James Merrill's Poetic Quest

Relatively little critical attention has been directed towards the explication of James Merrill's difficult poems, much less towards the understanding of his densely-layered symbolism. This is the first comprehensive study to look at Merrill's difficult symbolic system and to provide a close reading of Merrill's epic poem The Changing Light at Sandover. Adams reads Merrill's poetry through various lenses, primarily those of Freudian psychology and of the Jungian archetypal system. His approach allows the reader to view individual works as part of the larger picture of Merrill's quest to save his life through his art.

List of contents

Contents
Preface
Introduction
Time's Damage and Time's Grief: An Introduction to the Quest Model
Heroes Without Name or Origin: The Quest in Merrill's Early Work
The Incarnation and Withdrawal of a God: "The Book of Ephraim"
Solving this Riddle of Appearances: Mirabell's Books of Number
Empty Perfection: Scripts for the Pageant and the Higher Keys
To All, Sweet Dreams: Concluding the Quest
Works Cited
Index

About the author

DON ADAMS is Assistant Professor of English at Florida Atlantic University.

Product details

• Authors: Don Adams, Adams Don
• Publisher: Bloomsbury
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 30.04.1997
• EAN: 9780313302503
• ISBN: 978-0-313-30250-3
• Subjects: Fiction > Poetry, drama; LITERARY CRITICISM / Poetry, LITERARY CRITICISM / American / General, LITERARY CRITICISM / Modern / 20th Century, American English, Literary studies: poetry & poets, Literary studies: from c 1900 -, Literary studies: c 1900 to c 2000, Literary studies: poetry and poets, The Arts: World Literature