The Plural of Us

"The Plural of Us is an immensely ambitious look at the first person plural pronoun in Auden's poetry. Presenting a useful account of recent debates in literary scholarship on Auden, Costello traces the evolution of his thinking about the relation of the poet to audience and larger community. This book is a significant contribution to the study of modern English poetry."--Rosanna Warren, author of Fables of the Self: Studies in Lyric Poetry"This persuasive book examines the way modern poets have dealt with the problem of community. Poetry, at least since the romantic period, has conceived of itself as standing apart from the greater mass of humanity--so how is the poet supposed to address the collective? Costello is a master close reader--one of the most talented working today--and her extended readings, focusing on the poetry of W. H. Auden, are a signal strength of this book."--David Rosen, Trinity College