Steve: that thing that he was perfectly aware of what he was up to (taking the piss out of the English, largely) ...is that scholarly thinking? Certainly, it's been controversial for 100 years - mostly based on the notion that nobody could have been that bad and been serious about it. But for analogy, just think of all those politicians who think they're good for their countries!

Most of what I've read (including Henderson) was that he was dead serious about himself and his poetry. No spoofs at all. As to wealth, that surprises me. My impression was that he spent most of his life, and the end of it, impoverished. No?