The English Poetic MindAfter an opening chapter that examines the nature of poetry itself and analyzes its effect upon the reader, the author, in The English Poetic Mind, moves on to his main purpose, which is to try to reveal the source of the drive to creation in three of the greatest English poets: William Shakespeare, John Milton, and William Wordsworth. In each he identifies a particular kind of crisis that is the origin of the poetic impulse. In the light of these discoveries he addresses the achievements of several lesser poets and concludes with a chapter that, in a more general way, tentatively offers a vision of the paths poetry might take in the future. |
Contents
A NOTE ON GREAT POETRY | 1 |
THE GROWTH OF A POETS MIND | 9 |
THE CYCLE OF SHAKESPEARE | 29 |
MILTON IIO V WORDSWORTH | 153 |
THE CRISIS IN LESSER POETS | 172 |
CONCLUSION | 199 |
APPENDIX | 214 |
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Common terms and phrases
accepted action answer Antony appears aware beauty becomes beginning Book break Caesar called capacity cause character choice Christ close comes complexity concerned consciousness continually contradiction course crisis death delight desire discover divided Dream effect English exists experience express fact Falstaff feel felt figure final follows genius greater Hamlet heart heaven Henry honour human idea imagination important intense kind King knowledge Lear least less lines living look Macbeth man's means merely Milton moral moved nature never once Othello Paradise Lost passion perhaps phrase play poem poetic mind poetry poets possible Prelude present reason relation rest result romantic Samson Satan seems sense Shake Shakespeare solitary solitude soul sound speak speech spirit strength style talk things thou thought tion Troilus true turn universe verse whole Wordsworth writing young