RIDLER, ANNE (BARBARA)

born July 30, 1912, Rugby, Warwickshire, Eng. English poet and dramatist noted for her devotional poetry and for verse drama that shows the influence of the later work of T.S. Eliot. Ridler has been called a modern metaphysical poet; her use of complex metaphors recalled the work of poets such as John Donne and George Herbert. In addition to exploring religious themes, her work celebrated human experience, notably marriage and motherhood. Her books include Poems (1939), Some Time After (1972), and New and Selected Poems (1988). Among her verse plays are Cain (1943), The Trial of Thomas Cranmer (1956), The Jesse Tree: A Masque in Verse (1970), and The Lambton Worm (1978).