For The Anniversary of My Death By: W.S. Merwin

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Presentation transcript:

For The Anniversary of My Death By: W.S. Merwin Student

Merwin’s Early Life Born September 30, 1927 Childhood College Princeton University (Class of 1948) Married Dorothy Jeanne Ferry Translator Met and Married Dido Milroy in Europe

Merwin’s Major Works 1952- A Mask for Janus 1956- Green with Beasts Yale Series of Younger Poets 1956- Green with Beasts 1960- The Drunk in the Furnace 1967- The Lice “For The Anniversary of My Death” YouTube - W.S. Merwin reading in Berkeley 1998

Significance of the Poem in History 1967 Civil Rights LBJ exits office Counterculture Vietnam War Merwin = Conservative = Hates Vietnam War TRANSLATION: The poem was a stab at Vietnam

Significance of the Poem in Merwin’s Life Recent Divorce Remarriage Friendship Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes

Breakdown of the Poem

Every year without knowing it I have passed the day Vietnam Look Looking forward Coming home Death Personal Outlook Views it as if it is a birthday Future- Death Past- Birthday

When the last fires will wave to me Vietnam A soldier in Hell waving goodbye Death Going home Personal Afterlife view FIRE + DEATH = HELL

And the silence will set out Vietnam Leaving the violence for home Silence Death Personal Emptiness in the afterlife

Tireless traveller Vietnam Personal Soldier A long life leading to nothing

Like the beam of a lightless star Vietnam Death for an unknown cause Thing without a source Personal Emptiness and nothingness of something thought to be great

Then I will no longer/ find myself in life as in a strange garment Vietnam Literally Uniforms and fighting in them and for what they stand for Vietnam is like a straightjacket Personal Stuck in the formality of life He wants to break free Writing styles

Surprised at the earth Vietnam Personal Government calling for the war when it has no evidence Imperialistic world Personal The goings on in earth around him Friendship

And the love of one woman Vietnam Innocence of women in the war Personal Reflection on things he sees on earth His own relationship with his wives Looking at his friend’s relationship with women

And the shamelessness of men Vietnam Shameless killings of people Hidden shot at the government Personal Reflection on things he sees on earth Looking at himself in the mirror Looking at men in general

As today writing after three days of rain Vietnam Switch of views Back home Personal Away from death looking back at himself in the present After a tough time in his life Divorce Friendship with Hughes

Hearing the wren sing and the falling cease Vietnam Hearing the sounds back home A glimpse of beauty after the war Personal He is hearing reality again after talking about his death

And bowing not knowing to what Vietnam Still clueless about the importance and reasoning of the war Don’t know why the soldiers had to go in the first place Personal Not knowing what to believe about spiritual world Afterlife dilemma

Poetic Devices “Merwin had honed the form we most often associate with him: the spare and sometimes epigrammatic line, simple language, and the absence of allusion, myth, rhyme, and punctuation” (Gordon). Enjambment throughout Simile Like the beam of a lightless star

Low diction “No Style” style Improper meter Voice Free verse if anything Improper meter No stress pattern No Rhyme scheme Voice 3rd Person POV Merwin’s own voice

The Big Finish Political shot about the Vietnam war Shows his own insecurities about death DEATH = NOTHINGNESS

Works Cited Gordon, Lois. "W.S. Merwin. "Contemporary Poets. 4th ed. 1985. Jones, Peter. 50 American Poets. London: Pan Books, 1980. Merwin, William Stanley. The Lice. London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1969. Ousby, Ian. "W.S. Merwin."The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English. 1988. Parker, Peter. "W.S. Merwin."A Reader's Guide to Twentieth Century Writers. 1996. Pericles, Hamlet. "Poetry analysis: For the Anniversary of My Death, by W.S. Merwin." Helium. 18 JAN 2008. 14 Apr 2008 <http://www.helium.com/items/806170-january 2008for-anniversary-death>. "Poetry Criticism: W. S. Merwin." Enotes.com. 15 Apr. 25 Apr 2008 <http://www.enotes.com/poetry-criticism/merwin-w-s/introduction?print=1>. "W.S. Merwin." Poets.org. 2008. Academy of American Poets. 14 Apr 2008 <http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/123.