Austin Clarke (poet)

:This article is about Austin Clarke the Irish poet. For the Canadian novelist of the same name see: Austin Clarke.

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Austin Clarke (May 9 1896–March 19 1974) was one of the leading Irish poets of the generation after W. B. Yeats. He also wrote plays, novels and memoirs. Clarke's main contribution to Irish poetry was the rigour with which he used technical means borrowed from classical Irish language poetry when writing in English.

Related Topics:
May 9 - 1896 - March 19 - 1974 - Irish poets - W. B. Yeats - Play - Novel - Memoir - Irish language

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Effectively, this meant writing English verse based not so much on metre as on complex patterns of assonance, consonance, and half rhyme. Describing his technique to Robert Frost, Clarke said "I load myself down with chains and try to wriggle free."

Related Topics:
English - Verse - Metre - Assonance - Consonance - Half rhyme - Robert Frost

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