Open House (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Theodore Roethke
- First Published: 1941
- Type of Work: Lyric
- Genres: Poetry, Lyric poetry
- Subjects: Self-discovery, Poetry or poets, Spiritual life or spirituality, Emotions, Violence, Truth, Creative process, Poetics
The Poem
“Open House” is the title poem of Theodore Roethke’s first volume of poetry. Friend and fellow poet Stanley Kunitz proposed the book title before Roethke actually had written the poem. Then, upon completing the poem, Roethke placed it at the front of the manuscript, suggesting that both the poem and its theme were to serve as an introductory promise for the poet’s first work as well as for his entire career.
“Open House” is a terse, lyric definition of the speaker’s poetics and, simultaneously, of his methods for the discovery of the self,...
[The entire page is 1539 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
See Also
