Robert Penn Warren
Poetry is a response to the world in which we live. Many poets are, and have been, convinced that the modern world is a terrifying place in which to live. American poetry has been dominated by negative voices. Warren's voice is markedly different. At the heart of Warren's poetry is a celebration of man's intellect and imagination, his integral place within nature, and his relationship to time and the past; ultimately, joy coexists with the knowledge of life's many mysteries, including its tragedies. Beginning years ago with the traditional forms of poetry, Warren has evolved from the traditional forms of poetry to a style that is as beautiful as it is individual. His long devotion to the art of poetry has made him a great American poet.At the center of Warren's poetry are two concepts: man and self. Warren places man within nature as an integral part of it. And yet there is a crucial difference between man and the rest of the natural world. It is man's mind, his intelligence, his imagination, and his creativity that Warren emphasizes in his poetry. Also at the heart of Warren's poetry is the concept of a well-rounded self. In his best poems, Warren collects memories, experiences and thoughts
May be converted into the future tense While the individual poems here may be viewed as individual units, they have a much greater meaning and impact when viewed in context. Warren seems to recognize this principle as relevant to the world as a whole. The events in single poems emphasize the individual and have a 'local' meaning within each poem or series. But when placed in a larger context these units show their greater meaning. Time is the main concern. The way man conducts himself on earth, rather than with eternity and death although Warren also asks many questions of eternity in his works. Eternity in Warren's work is generally associated with brightness, whiteness, the sun, the sky, the sea, the snow and even with the light of the moon. We are cautioned in the sequence's first poem "What Day Is." "Do not / Look too long at the sea, for / That brightness will rinse out your eyeballs." Spiritual destiny will not be achieved through a preoccupation with eternity: "for the sun has / Burned all white, for the sun, it would / Burn our bones to chalk." In that direction lies only the certainty of death (Stitt 265). Plumly, Stanley. "Warren Selected: An American Poetry, 1923-1975." Robert Penn
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Approximate Word count = 1709
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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