Contemporary Poetry in English

8/3/2019 Contemporary Poetry in English

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The history ofEnglish poetry stretches from the middle of the 7th century to the presentday. Over this period, English poets have written some of the most enduring poemsin Western culture, and the language and its poetry have spread around the globe.

Consequently, the term English poetryis unavoidably ambiguous. It can mean poetrywritten in England, or poetry written in the English language.The earliest surviving poetry from the area currently known as England was likelytransmitted orally and then written down in versions that do not now survive; thus, datingthe earliest poetry remains difficult and often controversial. The earliest survivingmanuscripts date from the 10th century. Poetry written in Latin, Brythonic (a predecessor

language ofWelsh) and Old Irish survives which may date as early as the 6th century. Theearliest surviving poetry written in Anglo-Saxon, the most direct predecessor of modernEnglish, may have been composed as early as the 7th century.With the growth oftrade and the British Empire, the English language had been widelyused outside England. In the 21st century, only a small percentage of the world's nativeEnglish speakers live in England, and there is also a vast population of non-native speakers

of English who are capable of writing poetry in the language. A number of major nationalpoetries, including the American, Australian, New Zealand, Canadian and Indian poetryhave emerged and developed. Since 1921, Irish poetry has also been increasingly viewedas a separate area of study.
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The earliest known English poem is a hymn on the creation; Bede attributesthis to Cdmon (fl. 658680), who was, according to legend, an illiterateherdsman who produced extemporaneous poetry at a monastery

atWhitby.[1] This is generally taken as marking the beginning ofAnglo-Saxon poetry.Much of the poetry of the period is difficult to date, or even to arrangechronologically; for example, estimates for the date of the greatepicBeowulfrange from AD 608 right through to AD 1000, and there has neverbeen anything even approaching a consensus.[2] It is possible to identify certainkey moments, however. The Dream of the Roodwas written before circa AD700, when excerpts were carved in runes on theRuthwell Cross.[3] Some poemson historical events, such as The Battle of Brunanburh (937) and The Battle ofMaldon (991), appear to have been composed shortly after the events inquestion, and can be dated reasonably precisely in consequence.

By and large, however, Anglo-Saxon poetry is categorised by the manuscriptsin which it survives, rather than its date of composition. The most importantmanuscripts are the four great poetical codices of the late 10th and early 11thcenturies, known as the Caedmon manuscript, the Vercelli Book, the ExeterBook, and the Beowulf manuscript.
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While the poetry that has survived is limited involume, it is wide in breadth. Beowulfis the onlyheroic epic to have survived in its entirety, butfragments of others such as Waldere andthe Finnsburg Fragment show that it was notunique in its time. Other genres include much

religious verse, from devotional works to biblicalparaphrase; elegies such as The Wanderer, TheSeafarer, and The Ruin (often taken to be adescription of the ruins ofBath); and numerousproverbs, riddles, and charms.With one notable exception (Rhyming Poem),

Anglo-Saxon poetry depends on alliterativeverse for its structure and any rhyme included ismerely ornamental.
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The Anglo-Norman period and the LaterMiddle Ages

With the Norman conquest of England, beginning in 1111 the Anglo-Saxonlanguage rapidly diminished as a written literary language. The new aristocracyspoke French, and this became the standard language of courts, parliament, andpolite society. As the invaders integrated, their language and literature mingledwith that of the natives: the French dialect of the upper classes became Anglo-Norman, and Anglo-Saxon underwent a gradual transition into Middle English.

While Anglo-Norman or Latin was preferred for high culture, English literature byno means died out, and a number of important works illustrate the development ofthe language. Around the turn of the 13th century, Layamon wrote his Brut, basedon Wace's 12th century Anglo-Norman epic of the same name; Layamon'slanguage is recognizably Middle English, though his prosody shows a strong Anglo-Saxon influence remaining. Other transitional works were preserved as popularentertainment, including a variety ofromances and lyrics. With time, the Englishlanguage regained prestige, and in 1362 it replaced French and Latinin Parliament and courts of law.
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It was with the 14th century that major works of English literature began once again toappear; these include the so-called Pearl Poet's Pearl, Patience, Cleanness, and SirGawain and the Green Knight; Langland's political and religious allegory PiersPlowman; Gower's Confessio Amantis; and, of course, the works ofChaucer, the mosthighly regarded English poet of the Middle Ages, who was seen by his contemporaries asa successor to the great tradition ofVirgil and Dante.

The reputation of Chaucer's successors in the 15th century has suffered in comparisonwith him, though Lydgate and Skelton are widely studied. However, the century reallybelongs to a group of remarkable Scottish writers. The rise of Scottish poetry began withthe writing ofThe Kingis Quairby James I of Scotland. The main poets of this Scottishgroup were Robert Henryson, William Dunbar and Gavin Douglas. Henryson and Douglasintroduced a note of almost savage satire, which may have owed something to

the Gaelicbards, while Douglas' version of Virgil'sAeneidis one of the early monumentsof Renaissance literary humanism in English.
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The Renaissance in England

The Renaissance was slow in coming to England, with the generally accepted start datebeing around 1509. It is also generally accepted that the English Renaissance extended untilthe Restoration in 1660. However, a number of factors had prepared the way for the

introduction of the new learning long before this start date. A number of medieval poets had,as already noted, shown an interest in the ideas of Aristotle and the writings of EuropeanRenaissance precursors such as Dante.The introduction ofmovable-block printing by Caxton in 1474 provided the means for themore rapid dissemination of new or recently rediscovered writers and thinkers. Caxton alsoprinted the works of Chaucer and Gower and these books helped establish the idea of anative poetic tradition that was linked to its European counterparts. In addition, the writingsof English humanists likeThomas More andThomas Elyot helped bring the ideas andattitudes associated with the new learning to an English audience.Three other factors in the establishment of the English Renaissance were the Reformation,Counter Reformation, and the opening of the era of English naval power and overseas

exploration and expansion. The establishment of the Church of England in 1535 acceleratedthe process of questioning the Catholic world-view that had previously dominatedintellectual and artistic life. At the same time, long-distance sea voyages helped provide thestimulus and information that underpinned a new understanding of the nature of theuniverse which resulted in the theories ofNicolaus Copernicus and Johannes Kepler.
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Early Renaissance poetry

With a small number of exceptions, the early years of the 16th century are not particularlynotable. The DouglasAeneidwas completed in 1513 and John Skelton wrote poems thatwere transitional between the late Medieval and Renaissance styles. The new king, Henry

VIII, was something of a poet himself. The most significant English poet of this periodwas Thomas Wyatt, who was among the first poets to write sonnets in English. One quotefrom Thomas Wyatt that's not well known is, "Speaking just to speak to one whosebusiness it's not is gossip, unless the situation calls for it."

The Elizabethans

The Elizabethan period (1558 to 1603) in poetry is characterized by a number offrequently overlapping developments. The introduction and adaptation of themes,models and verse forms from other European traditions and classical literature, theElizabethan song tradition, the emergence of a courtly poetry often centred around

the figure of the monarch and the growth of a verse-based drama are among themost important of these developments.
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Elizabethan Song

A wide range of Elizabethan poets wrote songs, including Nicholas Grimald,ThomasNashe and Robert Southwell. There are also a large number of extant anonymous songs fromthe period. Perhaps the greatest of all the songwriters was Thomas Campion. Campion is also

notable because of his experiments with metres based on counting syllables rather thanstresses. These quantitative metres were based on classical models and should be viewed aspart of the wider Renaissance revival of Greek and Roman artistic methods.The songs were generally printed either in miscellanies or anthologies such as Richard Tottel's1557 Songs and Sonnets or in songbooks that included printed music to enable performance.These performances formed an integral part of both public and private entertainment. By the

end of the 16th century, a new generation of composers, including John Dowland, WilliamByrd, Orlando Gibbons, Thomas Weelkes and Thomas Morley were helping to bring the art ofElizabethan song to an extremely high musical level.Elizabethan poems often contained iamb, a metrical foot of two syllables, one short (orunstressed) and one long (or stressed). Shakespeare used a lot of iambs in his plays. The iambis the reverse of the trochee.

Also, Iambic pentamer, a type of meter in poetry, in which there are five iambs to a line ( theprefix "penta-" means five, as in pentagon, a geometrical figure with five sides.Meter refersto a rhythmic units. In a line of iambic pentameter, there are five rhythmic units that areiambs.) Shakespeare's plays were written mostly in iambic pentameter, which is the mostcommon type of meter in English poetry. An example of an iambic pentameter line fromShakespeare's Romeo and Julietis " But soft!/ What light/through yon/der win/dow breaks?"

( the stressed syllables are in bold.)
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Courtly poetry

With the consolidation of Elizabeth's power, a genuine court sympathetic to poetry and thearts in general emerged. This encouraged the emergence of a poetry aimed at, and often setin, an idealised version of the courtly world.

Among the best known examples of this are Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene, which iseffectively an extended hymn of praise to the queen, andPhilip Sidney'sArcadia. This courtlytrend can also be seen in Spenser's Shepheardes Calender. This poem marks the introductioninto an English context of the classical pastoral, a mode of poetry that assumes anaristocratic audience with a certain kind of attitude to the land and peasants. Theexplorations of love found in the sonnets ofWilliam Shakespeare and the poetry ofWalter

Raleigh and others also implies a courtly audience.

Classicism

Gavin Douglas'Aeneid, Thomas Campion's metrical experiments, and Spenser's ShepheardesCalenderand plays like Shakespeare'sAntony and Cleopatra are all examples of the influenceof classicism on Elizabethan poetry. It remained common for poets of the period to write on

themes fromclassical mythology; Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis and the ChristopherMarlowe/George ChapmanHero and Leanderare examples of this kind of work.

Translations of classical poetry also became more widespread, with the versionsofOvid's Metamorphoses by Arthur Golding (156567) and George Sandys (1626), andChapman's translations ofHomer's Iliad(1611) and Odyssey(c.1615), among the outstandingexamples.
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Jacobean and Caroline poetry

English Renaissance poetry after the Elizabethan poetry can be seen as belonging to oneof three strains; the Metaphysical poets, the Cavalier poets and the school of Spenser.However, the boundaries between these three groups are not always clear and an

individual poet could write in more than one manner.The Metaphysical poets

The early 17th century saw the emergence of this group of poets who wrote in a witty,complicated style. The most famous of the Metaphysicals is probably John Donne. Othersinclude George Herbert, Thomas Traherne, Henry Vaughan, Andrew Marvell, and Richard

Crashaw. John Milton in hisComus falls into this group. The Metaphysical poets went out offavour in the 18th century but began to be read again in the Victorian era. Donne'sreputation was finally fully restored by the approbation ofT. S. Eliot in the early 20thcentury.

The Cavalier poets

The Cavalier poets wrote in a lighter, more elegant and artificial style than theMetaphysical poets. Leading members of the group include Ben Jonson, RichardLovelace, Robert Herrick, Edmund Waller, Thomas Carew and John Denham. TheCavalier poets can be seen as the forerunners of the major poets of the Augustan era,who admired them greatly.
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The Restoration and 18th century

It is perhaps ironic that Paradise Lost, a story of fallen pride, was the first major poem toappear in England after the Restoration. The court ofCharles II had, in its years in France,learned a worldliness and sophistication that marked it as distinctively different from the

monarchies that preceded the Republic. Even if Charles had wanted to reassert the divineright of kingship, the Protestantism and taste for power of the intervening years wouldhave rendered it impossible.

Women poets in the 18th century

A number of women poets of note emerged during the period of the Restoration,includingAphra Behn, Margaret Cavendish, Mary Chudleigh, Anne Finch, Anne Killigrew,and Katherine Philips. Nevertheless, print publication by women poets was still relativelyscarce when compared to that of men, though manuscript evidence indicates that many morewomen poets were practicing than was previously thought. Disapproval of feminine"forwardness," however, kept many out of print in the early part of the period, and even as thecentury progressed women authors still felt the need to justify their incursions into the public

sphere by claiming economic necessity or the pressure of friends. Women writers wereincreasingly active in all genres throughout the 18th century, and by the 1790s women's poetrywas flourishing. Notable poets later in the period include Anna Laetitia Barbauld, JoannaBaillie, Susanna Blamire, Felicia Hemans, Mary Leapor, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, HannahMore, and Mary Robinson. In the past decades there has been substantial scholarly and criticalwork done on women poets of the long 18th century: first, to reclaim them and make them

available in contemporary editions in print or online, and second, to assess them and positionthem within a literary tradition
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_II_of_Englandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphra_Behnhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphra_Behnhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Cavendishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Mary_Chudleighhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Finch,_Countess_of_Winchilseahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Killigrewhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Philipshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Laetitia_Barbauldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joanna_Bailliehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joanna_Bailliehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susanna_Blamirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felicia_Hemanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Leaporhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Mary_Wortley_Montaguhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannah_Morehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannah_Morehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Robinson_(poet)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Robinson_(poet)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannah_Morehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannah_Morehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Mary_Wortley_Montaguhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Mary_Wortley_Montaguhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Mary_Wortley_Montaguhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Mary_Wortley_Montaguhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Leaporhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Leaporhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felicia_Hemanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susanna_Blamirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susanna_Blamirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joanna_Bailliehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joanna_Bailliehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Laetitia_Barbauldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Laetitia_Barbauldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Laetitia_Barbauldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Laetitia_Barbauldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Philipshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Killigrewhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Killigrewhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Finch,_Countess_of_Winchilseahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Mary_Chudleighhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Mary_Chudleighhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Cavendishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphra_Behnhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphra_Behnhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphra_Behnhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_II_of_Englandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_II_of_England


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The 20th century

The first three decadesThe Victorian era continued into the early years of the 20th century and two figuresemerged as the leading representative of the poetry of the old era to act as a bridge

into the new. These wereYeats and Thomas Hardy. Yeats, although not a modernist,was to learn a lot from the new poetic movements that sprang up around him andadapted his writing to the new circumstances. Hardy was, in terms of technique atleast, a more traditional figure and was to be a reference point for various anti-modernist reactions, especially from the 1950s onwards.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._B._Yeatshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._B._Yeatshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Hardyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Hardyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._B._Yeats


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The ThirtiesThe poets who began to emerge in the 1930s had two things in common; they had all beenborn too late to have any real experience of the pre-World War I world and they grew up ina period of social, economic and political turmoil. Perhaps as a consequence of these facts,themes of community, social (in)justice and war seem to dominate the poetry of the

decade.The poetic imagee of the decade was dominated by four poets;W. H. Auden, StephenSpender, Cecil Day-Lewis and Louis MacNeice, although the last of these belongs at leastas much to the history of Irish poetry. These poets were all, in their early days at least,politically active on the Left. Although they admired Eliot, they also represented a moveaway from the technical innovations of their modernist predecessors. A number of other,less enduring, poets also worked in the same vein. One of these was Michael Roberts,whose New Countryanthology both introduced the group to a wider audience and gavethem their name.The 1930s also saw the emergence of a home-grown English surrealist poetry whose mainexponents were David Gascoyne, Hugh Sykes Davies, George Barker, and Philip O'Connor.

These poets turned to French models rather than either the New Countrypoets or English-language modernism, and their work was to prove of importance to later Englishexperimental poets as it broadened the scope of the English avant-garde tradition.John Betjeman and Stevie Smith, who were two of the most significant poets of this period,stood outside all schools and groups. Betjeman was a quietly ironic poet of Middle Englandwith a fine command of a wide range ofverse techniques. Smith was an entirely

unclassifiable one-off voice.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._H._Audenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._H._Audenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Spenderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Spenderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_Day-Lewishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_MacNeicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Robertshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrealisthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Gascoynehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Sykes_Davieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Barker_(poet)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_O'Connorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Betjemanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_Smithhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verse_(poetry)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verse_(poetry)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_Smithhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Betjemanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_O'Connorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Barker_(poet)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Sykes_Davieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Gascoynehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Gascoynehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrealisthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Robertshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_MacNeicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_Day-Lewishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_Day-Lewishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_Day-Lewishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Spenderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Spenderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._H._Audenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I


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The FortiesThe 1940s opened with the United Kingdom at war and a new generation of war poetsemerged in response. These included Keith Douglas, Alun Lewis, Henry Reed and F. T.

Prince. As with the poets of the First World War, the work of these writers can be seen assomething of an interlude in the history of 20th century poetry. Technically, many ofthese war poets owed something to the 1930s poets, but their work grew out of theparticular circumstances in which they found themselves living and fighting.The main movement in post-war 1940s poetry was the New Romantic group thatincluded Dylan Thomas, George Barker,W. S. Graham, Kathleen Raine, HenryTreece and J. F. Hendry. These writers saw themselves as in revolt against the classicismof the New Countrypoets. They turned to such models as Gerard Manley Hopkins, ArthurRimbaud and Hart Crane and the word play ofJames Joyce. Thomas, in particular,helpedAnglo-Welsh poetry to emerge as a recognisable force.Other significant poets to emerge in the 1940s include Lawrence Durrell, BernardSpencer, Roy Fuller, Norman Nicholson, Vernon Watkins, R. S. Thomas and NormanMcCaig. These last four poets represent a trend towards regionalism and poets writingabout their native areas; Watkins and Thomas in Wales, Nicholson in Cumberland andMacCaig in Scotland.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Douglashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alun_Lewishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Reed_(poet)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._T._Princehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._T._Princehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dylan_Thomashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Barker_(poet)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._S._Grahamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._S._Grahamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen_Rainehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Treecehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Treecehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._F._Hendryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerard_Manley_Hopkinshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Rimbaudhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Rimbaudhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hart_Cranehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Joycehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Welsh_poetryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Welsh_poetryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Durrellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Spencerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Spencerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Fullerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Nicholsonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernon_Watkinshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._S._Thomashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_McCaighttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_McCaighttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumberland,_Englandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumberland,_Englandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_McCaighttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_McCaighttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._S._Thomashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernon_Watkinshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Nicholsonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Fullerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Spencerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Spencerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Durrellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Welsh_poetryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Welsh_poetryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Welsh_poetryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Joycehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hart_Cranehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Rimbaudhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Rimbaudhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerard_Manley_Hopkinshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._F._Hendryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Treecehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Treecehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen_Rainehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen_Rainehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._S._Grahamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Barker_(poet)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dylan_Thomashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._T._Princehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._T._Princehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Reed_(poet)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alun_Lewishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alun_Lewishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alun_Lewishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Douglas


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The FiftiesThe 1950s were dominated by three groups of poets, The Movement,The Group and anumber of poets that gathered around the label Extremist Art.The Movement poets as a group came to public notice in RobertConquest's 1955 anthology New Lines. The core of the group consisted ofPhilip

Larkin , Elizabeth Jennings, D. J. Enright, Kingsley Amis,Thom Gunn and Donald Davie.They were identified with a hostility to modernism and internationalism, and looked toHardy as a model. However, both Davie and Gunn later moved away from this position.As befits their name, the Group were much more formally a group of poets, meeting forweekly discussions under the chairmanship ofPhilip Hobsbaum and Edward Lucie-Smith.Other Group poets included Martin Bell, Peter Porter, Peter Redgrove, GeorgeMacBeth and David Wevill. Hobsbaum spent some time teaching in Belfast, where he was aformative influence on the emerging Northern Ireland poets including Seamus Heaney.The term Extremist Art was first used by the poet A. Alvarez to describe the work of theAmerican poet Sylvia Plath. Other poets associated with this group included Plath's one-time husband Ted Hughes, Francis Berry and Jon Silkin. These poets are sometimes

compared with the Expressionist German school.A number of young poets working in what might be termed a modernist vein also startedpublishing during this decade. These included Charles Tomlinson, Gael Turnbull, RoyFisher andBob Cobbing. These poets can now be seen as forerunners of some of the majordevelopments during the following two decades
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movement_(literature)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Grouphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Grouphttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Extremist_Art&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Conquesthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Conquesthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1955_in_poetryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Larkinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Larkinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Jenningshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._J._Enrighthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingsley_Amishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thom_Gunnhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thom_Gunnhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Daviehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Group_(literature)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Hobsbaumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Lucie-Smithhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Bellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Porter_(poet)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Redgrovehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_MacBethhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_MacBethhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Wevillhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belfasthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seamus_Heaneyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._Alvarezhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvia_Plathhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Hugheshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Berryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Silkinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expressionismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Tomlinsonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gael_Turnbullhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Fisherhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Fisherhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Cobbinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Cobbinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Cobbinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Cobbinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Fisherhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Fisherhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gael_Turnbullhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Tomlinsonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expressionismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Silkinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Silkinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Berryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Hugheshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvia_Plathhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._Alvarezhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seamus_Heaneyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belfasthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Wevillhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Wevillhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_MacBethhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_MacBethhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Redgrovehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Redgrovehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Porter_(poet)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Bellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Lucie-Smithhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Lucie-Smithhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Lucie-Smithhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Hobsbaumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Hobsbaumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Group_(literature)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Daviehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thom_Gunnhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingsley_Amishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._J._Enrighthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._J._Enrighthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Jenningshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Larkinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Larkinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1955_in_poetryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Conquesthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Conquesthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Extremist_Art&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Grouphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movement_(literature)


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The 1960s and 1970sIn the early part of the 1960s, the centre of gravity of mainstream poetry moved toIreland, with the emergence ofSeamus Heaney, Tom Paulin, Paul Muldoon and others. InEngland, the most cohesive groupings can, in retrospect, be seen to cluster around whatmight loosely be called the modernist tradition and draw on American as well asindigenous models.The British Poetry Revival was a wide-reaching collection of groupings and subgroupingsthat embraces performance, sound and concrete poetry as well as the legacy of Pound,

Jones, MacDiarmid, Loy and Bunting, the Objectivist poets, the Beats and the BlackMountain poets, among others. Leading poets associated with this movement include J.H. Prynne, Eric Mottram, Tom Raworth, Denise Riley and Lee Harwood.The Mersey Beat poets were Adrian Henri, Brian Patten and Roger McGough. Their workwas a self-conscious attempt at creating an English equivalent to the Beats. Many of theirpoems were written in protest against the established social order and, particularly, the

threat of nuclear war. Although not actually a Mersey Beat poet, Adrian Mitchell is oftenassociated with the group in critical discussion. Contemporary poet Steve Turner has alsobeen compared with them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seamus_Heaneyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Paulinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Muldoonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Poetry_Revivalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performance_poetryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_poetryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete_poetryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objectivist_poetshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Mountain_poetshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Mountain_poetshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._H._Prynnehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._H._Prynnehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Mottramhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Raworthhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denise_Rileyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Harwoodhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverpool_poetshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Henrihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Pattenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_McGoughhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Mitchellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Turner_(writer)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Turner_(writer)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Mitchellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_McGoughhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_McGoughhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Pattenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Henrihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverpool_poetshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Harwoodhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denise_Rileyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Raworthhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Raworthhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Mottramhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Mottramhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._H._Prynnehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._H._Prynnehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Mountain_poetshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Mountain_poetshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objectivist_poetshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete_poetryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_poetryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performance_poetryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Poetry_Revivalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Muldoonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Paulinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Paulinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seamus_Heaney


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English poetry now

The last three decades of the 20th century saw a number of short-lived poetic groupings,including the Martians, along with a general trend towards what has been termed'Poeclectics',[12] namely an intensification within individual poets' oeuvres of "all kinds of

style, subject, voice, register and form". There has also been a growth in interest in women'swriting, and in poetry from England's minorities, especially the West Indiancommunity. Performance poetry has gained popularity, fuelled by the PoetrySlam movement.[citation needed]Poets who emerged in this period include Carol AnnDuffy, Andrew Motion, Craig Raine, Wendy Cope, James Fenton, Blake Morrison, LizLochhead, Linton Kwesi Johnson and Benjamin Zephaniah.

Even more recent activity focused around poets in Bloodaxe Books'The New Poetry,including Simon Armitage, Kathleen Jamie, Glyn Maxwell, Selima Hill, MaggieHannan, Michael Hofmann and Peter Reading. The New Generation movement flowered inthe 1990s and early 2000s, producing poets such as Don Paterson, Julia Copus, JohnStammers, Jacob Polley,David Morley and Alice Oswald. A new generation of innovativepoets has also sprung up in the wake of the Revival grouping. There has been, too, aremarkable upsurge[citation needed] in independent and experimental poetry pamphlet publisherssuch as Barque, Flarestack, Heaventree and Perdika Press. Throughout this period, and tothe present, independent poetry presses such as Enitharmon have continued to promoteoriginal work from (among others) Dannie Abse, Martyn Crucefix and Jane Duran.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martian_poetryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_poetryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_writinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_writinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performance_poetryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetry_Slamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetry_Slamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Ann_Duffyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Ann_Duffyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Motionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Rainehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy_Copehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Fentonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blake_Morrisonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liz_Lochheadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liz_Lochheadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linton_Kwesi_Johnsonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Zephaniahhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Poetryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Poetryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Armitagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen_Jamiehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glyn_Maxwellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selima_Hillhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maggie_Hannan&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maggie_Hannan&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hofmannhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Readinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Generationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Patersonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Copushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stammershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stammershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Polleyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Morley_(poet)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Oswaldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Poetry_Revivalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barque_Presshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perdika_Presshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dannie_Absehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Martyn_Crucefix&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Duranhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Duranhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Martyn_Crucefix&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Martyn_Crucefix&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Martyn_Crucefix&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dannie_Absehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dannie_Absehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perdika_Presshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perdika_Presshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perdika_Presshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barque_Presshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Poetry_Revivalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Oswaldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Morley_(poet)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Morley_(poet)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Morley_(poet)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Polleyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Polleyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stammershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stammershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Copushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Copushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Patersonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Generationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Readinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hofmannhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maggie_Hannan&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maggie_Hannan&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selima_Hillhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selima_Hillhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selima_Hillhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glyn_Maxwellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen_Jamiehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Armitagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Armitagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Poetryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Zephaniahhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linton_Kwesi_Johnsonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linton_Kwesi_Johnsonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linton_Kwesi_Johnsonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linton_Kwesi_Johnsonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liz_Lochheadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liz_Lochheadhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blake_Morrisonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Fentonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy_Copehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Rainehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Rainehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Motionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Ann_Duffyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Ann_Duffyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetry_Slamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetry_Slamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performance_poetryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_writinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_writinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_poetryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martian_poetry


20/20

Documents

Contemporary Poetry in English