The Cambridge Companion to Twentieth-Century English Poetry [Paperback]

An overview of the great achievements of modern poets in Britain in the twentieth century.The last century was characterised by an extraordinary flowering of the art of poetry in Britain. These specially commissioned essays by highly regarded poetry critics offer a stimulating and reliable overview of English poetry of the twentieth century.The last century was characterised by an extraordinary flowering of the art of poetry in Britain. These specially commissioned essays by highly regarded poetry critics offer a stimulating and reliable overview of English poetry of the twentieth century.The last century was characterised by an extraordinary flowering of the art of poetry in Britain. These specially commissioned essays by some of the most highly regarded poetry critics offer a stimulating and reliable overview of English poetry of the twentieth century. The opening section on contexts will both orientate readers relatively new to the field and provide provocative syntheses for those already familiar with it. Following the terms introduced by this section, individual chapters cover many ways of looking at the 'modern', the 'modernist' and the 'postmodern'. The core of the volume is made up of extensive discussions of individual poets, from W. B. Yeats and W. H. Auden to contemporary poets such as Simon Armitage and Carol Ann Duffy. In its coverage of the development, themes and contexts of modern poetry, this Companion is the most useful guide available for students, lecturers and readers.Chronology; Preface; Part I. Contexts: 1. Victorian to modern Timothy Webb; 2. Modernist poetic form Daniel Albright; 3. Postmodern poetry in Britain Redell Olsen; Part II. Moderns: 4. Fateful forms: A. E. Housman, Charlotte Mew, Thomas Hardy and Edward Thomas Peter Howarth; 5. D. H. Lawrence's place in modern poetry Sandra Gilbert; 6. Wilfred Owen and the poetry of war Neil Corcoran; Part III. Modernists: 7. The 1930s poetry of W. H. Auden Michael O'Neill; 8. Keith Douglas and tls7