Power, plain English, and the rise of modern poetry
By: David Rosen.
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 2006
Place of publication: New Haven
Language: eng
Number of pages: 212
Subjects: Eliot, T. S. 1888-1965 -- Criticism and interpretation.; Yeats, W. B. 1865-1939 -- Criticism and interpretation.; Auden, W. H. 1907-1973 -- Criticism and interpretation.; Wordsworth, William, 1770-1850 -- Criticism and interpretation.; Locke, John, 1632-1704 -- Influence.; English poetry -- 20th century -- History and criticism.; English poetry -- 19th century -- History and criticism.; English language -- Style.
Description: "In this book David Rosen offers a new account of Modern poetry and revises our understanding of its relation to Romanticism. British poets from Wordsworth to Auden attempted to present themselves simultaneously as persons of power and as moral voices in their communities. The modern lyric derives its characteristic complexities - psychological, ethical, formal - from the extraordinary difficulty of this effort." "The low register of our language - a register of short, concrete, native words arranged together in simple syntax - is deeply implicated in this story. Rosen shows how the peculiar reputation of "plain English" for truthfulness is employed by Modern poets to conceal the rift between their (probably irreconcilable) ambitions for themselves.".

"With a deep appreciation for poetic accomplishment and a wonderful iconoclasm, Rosen sheds new light on the innovative as well as the self-deceptive aspects of Modern poetry. This book alters our understanding of the history of poetry in the English language."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Prologue: the secret reference of John Locke; title: Wordsworth's empirical imagination; title: Certain good: W. B. Yeats and the language of autobiography; title: The lost youth of modern poetry: T. S. Eliot, W. H. Auden.