Jon Silkin is Fellow of Poetry at the University of Leeds.

• Contents Preface Preface to the Second Edition Acknowledgements Introduction Thomas Hardy Rudyard Kipling and Rupert Brooke Charles Sorley and Others Edward Thomas Edmund Blunden and Ivor Gurney Siegfried Sassoon Herbert Reed, Richard Aldington and Ford Madox Ford Wilfred Owen Issac Rosenberg David Jones Conclusion Appendix Select Bibliography Index

'..through Silkin's subtle and informing consideration the poets take on a new individuality and stature.' - The Daily Telegraph'a most impressive book.' - Times Higher Education Supplement'How simulative of ever-fresh speculation is Jon Silkin's logically developed exploration, sometimes impassioned and often exciting.' - The Times'Should find a permanent place in the literature dealing with the Great War.' - New Statesman