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Acceptable words: Essays on the poetry of Geoffrey Hill
Geoffrey Hill has said that some great poetry 'recognises that words fail us'. These essays explore Hill's struggle over fifty years with the recalcitrance of language. This book seeks to show how all his work is marked by the quest for the right pitch of utterance whether it is sorrowing, angry, satiric or erotic. It shows how Hill's words are never lightly 'acceptable' but an ethical act, how he seeks out words he can stand by - words that are 'getting it right'.
This book is the most comprehensive and up-to-date critical work on Geoffrey Hill so far, covering all his work up to ‘Scenes from Comus’ (2005), as well as some poems yet to appear in book form. It aims to contribute something to the understanding of his poetry among those who have followed it for many years and students and other readers encountering this major poet for the first time.
This book is the most comprehensive and up-to-date critical work on Geoffrey Hill so far, covering all his work up to ‘Scenes from Comus’ (2005), as well as some poems yet to appear in book form. It aims to contribute something to the understanding of his poetry among those who have followed it for many years and students and other readers encountering this major poet for the first time.
168 pages, Hardcover
First published January 12, 2006
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May 29, 2013
An elegant, judicious reading of Hill's poetry. The best compliment I can pay this book is that I've spent most of my time reading it with Hill's 'Collected Essays" and various editions of his poems open at the same time.
For once the Blurb seems correct: 'It aims to contribute something to the understanding of his poetry among those who have followed it for many years and students and other readers encountering this major poet for the first time.'
Being in the first group I was impressed by how much the readings made me want to go back and reread poems I thought I knew well, at the same time I can imagine someone turning to this for a way into Hill's poetry and being guided through the poems.
Wainright is enthusiastic and his admiration is obvious. He celebrates Hill's poetry, and the fact critical celebration seems odd is a sad reflection on the current state of published criticism. he's good on the subtleties of verbal texture, on words and sounds, so what you get are old fashioned close readings linked to broader ethical and moral and philosophical issues, but always keeping the poems in sight.
It is slightly repetitive in places but probably the best book you could read as an introduction to Hill's work. And like the best criticism, the grounds for the judgement are on the table so you know you're being asked to accept.
For once the Blurb seems correct: 'It aims to contribute something to the understanding of his poetry among those who have followed it for many years and students and other readers encountering this major poet for the first time.'
Being in the first group I was impressed by how much the readings made me want to go back and reread poems I thought I knew well, at the same time I can imagine someone turning to this for a way into Hill's poetry and being guided through the poems.
Wainright is enthusiastic and his admiration is obvious. He celebrates Hill's poetry, and the fact critical celebration seems odd is a sad reflection on the current state of published criticism. he's good on the subtleties of verbal texture, on words and sounds, so what you get are old fashioned close readings linked to broader ethical and moral and philosophical issues, but always keeping the poems in sight.
It is slightly repetitive in places but probably the best book you could read as an introduction to Hill's work. And like the best criticism, the grounds for the judgement are on the table so you know you're being asked to accept.
Displaying 1 of 1 review