W. H. Auden's moral imagination

Booknews

Against the postmodern /Zeitgeist, Bruce counts himself among the minority affirming moral standards in literature. The author answers the critics of a poet many found troubling ever since his first published Poems (1930). His critique follows Auden from his early years (1927-39), through the transitional years (reflected in the "New Year Letter"), to the later Auden (1941-73) whose moral imagination embraced the Christian concept of original sin as an explanation for modern anxiety. The concluding chapter explicates the reasons for Auden's retreat from his former leftist sympathies. Based on a doctoral dissertation of unspecified date, affiliation. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.