Victorian and Modern Poetics

by Carol T. Christ

188 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1984

Reviews

[Kevin Fitzpatrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

An entertaining and enthralling introduction to the poetics of the Victorians and the Modernists, "Victorian and Modern Poetics" by Carol T. Christ is the type of book which, if you have an affinity for and interest in the poets discussed and ideas analyzed here, is impossible to put down. Divided into five equally engaging chapters, this book discusses the Dramatic Monologue, the Mask, the Persona, the Picturesque and Modernist theories of the image, and Myth, History, and the Structure of the Long Poem. All though out this well-written wonderful book, the works and theories of the Victorian poets (Arnold, Carlyle, Ruskin, Tennyson, Pater) are contrasted with those of the Modernists (Yeats, Eliot, and Pound) who, like spoiled children, trash-talked their elders for all sorts of perceived sins, namely didacticism and dependence on rhetorical strategies over the 'things-in-themselves.' This book does a fine job of delineating each of the many figures involved in this dispute, with examples taken from relevant works which are as well-chosen as they are expertly explicated. When one if finished with this gem of a book, one is filled with admiration for the scope of the author's understanding and skills in prose-creation, as well as having gained a deeper understanding of the similarities of these two groups of poets who are normally seen as polar opposites, but which, by virtue of reading this tome, should better be seen as siblings, jealous of each other 'territory' and eager to carve out a realm of dominion for the new crew on the block. This is a really fine book, to be recommended for anyone interested in the subject.