Edwin Muir Summary

Though the translations of Kafka he did with his wife, Willa Muir, have long given Edwin Muir a secure place in modern literature, his reputation as a modern British poet of the first rank came only l... Read more

Edwin Muir's reputation today rests primarily on his poetry and secondarily on his criticism, autobiography, and translations. Between 1927 and 1932, however, he wrote three novels that served his per... Read more

In the following review of Edwin Muir's Collected Poems, poet W. S. Merwin compares Muir to Robert Frost, W. B. Yeats, and William Wordsworth, and explores the duality of Muir's idealism... Read more

In the following excerpt from a longer chapter in an academic study, Daiches considers the ways in which Muir's poetry and autobiographical works communicate “his shifting visions of hum... Read more

In the following essay, Bruce considers the integrity—meaning the consistency, soundness, and sincerity—of Muir throughout his career as a literary critic and a poet. First I wish to ack... Read more

In the following essay, McCulloch analyzes how Muir's experience in Prague, translating Kafka, and working with Czech refugees influenced his religious and political views and his development a... Read more

In the following essay, Frisardi suggests that unlike the work of Muir's more explicitly political contemporaries, his poetry reimagines history as an internal event, which it depicts economica... Read more

In the following review of Muir's Collected Poems, Friar provides an overview of the major themes of Muir's poetry: the tension between time and eternity, the horror of the first and sec... Read more

In the following essay, poet and literary critic R. P. Blackmur argues that Muir is an “unprofessional poet” who nevertheless produces “hard and interesting things … out of... Read more

In the following essay from a book-length work on mysticism in poets such as Yeats, Blake, and Coleridge, Raine—a poet and literary critic—considers the use of fable and universal archet... Read more

In the following essay, Mellown provides an overview of First Poems (1925), Chorus of the Newly Dead (1929), Six Poems (1932), Variations on a Time Theme (1934), and Journeys and Places (1937). Althou... Read more

In the following review, Luhrs focuses on structure and mood in First Poems. American poetry in the past few years has been so obsessed by painted lips, anatomical love, bright colors, and solid image... Read more

In the last poem before his death Edwin Muir wrote, I have been taught by dreams and fantasies Learned from the friendly and the darker phantoms And got great knowledge and courtesy from the dead. . .... Read more

In the following essay, Merton discusses Muir's poetry in relation to the views advanced in his critical writings and lectures. A recent popular survey of English philosophy since 1900 gives us... Read more

In the following essay, Wiseman offers a close examination of "The Labyrinth, " particularly focusing on Muir's symbolist techniques and the nonlogical structure of the poem. The ... Read more

In the following review, Smith praises Muir's letters. Art is for me the only way of growing, of becoming myself more purely; and I value it for myself, I know it is my good, the only real goo... Read more

In the following essay, Porter discusses memory and imagination in The Story and the Fable and An Autobiography. I Among the appeals of reading an autobiography is its evocation of the writer's... Read more

In the following essay, Phillips surveys critical assessments of Muir's work. The nature and appeal of Muir's work have been the most important factor in the rise of his reputation; but ... Read more

In the following essay, Dodd and Lapsley argue that the central concern of Muir's autobiography is neither self-reflection nor self-definition, but an inquiry into the definition of humanness. ... Read more

In the following essay, Fleishman compares Muir's autobiographical writing in The Story and the Fable and An Autobiography focusing on his mythic interpretation of his experiences in the latter... Read more

In the following examination of "Day and Night, " Huberman traces "a pattern of development from manuscript to poem. " Because it is not often that the original seed from w... Read more

In the following essay, Di Piero considers sources, themes, and philosophical viewpoint in Muir's poetry. Reviewing the Collected Poems in 1955, Edwin Muir criticized Wallace Stevens for follow... Read more

In the following essay, Holloway assesses the relation of Muir's poetry to modern literary movements and cultural trends. The recognition which any poet seeks from any reader is first and forem... Read more

In the following essay, Mills examines key subjects and themes in Muir's later poetry. It is difficult to think of Edwin Muir without calling to mind those simple, lonely, and nearly anonymous ... Read more

In the following essay, Mellown traces Muir's influence as a translator and critic of the works of Franz Kafka. The Growth of Franz Kafka's reputation in England and America has been stu... Read more