Literature: The World of Ivor Gurney

The poetry generated by the Great War has been seen as a definitive break with the traditions of lyric poetry and the Romantic tradition, and those virtues, often masculine associated with Britain’s imperial status. This course will evaluate the worth of this conclusion with regard to Ivor Gurney. We will assess whether he creates a new poetic sensibility derived from war, and argue further that an understanding of his psychology is intrinsic to the analysis of his work.

Gurney belongs to the late Victorian, Edwardian and Georgian worlds, and we will observe how he is in continual negotiation with the political and social notions of class and society, and the emerging sensibility of the natural world. Through these negotiations as we shall note, he evolves a distinctive sensibility of his own.

It is hoped that by focusing our discussions on the psychology and identity of Ivor Gurney that we will come to discover a deeper understanding of him and his poetry.

All Gurney’s poems for discussion will be available to read on Canvas, and will form the basis for detailed practical criticism and contextualisation. You will be inspired to research more deeply into this unique writer, whose status deserves to be placed alongside Wilfred Owen and Sassoon.