Charlotte Mew as a Tragic Poet

Andrew Hodgson*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter (peer-reviewed)peer-review

Abstract

This chapter responds to the tragic intensity of Charlotte Mew’s writing. It considers the relationship between the muted unhappiness of her life and the extravagance of her literary style. Through readings of a series of poems, including ‘In Nunhead Cemetry,’ ‘Ken,’ ‘The Fête,’ and ‘Madeleine in Church,’ it shows how Mew discovered in the dramatic monologue a form in which to observe, with a mixture of compassion and restraint, the suffering and loneliness that distort the lives of her characters.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationCharlotte Mew
Subtitle of host publicationPoetics, Bodies, Ecologies
EditorsFrancesca Bratton, Megan Girdwood, Fraser Riddell
PublisherPalgrave Macmillan
Pages65-85
Number of pages20
Edition1
ISBN (Electronic)9783031625428
ISBN (Print)9783031625411, 9783031625442
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2 Sept 2024

Publication series

NamePalgrave Studies in Nineteenth-Century Writing and Culture
PublisherPalgrave Macmillan
ISSN (Print)2634-6494
ISSN (Electronic)2634-6508

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