Reviews

Six Poets: Hardy to Larkin by Alan Bennett

vincentkonrad's review against another edition

5.0

v accessible. some great poems and satisfying commentary.

aliceandthegiantbookshelf's review

emotional informative medium-paced

4.0

I still like Larkin best but enjoyed this informative look at the other 5 too, particularly Hardy. I had not heard of Macneice and very much enjoyed his section. 

changeablelandscape's review against another edition

funny informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

I've read this twice now -- it's an interesting collection of poems by a handful of male British poets from the early to mid 20th century, with a lot of commentary by Bennett.  Some of the poems I love, and some of them don't do much for me, but Bennett's commentary is (for me) always interesting and thought-provoking.

katewhite77's review against another edition

emotional funny informative

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

A very enjoyable and informative read.

Useful for poetry beginners such as myself and expertly read and contextualised by the legend that is Alan Bennett.

To my shame, it has taken me until now to realise Thomas Hardy was known as a poet as a poet as well as a novelist. I just thought he dabbled a bit.

AE Housman's A Shropshire Lad isn't what the title would first suggest. No spoilers here, but surface to say I am now intrigued to read the collection.

John Betjeman wrote funny poems! I just thought he wrote serious ones. He was also fond of being on TV.

WH Auðen followed love to America and became a naturalised American. I thought he  spent his days here.

I learned all about a new to me poet Louis Macniece from Northern Ireland. Well known for being able to see both sides of a story.

I have finally heard more than the first few lines of that well known poem by Philip Larkin concerning parental responsibility. You know the one, and if you don't, I heartily recommend you let Alan Bennett's dulcet tones enlighten you.

daveg30's review against another edition

inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

bearunderthecypresses's review

emotional funny informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

Studious fans of The History Boys will appreciate the selections made within. 

rebeccaolee's review against another edition

5.0

Such a wonderful short anthology with illuminating and thoughtful commentary from the peerless Alan Bennett. Enjoyed his balance of biographical detail and critical analysis for each poet that is accessible and interesting for scholars and casual readers alike.

Only criticism is that he missed out MacNeice's "Snow" and Larkin's "The Whitsun Weddings"! Other than that, a fine selection for all six poets - I really enjoyed revisiting poems studied at university, and encountering new poems too. This was just perfect for my daily commute; what a treasure.

gayladriel's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

radella_hardwick's review against another edition

3.5

I would've appreciated more commentary on the poems than the lives of the poets.

hey_laura_mc's review

5.0

Full of delicious literary nuggets and surprises. I didn't think I liked Hardy but it turns out I do, sort of. Houseman was a bit of an odd one, and Betjeman's a little populist, but I found poetry I really liked by both - would like to try a version of Betjeman's NW5 and N6 as a writing exercise. As always, Bennett hits the nail on the head time and time again - Hardy's 'At Church' presents the vanity of the clergyman and the disillusionment of the young woman without any moral, just the poet "putting a frame around it"; Betjeman was "so English it was almost a joke"; MacNeice was "riven by doubt and duality" and wasn't "single-minded enough" to make a fool out of himself as other poets did (over boys, over Communism etc) and perhaps his poetry suffered a little as a result. I'd never read 'The Slow Starter' before and it's sublime - a testament to lost opportunities, the wish to be a little bolder, a little bit more forceful. But the best is saved till last: Larkin. Bennett has a word about narrative voice, which I liked for its pith ("The 'I' [in Larkin} is always the eye. It is not always I.") and will definitely use in class, I think, for easy explanation, but also appeals because Bennett's saying Larkin isn't necessarily who he's pretending to be in his verse (hence the bonfire of diaries after his death, eh?) Nevertheless, he's not a nice man (great anecdote about him saying to a Hull student caught at a bus stop in the rain with him "Don't think you're coming under my umbrella" and this being a metaphor for his art - resolutely refusing to console). Finally, Bennett's choice of Toads Revisited, Aubade and The Trees as the final poems to end the anthology is just PERFECT. Loved, loved, loved.