Tom Paulin was born in Leeds in 1949 but grew up in Belfast, and was educated at the universities of Hull and Oxford. He has published seven collections of poetry as well as a Selected Poems 1972-1990, two major anthologies, two versions of Greek drama and several critical works, including The Day-Star of Liberty: William Hazlitt's Radical Style. Well-known for his appearances on the BBC's Late Review, he is also the G. M. Young Lecturer in English Literature at Hertford College, Oxford. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

In this collection of essays, Tom Paulin looks at the work of a selection of poets - ranging from Robert Southey to Philip Larkin, from John Clare to Ted Hughes - defining the originality of their subject matter. He also relates the poets to themes of nationhood and to ideas about ways of speaking which run throughout the book. The author also demonstrates the intricate connection between the private imagination and society at large, creating a strong sense of kinship between literature of the past and the present, and exploring the depths which underlie the most simple-seeming lyrics. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.