A study of Edith Sitwell as a critic.

Edith Sitwell is one of the few women in British literature to establish reputation as an accepted poet, and she is perhaps the only woman to become accepted as a critic. These forces combined to provide Miss Sitwell with the background necessary for her achievement: a lineage of aristocratic and lettered persons; a background of extensive reading and education; and association with persons gifted in the fields of music, art, and literature. An interest in the history of literature and an appreciation for the foundation of that literature--the great writers and the accepted forms of the past--led her to a careful analysis of modern poetry. She recognized the greatness of British literature, but she also recognized a need for change; this need for change and the possibilities for variations within the accepted forms became the foundation of her criticism and her poetry. In both her poetry and her criticism, she emphasized the use of texture, rhythm, and synaesthesia as a means for obtaining the desired variations. The essence of Miss Sitwell's criticism can be found in four volumes: Poetry and Criticism (1925), Alexander Pope (1930), Aspects of Modern Poetry (1934), and A Notebook on William Shakespeare (1948). In addition to these volumes, many essays appear in collections of her poetry, in volumes she edited, in works written by others, and in periodicals. In these essays she expresses a concern for a renewed emphasis on the technical aspects of poetry and a return to poetry as an art rather than as an expression of every-day life. Her interest and concern for poetry and criticism did much to return both fields to their proper places--to those persons qualified to write poetry and to those persons who, because they can write poetry, are qualified to criticize the form.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Grantor

Baylor University.

Year dc:date.issued

1967

Author dc:creator

• Roberson, Sandra Ann, 1941-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Smith, Elizabeth Majors, 1919-

• Sitwell, Edith, 1887-1964.

Statement dc:rights

• Baylor University works are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact libraryquestions@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission.

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2104/14419

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:baylor-ir.tdl.org:2104/14419