In this collection of essays, Tom Paulin looks at the work of a selection of poets - ranging from Robert Southey to Philip Larkin, from John Clare to Ted Hughes - defining the originality of their subject matter. He also relates the poets to themes of nationhood and to ideas about ways of speaking which run throughout the book. The author also demonstrates the intricate connection between the private imagination and society at large, creating a strong sense of kinship between literature of the past and the present, and exploring the depths which underlie the most simple-seeming lyrics.