Tag: 20th century poetry

by Steven M. Critelli March 15, 2016 1
Literary Criticism

A.R. Ammons – “Cascadilla Falls”

The poem exerts a magnetic attraction, largely due to its lyric intensity and the unpredictable development of its content: from a pastoral setting on Cornell’s campus in Upstate New York (where the “single creek” featured in the poem cuts through the Cascadilla gorge), to the capaciousness of its scientific quantifications of the cosmos and the apparent awe inspired by the poet’s realization of his place in the universal scheme, and finally to the surprising lament at the end of the poem.

by Steven M. Critelli May 30, 2012 Number of comments0
Literary Criticism

Wallace Stevens – The “Emperor” Disrobed – The Fortress of Irony in “The Emperor of Ice-Cream”

Unlike previous interpretations which generally hold that “Emperor” exhorts us to “seize the day” (carpe diem), here the speaker is exorcising his demons in a way that simultaneously captures his abject despair, sarcasm and remorse. This follows the long tradition of the rejected poet who pours verbal abuse on the perfidious amour, his muse. The poem does not merely stand as a lament on the illusive nature of love and life, but bitter commentary on the poet’s status.