Hart Crane and the Modernist Epic

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.

Autorentext

Daniel Gabriel taught for many years at Rutgers University, USA. He has previously published the books Sacco and Vanzetti and Columbus, both book-length poems or poetic works on historical subjects. He has also edited and written an introduction for Richard Darabaner's Plaint, a collection of his poems.

Klappentext

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.

Inhalt
Introduction: Hart Crane, Bridging, and History The Lyric Mode of The Bridge: The I and the Other The Epic Mode of The Bridge: The Other and the I Conclusion: Historical Necessity and the Modernist Epic