In this first English-language study of one of Flanders' greatest poets, Hermine J. van Nuis presents an overview of Guido Gezelle's major poetry collections and focuses upon his evolution as a poet and thinker. The author places Gezelle's poetry within its significant cultural and political contexts and analyzes his major poetry collections in terms of the circumstances of his life that shaped them. Synthesizing various critical viewpoints expressed in Netherlandic scholarship, van Nuis demonstrates how Gezelle's poetic technique paved the way for modern Dutch poetry. The volume is complete with a selected bibliography, notes, references, and a chronology of the poet's life.