Pastoral Elegy in Contemporary British and Irish Poetry

(Paperback)

Available Formats

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

Defying critical suggestions that the pastoral elegy is obsolete, Iain Twiddy reveals the popularity of the form in the work of major contemporary poets Seamus Heaney, Ted Hughes and Paul Muldoon, Michael Longley, Douglas Dunn and Peter Reading. As Twiddy outlines the development of the form, he identifies its characteristics and functions. But more importantly his study accounts for the enduring appeal of the pastoral elegy, why poets look to its conventions during times of personal distress and social disharmony, and how it allows them to recover from grief, loss and destruction. Informed by current debates and contemporary theories of mourning, Twiddy discusses themes of war and peace, social pastoral and environmental change, draws on the enduring influence of both Classical and Romantic poetics and explores poets' changing relationships with pastoral elegy throughout their careers. The result is a study that demonstrates why the pastoral elegy is still a flourishing and dynamic form in contemporary British and Irish poetry.

Reviews

[This] is an enjoyable and well-written account, with many illuminating close readings, and Iain Twiddy a subtle reader who carefully lifts the meaning of a text off the page, and slowly guides us through its structure, sounds and images. The study abounds in such detailed analyses . . . [and] with two chapters per poet, there is ample space to do what Twiddy does best, that is to read specific texts. [...] Whether the essays are enjoyed independently as insights into the poets' work, or as together in a thematic reading . . . they all convincingly "demonstrate how poets still turn to pastoral elegy in times of domestic distress or social disharmony". This, by all accounts, is a much-needed addition to the conversation -- Florence Impens, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland * Irish Studies Review *
'Iain Twiddy is a wonderfully acute reader witha deep understanding ot the historical and psycholological roots of pastoralelegy. The result is a compelling account of the adaptability and continuingvitality of the genre.' -- Neil Roberts, Emeritus Professor of English Literature, University of Sheffield, UK
'Iain Twiddy'sinspiring account of contemporary poetry pays tribute to the resilience andpersistence of one of the oldest forms of writing - the pastoral elegy. In thishighly informative and comprehensive study, he ranges from the classicalorigins of pastoral elegy to its modern manifestations in the writings ofMichael Longley, Ted Hughes, Seamus Heaney, Paul Muldoon, and others. He showswith impressive conviction how contemporary poets have continued to draw on theenergies and resources of pastoral elegy in confronting loss and adjusting tosocial and political change. The versions of pastoral we encounter in thiscompelling book are poems that are dynamically involved in the traditionalelegiac processes of memory and consolation, but also fully alert to thechallenges of their own time, including the devastation of war and the impactof environmental change. The book finds hope and uplift in the revitalisedforms of pastoral elegy in contemporary British and Irish poetry. In itsmeticulously detailed attention to language and form, it shows (in the words ofWallace Stevens) how each poem is "the cry of its occasion".' -- Stephen Regan, Professor of English, Durham University, UK

Author Bio

Iain Twiddy is Associate Professor of English in the Faculty of Media and Communication at Hokkaido University, Japan.