For The Anniversary of My Death By: W.S. Merwin Student.
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Transcript of For The Anniversary of My Death By: W.S. Merwin Student.
For The Anniversary of My For The Anniversary of My DeathDeath
By: W.S. MerwinBy: W.S. Merwin
Student
Merwin’s Early LifeMerwin’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 WorksMerwin’s Major Works
1952- A Mask for Janus– Yale Series of Younger Poets
1956- Green with Beasts1960- The Drunk in the Furnace1967- The Lice
– “For The Anniversary of My Death”YouTube - W.S. Merwin
reading in Berkeley 1998
Significance of the Poem in Significance of the Poem in HistoryHistory
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 Significance of the Poem in Merwin’s LifeMerwin’s Life
Recent Divorce Remarriage Friendship
– Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes
Every year without Every year without knowing it I have passed knowing it I have passed
the daythe 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 When the last fires will wave to mewave to me
Vietnam– A soldier in Hell
waving goodbye Death Going home
Personal– Afterlife view
FIRE + DEATH = HELL
And the silence will set out And the silence will set out
Vietnam– Leaving the violence for home– Silence
Death
Personal– Emptiness in the afterlife
Like the beam of a Like the beam of a lightless star 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 Then I will no longer/ find myself in life as in a myself in life as in a
strange garment strange garment Vietnam
– Literally Uniforms and fighting in them and for what they
stand for
– Vietnam is like a straightjacketPersonal
– Stuck in the formality of life– He wants to break free
Writing styles
Surprised at the earth Surprised at the earth
Vietnam– 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 And the love of one woman 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 And the shamelessness of men 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 As today writing after three days of rainthree 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 Hearing the wren sing and the falling cease 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 And bowing not knowing to whatto what
Vietnam– Still clueless about the importance and
reasoning of the war– Don’t know why the soldiers had to go in the
first placePersonal
– Not knowing what to believe about spiritual world
Afterlife dilemma
Poetic DevicesPoetic 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 throughoutSimile
– Like the beam of a lightless star
Low diction“No Style” style
– Free verse if anything
Improper meter– No stress pattern– No Rhyme scheme
Voice– 3rd Person POV
Merwin’s own voice
The Big FinishThe Big Finish
Political shot about the Vietnam warShows his own insecurities about deathDEATH = NOTHINGNESS
Works CitedWorks 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.