description Madoc: A Mystery Overview
Madoc: A Mystery is a book-length poetry collection by Northern Irish poet Paul Muldoon, published in 1990. The work constructs an alternate history in which Romantic poets Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey carry out their actual historical plan to establish a utopian community called Pantisocracy along the Susquehanna River in North America. Muldoon structures the narrative through a sequence of poems adopting various voices and formal approaches. The title references the medieval Welsh legend of Prince Madoc, who according to folklore sailed to America centuries before Columbus, linking the mythical and historical dimensions of European presence in the New World.
help Madoc: A Mystery FAQ
Who wrote the poetry collection Madoc: A Mystery?
Madoc: A Mystery is an ambitious 1990 poetry collection written by the Irish writer Paul Muldoon. Muldoon is highly regarded for his complex and surreal poetic style.
What is the premise of Madoc: A Mystery?
The collection is notable for its alternate history that imagines Romantic poets Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey founding a utopian society in North America. This premise is based on their real-life historical plan.
What themes are explored in Madoc: A Mystery?
The book explores themes of idealism, colonialism, and the clash between philosophy and frontier survival. Muldoon uses the historical backdrop to weave together Native American myth and European Romanticism.
When was Madoc: A Mystery published?
The poetry collection was published in 1990. It is considered one of Muldoon's most structurally dense and intellectually demanding works.
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