1. ELIT 48C Class #3
• Spelling Error #2: Don’t Misspell “bated
breath.”
– If you write baited breath, everyone will suspect
fishing is your favorite hobby. The word should be
spelled bated, which comes from abated, meaning
held.

2. AGENDA
• Modern Manifestos
– Introduction
– Marinetti
– Loy

3. Modernist Manifestos: In your groups,
discuss the various manifestos you read for
class. Endeavor to find defining, exemplary
text to share.

4. What is a Modernist Manifesto?

5. “The modernist manifesto is a public
declaration of artistic convictions,
relatively brief, often highly stylized or
epigrammatic in the mode of other forms
of modernist writing, and almost always
an aggressively self- conscious declaration
of artistic independence” (NAAL 335).
Modernist Manifestos

6. F. T. Marinetti Marinetti was a relatively obscure
Italian poet before publishing “The
Founding and Manifesto of
Futurism,” which “attracted an
international circle of artists and
writers into Marinetti’s orbit,
including painters, architects,
poets, sculptors, playwrights, and
film directors. Across all the arts,
futurism scorned traditional
standards of artistic beauty,
celebrated modern technologies
of speed, and aimed to shock
audiences” (NAAL 336).

7. QHQ Marinetti
• Q: What are the underlying themes of
marinetti’s manifesto of futurism?

8. 8. We stand on the last
promontory of the
centuries! . . . Why
should we look back,
when what we want is to
break down the
mysterious doors of the
Impossible? Time and
Space died yesterday. We
already live in the
absolute, because we
have created eternal,
omnipresent speed.
—from Manifesto of
Futurism
F. T. Marinetti
While many modernist writers
depicted the modern world as
an experience of loss, Marinetti
wholeheartedly embraced the
idea that modern technology
has ushered in a secular
millennium.
In this and other sections of his
manifesto, does Marinetti seem
to be uncritically embracing the
advances of modern
technology?

9. Moving on up!
• Q. “Why should we look back, when what we
want is to break down the mysterious doors
of the impossible”? (Marinetti)

10. Marinetti and Technology
• Q: If cars were the pivotal point of the
advancement of technology during this time,
what does Marinetti’s exhilarating, yet
dangerous thrill ride say about humankind in
the midst of this form of advancement?
• Q: Why would war Marinetti use speed in his
manifesto?

11. 9. We will glorify war—the
world’s only hygiene—
militarism, patriotism, the
destructive gesture of
freedom-bringers, beautiful
ideas worth dying for, and
scorn for woman.
10. We will destroy the
museums, libraries, academies
of every kind, will fight
moralism, feminism, every
opportunistic or utilitarian
cowardice.
—
from Manifesto of Futurism
These two points from the
Manifesto of Futurism represent
potentially troubling aspects of
Marinetti’s worldview: his
celebration of war and his
denigration of women (he glorifies
“scorn for woman” and promises to
“destroy . . .feminism”).
How does this prowar, antiwoman
stance relate to Marinetti’s futurist
philosophy? Does it seem to be an
afterthought? Or are the
glorification of war and the
denigration of women integral to
Marinetti’s thinking?

12. Marinetti and women
• Q: How does the stark anti-woman rhetoric
of Marinetti’s manifesto display the attitude
of male modernist era authors towards their
feminine counterparts?

13. Mina Loy Mina Loy was a self-described
feminist poet and writer, and, oddly
enough, the sexual partner of the
apparently antifeminist F. T.
Marinetti. She wrote (but did not
publish) her “Feminist Manifesto”
during her association with
Marinetti.
Does Loy’s manifesto read as a
response to Marinetti’s? As a
criticism of it? Are the two
manifestos written in a similar
form, or are there formal
differences as well as differences in
content?

14. Women . . . you are on
the eve of a devastating
psychological upheaval—
all your pet illusions must
be unmasked—the lies of
centuries have got to go—
are you prepared for the
Wrench—? There is no
half-measure—NO
scratching on the surface
of the rubbish heap of
tradition, will bring about
Reform, the only method
is Absolute Demolition.
—from Feminist
Manifesto
One of most immediately noticeable
features of Loy’s manifesto is its
typography: She increases the font size at
strategic moments, underlines text, puts
letters in boldface, and employs irregular
capitalization. What is the effect of this?
Does Loy’s message of “Absolute
Demolition” (rather than mere “Reform”)
require that she radically alter the
appearance of her text? That is, does the
message of her text determine the form
that it takes?
Loy’s militaristic language of demolition and
destruction recall Marinetti’s glorification of
war, but her profeminist message runs
entirely counter to Marinetti’s. How might
we account for this conflict?

15. • Is the “Feminist Manifesto” really a
modernist idea or does it follow conventional
thinking of the role of women?
• Question: Was Mina Loy’s “Feminist
Manifesto” a good example for feminists (and
potential feminists) of the time to follow?

16. • Q: What did Mina Loy mean when she says:
“the value of a man is assessed entirely
according to his use or interest to the
community, the value of a woman is
determined entirely on chance”? (Loy)

17. Homework
Read “Modernist Manifestos” pp. 335-350
Post #3 QHQ from one of the sections/authors
listed:
Pound
Cather
Williams
Hughes