Selected Poems, 1946-1985 (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991-2005)
At a glance:
- Author: James Merrill
- First Published: 1992
- Type of Work: Poetry
- Genres: Poetry, Narrative poetry
- Subjects: Family or family life, Gay men, Homosexuality or homosexuals, Wit or humor, Hallucinations or illusions, Greece or Greek people, Puns or punning
No American poet since Marianne Moore has been so concerned with armoring as James Merrill. His early work is almost entirely a carefully crafted set of subterfuges to hide the true emotional self. As Judith Moffett has noted in her book James Merrill: An Introduction to the Poetry (1984), Merrill’s subject matter is most often passion or emotional involvement, and at first he used Auden’s device of addressing a nongendered “you” to conceal his homosexual loves. After 1973, when he decided to become more open about his emotional life, he dropped some of his protective...
[The entire page is 2095 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
See Also
