The Truth of Poetry

First published in 1982, The Truth of Poetry attempts to answer a seemingly simple question: What kind of truth does poetry offer in modern times? Michael Hamburger’s answer to this question ranges over the last century of European and American poetry.

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First published in 1982, The Truth of Poetry attempts to answer a seemingly simple question: What kind of truth does poetry offer in modern times? Michael Hamburger’s answer to this question ranges over the last century of European and American poetry, and the result is a phenomenology of modern poetry rather than a history of appreciations of individual poets. Stressing the tensions and conflicts in and behind the work of every major poet of the period, he considers the many different possibilities open to poets since Baudelaire. This expansive work of analysis will be of interest to students of English literature, poetry enthusiasts and literary historians.