Hart Crane and the Modernist Epic: Canon and Genre Formation in Crane, Pound, Eliot, and Williams

Gabriel, D.

This study examines Hart Crane's canonical ambitions in The Bridge and argues for a new species of epic, 'the modernist epic,' which also includes Pound's The Cantos, Eliot's The Waste Land, and Williams's Paterson. It offers a close reading of The Bridge as a hybrid of lyric and epic modes. Crane's sublime and history converge in a complex synthesis of form and ideas. The study reconceives Crane's achievement by locating him in an intertextual system of production while also recognizing his poetic making of self. Yet in this work Crane assumes a greater political presence than much commentary has entertained.

Details

Published by: Palgrave Macmillan

Publication Date: 2007-04-12

Format: Hardcover

ISBN-13: 9781403974457

DOI: 10.1007/978-1-137-12207-0

Dimensions: 216cm x140cm

Pages: 222