World War I & Wyndham Lewis

I would first like to bring attention to the work "Vorticist Manifesto: Long Live the Vortex!" The second sentence, "We stand for the Reality of the Present - not for the sentimental Future, or the sacripant Past," (1082) laid down the foundation for Wyndham Lewis's thoughts. In this course, we have studied how people tended to either idealize the past or be overly optimistic about the future. This one sentence seems to sum up his more modern thinking, while addressing that very same issue. I enjoyed reading this piece of work, because it really seemed full of meaning, and it became quite obvious that the author was passionate about his beliefs.

I saw frustration in the words, and the author seemed to be wanting to start something fresh. He writes, "We need the unconsciousness of Humanity - their stupidity, animalism, and dreams... We do not want to change the appearance of the world, because we are not Naturalists, Impressionists, or Futurists (the latest form of Impressionism), and do not depend on the appearance of the world for our art," (1082). Lewis had high hopes for his magazine, stating it will be "popular, essentially," (1082). He made his goal that is appeal to all classes apparent by stating "it will not appeal to any particular class, but to the fundamental and popular instincts in every class and description of people..." (1082). He ends this writing by saying, "Blast presents an art of Individuals," (1083) which I felt demonstrated the new thinking of the moderns. They wanted to break away from traditions. They had new ideas and beliefs. I felt like Lewis wanted to show case the individuals, reguardless of class. The effect of the war is present, and it is clear that the war has been hard for the people of every class.

I found the text's examples to be difficult to understand. There always seemed to be an underlying point. For example, "Bless England! For its ships which switchback on Blue, Green, and Red Seas all around the Pink Earth-ball, Big bets on each, Bless all seararers. They exchange not one land for another, but one element for another. The more against the less abstract," (1089). I was very unsure about what the author meant. However, I thought perhaps he was making a statement about land and how countries tend to fight over it and the resources of the land.