventional to the
point of being bizarre. Metaphysical poetsA wedding procession in 1945(Hulton Archive / Getty Images)
In Music