Modernist poetry refers specifically to poetry written between 1890 and 1970 in the tradition of Modernism. It is usually said to have begun with the French Symbolist movement.

Through much of the post-renaissance, poetry in the major European languages had focused on development of large scale prosodic structure, reference and ornament, in a tradition that was seen as stretching back to the works of Dante Alighieri and Petrarch. By the 19th century a large range of established forms and norms had been established in French, English, German, Italian, Spanish and Russian, and these norms were the standard against which new works were judged.

See also

• Modernist poetry in English
• Modernist poetry in French
• Modernist poetry in German
• Modernist poetry in Russia
• Modernist poetry in Spanish
• Dadaism
• Symbolism
• The Blue Rider
• List of Modernist Poets
• List of English-language first and second generation modernist writers