Darwin's bards : British and American poetry in the age of evolution

#### How the most powerful and perceptive British and American poets grapple with the questions raised by Darwinism With more than 50 complete poems and wide-ranging extracts from several more, this substantial volume shows how poets responded to the discovery of evolution, from Alfred Tennyson, Robert Browning and Thomas Hardy, through Robert Frost and Edna St Vincent Millay, to Ted Hughes, Thom Gunn, Amy Clampitt, Pattiann Rogers and Edwin Morgan. Written as much for scientists, philosophers and ecologists as poets, critics and students of literature, __Darwin’s Bards__ is a timely intervention in today’s debates surrounding Darwin’s legacy for the distinct, yet related worlds of religion, ecology and the arts. The book will appeal to readers for its discussion of the existential implications of Darwinism, for its close readings of poetry, and for the reprinted poems themselves. #### Key Features * Covers poetry and ecology, as well as the implications of Darwinism for religion * The combination of complete poems and long extracts with an interpretative framework and close readings makes the book an effective and attractive text book Want to find out more? Check out Darwin & Poetry? An Interview with John Holmes #### Poems in __Darwin’s Bards__ A. R. Ammons: ‘Questionable Procedures’Philip Appleman: ‘How Evolution Came to Indiana’, ‘Waldorf-Astoria Euphoria’D. M. Black: ‘Kew Gardens’Mathilde Blind: The Ascent of Man [extracts] Robert Browning: ‘Caliban upon Setebos’ [extracts] William Canton: ‘The Latter Law’ [sonnet from a sequence]Stephen Crane: ‘A man said to the universe’Richard Eberhart: ‘Sea-Hawk’Robert Frost: ‘Design’, ‘The Oven Bird’, ‘The Most of It’, ‘Our Hold on the Planet’ Thom Gunn: ‘Adultery’, ‘The Garden of the Gods’Thomas Hardy: ‘Hap’, ‘Your Last Drive’, ‘Rain on a Grave’, ‘At Castle Boterel’, ‘An August Midnight’, ‘The Darkling Thrush’, ‘Shelley’s Skylark’, ‘The Fallow Deer at the Lonely House’, ‘To Outer Nature’, ‘On a Fine Morning’Robinson Jeffers: ‘Vulture’, __Cawdor__ [extract], ‘Rock and Hawk’George Meredith: ‘The Woods of Westermain’ [opening lyric], ‘In the Woods’ [8 lyrics out of a sequence of 9], ‘The Lark Ascending’ [extracts], __Modern Love__ [3 sonnets from a sequence], ‘Ode to the Spirit of Earth in Autumn’ [extracts]Edna St Vincent Millay: ‘The Fawn’, ‘I shall forget you presently, my dear’, __Fatal Interview__ [2 sonnets from a sequence]Edwin Morgan: ‘Eohippus’, ‘The Archaeopteryx’s Song’, ‘Trilobites’Lewis Morris: ‘Ode of Creation’ [extract]Constance Naden: ‘Natural Selection’Agnes Mary Robinson: ‘Darwinism’Pattiann Rogers: ‘Against the Ethereal’, ‘The Possible Suffering of a God During Creation’, ‘Geocentric’Neil Rollinson: ‘My Father Shaving Charles Darwin’John Addington Symonds: ‘An Old Gordian Knot’ [sonnet from a sequence]Alfred Tennyson: ‘Flower in the Crannied Wall’, ‘By an Evolutionist’, ‘The Dawn’, ‘The Making of Man’, ‘Frater Ave atque Vale’, ‘Lucretius’ [extracts]" GBS_insertPreviewButtonPopup(['ISBN: 9780748692071','ISBN: 9780748640904','ISBN:9780748683413']);How the most powerful and perceptive British and American poets grapple with the questions raised by DarwinismWith more than 50 complete poems and wide-ranging extracts from several more, this substantial volume shows how poets responded to the discovery of evolution, from Alfred Tennyson, Robert Browning and Thomas Hardy, through Robert Frost and Edna St Vincent Millay, to Ted Hughes, Thom Gunn, Amy Clampitt, Pattiann Rogers and Edwin Morgan. Written as much for scientists, philosophers and ecologists as poets, critics and students of literature, Darwin's Bards is a timely intervention in today's debates surrounding Darwin's legacy for the distinct, yet related worlds of religion, ecology and the arts.The book will appeal to readers for its discussion of the existential implications of Darwinism, for its close readings of poetry, and for the reprinted poems themselves. Key FeaturesCovers poetry and ecology, as well as the implications of Darwinism for religionThe combination of complete poems and long extracts with an interpretative framework and close readings makes the book an effective and attractive text bookWant to find out more? Check out Darwin & Poetry? An Interview with John HolmesPoems in Darwin's BardsA. R. Ammons: 'Questionable Procedures'Philip Appleman: 'How Evolution Came to Indiana', 'Waldorf-Astoria Euphoria'D. M. Black: 'Kew Gardens'Mathilde Blind: The Ascent of Man [extracts] Robert Browning: 'Caliban upon Setebos' [extracts] William Canton: 'The Latter Law' [sonnet from a sequence]Stephen Crane: 'A man said to the universe'Richard Eberhart: 'Sea-Hawk'Robert Frost: 'Design', 'The Oven Bird', 'The Most of It', 'Our Hold on the Planet' Thom Gunn: 'Adultery', 'The Garden of the Gods'Thomas Hardy: 'Hap', 'Your Last Drive', 'Rain on a Grave', 'At Castle Boterel', 'An August Midnight', 'The Darkling Thrush', 'Shelley's Skylark', 'The Fallow Deer at the Lonely House', 'To Outer Nature', 'On a Fine Morning'Robinson Jeffers: 'Vulture', Cawdor [extract], 'Rock and Hawk'George Meredith: 'The Woods of Westermain' [opening lyric], 'In the Woods' [8 lyrics out of a sequence of 9], 'The Lark Ascending' [extracts], Modern Love [3 sonnets from a sequence], 'Ode to the Spirit of Earth in Autumn' [extracts]Edna St Vincent Millay: 'The Fawn', 'I shall forget you presently, my dear', Fatal Interview [2 sonnets from a sequence]Edwin Morgan: 'Eohippus', 'The Archaeopteryx's Song', 'Trilobites'Lewis Morris: 'Ode of Creation' [extract]Constance Naden: 'Natural Selection'Agnes Mary Robinson: 'Darwinism'Pattiann Rogers: 'Against the Ethereal', 'The Possible Suffering of a God During Creation', 'Geocentric'Neil Rollinson: 'My Father Shaving Charles Darwin'John Addington Symonds: 'An Old Gordian Knot' [sonnet from a sequence]Alfred Tennyson: 'Flower in the Crannied Wall', 'By an Evolutionist', 'The Dawn', 'The Making of Man', 'Frater Ave atque Vale', 'Lucretius' [extracts]" Darwin's Bards is the first comprehensive study of how poets have responded to the ideas of Charles Darwin in over fifty years. John Holmes argues that poetry can have a profound impact on how we think and feel about the Darwinian condition. Is a Darwinian universe necessarily a godless one? If not, what might Darwinism tell us about the nature of God? Is Darwinism compatible with immortality, and if not, how can we face our own deaths or the loss of those we love? What is our own place in the Darwinian universe, and our ecological role here on earth? How does our kinship with other animals affect how we see them? How does the fact that we are animals ourselves alter how we think about our own desires, love and sexual morality? All told, is life in a Darwinian universe grounds for celebration or despair? Holmes explores the ways in which some of the most perceptive and powerful British and American poets of the last hundred-and-fifty years have grappled with these questions, from Alfred Tennyson, Robert Browning and Thomas Hardy, through Robert Frost and Edna St Vincent Millay, to Ted Hughes, Thom Gunn, Amy Clampitt and Edwin Morgan. Reading their poetry, we too can experience what it can mean to live in a Darwinian world. Written in an accessible and engaging style, and aimed at scientists, theologians, philosophers and ecologists as well as poets, critics and students of literature, Darwin's Bards is a timely intervention into the heated debates over Darwin's legacy for religion, ecology and the arts. "Darwin's Bards is the first comprehensive study of how poets have responded to the ideas of Charles Darwin in over fifty years. John Holmes argues that poetry can have a profound impact on how we think and feel about the Darwinian condition." "Holmes explores the ways in which some of the most perceptive and powerful British and American poets of the last hundred-and-fifty years have grappled with these questions, from Alfred Tennyson, Robert Browning and Thomas Hardy, through Robert Frost and Edna St Vincent Millay, to Ted Hughes, Thom Gunn, Amy Clampitt and Edwin Morgan. Reading their poetry, we too can experience what it can mean to live in a Darwinian world."--Jacket This work is a comprehensive study of how poets have responded to the ideas of Charles Darwin in the 150 years since the publication of 'The Origin of Species'. Holmes argues that poetry can have a profound impact on how we think and feel about the Darwinian condition. Abstract: Darwin's Bards is a comprehensive study of how poets have responded to the ideas of Charles Darwin. � Read more... John Holmes explores the ways in which some of the most perceptive and powerful British and American poets of the last hundred-and-fifty years have grappled with the questions raised by Darwinism, from Alfred Tennyson, Robert Browning and Thomas Hardy, through Robert Frost and Edna St Vincent Millay, to Ted Hughes, Thom Gunn, Amy Clampitt and Edwin Morgan