DOCSLIB.ORG

Adaptation and Ekphrasis in the Poetry of Derek Mahon and Paul Muldoon

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Adaptation and Ekphrasis in the Poetry of Derek Mahon and Paul Muldoon Transforming Texts: Adaptation and Ekphrasis in the poetry of Derek Mahon and Paul Muldoon. Kay Cunningham Submitted for a PhD in Contemporary Poetry Department of English Literature The University of Sheffield. October 2011 2 Abstract This thesis will explore the historical inheritance and use of adaptation and ekphrasis in the poetry of Derek Mahon and Paul Muldoon. Both poets include other texts in their work to perpetuate dialogues on history, aesthetics and poetic form, using images, symbols and formal structures to question what poetry can or should do. Looking at the revisionary power of language this thesis will turn to examples of adaptation and revision in the work of each poet. In the poetry of Mahon, it will show how ekphrasis engages with questions of history and aesthetics through the relationship between visual and verbal forms. The result is a poetry that develops temporal and spatial qualities connected to the poet's sense of self and to his philosophical and intellectual concerns for poetry. In his later collections, ekphrasis contributes to Mahon's metaphysical landscapes as they resist the symbolic or unified vision of cultural archetypes to focus on the 'harsh realities' of a contemporary world at war. In the poetry of Muldoon, the visual and verbal components of language develop a conscious boundary between the image and the ideological and historical dialogues that surround it. Muldoon develops stories out of objects that establish a dialogue on the formal qualities of language and of the poet's relation to it. His poetry self-consciously engages with the structural and conceptual problems of representation, adapting the ideas of philosophers, writers and poets to develop a poetry that expresses what it cannot state. His resistant form demonstrates a responsibility to both himself and the present time in which he is writing. /UNIVERSITY [OF SHEFFIELD LIBRARY III Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................. v Abbreviations ......................................................................................................... vi 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................... 7 2. 'Some Notional Interface': Myth and Metamorphosis in the Poetry of Paul Muldoon and Derek Mahon .................................................................................. 21 2.1 Myth and Transformation ........................................................................ 22 2.2 Figuring Echoes ....................................................................................... 31 2.3 Tithonus: The Mythic'Everyman' ........................................................... 37 2.4 Conclusion ............................................................................................... 55 3. The Art of Poetry: Ekphrasis and Revision in Derek Mahon ....................... 57 3.1 'Courtyards in Belfast': Revising the ekphrastic tradition ...................... 58 3.2 'An urn full of explosives': Mahon's Historical Vision ......................... 72 3.3 Conclusion ............................................................................................... 90 4. Harbouring History - old for new in Derek Mahon's Harbour Lights .......... 92 4.1 Changing Perspectives: Representation and the Irish Landscape ............ 95 IV 4.2 'My soul silence too is architecture': Poems out of place ..................... 102 4.3 Old Object, New Image: Imploding the female form ........................... 116 4.4 Conclusion ............................................................................................. 127 5. Between Self and Citizenship: Forming Potential in the Poetry of Paul Muldoon .............................................................................................................. 130 5.1 Parables of Self and Nation in the Poetry of Paul Muldoon .................. 130 5.2 Representations of Home: The Embodied Figure of Speech ................ 132 5.3 The 'instinctual' life of form .................................................................. 152 5.4 Conclusion ............................................................................................. 166 6. Conclusion ................................................................................................... 168 Bibliography ........................................................................................................ 172 v Acknowledgements The writing of this thesis has been a long and difficult process, and I am certain I would not have reached the end without the help and support of family, friends and colleagues. In completing this work, I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Matthew Campbell who has been a constant source of advice and encouragement. His feedback on later drafts of this thesis provided at rapid speed went beyond the call of duty and I am grateful for all of his much needed support. My thanks also go to Professor Adam Piette, who has supported me throughout the various extension requests needed to get this finished and to the Department of English Literature more broadly for providing a much needed fee waiver. This PhD would not have been possible without it. I would like to thank Derek Mahon and Paul Muldoon, whose impact on my life is beyond words! Closer to home, my thanks also go to my parents, who have supported me throughout my studies, giving up their time to help with childcare and to offer constant words of encouragement. My thanks also go to my in-laws, David and Irene, who have offered their time freely when needed to help out with the constant juggling of home, work and PhD commitments that have been necessary to finish this piece of work. This thesis owes a particular debt to my husband Stuart and my son Tom. I have no words adequate to the part they have played in maintaining my humour and my focus when things have not gone according to plan. Their unwavering belief in me and their support of me at all times has given me the strength of mind to keep going and to believe in myself. Vl Abbreviations The following abbreviations have been used for books written by Derek Mahon: A Antarctica (1985) CD Courtyards in Delft (1981) CP Collected Poems (1999) HBN The Hunt by Night (1982) HL Harbour Lights (2005) J Journalism: Selected Prose P Poems 1962-1978 (1979) SP Selected Poems (1991) Ad Adaptations (2006) NSP New Selected Poems (2011) The following abbreviations have been used for book written by Paul Muldoon: NW New Weather (1973) M Mules (1977) WBL Why Brownlee Left (1980) Q Quoof (1983) MTB Meeting the British (1987) Ma Madoc (1990) AC The Annals of Chile (1994) H Hay (1998) TIl To Ireland, I (2000) P Poems: 1968-1998 (2001) MSG Moy Sand and Gravel (2002) HoL Horse Latitudes (2006) EOP The End of the Poem (2006) 1. Introduction This thesis explores the use of adaptation and ekphrasis in the poetry of Derek Mahon and Paul Muldoon. It looks in particular at the way in which these poets borrow, adapt and transform the work of past writers and artists to develop their own poetic. Even in the early works of both poets, the extent to which they rely on a wide variety of intertextual forms establishes the presence of the past as a central aspect of their poetic. Nightcrossing, published in 1968 was to be the first in a long line of publications in which Mahon explored various forms of intertextuality; allusion, quotation, adaptation, ekphrasis, revision. In addition to the diverse range of intertextual material in his collections he is a seasoned translator as his 2006 publication, Adaptations demonstrates, with translations of Ovid, Sophocles, Pasolini, Valery, Jaccottet and Baudelaire, to name but a few of those covered within the collection. Whilst intertextuality may be an intrinsic part of his poetry it is also inherently problematic, bringing with it the unavoidable question of why he relies so extensively on external texts, what they contribute to his poetry and how they can be understood in light of his tireless propensity to revise his own work. Mahon's revisions and adaptations move beyond the repetition of a past form to include extensive revisions of his own poems. These are frequently re-named between collections, either by means of an entirely new title or a protraction of the original. In addition to revisions of this nature, Mahon has been known to remove poems completely from his body of work. His Collected Poems and more recently his New Collected Poems have seen the disappearance of a number of poems. In addition, individual poems are displaced in both his Collected and New Collected either through a change to where they appear or through a revision of their title or content. In many cases individual poems appear amongst earlier poems, rather than adhering to the collection in which they first arise. Furthermore, revisions of poems often include amended titles, some of which are protracted versions of the original, 'In Carrowdore Churchyard' has become 'Carrowdore' for example, whilst some are given entirely new titles, as is the case with 'Shorelines' in Harbour Lights which has become 'Sand Studies' in Mahon's 8 New Collected Poems. When approaching Mahon's poetry then it is equally important to understand his use of intertexuality in light not only of his literary borrowing from others, but in the self conscious revisions of his own past. Muldoon's use ofintertextuality is equally extensive. His poetry and his prose incorporate
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Great War in Irish Poetry
    Durham E-Theses Creation from conict: The Great War in Irish poetry Brearton, Frances Elizabeth How to cite: Brearton, Frances Elizabeth (1998) Creation from conict: The Great War in Irish poetry, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/5042/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk Creation from Conflict: The Great War in Irish Poetry The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without the written consent of the author and information derived from it should be acknowledged. Frances Elizabeth Brearton Thesis submitted for the degree of Ph.D Department of English Studies University of Durham January 1998 12 HAY 1998 ABSTRACT This thesis explores the impact of the First World War on the imaginations of six poets - W.B.
    [Show full text]
  • Star Channels, May 20-26
    MAY 20 - 26, 2018 staradvertiser.com LEGAL EAGLES Sandra’s (Britt Robertson) confi dence is shaken when she defends a scientist accused of spying for the Chinese government in the season fi nale of For the People. Elsewhere, Adams (Jasmin Savoy Brown) receives a compelling offer. Chief Judge Nicholas Byrne (Vondie Curtis-Hall) presides over the Southern District of New York Federal Court in this legal drama, which wraps up a successful freshman season. Airing Tuesday, May 22, on ABC. WE’RE LOOKING FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY. Are you passionate about an issue? An event? A cause? ¶ũe^eh\Zga^eirhn[^a^Zk][r^fihp^kbg`rhnpbmama^mkZbgbg`%^jnbif^gm olelo.org Zg]Zbkmbf^rhng^^]mh`^mlmZkm^]'Begin now at olelo.org. ON THE COVER | FOR THE PEOPLE Case closed ABC’s ‘For the People’ wraps Deavere Smith (“The West Wing”) rounds example of how the show delves into both the out the cast as no-nonsense court clerk Tina professional and personal lives of the charac- rookie season Krissman. ters. It’s a formula familiar to fans of Shonda The cast of the ensemble drama is now part Rhimes, who’s an executive producer of “For By Kyla Brewer of the Shondaland dynasty, which includes hits the People,” along with Davies, Betsy Beers TV Media “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal” and “How to Get (“Grey’s Anatomy”), Donald Todd (“This Is Us”) Away With Murder.” The distinction was not and Tom Verica (“How to Get Away With here’s something about courtroom lost on Rappaport, who spoke with Murder”).
    [Show full text]
  • HEANEY, SEAMUS, 1939-2013. Seamus Heaney Papers, 1951-2004
    HEANEY, SEAMUS, 1939-2013. Seamus Heaney papers, 1951-2004 Emory University Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library Atlanta, GA 30322 404-727-6887 [email protected] Collection Stored Off-Site All or portions of this collection are housed off-site. Materials can still be requested but researchers should expect a delay of up to two business days for retrieval. Descriptive Summary Creator: Heaney, Seamus, 1939-2013. Title: Seamus Heaney papers, 1951-2004 Call Number: Manuscript Collection No. 960 Extent: 49.5 linear feet (100 boxes), 3 oversized papers boxes (OP), and AV Masters: 1 linear foot (2 boxes) Abstract: Personal papers of Irish poet Seamus Heaney consisting mostly of correspondence, as well as some literary manuscripts, printed material, subject files, photographs, audiovisual material, and personal papers from 1951-2004. Language: Materials entirely in English. Administrative Information Restrictions on access Collection stored off-site. Researchers must contact the Rose Library in advance to access this collection. Special restrictions apply: Use copies have not been made for audiovisual material in this collection. Researchers must contact the Rose Library at least two weeks in advance for access to these items. Collection restrictions, copyright limitations, or technical complications may hinder the Rose Library's ability to provide access to audiovisual material. Terms Governing Use and Reproduction All requests subject to limitations noted in departmental policies on reproduction. Emory Libraries provides copies of its finding aids for use only in research and private study. Copies supplied may not be copied for others or otherwise distributed without prior consent of the holding repository.
    [Show full text]
  • Durham E-Theses
    Durham E-Theses 'A forest of intertextuality' : the poetry of Derek Mahon Burton, Brian How to cite: Burton, Brian (2004) 'A forest of intertextuality' : the poetry of Derek Mahon, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1271/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk "A Forest of Intertextuality": The Poetry of Derek Mahon Brian Burton A copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. Submitted as a thesis for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Durham Department of English Studies 2004 1 1 JAN 2u05 I Contents Contents I Declaration 111 Note on the Text IV List of Abbreviations V Introduction 1 1. 'Death and the Sun': Mahon and Camus 1.1 'Death and the Sun' 29 1.2 Silence and Ethics 43 1.3 'Preface to a Love Poem' 51 1.4 The Terminal Democracy 59 1.5 The Mediterranean 67 1.6 'As God is my Judge' 83 2.
    [Show full text]
  • Stan Smith – Irish Poetry and the Construction
    139 Book Reviews: Writers at Work in Ireland and England Irish Poetry and the Construction of Modern Identity: Ireland between Fantasy and History. By Stan Smith. Dublin: Irish Academic Press, 2005. x + 238 pp. $65.00 cloth, $29.50 paper. The world is not wanting in histories of Irish poetry, or even of twen- tieth-century Irish poetry in particular: I know of at least ten since 1988. Nevertheless, Stan Smith’s Irish Poetry and the Construction of Modern Identity represents an important accomplishment. Smith’s color title, “Ire- land between Fantasy and History,” suggests precisely what he’s after—the ways in which poetry has functioned in the self-conscious shaping of mod- ern Irish identities. Smith’s interest in what he calls, while discussing Pa- draic Fallon, “the compounding and interpretation of story and history” (39), develops from the work he’s undertaken in such books as Inviolable Voice: History and 20th-Century Poetry (1982) or The Origins of Mod- ernism: Eliot, Pound, Yeats and the Rhetorics of Renewal (1994). Smith has always attended to how ideology yokes together signifier and signified. In this book, however, perhaps because questions of tradition and nation have been more overtly a part of nation-building in Ireland than in Britain, post-structuralist and post-colonial theory have inflected Smith’s atten- tion in ways rather more dramatic than I have seen in his earlier work. Theory is rarely Smith’s overt topic; it shows up rather in his ability to see organization rather than organicism, history subjected to question rather than nature subjecting us.
    [Show full text]
  • Michael Longley's Poetry of the Elements in Snow Water
    Estudios Irlandeses , Number 6, 2011, pp. 1-7 __________________________________________________________________________________________ AEDEI Michael Longley’s Poetry of the Elements in Snow Water Elisabeth Delattre Université d’Artois Copyright (c) 2011 by Elisabeth Delattre. This text may be archived and redistributed both in electronic form and in hard copy, provided that the author and journal are properly cited and no fee is charged for access. Abstract. Nature has always played a major part in Michael Longley’s poetry, for ecological reasons but also because of the feeling of empathy involved, as Snow Water published in 2004 testifies. This analysis will rely essentially on Gaston Bachelard’s phenomenological approach which deals with the way human reverie on matter governs poetic writing as the sensitory experience of the world. Key words. poetry, nature, elements, symbols, imagination Resumen. La naturaleza ha jugado siempre un papel importante en la poesía de Michael Longley, por razones ecológicas pero también por el sentimiento de empatía que comporta, tal como pone de manifiesto el volumen Snow Water publicado en 2004. El siguiente análisis usará esencialmente la aproximación fenomenológica de Gaston Bachelard, que se basa en la manera en que la ensoñación humana en torno a la materia gobierna la escritura poética en tanto que experiencia sensorial del mundo. Palabras clave. Poesía, naturaleza, elementos, símbolos, imaginación. Le meilleur parti à prendre est donc de considérer toutes choses comme inconnues, et de se promener ou de s’étendre sous bois ou sur l’herbe, et de reprendre tout du début (Francis Ponge, Le Parti pris des choses). Air, soil, water, fire – those are the words, I myself am a word with them – my qualities interpenetrate with theirs (Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass).
    [Show full text]
  • Appendix B: a Literary Heritage I
    Appendix B: A Literary Heritage I. Suggested Authors, Illustrators, and Works from the Ancient World to the Late Twentieth Century All American students should acquire knowledge of a range of literary works reflecting a common literary heritage that goes back thousands of years to the ancient world. In addition, all students should become familiar with some of the outstanding works in the rich body of literature that is their particular heritage in the English- speaking world, which includes the first literature in the world created just for children, whose authors viewed childhood as a special period in life. The suggestions below constitute a core list of those authors, illustrators, or works that comprise the literary and intellectual capital drawn on by those in this country or elsewhere who write in English, whether for novels, poems, nonfiction, newspapers, or public speeches. The next section of this document contains a second list of suggested contemporary authors and illustrators—including the many excellent writers and illustrators of children’s books of recent years—and highlights authors and works from around the world. In planning a curriculum, it is important to balance depth with breadth. As teachers in schools and districts work with this curriculum Framework to develop literature units, they will often combine literary and informational works from the two lists into thematic units. Exemplary curriculum is always evolving—we urge districts to take initiative to create programs meeting the needs of their students. The lists of suggested authors, illustrators, and works are organized by grade clusters: pre-K–2, 3–4, 5–8, and 9– 12.
    [Show full text]
  • Liste Des Prix Nobel De Littérature
    LISTE DES PRIX NOBEL DE LITTÉRATURE SAISON 2017 ---------------- SAISONS PRÉCÉDENTES ---------------- ECOUTER LES SOIRÉES ---------------- Le Projet Presse Alfred Nobel Liste des Prix Nobel de Littérature Partenaires L'équipe Contact Depuis sa création en 1901, de nombreux auteurs de tous pays ont reçu le Prix Nobel de Littérature... 2014 Patrick Modiano, France 1945 2013 Alice Munro, Canada 1931 2012 Mo Yan, Chine 1931 2011 Tomas Tranströmer, Suède 1931-2015 2010 Mario Vargas Llosa, Pérou 1936 2009 Herta Muller, Allemagne 1953 2008 Jean-Marie Le Clézio, France 1940 2007 Doris Lessing, Grande Bretagne 1919 2006 Orhan Pamuk, Turquie 1952 2005 Harold Pinter, Angleterre 1930 2004 Elfriede Jelinek, Autriche 1946 2003 J.M. Coetzee, Afrique du Sud 1940 2002 Imre Kertész, Hongrie 1929 2001 V.S. Naipaul Sir, Angleterre 1932 2000 Gao Xingjian, France 1940 1999 Günter Grass, Allemagne 1927 1998 José Saramago, Portugal 1922 1997 Dario Fo, Italie 1926 1996 Wislawa Szymborska, Pologne 1923-2012 1995 Seamus Heaney, Irlande 1939-2013 1994 Kenzaburo Oe, Japon 1935 1993 Toni Morrison, Etats-Unis 1931 1992 Derek Walcott, Sainte Lucie 1930 1991 Nadine Gordimer, Afrique du sud 1923 1990 Octavio Paz, Mexique 1914-1998 1989 Camilo José Cela, Espagne 1916-2002 1988 Naguib Mahfouz, Egypte 1911 1987 Joseph Brodsky, Etats-Unis 1940-1996 1986 Wole Soyinka, Nigeria 1934 Premier africain à obtenir le prix 1985 Claude Simon France 1913-2005 1984 Jaroslav Seifert, Tchécoslovaquie 1901-1986 1983 William Golding Sir, Angleterre 1911-1993 1982 Gabriel García Márquez,
    [Show full text]
  • Downloaded from Downloaded on 2020-06-06T01:34:25Z Ollscoil Na Héireann, Corcaigh
    UCC Library and UCC researchers have made this item openly available. Please let us know how this has helped you. Thanks! Title A cultural history of The Great Book of Ireland – Leabhar Mór na hÉireann Author(s) Lawlor, James Publication date 2020-02-01 Original citation Lawlor, J. 2020. A cultural history of The Great Book of Ireland – Leabhar Mór na hÉireann. PhD Thesis, University College Cork. Type of publication Doctoral thesis Rights © 2020, James Lawlor. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Item downloaded http://hdl.handle.net/10468/10128 from Downloaded on 2020-06-06T01:34:25Z Ollscoil na hÉireann, Corcaigh National University of Ireland, Cork A Cultural History of The Great Book of Ireland – Leabhar Mór na hÉireann Thesis presented by James Lawlor, BA, MA Thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy University College Cork The School of English Head of School: Prof. Lee Jenkins Supervisors: Prof. Claire Connolly and Prof. Alex Davis. 2020 2 Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... 4 Declaration .......................................................................................................................... 5 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ 6 List of abbreviations used ................................................................................................... 7 A Note on The Great
    [Show full text]
  • Art of the X-Files
    On May 19th 2013, fans of The X-Files were given a rare treat; a chance to spend time with the minds behind the art of The X-Files. The event, held at the iconic Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles, and celebrated by the Art Directors Guild Film Society, the American Cinematheque, and The Hollywood Reporter, brought together production designer Corey Kaplan (The X-Files, Scandal, Cold Case, Robbery Homicide Division), writer-producer-director Vince Gilligan (The X-Files, Breaking Bad, The Lone Gunmen, Harsh Realm) and Creator-Writer-Producer-Director Chris Carter (The X-Files, Harsh Realm, Millennium, The Lone Gunmen). Moderated by production designer John Muto (Home Alone, River’s Edge, Terminator 2 3-D), the event presented the art and design of The X-Files by screening “Je Souhaite” and “Triangle” and included a panel discussion. What made this event unique is that as a television viewing audience, we often celebrate and obsess over actors, and at times writers and producers. We become deeply connected to the characters and to the story of the hardships they face. However, the world that is created by the Art Department under the guidance of the Production Designer often goes unmentioned. This is likely due to the ability of the visual medium to submerse the viewer into an environment so compelling that we momentarily suspend belief. We forget the complexities of set design and construction, of picking out the right costumes and maintaining outfit continuity, of choosing makeup that both enhances the character yet seems realistic, of creating convincing special effects, and the arduous search for the perfect location.
    [Show full text]
  • Abstract ENG Esotericism and Occultism in the Italian Literature Of
    Abstract ENG Esotericism and Occultism in the Italian Literature of the Early Twentieth Century The purpose of this research is to bring contribution to the branch of academic studies dedicated to Western Esotericism with aim to clarify the relationship between this literary field and culture in general. Numerous studies were made in this area of research, specifically tackling the influence of Esotericism on modern and contemporary literature. The goal was to show, in particular, the contribution Italian authors had to establishing of esoteric directions in literature, throughout a limited time-span (last decades of the 19th until the early 20th century). The research, based mainly upon concrete examples and documented resources, portrays the attempt of many writers and entire cultural trends in Italy, during the period considered, to adopt an original approach to expressing themselves, one which will in turn help them to overcome the literary boundaries of that time. This direction found fruitful ground and rooted itself in the esoteric culture, the occult sciences, in the lyrical dimension of dreams and of the unconscious. This study shows the relationship between esotericism and Italian science and culture scene between "fin de siècle and avant-garde", with emphasis on the undeniable influence the esoteric culture had made on society, overall scholarship and literature in particular. This is exactly the reason why writers such as Luigi Capuana, Luigi Pirandello, Antonio Fogazzaro, Matilde Serao, etc… were considered for the research. Detailed review of the works of these authors proved it is possible to find concrete evidence of the influence of esotericism by researching the very causes that have given rise to the phenomenon called "Rebirth of the soul" in opposition to the Positivist culture.
    [Show full text]
  • Paul Muldoon and the Context of Postmodernity
    Paul Muldoon and the Context of Postmodernity Stipe Grgas Faculty ofPhilosophy at Zadar, University of Split Abstract The main purpose of this article is not to rehearse the extant postmodernist readings of Muldoon's poetry, but to attempt to situate Muldoon within the constellation of contemporary Irish culture; in more general terms, to show how his poetry negotiates its late twentieth century context. The article proceeds by reviewing how Muldoon's poetry uses narrativity and how these narrative frameworks problematize historical agency and identity and the manner in which the poetry questions the heritage of the Enlightenment. The central part of the article is devoted to placing Muldoon within the processes of postmodernity, particularly its diasporic experience, the way it registers the contemporary mediascapes and the affective investment it records in the mobility of the globalized world. The iiltention of my artiele is neitlier to rehearse tl~eextant postmodernist readings of Muldoon's poetry nor to add another one to the growing stock-pile of interpretations. If at some points of my argument I refer to the poetics of postmodernism, I do so in order to foreground the manner in which Muldoon's poetry engages the context of postmodernity or whatever one chooses to cal1 our late European lifewords. Therefore my primary task is not to pronounce upon his poetic strategies, but rather to attempt to situate Muldoon with the constellation of contemporary Irish culture, to show how it negotiates its late twentieth century-condition. Charles Altieri begins his 1996 article on postmodernism and American poetry by suggesting that postmodernism as a theoretical concept is "dead" and that "it is unlikely to generate much significant new work" (764).
    [Show full text]