The Burden of the Past and the English Poet

In this reissue of a classic work in modern literary criticism, W. Jackson Bate presents a thoughtful and informed investigation of the responses of English writers to the perennial dilemma of modern literature. The Burden of the Past and the English Poet concentrates especially on the period between 1660 and 1830the first period to face the burden of the past on a large scalebut making continual applications to the present day.