Censored Writer (A Biography of D.H. Lawrence)

Author: [British] Keith Sagar
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-03-01
Features: David Herbert Lawrence (David Herbert Lawrence), a highly imaginative and unique modern British writer, has always been a figure subject to both praise and criticism from critics. In his seminal work on literary theory, Novel and People, the British Marxist literary critic Ralph Fox hailed Lawrence as "the last writer in Britain to possess a deep love for the beauty of the British countryside and land." The prolific British writer E. M. Forster remarked that among contemporary novelists, "Lawrence is the only one with prophetic insight," and "only Lawrence's works resonate with melodious songs and brim with poetic essence." However, there were also opposing views to these remarks. The most representative of these is T. S. Eliot (Thomas Stearns Eliot), the giant of modern British poetry and critic, who considered Lawrence's works wild and unworthy of attention. He described Lawrence as "a man possessed, an innocent savior with a messianic zeal," and said that at best, his works were merely guides for those aimless wanderers.