Rhythm and Will in Victorian Poetry [Paperback]

This 1999 book explores concepts of human will in the poetry of Tennyson, Browning, Hopkins and Hardy.Matthew Campbell expores the work of four Victorian poets Tennyson, Browning, Hopkins and Hardy in the context of their concern with questions of human agency and will. Through close study of metre, rhyme and rhythm, Campbell reveals how closely, for these poets, questions of poetics are related to issues of psychology, ethics and social change. He goes on to discuss more general questions of poetics, from Milton through Romanticism and into contemporary critical debate, making a major contribution to the current renewal of interest in formalist readings of poetry.Matthew Campbell expores the work of four Victorian poets Tennyson, Browning, Hopkins and Hardy in the context of their concern with questions of human agency and will. Through close study of metre, rhyme and rhythm, Campbell reveals how closely, for these poets, questions of poetics are related to issues of psychology, ethics and social change. He goes on to discuss more general questions of poetics, from Milton through Romanticism and into contemporary critical debate, making a major contribution to the current renewal of interest in formalist readings of poetry.Matthew Campbell explores the work of four Victorian poets--Tennyson, Browning, Hopkins and Hardy--in the context of their concern with questions of human agency and will. Through close study of meter, rhyme and rhythm, Campbell reveals how closely, for these poets, questions of poetics are related to issues of psychology, ethics and social change. He goes on to discuss more general questions of poetics, from Milton through Romanticism and into contemporary critical debate, making a major contribution to the current renewal of interest in formalist readings of poetry.1. Two decisions; Part I. Rhythm and Will: 2. 'Will' and rhythm; 3. Tennyson, Browning and the absorbing soul; Part II. Monologue and Monodrama: 4. Browning and the element of aclS!