20th-British+Poetry+Movements

=20th Century British Poetry = = = Elizabeth Schlieper

British Poetry during the twentieth century through the present was greatly influenced by World Wars I and II. The atrocities of war the poets had seen during their lifetimes led to less optimistic works and more realism or even pessimism. There were many other historical reasons that the 20th Century through the present had a more pessimistic view of the world than many of their predecessors.

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)


Thomas Hardy began his literary career as a novelist and wrote classics such as //Jude the Obscure// and //Tess of the D'Urbervilles//. His writing was not well received during his lifetime as it was dark and highly sexual. He did not agree with the Victorian idea of a benevolent God and considered the human condition to be bleak. He influenced many other poets like W.H. Auden and Robert Frost with his unique style. He popularized using less rhetoric in poetry.

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Robert Graves (1895-1985)


Robert Graves was born near London and came to rely on poetry though a turbulent adolescence. Robert Graves was one of the more famous examples of a poet who was deeply impacted by war and being a soldier. His poetry is largely based on the horrific experiences he seemed to relive throughout his life. He also divorced from his first wife before having a relationship that lasted through the latter portion of his life.

W.H. Auden (1907-1973)
==== Auden is generally considered to fall between the periods of modernism and post-modernism as something of a middle ground. A popular British poet surrounding and throughout the second world war. Auden could be considered a part of American poetry as well as British because he moved to New York early in his life, but he should be considered among British poets because it was his home at birth and he eventually chose to return there. In keeping with his tendency not to stick to one set of ideals, Auden embraced conservative Christianity despite his homosexuality.

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Seamus Heaney (1939-Present)
Born in Northern Ireland, Heaney is a poet known widely for his criticisms and translations as well as his actual poetry. Seamus Heaney is known to be influenced by modernist poets like Frost. His life is happier than most of the twentieth century poets previously mentioned as he released his first volume of poetry only a year after his marriage. media type="youtube" key="fNYBwF7lKLA" height="219" width="345"