A CENTURY OF EDITING: THE OXFORD BOOK OF ENGLISH VERSE, 1900-1999

Author: Susan Bassnett

Source: European Studies: A Journal of European Culture, History and Politics, Britain at the Turn of the Twenty-first Century. Edited by Ulrich Broich and Susan Bassnett. , pp. 251-264(14)

Publisher: Rodopi

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Abstract:

This essay considers the changes that have taken place in the conceptualizing of a history of English poetry, as exemplified in two editions of The Oxford Book of English Verse. The first Edition, which appeared in 1900, was edited by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, founding father of Cambridge English, while the most recent version published in 1999 is edited by Christopher Ricks. The author contextualizes both anthologies, considering not only the ways in which they reflect contemporary tastes in poetry, but also the ways in which they represent different concepts of the discipline of English literature. Whereas the idea of literature in 1900 was that it served as a civilizing force abroad and as part of a mission for national renewal at home, the essay suggests that by the end of the century the role of literature was less clear. The decisions taken by both editors in terms of what to exclude or to include and which poets to select are considered in terms of reader expectations at each end of the century. Quiller-Couch's revised edition of 1939 is also discussed, since it marks a half-way house between the exuberant confidence of the first edition and Ricks' more cerebral anthology that strives for greater inclusivity as the parameters of what constitutes English poetry are seen to have broadened as the century has progressed.

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Document Type: Research article

Publication date: 2001-01-01