Hugh MacDiarmid and his influence on modern Scottish poetry - language and national identity

The Scottish Renaissance Movement has found its way into numberless anthologies of Modern literature and poetry across the world and has been used as initial point for various studies of the awakening Scottish national identity in the early twentieth century. Unfortunately, the Scottish Renaissance has seldom been subject to literary studies resulting in a sensible lack of monographs on the movement.1The name of Hugh MacDiarmid, however, is inevitably to appear in any context of the Renaissance Movement. His articles in periodicals such asThe Scottish Chapbookshaped the cultural conception of the movement, while his poetical output gave voice to the simmering national awareness and search for identity at the beginning of the century. Questions of the national character and the political role of Scotland pervaded Scottish writing of this time. The idea of Scotland as a small nation where political selfdetermination might develop in co-ordination with cultural self-expression characterizes MacDiarmid’s confidence with regard to the Renaissance movement.2Furthermore, the poet aimed to reinstall the Scots language as a literary means in the arena of academic and scientific writing extending its vocabulary corpus through the work with language dictionaries and ancient terminology. Approaching Scots in this manner has rendered him a number of opponents criticizing the artificiality of his poetry. On the whole, MacDiarmid has been an ambiguous figure provoking reactions with all of his actions and attitudes. He was the personified extreme, combining nationalist views with socialist dreams, spiritual sensitivity with objective reason. The paper at hand examines the literary effects of Hugh MacDiarmid’s writing on contemporary Scottish poetry on the positive as well as on the negative side. One of the major questions in this work focuses on the relation between literature and national identity in the Scottish Renaissance and afterwards. In how far are the demands of distinctive Scottishness realised in recent Scottish poetry? And is MacDiarmid’s conception of national identity still applicable to the modern Republic after the re-establishment of its Parliament in 1999? Furthermore, MacDiarmid claimed that Scottish identity could only be fully expressed through the Scots language. Thus, the second major subject within this examination will be the use of the Vernacular subsequent to the Scottish Renaissance and its function as a medium for national identity.

Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Hugh MacDiarmid and the Scottish Renaissance
  • 2.1 From Christopher Murray Grieve to Hugh MacDiarmid
  • 2.2 The concept of national identity
  • 2.3 The influence of Modernism
  • 2.4 Imaginism and Symbolism
  • 2.5 The Liberation of Language
• 3. The Poetry of Hugh MacDiarmid
  • 3.1 Annals of the Five Senses
  • 3.2 Sangshaw and Penny Wheep
  • 3.3 A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle
  • 3.4 Stony Limits and the Period of Synthetic English
  • 3.5 In Memoriam James Joyce
• 4. MacDiarmid's Contemporaries
  • 4.1 Robert Garioch - Closing the gaps
  • 4.2 Norman MacCaig – Distrusting Language
• 5. The 1960s and 1970s
  • 5.1 Scottishness after Worl War II
  • 5.2 Edwin Morgan – Morganmania
  • 5.3 Douglas Dunn - Barbarous Voices
• 6. The 1980s and 1990s
  • 6.1 Establishing the Scottish Parliament
  • 6.2 Liz Lochhead - The Personal Angle
  • 6.3 W.N. Herbert - Outside and Inside
  • 6.4 Kathleen Jamie – Recontextualising stereotypes
• 7. Conclusion

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)

This paper aims to examine the literary effects of Hugh MacDiarmid's writing on contemporary Scottish poetry, exploring both the positive and negative impacts. It delves into the relationship between literature and national identity within the context of the Scottish Renaissance and its evolution. Key questions include the extent to which Scottish identity is realized in modern poetry and the continued relevance of MacDiarmid's conception of national identity in the modern republic. Furthermore, the paper investigates the use of the Scots language following the Renaissance and its function as a medium for national identity.

• The influence of Hugh MacDiarmid on contemporary Scottish poetry
• The interplay between literature and national identity in the Scottish Renaissance and beyond
• The evolution of Scottish identity in modern poetry
• The continued relevance of MacDiarmid's conception of national identity
• The role of the Scots language as a medium for national identity

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)

Chapter 2 explores the poetic and philosophical principles underlying Hugh MacDiarmid's writing, focusing on his pivotal role in the Scottish Renaissance Movement. It examines his transition from Christopher Murray Grieve to his literary persona, Hugh MacDiarmid, and the influence of Modernism on his work. This chapter serves as a foundation for the detailed analysis of MacDiarmid's poetic development in subsequent chapters.

Chapter 3 analyzes the poetry of Hugh MacDiarmid, focusing on key works that represent the main shifts in his poetic development. The chapter highlights his use of the Scots language and his exploration of national identity through his poems. The analysis of his poetry provides a framework for comparing his lyrical concepts with those of other Scottish poets discussed in later chapters.

Chapter 4 sets the poetic output of selected poets of the twentieth century within the context of Hugh MacDiarmid's work, specifically focusing on the concepts of national identity and the usage of the Vernacular. The chapter highlights the diverse perspectives and approaches of these poets, showcasing the enduring impact of MacDiarmid's legacy on the development of Scottish poetry.

Chapter 5 investigates the evolution of Scottish poetry in the 1960s and 1970s, focusing on the works of Edwin Morgan, Douglas Dunn, and other prominent poets of the era. The chapter explores the influence of social and political changes on the themes and styles of these writers, demonstrating the continued relevance of national identity and the Scots language in their work.

Chapter 6 examines the 1980s and 1990s, analyzing the works of Liz Lochhead, W.N. Herbert, and Kathleen Jamie. The chapter explores the emergence of new voices and perspectives within the Scottish literary landscape, reflecting on the ongoing dialogue between tradition and innovation in contemporary Scottish poetry.

Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)

The main keywords and focus topics of this work include the Scottish Renaissance Movement, Hugh MacDiarmid, national identity, Scots language, contemporary Scottish poetry, Modernism, and Vernacular. The paper explores the complexities of these themes, examining how they intersect and influence the development of Scottish literature.

Details

• College: Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg
• Grade: 1,0
• Author: Ines Ramm (Author)
• Publication Year: 2006
• Pages: 75
• Catalog Number: V65637
• ISBN (eBook): 9783638581547
• ISBN (Book): 9783656802129
• Language: English
• Tags: Hugh MacDiarmid Scottish