Modernists had no faith in the external reality brought about by social institutions, such as government and religion, and no longer regarded these avenues as reliable means of discovering meaning of life. So they turned to themselves to discover the answers. Modernist literature focuses on psychological experience as opposed to the external realities of the world. The experience is moved inward in an attempt to make modernist works more representative of reality by making the experience more personal. The modernist era of literature is closely associated with the works of T. S. Eliot, James Joyce, and Virginia Woolf, among others. These three authors stand out because they made use of unique literary tactics and devices that emphasize the inward turn of modernist literature. One of T. S. Eliot's early poems, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," is a great example of a text that takes an inward turn in terms of conveying the experience it presents. The poem provides a glimpse into the anguished mind of an archetypal modern man of the times. It does this by using the speaker's stream of consciousness presented as a dramatic monologue. Prufrock, the speaker of the poem, tries to further his relationship with a woman who has caught his attention. He wonders if he has “the strength to force the moment to his crisis” (Eliot, 80). Prufrock is so entrenched in insecurity that he isn't sure he's capable of having a relationship with this woman. His knowledge of the world he lives in and his circumstances prevent him from attempting to get closer to this potential lover. He reflects on the reasons why he believes he can't be with her and chastises himself for even thinking it was possible... halfway... even more personal. Authors of the modernist era used modern literary tactics and devices that were better suited to conveying psychological experience. As demonstrated by Eliot, Joyce, and Woolf, the use of innovative literary techniques, such as epiphanies and stream-of-consciousness narratives, were put in place to accompany the internal breakthrough that was occurring at the time. Works Cited Joyce, James. "Evelina". 1914. The twentieth century and beyond. Ed. Giuseppe Nero. vol. 6A. Toronto: Broadview, 2008. 317-19. Press. The Broadview anthology of British literature.Eliot, Thomas Stearns. "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." 1915. The twentieth century and beyond. Ed. Giuseppe Nero. vol. 6A. Toronto: Broadview, 2008. 444-47. Press. The Broadview anthology of British literature.Woolf, Virginia. Mrs. Dalloway. Ed. Stella McNichol. London: Penguin, 2000. Print.