Form and Modernity in Women’s Poetry, 1895–1922: A Line of Her Own

In his influential book "The Tragic Generation," W. B. Yeats claimed that most fin-de-siècle poets died or stopped writing shortly after 1900. This book challenges that narrative by examining the twentieth-century poetry produced by women poets Alice Meynell, Michael Field (Katharine Bradley and Edith Cooper), Dollie Radford, and Katharine Tynan. Despite being primarily associated with the late nineteenth century, these poets were active in the twentieth century, and their later writing is often overlooked in modernist-dominated studies. The book reveals that these poets used traditional forms to address contemporary concerns such as suffrage, sexuality, motherhood, and the First World War. The chapters focus on Meynells manipulation of metre to contemplate temporality and literary tradition, Michael Fields use of blank verse to portray the conflicted modern woman, Radfords adaptation of the aesthetic song-like lyric to tackle the experience of the city and urban crime, and Tynans employment of the ballad to soothe bereaved mothers during the First World War. The book demonstrates that traditional forms played a vital role in shaping mature women poets' responses to modernity, illuminating debates about form, tradition, and gender in twentieth-century poetry.

Format: Hardback
Length: 232 pages
Publication date: 29 February 2024
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

While W. B. Yeats' influential account of the 'Tragic Generation' claims that most fin-de-siècle poets died, or at least stopped writing, shortly after 1900, this book explodes this narrative by attending to the twentieth-century poetry produced by women poets Alice Meynell, Michael Field (Katharine Bradley and Edith Cooper), Dollie Radford, and Katharine Tynan. While primarily associated with the late nineteenth century, these poets were active in the twentieth century, but their later writing is overlooked in modernist-dominated studies, partly due to this poetry's adherence to traditional form. This book reveals that these poets, far from being irrelevant to modernity, used these established forms to address contemporary concerns, including suffrage, sexuality, motherhood, and the First World War. The chapters focus on Meynells manipulations of metre to contemplate temporality and literary tradition; Michael Fields use of blank verse to portray the conflicted modern woman; Radfords adaptation of the aesthetic song-like lyric to tackle the experience of the city, urban crime, and suffrage; and Tynans employment of the ballad to soothe bereaved mothers during the First World War. This book ultimately shows that traditional forms played a vital role in shaping mature women poets' responses to modernity, illuminating debates about form, tradition, and gender in twentieth-century poetry.

While W. B. Yeats' influential account of the 'Tragic Generation' claims that most fin-de-siècle poets died, or at least stopped writing, shortly after 1900, this book explodes this narrative by attending to the twentieth-century poetry produced by women poets Alice Meynell, Michael Field (Katharine Bradley and Edith Cooper), Dollie Radford, and Katharine Tynan. While primarily associated with the late nineteenth century, these poets were active in the twentieth century, but their later writing is overlooked in modernist-dominated studies, partly due to this poetry's adherence to traditional form. This book reveals that these poets, far from being irrelevant to modernity, used these established forms to address contemporary concerns, including suffrage, sexuality, motherhood, and the First World War. The chapters focus on Meynells manipulations of metre to contemplate temporality and literary tradition; Michael Fields use of blank verse to portray the conflicted modern woman; Radfords adaptation of the aesthetic song-like lyric to tackle the experience of the city, urban crime, and suffrage; and Tynans employment of the ballad to soothe bereaved mothers during the First World War. This book ultimately shows that traditional forms played a vital role in shaping mature women poets' responses to modernity, illuminating debates about form, tradition, and gender in twentieth-century poetry.

Weight: 600g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032348667