13. Hart Crane

Modern Poetry (ENGL 310) with Langdon Hammer

The early poetry of Hart Crane is presented and analyzed. Crane's self-characterization as a visionary, Romantic, and erotic poet, as well as the unique nature of his poetic project are considered as responses to Eliot's Waste Land and in particular the section "Death by Water." The poems "Legend," "Voyages," and "At Melville's Tomb" are read with particular attention to Crane's idiosyncratic use of language and neologism.

00:00 - Chapter 1. Hart Crane Poem: "Legend"
12:59 - Chapter 2. Hart Crane's Reading of Eliot's "The Waste Land"
20:55 - Chapter 3. Hart Crane Poem: "Voyages"

Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu

This course was recorded in Spring 2007.