The Cambridge Introduction to Modernist Poetry

277 Pages·2012·1.24 MB·English

by  Howarth, Peter

TheCambridgeIntroductionto
Modernist Poetry
Modernistpoemsaresomeofthetwentiethcentury’smajorcultural
achievements,buttheyarealsohardworktoread.Thiswide-ranging
introductiontakesreadersthroughmodernism’smostfamouspoems
andsomeofitsforgottenhighlightstoshowwhymoderniststhought
difficultyanddisorientationessentialforpoetryinthemodernworld.
In-depthchaptersonPound,Eliot,YeatsandtheAmericanmodernists
outlinehowformalexperimentstakeonthenewworldofmassmedia,
democracies,totalwarandchangingreligiousbelief.Chaptersonthe
avant-gardesandlatermodernismexaminehowtheirstylesshiftasthey
trytore-makethecommunityofreaders.Howarthexplainsinaclear
andenjoyablewayhowtoapproachtheforms,politicsandcultural
strategiesofmodernistpoetryinEnglish.
peterhowarthisSeniorLecturerintheSchoolofEnglishandDrama
atQueenMary,UniversityofLondon.

The Cambridge Introduction to
Modernist Poetry
PETER HOWARTH
cambridgeuniversitypress
Cambridge,NewYork,Melbourne,Madrid,CapeTown,
Singapore,Sa˜oPaulo,Delhi,Tokyo,MexicoCity
CambridgeUniversityPress
TheEdinburghBuilding,CambridgeCB28RU,UK
PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyCambridgeUniversityPress,NewYork
www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9780521147859
(cid:2)c CambridgeUniversityPress2012
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2012
PrintedintheUnitedKingdomattheUniversityPress,Cambridge
AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloguinginPublicationdata
Howarth,Peter,1973–
TheCambridgeIntroductiontoModernistPoetry/PeterHowarth.
p. cm.–(Cambridgeintroductionstoliterature)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-0-521-76447-6(hardback)–ISBN978-0-521-14785-9(paperback)
1.Poetry,Modern–20thcentury–Historyandcriticism. 2.Modernism(Literature)
I.Title. II.Title:Introductiontomodernistpoetry. III.Series.
PN1271.H69 2011
821(cid:3).91209112–dc23 2011033046
ISBN978-0-521-76447-6Hardback
ISBN978-0-521-14785-9Paperback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceor
accuracyofURLsforexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredto
inthispublicationanddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuch
websitesis,orwillremain,accurateorappropriate.
ForLizzieandIsaac

Contents
Acknowledgements pagex
Chapter 1 Why write like this? 1
Whywritelikethis? 1
Oppositionsandunities 5
Fragments/Unity 6
Inner-driven/Outer-driven 7
Individual/Collective 8
Present/Past 8
Ends/Means 9
Moderniststyleandmodernsociety 10
Theindividualandthecollective 16
War 18
Se´ances 19
City 21
Advertsandnewspapers 22
Technologyandrecording 23
Modernismandenchantment 26
Conclusion 31
Chapter 2 Ezra Pound 33
Poetryandpolitics 33
Theanthologistasselector 36
Theanthologistascompiler 41
Theanthologistasteacher 45
TheCantos 50
Wherediditallgowrong? 54
vii
viii Contents
Chapter 3 T. S. Eliot 57
Theparadoxesofselfandworld 57
Eliot’searlycriticism 62
TheWasteLand 68
Eliot’slatercriticism 73
Eliot’sChristianity 77
Chapter 4 W. B. Yeats 82
Loveandconflict 82
Theoccultpoet 85
Thedynamicunionofopposites 87
Poetsremakemankind 91
Yeats’stimes 95
Chapter 5 Modernist America: Williams,
Stevens, Moore 104
ModernismandAmerica:WhitmanandCrane 104
WilliamCarlosWilliams 110
MarianneMoore 121
WallaceStevens 129
Chapter 6 Avant-gardisms: Mina Loy,
Gertrude Stein, H. D. 141
Thecultureoftheavant-gardes 141
Theminority,themassesandthemanifesto 142
MinaLoyandFuturism 147
GertrudeStein 153
H.D. 158
Chapter 7 Why is it so difficult? 166
Modernismanddifficulty 166
...becauseordinarylifeiswrong 170
...becausedifficultydoesart’sjob 171
...becauseit’sgoodforyou 173
...becauseit’sawayintotheelite 176
Contents ix
Adorno’sargument 180
Difficultyanddiversity 183
Chapter 8 Inside and outside modernism 185
Thechangingcastofmodernism 185
Insideandoutsidemodernism 188
Whenmodernismisimpossible 191
HarlemRenaissance 191
Warpoetry 195
Modernismandtheleft 197
Documentarymodernism 199
ZukofskyandtheObjectivists 202
Marginalisedmodernism:BuntingandNiedecker 209
Whendidmodernismend? 214
Notes 223
Index 247