Reviews

“This book succeeds in one of the most difficult tasks of literary criticism. It demonstrates how deeply Auden’s style and diction are essential bearers of complex meanings, and it does so in a lucid and exciting way. It marks a major advance in Auden studies, and its insights will not only serve the needs of readers at all levels of experience, but will also become the starting points for further work by other critics who follow in its footsteps.” — Edward Mendelson, Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Columbia University

Arana creates a coherent argument that accounts for the continuities between Auden's early work of the 1930s and his post-WW II poetry and criticism ... her skillful explications focus on line lengths and boundaries and on subtle metrical innovations crafted by the exploitation of syllabic constraints. Placed in the context of Auden's criticism, these close readings offer new ways of reclaiming this tricky and important poet's later work ... Recommended." - CHOICE