Losing the Marbles (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: James Merrill
- First Published: 1988
- Type of Work: Poem
- Genres: Free verse, Poetry, Ballad, Ode, Meditation, Metaphysical poetry
- Subjects: Memory, Sex or sexuality, Poetry or poets, Old age or elderly people, Heaven
“Losing the Marbles” is a seven-part poem meditating on the various aspects of old age, especially as they relate to poetry. Section 1 is written in the manner of a romantic meditation, indicating the impetus for the poem. The poet has lost his date-calendar and cannot remember what he is supposed to do that day—nor can he remember what he and his friends discussed at lunch. He comments: “another marble gone.” Then he remembers; they were describing what each one's “Heaven” would be. His was to be an acrobat in old Greece when the Parthenon was a living building. The...
[The entire page is 865 words long]
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