Throughout history, literary and artistic movements have often overlapped, each with its own champions and critics. For example, at the turn of the 20th-century, the Modernism movement revolutionised poetry by abandoning rhyme and metre, favouring free verse and fragmented structure. In art, it is characterised by a bold break from tradition, embracing innovation and experimentation across various forms. In essence, it sought meaning and progress. The Postmodernism movement gained traction from mid to late 20th-century, and is associated with scepticism and ironies, and the rejection of grand narratives, emphasising relativism and subjectivity. It developed as a counter-movement to Modernism. In essence, it deconstructed and questioned meaning.
Free Verse
By resisting overt metrical constraints, it demands a deeper engagement with the text—one that aligns more with the natural rhythms of thought and emotion than with inherited oral traditions. The writer's role, then, becomes one of guiding this engagement: carefully crafting phrases that resist the pull of imposed regularity but still feel intentional and fluid. Sporadic rhyme/occasional rhyme might be employed where rhyming occurs unpredictably in a poem with mostly unrhymed lines.
Free verse remains a prominent choice among 21st-century poets, including those exploring Metamodernist principles, as they experiment with traditional forms, reimagining them through a contemporary lens.
My free verse, Recombobulating Chaos, dances beautifully with the Metamodernist principles, blending emotional sincerity with layers of intellectual complexity – a symphony of sensory impressions interwoven with mythological depth.
Recombobulating Chaos (poetrysoup.com)
Metamodernism
The term ‘metamodern’ first appeared as early as 1975 to describe certain literature with unique qualities. The term 'meta', as used in ‘Metamodernism’, encompasses meanings of both 'through' and 'beyond,' embodying perspectives that transcend visible reality.
It wasn't until Vermeulen and Van den Akker's 2010 essay ‘Notes on Metamodernism’ that the subject garnered broader attention within academia. They wrote: ‘It [Metamodernism] oscillates between a modern enthusiasm and a postmodern irony, between hope and melancholy, between naïveté and knowingness, empathy and apathy, unity and plurality, totality and fragmentation, purity and ambiguity. Indeed, by oscillating to and fro or back and forth, the metamodern negotiates between the modern and the postmodern.’* They likened this oscillation to the swing of a pendulum.
In the last few years, Metamodernism has seen a revival in art, literature, architecture, and even in the academic fields. Metamodernism is reflexive, ambiguous, and paradoxical, with each layer of a work’s meaning building in nostalgia and reflection. Artists create under it because of its emphasis on affect, emotion, and subjective experience. In essence, it navigates between Modernism and Postmodernism, exploiting meaning while acknowledging doubt.
Metamodernism in Poetry
In Metamodernism, the canvas serves as the foundation for the idea, much like a poet's crafted lines shape the essence of a poem. By adding a ‘suitable shadow’, the work's emotional resonance is subtly enhanced, steering the observer’s subconscious toward a richer interpretation. Just as a red object benefits from the warmth of a brown shadow, while a black shadow may jar the senses, poetry too relies on harmonious content. Unrelated elements strike a false note, disrupting the intended balance. Instead, achieving a yin-yang equilibrium fosters a cohesive and engaging experience.
Here are some key characteristics:
- Oscillation: A ‘both/and’ approach that navigates between opposing ideas, such as hope and doubt, truth and fiction, or individualism and collectivism.
- Constructive Sincerity: Earnestness and genuine emotion are expressed, often with self-awareness or irony.
- Aesthetic Playfulness: It blends different styles and mediums, freely exploring contrasts and combinations.
- Universal and Personal Themes: Focuses on meaningful human experiences, blending collective narratives with individual introspection.
- Creative Ambivalence: Celebrates the tension between the desire for meaning and the awareness of uncertainty.
- Renewed Optimism: Despite recognising flaws and complexity, Metamodernism often seeks progress and possibilities.
Strategically applied poetic devices—such as juxtaposition, paradox, symbolism, irony, imagery, tonal shifts, and contrasting diction—become the shadow that enhances without overshadowing. They allow Metamodernist poetry to oscillate gracefully between sincerity and irony, structure and freedom, ultimately provoking deeper thought and emotional engagement.
The much prized oscillation is akin to one aspect of juxtaposition, namely, contrasting elements (the other being focusing on similarities). This poetic device—which places contrasting images, situations, or thoughts side by side—is often woven throughout a poem, reflecting the cultural movement's hallmark oscillation between opposites, and is not restricted to specific formats or positions, as seen in diverse forms such as sonnets and haiku.
The following is a Metamodernism-inspired poem, MOTHER, by Microsoft Copilot, dated 10/4/2025, steeped in the emotional resonance and thematic echoes of John Lennon's song:
MOTHER
I asked the sky why you let go,
and it wept answers I could not hold.
Your absence, a rhythm of grief,
your memory, a hymn of forgiveness.
I build bridges from echoes,
truth trembling between loss and love,
longing for the ache that binds me
to what was and could never be.
Analysis: The poem embodies Metamodernism by oscillating between sincere mourning and self-aware reconstruction of identity. It layers vulnerability and resilience, transforming personal loss into universal introspection. Ambivalence coexists with yearning, striking a balance between nostalgic sincerity and postmodern complexity—hallmarks of Metamodernist expression.
MY EXAMPLE
Oenomel (poetrysoup.com)
Conclusion
In this cultural movement, Metamodernism, where oscillation itself is a principle, poets find fertile ground for rebellion and innovation. It celebrates their natural temperament, offering a space to push boundaries while preserving the depth and humanity of their craft.
Painting with words, creating tension by oscillating different elements, the poet turns heartfelt introspection on a universal canvas into thought provoking art that walks a fine line between ironic exposés and hurtful sarcasm. Beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder and the reader of poetry, the final critic.
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Pictures generated: Microsoft Bing: DALL-E 2