O Western Wind (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: George Oppen
- First Published: 1962
- Type of Work: Poem
- Genres: Poetry, Lyric poetry
- Subjects: Love or romance, Women, Wind, Eye
Oppen's determination to avoid what he considered a sort of easy emotionalism or cheap sentimentality restricted his production of poems that reached for a mood of intense feeling. Yet the absence of conventional protestations of desire and the austerity that is a signature of his style made his lyric moments glow with a special quality that he called “emotional clarity.” He hoped to capture the moment “when the world stops, but lights up,” as he put it.
The importance of love for his wife, Mary, is evident in his frequent comments in his letters. When she was the...
[The entire page is 530 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
See Also
