The Poem
The construction of the book and the subject matter of the poem within it share a metaphorical connection in the decay of memory. In this light, critic Peter Schwenger asserts that Agrippa can be understood as organized by two ideas: the death of Gibson's father, and the disappearance or absence of the book itself. In this sense, it instantiates the ephemeral nature of all text.
Read more about this topic: Agrippa (a Book Of The Dead)
Famous quotes containing the word poem:
“This poem is concerned with language on a very plain level.
Look at it talking to you.”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)
“The poem has a social effect of some kind whether or not the poet wills it to have. It has kinetic force, it sets in motion ... [ellipsis in source] elements in the reader that would otherwise be stagnant.”
—Denise Levertov (b. 1923)