Modernism in the Anglo-Saxon world began as a reaction against certain qualities of smugness, earnestness and self-righteousness that Walter Pater and the aesthetes perceived to be the dominant tone of Victorian literature.

• 盎格鲁撒克逊世界的现代主义是以反对洋洋得意、一本正经和自命清高的一些风气而兴起的，这些风气被沃尔特·佩特和美学家们视为维多利亚文学的主调。