Denise Levertov Criticism
Denise Levertov, a prominent figure in postmodern poetry, has left an indelible mark on the literary world with her distinctive style and thematic exploration. Born in England in 1923 and later becoming a celebrated American poet, Levertov's work is characterized by her adept use of objectivist and projectivist verse, uniting personal, political, and spiritual themes. Her association with the Black Mountain poets and influences like William Carlos Williams and Ezra Pound are evident in her keen observations of everyday life, infusing mundane objects with profound personal and spiritual significance. This dynamic approach is noted by Kenneth Rexroth, who praised her ability to convey immediacy and clarity in her poetry, as seen in his critique.
Levertov's poetic journey began with the publication of The Double Image, a collection imbued with traditional English influences. Upon moving to the United States in 1948, her style evolved, embracing free verse and focusing on the concrete imagery and spiritual qualities of everyday life. Her early American collections, such as Here and Now and O Taste and See, established her as a vital contemporary voice, transforming everyday experiences into lyrical celebrations, as noted by Ralph J. Mills, Jr.. Doris Earnshaw remarks on her artistic evolution in Collected Earlier Poems 1940–1960, highlighting the impact of her American debut on her career trajectory in her analysis.
Her poetry captures "authentic experience" by intertwining form and content, a technique that blends the concrete with the abstract. This is evident in her protest against the Vietnam War in collections like The Sorrow Dance, where she addresses social issues while expressing a reverence for nature, reflecting Gerard Manley Hopkins's concept of "inscape," as explored by N. E. Condini in Embracing Old Gods. Her later works, such as Candles in Babylon, demonstrate her ability to blend grace and power, though James Finn Cotter suggests that her political themes can sometimes overshadow poetic craft, as discussed in his critique.
Levertov's prose also complements her poetic endeavors, offering profound reflections on creativity and language, as noted in Light Up the Cave, with Ingrid Rimland commending its insightful exploration. Her commitment to integrating everyday reality with emotional and ethical insights is critiqued by Charles Altieri for revealing the limits of her earlier aesthetic principles, as seen in his analysis.
Despite some critiques regarding the coherence and consistency in her collections, such as The Jacob's Ladder and Life in the Forest, critics like John Simon and William H. Pritchard recognize the emotional depth and craftsmanship in her work, as detailed in their assessments (Simon and Pritchard). Harry Marten further acknowledges her ability to engage readers, affirming her position as a major contemporary poet in his critique. Her enduring legacy is reflected in a body of work that continues to challenge and enrich the postmodern literary landscape.
Contents
- Principal Works
- Levertov, Denise (Vol. 3)
- Levertov, Denise (Vol. 2)
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Levertov, Denise (Vol. 28)
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Denise Levertov and the Limits of the Aesthetics of Presence
(summary)
In the following essay, Charles Altieri critiques Denise Levertov's poetry, highlighting her shift from objectivist aesthetics of presence to addressing pressing social issues, particularly the Vietnam War, ultimately arguing that her poetic attempts to reconcile these themes reveal the inadequacies of her earlier aesthetic principles in addressing ethical and social challenges.
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Embracing Old Gods
(summary)
In the following essay, N. E. Condini examines Denise Levertov’s early poetry collections, highlighting her evolution from a focus on solitude and nature to a more refined exploration of life's cycles and the interplay between death and creation, while also noting her initial tendencies towards ornate language and romanticism.
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Doris Earnshaw
(summary)
In the following essay, Doris Earnshaw examines Denise Levertov's "Collected Earlier Poems 1940-1960," highlighting the poet's consistent themes and forms that reflect the terrors and pleasures of the twentieth century, and commends her ability to blend tangible reality with emotional sincerity and depth throughout her career.
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Light Up the Cave
(summary)
The critic highlights Denise Levertov's "Light Up the Cave" as a collection showcasing her dual talent in poetry and prose, emphasizing her memoirs' honesty and astuteness, particularly in reflecting on her relationships with fellow poets and her wartime experiences.
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A Poet Offers Prose That Glows
(summary)
In the following essay, Ingrid Rimland praises Denise Levertov's prose collection Light Up the Cave for its insightful, polished exploration of language and creativity, highlighting its emotional depth, liberal sentiments, and homage to other writers, while advocating for its rereadability and respect as a testament to Levertov's dedication to her craft.
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Poets Then and Now: A Review of Recent Literature
(summary)
In the following essay, James Finn Cotter critiques Denise Levertov's Candles in Babylon, acknowledging her technical prowess but arguing that her political poems sometimes prioritize message over poetic artistry, potentially diminishing the impact of her work.
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Daniel Berrigan, S.J.
(summary)
In the following essay, Daniel Berrigan, S.J., praises Denise Levertov's "Light Up the Cave" for its clear-eyed common sense, political awareness, and moral integrity, arguing that her work counters the despair and triviality in contemporary literature while celebrating her as a poet and political writer committed to societal issues.
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Denise Levertov and the Limits of the Aesthetics of Presence
(summary)
- Levertov, Denise (Vol. 1)
- Levertov, Denise (Vol. 8)
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Levertov, Denise (Vol. 15)
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More Brass than Enduring
(summary)
In the following essay, John Simon critiques Denise Levertov's poetry collection The Jacob's Ladder as a fusion of cultural influences that results in an uneven quality, suggesting that her free verse is often lacking in compelling movement and marked by arbitrary line breaks.
- George Bowering
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Criticisms of Life: Sound and Half-Sound
(summary)
In the following essay, William H. Pritchard critiques Denise Levertov's Life in the Forest, highlighting the strength of its first section for its emotional depth and narrative structure, while noting that the later sections feel ephemeral and lacking in coherence.
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Images, Artifacts, Entertainments
(summary)
In the following essay, Hugh Seidman critiques Denise Levertov's "Life in the Forest" for its lack of editing and tendency towards verbosity, while acknowledging the emotional depth in her personal and political poems, despite the latter's reliance on familiar exhortations.
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Review of Denise Levertov: 'Life in the Forest'
(summary)
In the following essay, Harry Marten argues that Denise Levertov's Life in the Forest displays exquisite craftsmanship and a continuous exploration of perceptual relationships, while acknowledging some weaker elements in the collection, ultimately highlighting the work's ability to prompt active reader engagement and fulfill her artistic goals.
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More Brass than Enduring
(summary)
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Levertov, Denise
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Denise Levertov
(summary)
Rexroth was an influential American poet, critic, editor, and translator, who was active in the San Francisco-based literary revival of the 1940s and 1950s. With the following review, originally published in Poetry in November, 1957, Rexroth became an early proponent of the work Levertov produced after coming to the United States, finding it superior to the poetry of most of her contemporaries.
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A review of O Taste and See
(summary)
In this excerpt, Mazzocco offers a mixed review of O Taste and See, complaining about the obscurity of many poems in the volume while lauding others for their skilled construction and dramatic appeal.
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Some Notes on Organic Form
(summary)
In the following essay, originally published in Poetry (Chicago), Levertov discusses the creation of 'organic' poetry.
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Denise Levertov: The Poetry of the Immediate
(summary)
In this essay, originally published in Mills's Contemporary American Poetry in 1965, he analyzes Levertov's poetry as it relates to that of William Carlos Williams and discusses her use of "personal observation and knowledge."
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Sound of Direction
(summary)
The following review of O Taste and See comments on Levertov's effective use of sound devices in her poetry, and also considers the poet's use of sound and hearing as a subject in her work.
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The Poet in the World
(summary)
In the following essay, originally delivered at a symposium in 1967, Levertov asserts that poets must be actively and politically engaged in the events of their time.
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Magistral Strokes and First Steps
(summary)
Zweig offers an unfavorable assessment of Relearning the Alphabet, criticizing the 'literariness' of the collection and faulting several poems that seem 'incomplete.'
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Levertov
(summary)
In the following review of The Poet in the World, originally published in the Hudson Review in 1974, Carruth analyzes Levertov's poetry as it relates to the poetic theories she espouses in her essays. He praises Levertov's 'personal and practical' vision of her work and endorses, in particular, her accomplishments in the poem 'Staying Alive.'
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Denise Levertov with Susan Rowe
(summary)
In the following interview, Levertov and Rowe discuss Levertov's writing process and influences, including her childhood reading, experiences with dance and teaching, and her perspectives on translation and modern poetry, highlighting her views on the rhythm in poetry, the impact of political activism, and the deficiencies of American students' literary backgrounds.
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Inside and Outside in the Poetry of Denise Levertov
(summary)
In the following essay, Surman traces the poets and principles that have influenced Levertov's work, focusing primarily on William Carlos Williams and the manner in which his ideas on perception and writing are reflected in Levertov's poetry.
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Songs of Experience: Denise Levertov's Political Poetry
(summary)
In this essay, Smith addresses Levertov's development as a political poet, tracing her evolution as a writer from one who creates largely mystical verse to an 'engaged' author often concerned with war and revolution.
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Deciphering the Spirit—People, Places, Prayers
(summary)
In the following excerpt from Marten's book-length study of Levertov, he analyzes the poet's message of Christian spirituality in three collections: Candles in Babylon, Oblique Prayers, and Breathing the Water.
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Song of Herself
(summary)
In the following review of Breathing the Water, Wakoski finds that much of Levertov's work reflects a "linking of body and soul through God" while it also recognizes the attraction and danger of the natural world.
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Levertov: Poetry and the Spiritual
(summary)
In the following essay, Wagner-Martin addresses the message of religious affirmation in Levertov's later poetry, focusing on the collection Life in the Forest.
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The Bright Shadow: Images of the Double in Women's Poetry
(summary)
In this excerpt, she analyzes Levertov's depiction of 'the double' in two poems, asserting that this second self is a positive representation of female creativity and nonconformity.
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Denise Levertov
(summary)
- Further Reading