The Uncommon Tongue: The Poetry and Criticism of Geoffrey Hill

In the analysis of Hill’s poetry and critical ideas, Vincent Sherry illuminates Hill’s often obscure and oblique language, drawing connections between the rich verbal textures of the verse and the poet’s recurring concerns as a critic. The author focuses on Hill’s work in the context of postwar British literature and relates it to American as well as British extensions of literary modernism. The result is an engaging and far-ranging study of one of England’s most contemporary poets.