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The Underworld in Twentieth-Century Poetry: From Pound and Eliot to Heaney and Walcott
The hero s descent into the Underworld is not only one of the oldest stories in western literature; it is also one of the most often retold. Why do so many modern poets - British and American, black and white, male and female, from the metropole and from the margins - stage Underworld descents in their works? Through a series of contextualized close readings, this study traces the cultural work performed by modern deployments of the classical narrative. While some poets engage their literary forebears to exorcise anxiety and others use Hell to sharpen their cultural critique, most recent poets, including James Merrill, Derek Walcott, Tony Harrison, and Seamus Heaney, have found the Underworld descent to be a useful framework for addressing the claims of history and politics.
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The Underworld in Twentieth-Century Poetry: From Pound and Eliot to Heaney and Walcott
The hero s descent into the Underworld is not only one of the oldest stories in western literature; it is also one of the most often retold. Why do so many modern poets - British and American, black and white, male and female, from the metropole and from the margins - stage Underworld descents in their works? Through a series of contextualized close readings, this study traces the cultural work performed by modern deployments of the classical narrative. While some poets engage their literary forebears to exorcise anxiety and others use Hell to sharpen their cultural critique, most recent poets, including James Merrill, Derek Walcott, Tony Harrison, and Seamus Heaney, have found the Underworld descent to be a useful framework for addressing the claims of history and politics.
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The Underworld in Twentieth-Century Poetry: From Pound and Eliot to Heaney and Walcott

The Underworld in Twentieth-Century Poetry: From Pound and Eliot to Heaney and Walcott

by M. Thurston
The Underworld in Twentieth-Century Poetry: From Pound and Eliot to Heaney and Walcott

The Underworld in Twentieth-Century Poetry: From Pound and Eliot to Heaney and Walcott

by M. Thurston

Overview

The hero s descent into the Underworld is not only one of the oldest stories in western literature; it is also one of the most often retold. Why do so many modern poets - British and American, black and white, male and female, from the metropole and from the margins - stage Underworld descents in their works? Through a series of contextualized close readings, this study traces the cultural work performed by modern deployments of the classical narrative. While some poets engage their literary forebears to exorcise anxiety and others use Hell to sharpen their cultural critique, most recent poets, including James Merrill, Derek Walcott, Tony Harrison, and Seamus Heaney, have found the Underworld descent to be a useful framework for addressing the claims of history and politics.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780230620469
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication date: 01/29/2010
Edition description: 2009
Pages: 216
Product dimensions: 5.60(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

MICHAEL THURSTON is Associate Professor of English at Smith College, USA.

Table of Contents

Introduction PART I Declarations of Interdependence: The Necromantic Confrontation with Tradition Katabis as Cultural Critique In Nekuia Begins Responsibility: 'Little Gidding' and the Postwar Necromantic Tradition PART II James Merrill's 'Book of Ephraim' Derek Walcott's Omeros Tony Harrison's v. Seamus Heaney's Station Island Epilogue
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Literature
Literary Criticism
American Literature
Poetry - Literary Criticism
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General & Miscellaneous Literary Criticism
English Poetry - 20th Century - Literary Criticism
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Religion & Literature
American Poetry - 20th Century - Literary Criticism
American poetry->20th century->History and criticism
Literature
Literary Criticism
American Literature
Poetry - Literary Criticism
English Literature
General & Miscellaneous Literary Criticism
English Poetry - 20th Century - Literary Criticism
Literary Criticism - General & Miscellaneous
Religion & Literature
American Poetry - 20th Century - Literary Criticism
American poetry->20th century->History and criticism

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