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Poetry in Process Poetry in Process: The Compositional Practices of D.H. Lawrence, Dylan Thomas and Philip Larkin being a thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of Hull by Alexandra Mary Davies BA (University of Wales, Lampeter), MA (University of Wales, Cardiff) September 2008 i Contents Acknowledgements vi Abbreviations vii INTRODUCTION 1 I GENERAL 1. Methodologies 4 Chronology, Objective and Subjective Changes 5 Identifying Phases in the Writing Process 8 Traditional Manuscript Studies 10 French Genetic Criticism 12 Anglo-American and German Editorial Theory: The Problem of Textual 'Authority' 25 Compositional Criticism 34 'Versioning' 39 Producing an Edition 41 Editions of the Poems of Lawrence, Thomas and Larkin 42 Approaches of the Methodologies 52 Preparing an Edition of the Three Poets 57 Approaching the Drafts 59 2. Practicalities 63 'Operation Manuscript' 63 The Development of Modern Literary Manuscript Acquisition The Poetry Collection: State University of New York at Buffalo 67 The Humanities Research Centre, University of Texas at Austin 74 The Manuscripts D.H. Lawrence 75 Dylan Thomas 81 Philip Larkin 89 ii 3. Compositional Practices 103 Theories and Definitions 104 Work Routines 114 Pen(cil) on Paper 122 Attitudes to Completed/ Published Poems 129 Conclusion 131 II PARTICULAR 4. 'The Immediate Present': D.H. Lawrence 133 'Sorrow' 135 'The Inheritance' 140 'The Virgin Mother' 154 'Piano' 163 5. 'Shut...in a Tower of Words': Dylan Thomas 184 Vocation 186 'Prologue' 191 The Manuscripts of 'Prologue' 196 'Versions': The Growth of 'Prologue' 198 Early, doggerel versions 199 The Transitional Phase 206 The Final Phase 212 Thomas as a Collector of Words 213 i) Thesaurus Lists and Reference Books 217 ii) Rhyme Scheme and Form 225 iii) Intermediate Versions 230 6. Poetry, Dyslexia and Stringing the 'Bait': Dylan Thomas 234 Dyslexia 234 Obscurity 244 iii Handwriting and Spelling 248 Syntax 252 'Ballad of the Long-legged Bait' 255 7. 'A Verbal Device': Philip Larkin 272 'Deceptions' and 'Absences' 273 The Manuscripts 278 'Deceptions' 282 The Growth of the Poem 288 'Absences' 308 The Growth of the Poem 313 8. Setting 'Unchangably in Order': The Drafting of Philip Larkin's 'Love Songs in Age' 326 Introduction 326 The Typescripts: A Comparison of the Two Versions 330 Creating a 'Verbal Device': The Growth of the Poem 336 i) The 'Snatch' 338 ii) Perfecting the form of the first stanza before proceeding 341 iii) Misdirection or Deviation 349 iv) Aiming at the final line 359 9. Ships of Death: A Comparative Study 366 D.H. Lawrence: 'The Ship of Death' 367 Dylan Thomas: ‘Poem on his Birthday’ and 'Prologue' 381 Philip Larkin: 'Next, Please' 393 Works Cited 405 Appendix A : D.H. Lawrence 417 A1 'The Inheritance': Draft 417 A2. 'The Piano': Early Draft 418 iv A3. 'The Piano': Late Draft 419 Appendix B : Dylan Thomas 420 B1. 'Prologue' : Doggerel Version 420 B2. 'Prologue': Transitional Version 421 B3. 'Prologue': Transitional Version 422 B4. 'Prologue': Worksheet 423 B 5. 'Prologue' : Final Phase 424 B 6. 'Prologue': Final Phase 426 B7. ‘Poem on his Birthday’: Draft 428 B8. ‘Poem on his Birthday’: Worksheet 1 429 B9. ‘Poem on his Birthday’: Worksheet 2 430 Appendix C : Philip Larkin 431 C1. 'Deceptions': Early draft 431 C2. 'Deceptions': Draft 432 C3. 'Deceptions': Draft 433 C4. 'Absences' : Draft 434 C5. 'Absences': Draft 435 C6. 'Absences': Draft 436 C7. 'Love Songs in Age': Typescript 1 437 C8. 'Love Songs in Age': Typescript 2 438 v Acknowledgements For permission to use the manuscripts of D.H. Lawrence, I would like to thank: Pollinger Limited and the Estate of Frieda Lawrence Ravagli ; The Hallward Library, The University of Nottingham and The Harry Ransom Humanities Research Centre, University of Texas. For permission to use Dylan Thomas's manuscripts, I would like to thank: David Higham Associates; The Houghton Library, Harvard University, The Poetry Collections of The University Libraries, State University of New York at Buffalo; The University of Deleware; The Harry Ransom Humanities Research Centre and The British Library, London. For permission to quote the manuscripts of Philip Larkin, I would like to thank: The Society of Authors; The Marvell Press, England and Australia; The Brynmor Jones Library, The University of Hull and The British Library, London. I would also like to thank my supervisor James Booth for his help and support. vi Abbreviations Larkin CP – Larkin, Philip, 1990. Collected Poems, Anthony Thwaite (ed). London: Marvell Press. Lawrence CP – Lawrence, D.H, 1993. The Complete Poems, Vivian de Sola Pinto and Warren Roberts (eds). Harmondsworth: Penguin. Thomas CP – Thomas, Dylan, 1953. Collected Poems 1934-1952. London: Dent. Thomas NB – Thomas, Dylan, 1968. Poet in the Making: The Notebooks of Dylan Thomas. Ralph Maud (ed). London: Dent. vii Introduction Philip Larkin used the image of Winston Smith's blank notebook in George Orwell's 1984 to illustrate the excitement experienced by the writer faced with an as yet unwritten text. He explains that: the books the past has given us…are printed; they are magnificent, but they are finite. Only the blank book, the manuscript book, may be the book we shall give the future. Its potentialities are endless. (Larkin 1983: 86) This study of 'poetry in process' will compare the 'compositional practices' of three twentieth century poets in order to come closer to understanding the means by which poems are written. One conclusion which is perhaps inevitable from such a comparative study as this is that there is not a single approach to writing a poem. Each poet has idiosyncratic habits. The thesis is divided into nine chapters, the first three of which cover the history and theory of manuscript study. 'Methodologies' evaluates differing critical approaches to manuscripts. It presents my methodology, which emphasises the importance of establishing chronological order and looking at subjective and objective changes. It considers, among other things, French Genetic Criticism, which seeks to use manuscripts to uncover the writing process (Deppman et al 2004: 11), and German Textual Criticism, which argues that each change to a text creates a new 'version' (Zeller 1975: 240). Sally Bushell has formulated an 'Anglo- 1 American genetic criticism' which finds a means of redefining 'intention' in terms of writers' discernible changes during the process of drafting (Bushell 2003: 58). 'Practicalities' looks briefly at my personal experience of working with manuscripts and outlines how modern literary manuscripts came to be collected by academic institutions, first in America and later in Britain. It explores the three poets' attitude to manuscripts and considers Larkin's active role in keeping manuscripts in Britain despite his self-consciousness at having his own processes exposed during his lifetime (DPL(2)/3/55/33). Finally, I consider how Andrew Motion has taken up the campaign to give incentives for British writers to sell their manuscripts to British institutions (http://www.guardian.co.uk). 'Compositional Practices' considers each poet's theoretical and practical approach to writing and establishes contrasts between their modes of composition. It explores: their statements about the nature and purpose of poetry; their work routines; their methods of setting their work on paper and their attitudes to the complete or published poems. The remaining six chapters take the form of case studies of the compositional practices of the three poets. '"The Immediate Present": D.H. Lawrence' focuses on the way in which Lawrence creates new versions of poems concerned with his mother's death in new contexts within the notebooks. It considers 'Sorrow,' 'The Inheritance', 'The Virgin Mother' and 'The Piano.' There are two chapters each on Dylan Thomas and Philip Larkin. 'Shut…in a Tower of Words' looks at Thomas's relationship to language and his poetry about poetic vocation. It traces the growth of 'Prologue' through three distinct phases and 2 illustrates Thomas's typical techniques including his use of Roget's Thesaurus. 'Poetry, Dyslexia and Stringing the Bait' draws on biographical and manuscript evidence to argue that Thomas's techniques and Gestalt attitude to writing show possible dyslexic characteristics. It examines the structure of 'Ballad of the Long- legged Bait' and seeks to demonstrate how Thomas's unique drafting processes shaped the final poem. '"A Verbal Device": Philip Larkin' investigates Larkin's conflicting impulses towards 'Romanticism' and a 'less deceived' diction. It re- evaluates the manuscripts of 'Deceptions' (discussed by A.T. Tolley in Larkin At Work) and 'Absences' (considered by Graham Chesters in 'Tireless play: Speculations on Larkin's "Absences"'). 'Setting Unchangeably in Order: The Drafting of "Love Songs in Age"' looks at two distinct, historically distanced versions of 'Love Songs in Age.' Unusually for Larkin, two phases of drafting led to two typescript versions different enough to be considered as separate poems. Finally, 'Ships of Death: A Comparative Study' compares poems by each poet which share the common symbol of a ship of death. It juxtaposes draft material related to Lawrence's 'The Ship of Death', Thomas's 'Prologue' and ‘Poem on his Birthday’, and Philip Larkin's 'Next, Please', in order to draw out their startling differences of approach to compositional practice. 3 Chapter 1 Methodologies The traditional literary critic seeks to dissect the published poem in terms of language, imagery and form. By a close consideration of manuscript evidence, this thesis aims to step behind the completed work of art and scrutinize how these effects came into being. The access to manuscripts provided to the contemporary critic by the growth of library interest in 'foul papers' and drafts during the twentieth century has made it possible to discover the 'back story' to the poem: the potential byways that were never taken; the experiments with establishing a form; deviations and misdirections that were erased. This study does not seek simply to compare the published poem with its drafts, but to pay attention to the process of writing itself.
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