20thB-British+Poetry+Movements

=**20th Century British Poetry Movements**=

= = For centuries, poetry movements have been defined by poets who identify unifying principles and characteristics of works by various poets. There were thirteen movements during the 20th century that was shared among the United States, Great Britain, Hungary and other countries; however, only six of them stemmed from Great Britain.

The **Modernist Poetry** movement has been said to have emerged during the late 1800s and early 1900s along with the appearance of the Imagist movement. The modernists wrote in reaction of the Victorian movement, emphasizing traditional formalism and fancy diction. Conclusively, modernists looked back to the best works of poets from earlier centuries and various other cultures such as Greek, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Spanish poets.


 * Imagism** was a movement in early 20th-century British and American poetry that favored precision of imagery and clear, sharp language. They rejected the digressive and sentimental qualities of the Romantic poetry era.

The **Objectivists** were a loosely defined group that derived from the Modernists during the 1930s. This group consisted mainly of Americans; however, the british poet Basil Bunting was a core group member of this movement. The Objectivists treated poetry like it was an object and emphasized sincerity, intelligence, and the poet's clear perspective of the world.


 * The Movement** consisted of the English poets Kinsley Amis, Philip Larkin, Donald Alfred Davie, D.J. Enright, John Wain, Elizabeth Jennings and Robert Conquest. Their predominant theme was anti-romance.

The **British Poetry Revival** was a poetic movement that spanned over the 1960s and 1970s. This movement was a modernist-inspired reaction to the poetry movement, The Movement's, conservative approach to poetry

The **Martian poets** were a group of British surrealist poets. This movement emerged during the 1970s and lasted till the 1980s. Through the Martians heavy usage of curious, exotic and humorous metaphors, their poetry aimed to break the grasp of 'the familiar' in English poetry. They described ordinary things as if they saw it through the eyes of a Martian. For instance, books are described by a Martian poet, Raine, as: //mechanical birds with many wings////perch on the hand////cause the eyes to melt////or the body to shriek without pain// Martian poetry became a popular topic in the teaching of poetry composition to school children.

=__20th Century British Poets__=

**Basil Bunting**, a famous British modernist poet was born on March 1, 1900 and lived through April 17, 1985. His reputation was established with the publication of his poem "Briggflatts" in 1966. He had an interest in music that led him to emphasise the sonic (sound) qualities of poetry, particularly the importance of reading poetry aloud. He was an accomplished reader of his own work.

**At Briggflatts Meetinghouse** Boasts time mocks cumber Rome. Wren set up his own monument. Others watch fells dwindle, think the sun's fires sink.

Stones indeed sift to sand, oak blends with saint's bones. Yet for a little longer here stone and oak shelter

silence while we ask nothing but silence. Look how clouds dance under the wind's wing, and leaves delight in transience.

**Dennis Joseph Enright** was born on March 11, 1920 and died on December 31 of 2002. He was a British academic, poet, novelist and critic, and general man of letters or intellect.

**Dreaming in the Shanghai Restauraunt** I would like to be that elderly Chinese gentleman. He wears a gold watch with a gold bracelet, but a shirt without sleeves or tie. He has good luck moles on his face, but is not disfigured with fortune. His wife resembles him, but is still a handsome woman, She has never bound her feet or her belly. Some of the party are his children, it seems, And some his grandchildren; No generation appears to intimidate another. He is interested in people, without wanting to convert them or pervert them. He eats with gusto, but not with lust; And he drinks, but is not drunk. He is content with his age, which has always suited him. When he discusses a dish with the pretty waitress, It is the dish he discusses, not the waitress. The tablecloth is not so clean as to show indifference, Not so dirty as to signify a lack of manners. He proposes to pay the bill but knows he will not be allowed to. He walks to the door like a man who doesn’t fret about being respected, since he is; A daughter or granddaughter opens the door for him, And he tanks her. It has been a satisfying evening. Tomorrow Will be a satisfying morning. In between he will sleep satisfactorily. I guess that for him it is peace in his time. It would be agreeable to be this Chinese gentleman.

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