Surrealism
- Between the Auden group of poets of the 1930s and the Movement poets of the 1950s, there exists a group of forties poets who do not align with any specific movement.
- These poets do not follow the experimental poetry of the 1920s or the Poetry of Commitment of the 1930s.
- Surrealism emerged in the late 1930s in Europe, influencing poetry as well as painting.
- It can be seen as intensified Romanticism or as a form of SuperRealism, exploring dreams, emotionalism, and irrationalism as part of human experience.
- In England, David Gascoyne introduced Surrealism to poetry with works like "A Short Survey of Surrealism" (1935).
Dylan Thomas
The poet most associated with Surrealism was Dylan Thomas (1914-1953), known for his richly rhetorical style and vivid imagery. Critics like Andrew Sanders note his kinship with the emotional intensity of metaphysical poets like Donne. One of his notable poems, "The Force that through the Green Fuse drives the Flower," exemplifies his mystical and Blakean symbolism:
And I am dumb to tell the lover's tomb
How at my sheet goes the same crooked worm.
- Thomas, often categorized as a neo-Romantic, drew inspiration from Blake, Yeats, and Lawrence rather than from Eliot or Auden.
- His poems such as "Light Breaks Where No Sun Shines" reflect personal and private symbolism, emphasizing obscurity and individual emotion.
- Thomas's resistance to literary tradition, seen in works like "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog" (1940), portrays his view of poetry as a transformative and emotive art.
The Movement Poets
- The Movement poets emerged in the 1950s as a deliberate reaction against the broader themes and mythological references of Modernism.
- Figures like Kingsley Amis, Philip Larkin, and Robert Conquest emphasized a return to everyday realities and a rejection of symbolic or mythical elements in poetry.
- Philip Larkin, often regarded as the leading figure of the Movement, expressed a deep skepticism towards grand narratives in his poems.
Philip Larkin
- Larkin's poetry collections, including "The Less Deceived" (1955) and "High Windows" (1974), reflect his focus on ordinary life and his disillusionment with modernist traditions.
- His poem "Wild Oats" exemplifies his plain and matter-of-fact style:
- Larkin's work often explores themes of solitude and the passage of time, resonating with the post-war mood of existential reflection.
About twenty years ago
Two girls came in where I worked -
A bosomy English rose
And her friend in specs I could talk to.
Donald Davie
- Another notable Movement poet, Donald Davie (b. 1922), diverged from Larkin's style by emphasizing urbanity and moral commonplace in his poetry.
- Davie's works, such as "Tunstall Forest," reflect his quest for a transparent and morally grounded style in poetry, influenced by Augustan ideals.
- His critical works, like "Purity of Diction in English Verse" (1952), advocated for clarity and directness in poetic expression.
Robert Conquest and D.J. Enright
- Robert Conquest (b. 1917) focuses on landscape in his poetry, portraying man as integral to nature, akin to Wordsworth but with a more intellectual approach. Notable works include Poems (1955), Between Mars and Venus (1962), and Arias for a Love Opera (1969).
- D.J. Enright (b. 1920) is known for his editorship of Poets of the 50's (1955). His own poetry in volumes like Language Hyena (1953) and Some Men are Brothers (1960) focuses on individual human experiences, akin to Larkin, expressing sympathy and indignation, yet upholding dignity.
Charles Tomlinson
A prominent British poet born in 1927, Tomlinson's work emphasizes realism and the empirical world, with a focus on human connections in exterior settings. His themes of relationships and reflections within reality echo Wordsworth's contemplative style.
Autumn. A haze is gold
By definition. This one lit
The thread of gossamers
That webbed across it
Out of shadow and again
Through rocking spaces which the sun
Claimed in the leafage. Now
I saw for what they were
These glitterings in grass, on air,
Of certainties that ride and plot
The currents in their tenuous stride
And, as they flow, must touch
Each blade and, touching, know
Its green resistance. Undefined
The haze of autumn in the mind
Is gold, is glaze.
Tomlinson's contemplative poetry spans several volumes including Relations and Contraries (1951), The Necklace (1955), and The Way of the World (1969), reflecting a deep contemplation of existence akin to Wallace Stevens.
R.S. Thomas
A Welsh poet born in 1913, Ronald Stuart Thomas's poetry is both sensual and sensitive, deeply engaging with human emotions and rural life in Wales. His work, though less known than Dylan Thomas's, portrays deep human emotions and societal observations.
And there at the top that old woman,
Born almost a century back
In that stone farm, awaits your coming;
Waits for the news of the lost village.
She thinks she knows, a place that exists
In her memory only.
Thomas's poetry, collected in volumes like The Stones of the Field (1946) and Mass for Hard Times (1992), reflects a moral and aesthetic quality, addressing themes of love, anger, and the plight of the marginalized, akin to Whitman's empathy for the common people.
Ted Hughes
Ted Hughes (1930-1998), renowned for his animal poetry, explored the themes of life and death through animals, influenced by the philosopher Schopenhauer. His work portrays animals as superior beings, free from human complexities and embodying primal courage.
I drown in the drumming ploughland. I drag up Heel after heel from the swallowing of the earth's mouth, From clay that clutches my each step to the ankle With the habit of the dogged grave, but the hawk Effortlessly at height hangs his still eye...
Hughes's volumes include The Hawk in the Rain (1957), Crow (1970), and Birthday Letters (1998), the latter reflecting his complex relationship with Sylvia Plath, showcasing his poetic mastery and emotional depth.
Tom Gunn
Tom Gunn (b. 1929), initially associated with the Movement poets, diverged with a focus on the heroic in nihilistic experiences. His poetry explores urban life and self-destructive tendencies, often reflecting on masculinity and existentialist themes.
His situations measure up to the existentialist or Sartrean dimensions. His other volumes of poetry include The Sense of Movement (1957), My Sad Captains (1961), and The Man With Night Sweats (1992), known for its logical style and striking imagery.
Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney (1939-2000), an Irish poet, explored rural Ireland's history and tensions with England in his poetry, blending personal and political themes with lyrical precision.
Flint-white, purple, they lie scattered like inflated pebbles. Native to the black hutch of clay where the halved seed hot and clothed these knobbled and slit-eyed tubers seem the petrified hearts of drills. Split by the spade, they show white as cream.
Heaney's works include Death of a Naturalist (1966), Field Work (1979), and Seeing Things (1991), celebrated for their insightful depiction of Irish life and the human condition.