What is Movement Poetry? Definition and Features

 WHAT IS MOVEMENT POETRY?

Contrast between Modern poetry & Movement Poetry

The term “Movement Poetry” was coined by J. D. Scott (the editor of ‘The Spectator’) in 1954. The poetry of the 1950s was anew and different from that written in 1920s to 1940s. This new poetry was a reaction against the poets like T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, Dylan Thomas and others. The major Movement Poets of the 1950s were Philip Larkin, Kingsley Amis, Elizabeth Jennings, Thom Gunn, John Wain, D. J. Enright and Robert Conquest.

FEATURES OF MOVEMENT POETRY:

1.   The Movement Poetry was a reaction against spontaneous outburst of feelings and emotion. It appealed more to the head than to the heart of readers.

2.   It focused more on presenting harsh realism after the World War II.

3.   They took the world as materialistic and fundamentally evil. They did not lament for the loss of glory of human life as was done by Eliot in ‘The Wasteland’.

4.   The Movement Poets preferred writing poetry in traditional metrical from and syntax. This was a reaction against the free verse style of modern poetry.

5.   They neglected over-experimentation of the modern poets. They stressed more in simplicity and clarity of expression.

6.   They also rejected too much figurative language and too many allusions and references to and ancient mythologies and philosophies.

7.   They used colloquial speech and irony to express the harsh realities of life.

Philip Larkin was the leader of this Movement Poetry.

 Click to watch a video on Philip Larkin.