Victorian Poets as Precursors to British Poetic Modernism

This article argues that Victorian poets were precursors to British poetic Modernism and that they had many poetic attempts that, in their revolutionary nature, and daring experimenting spirit can be considered Modernist. Apart from the introduction and the conclusion, the article has the following sections: (a) Browning’s Dramatic Monologue: Intrapersonal Poetry, (b) Fragmenting and Freeing of Verse: Alfred Tennyson’s Contribution (to Modernism); (c) Sprung Rhythm: Creating One’s Own Rhythm; (d) Organicism: Let Sounds (and Structure) Convey the Message; and (e) Allusions: Worlds into Words. Under these subheadings, the paper explores some of the characteristics of Victorian poetic experimentations that turned, in the twentieth century, into characterizing features of British Modernist poetry. It is worth noting that despite their significance, the Victorians’ sheer individual poetic attempts of creating new, unconventional forms of expression never crystalized into a theory. Victorian poetic experimentations are viewed against the backdrop of the great economic, religious, and cultural upheavals of the time. The paper considers the ways the Victorian audience and Modernist poets responded to these Victorian attempts of renewing (Modernizing) English poetry

Gloom · Poetry · Modernist Literature and Criticism · Moravian Church and William Blake · Thomas Hardy Literature Studies

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