Reclaimed Romanticism in Robin Hyde's 'Houses by the Sea'

Abstract

Abstract:BROOKS: This essay describes how Robin Hyde (Iris Wilkinson, 1906–39) drew on poetry of the Romantic period to portray suburban New Zealand in her sequence Houses by the Sea (1937–8). Writing against what she saw as 1930s New Zealand's attempts to imitate English culture and poetry, Hyde presents Romanticism as individual voices coming together to share their experiences of the country. This could lead New Zealand towards a new, post-colonial, national voice.