Louis Untermeyer, ed. (18851977). Modern British Poetry. 1920.
The New Influences and Tendencies MERE statistics are
untrustworthy; dates are even less dependable. But, to avoid
hairsplitting, what we call "modern" English literature may be
said to date from about 1885. A few writers who are decidedly
"of the period" are, as a matter of strict chronology, somewhat
earlier. But the chief tendencies may be divided into seven
periods. They are (1) The decay of Victorianism and the growth
of a purely decorative art, (2) The rise and decline of the
Æsthetic Philosophy, (3) The muscular influence of Henley, (4)
The Celtic revival in Ireland, (5) Rudyard Kipling and the
ascendency of mechanism in art, (6) John Masefield and the
return of the rhymed narrative, (7) The war and the appearance
of "The Georgians." It may be interesting to trace these
developments in somewhat greater detail. The age commonly called
Victorian came to an end about 1885. It was an age distinguished
by many true idealists and many false ideal