This document summarizes 20th century poetry in the UK, beginning with poetry about World War I. It describes the changing nature of war poetry from early optimism to disillusionment represented by poets like Wilfred Owen. It then discusses modernist poetry, traditional poetry, feminist poetry, multicultural poetry, and various poet styles like Ted Hughes exploring nature, Seamus Heaney writing about Irish history, and Philip Larkin capturing ordinary life. Major poets mentioned include T.S. Eliot, Carol Ann Duffy, and Wilfred Owen.

1. 20th Century Poetry 1

3. Early verse

4. Medium verse

5. Final verse- Wilfred Owen 2

6. Background Feelings: Horrificnature of thewar Heartlessness and incompentence of thegenerals Widespreadignoranceaboutthereality of theconflict Warfoughtmostly by civilians, including many writers Major war centred on Europe. Summer 1914-November 1918. 3

7. Early Verse Britainconfidence + No first-handexperience of war + Warexpectedto be short = Optimism and enthusiasm 750000 volunteers Poetryreflectsoptimism and excitement, glorifyingtheconflict. Use of romanticimages of heroism, patriotism and noble sacrifice 4

9. Peace: sonnetthatwelcomestheoutbreak of fightingNow, God be thankedWho has matcheduswithHishour. 5

10. Another typical poets are: - Herbert Asquith’s - Philip Larkin The VolunteerMCMXIV Early Verse 6

11. Medium Verse Poetry about war began to change, partly because several soldier-poets wanted civilians at home to know the truth. A new kind of realism in English poetry came holding hands with Isaac Rosenberg, Wilfred Owen and Robert Graves. Use of disturbing images of violence and death. Vocabulary stark and direct, incorporating soldier’s slang. 7

12. Medium Verse: SiegfriedSassoon Another approach was satire, with themes like incompetent generals, smug, insensitive civilians. Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967) is specially associated with this satirical approach, as in Base Details. He also write a semi- autobiographical book about the war, called Memories Of An Infantry Officer 8

13. Final Verse: Wilfred Owen Wilfred Owen (1893-1918) killed in the war a week before it ended. He is considered the major poet of the First World War Themes: Horrors of trench warfare Humanity of soldiers on both sides Anger at the futility of the conflict and war in general Bitter questioning of the decisions taken by politicians and military leaders 9

14. Final Verse: Wilfred Owen Brutally realistic descriptions of life and death on the front line Irony and satire: DulceEt Decorum Est, one of his best-known poems has an ironic title, this Latin title refers to a quotation that appears in full at the end of the poem, which means “It is sweet and proper to die for the fatherland” Style: Half-rhyme: gives to his poetry a feeling of dislocation and disharmony, consistent with his presentation of war. Owen also uses onomatopoeia and alliteration to evoke the sounds of battle: wailing shells, the stuttering rifle’s rapid rattle 10

15. WilfredOwen: Example I thought of somewhoworkeddarkpits Of war, and died Diggingthe rock whereDeathreputes Peaceliesindeed 11

16. Other 20th Century Poetry Some general movements and trends Poetry since 1900 has been extremely varied: - Modernist poetry - Traditional poetry - Feminism poetry - Multicultural poetry 12

17. Modernist Poetry First half of the 20th century Response to the feelings of alienation and insecurity created by two World Wars and continued technological change Experimental poetry which deliberately rejected traditional forms and conventions Free verse  broke with the patterns of regularly stressed syllables 13

19. ModernistPoetryExample HYSTERIAby: T.S. Eliot (1888-1965) As she laughed I was aware of becoming involved in her laughter and being part of it, until her teeth were only accidental stars with a talent for squad-drill. I was drawn in by short gasps, inhaled at each momentary recovery, lost finally in the dark caverns of her throat, bruised by the ripple of unseen muscles. […] 15

21. Contrast to the Modernist poetsThomas Hardy Philip Larkin 16

22. Feminism Poetry Later decades of the 20th century + growth of feminism = emergence of a number of important women poets 17

23. Feminism Poetry Carol Ann Duffy Sylvia Plath 18

24. Multicultural Poetry Grace Nichols 19 She reflects on her experiences as a black woman living in Britain

25. Ted Hughes Poetry about nature Nature represented by animals Nature ungovernable The Jaguar is about an animal in a zoo that disregards its captivity 20

26. Ted Hughes: Wind Till day rose; then under an orange skyThe hills had new places, and wind wieldedBlade-light, luminous black and emerald,Flexing like the lens of a mad eye. 21

28. About the natural world too

31. Childhood

32. Family relationships

33. Memory and the past

34. The passing of time

35. Heterosexual and lesbian love

37. TheEnd 25