A comprehensive assessment of Heaney’s poetry and an excellent introduction to his work, tracking his "contrary progressions" through phases of affirmation and anxiety.
"Beautifully written, full of insights, and well argued."—Jay Parini, author of The Last Station: A Novel of Tolstoy’s Last Year
"The most challenging of recent studies, Hart’s rich exploration of Heaney’s poetry and prose from the 1960s through The Haw Lantern aims to reveal the seamlessness of Heaney’s achievement by seeking in the poems those elements and traits that Heaney allusively indicates in his prose."—Choice
"In their lifetimes few poets inspire the kind of meticulous, full-scale study that henry hart has produced . . . Individual poems are enriched and illuminated. . . . Offers many valuable perspectives on its subject."—Harvard Review
October 1993
