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Postmodernism's The Swan As A Metaphor For Love

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Postmodernism is a very unique era within American literature. In previous time periods authors wrote very structured eventful stories that would often relate to the most common themes of the time, however Postmodernism completely defied this formula. In most cases Postmodern stories do not have story arcs nor do they have common themes. At most, the Post era can be bound by very vague similarities. Most of the stories are conveyed through streams of conscious, which is essentially using an unedited snippet of someone's life to create a story. There are no inner monologues or poetic speeches, rather they only showcase a small scale continuous sliver of life. The narration device similarity is cut and dry, however this can not be said for the themes within Postmodernism. In the vaguest of words, Post era literature can be bound within a common ideal of expressing the terrible and disappointing aspects of life. One of the most commonly attacked aspects of life is the sense of love. In most forms of art and media love is portrayed as a glorious thing so long as it is true. Love can conquer any mountain and defeat any foe, however Postmodernism portrays love in a very different manner. In “ The Swan as a Metaphor for Love” love is compared to a swan. On the surface swans are seen as majestic creatures, similar to how love is seen as a beautiful emotion, but underneath the water swans are revolting creatures covered in “ swan shit” and “ pond scum”. This idea that a normal life

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