Description
Book Synopsis'Acceptable words' comprises a series of highly individual essays covering the whole of Geoffrey Hill's poetry to date, including the remarkable late flowering of the years since 1996. The essays offer detailed readings of many poems whilst making many - often surprising - associations with history, philosophy, religion, art and music. -- .
Trade ReviewWainwright's essays on Geoffrey Hill draw on his discriminating ear and analytic intelligence to great effect. Wainwright is always compelling, so deep is his understanding of the poet, so keen his awareness of what is going on in the poet's language.' -- .
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements
Short Titles
1. ‘Acceptable Words’
2. ‘The speechless dead’: 'King Log' (1968)
3. Poet, lover, liar: ‘Lachrimae’ (1975)
4. ‘Our love is what we love to have’: 'Tenebrae' (1978)
5. Things and words: 'The Mystery of the Charity of Charles Péguy' (1983)
6. History as poetry: 'Churchill’s Funeral’ and 'De Jure Belli ac Pacis’ (Canaan, 1996)
7. 'The Triumph of Love' (1998)
8. ‘Beauty is difficult’: 'Speech! Speech!' (2000)
9. ‘Here and there I pull a flower’: 'The Orchards of Syon' (2002)
10. ‘In wintry solstice like the shorten’d light’: 'Scenes from Comus' (2005)
11. Afterword: ‘”I have not finished”’
Notes and references
Bibliography
