James Merrill: A Postmodern Poet? Yes & No

With a New Poem by James Merrill

Abstract

James Merrill's poetry can be read as the result of an extremely complex technique which accepts duplicity as a poetic motif and welcomes ambiguity and paradox while it expresses an original, distinctly postmodern vision of the world. In Merril's poetic universe art and science, autobiographical and social issues find their place as in a monumental, self-ironical, parodic puzzle. The space/time paradigm in Merrill's trilogy The Changing Light at Sandover is analyzed in order to illustrate the poet's progress towards a critical awareness and acceptance of his position within American postmodernism. A close reading of Merril's previously unpublished "Volcanic Holiday" concludes the essay.