Multiple Versions
Lowell published three different versions of this poem. The poem originally appeared in Kenyon Review in 1953. Then, Lowell published a significantly revised version in his book, Life Studies (1959) in which two major stanzas were removed. However, Lowell was still not satisfied with the poem and republished it one more time, with slight revisions, in For the Union Dead (1964).
The main difference between the version of the poem in Life Studies and the one in For the Union Dead, is the re-introduction of a stanza from the magazine version that begins, "I thought of Ovid." Lowell stated in an "Introductory Note" to For the Union Dead, that he "restored at the suggestion of John Berryman."
There are also additional minor differences between the two book versions of the poem. For instance, "Life changed to landscape" becomes "Man changed to landscape." Lowell also made minor changes in punctuation.
The editors of the Collected Poems note that Lowell's poem "Ovid and Caesar's Daughter," from his book History, "is a revision of stanza three ".
Read more about this topic: Beyond The Alps
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