The Dream Songs (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: John Allyn Smith
- First Published: 1964
- Type of Work: Poetry
- Genres: Poetry, Narrative poetry, Lyric poetry
- Subjects: Parents and children, Suicide, Music or musicians, Religion, Poetry or poets, Dreams, Alcoholism or alcoholics, Substance abuse, Fathers, Christianity, Death or dying, Songs or songwriters
The Dream Songs, a work that Berryman always maintained is one poem in 385 parts, is the poet's tragicomic view of his chaotic existence. Its distinguishing features are its humor and its idiom, both portrayed by Henry, the Berryman “I and not I” ofall the songs (Berryman identified Henry this way in the Harvard Advocate interview). Berryman chose the name Henry precisely because he did not like it, which allows Henry's occasional identification as “Henry Pussycat,” the compliant one on whom the world unloads all its woes, as well as “Huffy Henry,” who sulks,...
[The entire page is 1109 words long]
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