Virginia Woolf and Poetry

Virginia Woolf's career was shaped by her perception of the conflict between poetry and the novel, which she saw as a battle between masculine and feminine, old and new, bound and free. She promoted the novel's triumph over poetry, adapting some of poetry's techniques to portray the inner life. This book reinterprets Woolf's canonical work through biography, book history, formal analysis, genetic criticism, source study, and feminist literary history, revealing the motivations and aims of her work. It also clarifies a major prompt for Woolf's poetic prose, exposes the genre rivalry that was creatively generative to many modernist writers, and details how holding an ideology of a genre can shape literary debates and aesthetics.

Format: Hardback
Length: 416 pages
Publication date: 10 June 2021
Publisher: Oxford University Press

Virginia Woolf's career was deeply influenced by her perception of the ongoing conflict between poetry and the novel, a conflict that she often perceived as a clash between masculine and feminine, old and new, bound and free. Driven primarily by feminist ideals, Woolf championed the triumph of the novel over poetry, while also incorporating certain poetic techniques into her writing to capture the intricacies of human inner life. She viewed poetry as a rival form to the novel, and a monograph on Woolf's sense of genre rivalry provides a comprehensive reevaluation of the motivations and aims behind her canonical works.

Drawing on unpublished archival material and lesser-known publications, this book combines biography, book history, formal analysis, genetic criticism, source study, and feminist literary history. The study situates Woolf's attitude towards poetry within broader scholarly contexts, such as the decline of the lyric poem, the rise of the novel, the gendered associations with these two genres, elegy in prose and verse, and the history of English Studies.

Virginia Woolf and Poetry makes three significant contributions. Firstly, it elucidates a crucial prompt that shaped Woolf's poetic prose. Secondly, it exposes the genre rivalry that was creatively fertile for many modernist writers. Lastly, it demonstrates how holding an ideology of a genre can influence literary debates and aesthetics.

Through meticulous research and analysis, this book offers a fresh perspective on Woolf's literary career, shedding light on her complex relationship with poetry and its profound impact on her writing. It provides valuable insights into the evolving dynamics between different literary genres and the ways in which writers navigate and redefine them to create innovative and meaningful works of art.

Weight: 784g
Dimension: 165 x 240 x 33 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780198850861