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A historical and critical analysis of Irish poetry from 1167 to 1798, this volume - a new revised edition of the outstanding work on the subject -- deals with poetry in the English language written by an Irishman or Anglo-Irishman and inspired by Ireland or its people.
The paucity of truly Irish poetry written in English during this period makes this a difficult and yet peculiarly rewarding subject. For the poetry that did exist during these centuries was the motivation for the great Celtic Renaissance of the nineteenth century which culminated in the works of W. B. Yeats, Lady Gregory, and James Stephens.
In the first part of this book, the author is concerned with the literature that flourished in Ireland up to the eighteenth century. The English invaders of Ireland, intent on conquering the land and determined to impose an alien tongue and culture upon the inhabitants, found a resistance so strong and fundamental that it threatened to engulf them.
Indeed, as the mass of natives continued to use Gaelic and follow Gaelic tradition, a number of conquering English families were absorbed into the Irish context, speaking Gaelic and in the end losing their English identity.
Nevertheless, there were still those isolated islands of culture where English was used and poetry in English was written.
From the invasion to the fifteenth century, the monasteries preserved and created cultural traditions in Ireland as they did everywhere in the world. In the works of these friars the lusty vigor, the great good humor, and the caustic wit which we have come to associate with the Irish temperament are already discernible.
The following centuries witnessed an increase in poetic production and the emergence of the first Irish poet of which there is any definite knowledge, Richard Sanihurst.
By the seventeenth century, the number of good poets writing in English was considerably greater, but many of these were English in their outlook and generally indifferent to things Irish.
There was, however, another influence in the eighteenth century, an influence which, in the long run, was to prove responsible in large measure for the Celtic revival of the nineteenth century.
In the second part of this book, Dr. alspach discusses at length the works of the translators, chroniclers, and historians who, for the first time, put at the disposal of writers and poets the real Irish heritage -- the sagas of Cuchulin and Finn of Deirdre and Grania, and the songs and stories hidden from the English by the barrier of language.
Their work, to which hitherto little attention has been paid, is carefully and critically examined by the author in the light of its influence on the later development of Irish literature.
Dr. Alspach's book is a sober, scholarly work dealing with a topic which should prove of vital interest to all students of Irish and English literature.
CONDITION: Hard cover with DJ, used lightly with majority of wear to DJ. 2nd edition revised 1964, 146 pages including index. Previous owner book stamp on title page
CONDITION: Former Library book - withdrawn, cracked spine, loose binding. All plates present
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