The burning-glass : a developmental study of Walter de la Mare's poetry

Abstract

This dissertation offers a revaluation of Walter de la Mare's poetry; it counters two common critical misconceptions; escapism and lack of development. The overall pattern of imagery in the poetry reflects de la Mare's understanding of reality. It outlines a universe of four interpenetrating "worlds": this world, the other world, the child world and the adult world. This pattern is used as a frame of reference. Key poems are closely read so the complexity beneath apparent simplicity is pointed up. The poetry divides into three chronological stages, with two peaks of maturity. In the early peak, The Listeners (1912) and Peacock Pie, (1913) a distinctive, dense symbolic mode is perfected. After a transitional period of formal experimentation, a late peak is achieved with Bells and Grass (1941) and The Burning-Glass (1945), where symbolic imagery forms the core for a quiet, reflective, conversational mode. Throughout, the children's and adult poetry are considered as a unit