Supreme Fictions

In grouping together in a single study the work of Blake, Carlyle, Yeats, and D. H. Lawrence, one becomes aware of a common tradition in which they all participate, of certain shared principles, attitudes, and values, and, despite the individual inflexion of voice, a common language. No matter how distinct each author may be—and the intrinsic individuality of each should not be underestimated—that tradition is obviously Romantic and, more particularly, vitalist. Moreover, as one sees the continuation of that Romantic vitalism, often to varying degrees and taking different forms, in more contemporary writers—from Dylan Thomas, Richard Eberhart, the American Beat writers of the fifties, to Ted Hughes and, more recently, the Children of Albion—one recognizes also that Yeats's prediction, “We were the last romantics” was too gloomy in its finality.