William S. Merwin

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/for-the-anniversary-of-my-death/

(The Website Link For William S. Merwin's Poem, For The Anniversary of My Death.)

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/when-you-go-away/
(The Website Link Also For William S. Merwin's Poem, When You Go Away.)

Jennifer Tabasco 11-2
English III
Mr. Fiorini
March 9, 2009

William Stanley Merwin

The poet that I chose to talk about is William Stanley Merwin. William Stanley Merwin’s two poems, For the Anniversary of My Death and When You Go Away, are the two poems that I decided to discuss from this contemporary author.
William Stanley Merwin’s life began when he was born in New York City. Merwin grew up looking out over the Hudson to the Towers of New York. Merwin attended Princeton University, where he got a post-grad in romance languages. Shortly after, Merwin hit Europe, traveling to France, Spain, and England. Most of his early writing was done in Europe, before Merwin turned to his roots and started writing with American themes. William Stanley Merwin currently lives and works in Hawaii. All of this biographical information has definitely impacted the two works that I read by this writer because his writing really has a sense of “Americanism” to it just by the way it flows and the certain language that he uses just in these two poems.
Merwin’s most recent poetry has consisted of topics such as the beauty of life, love, and nature. In William Merwin’s poem, For the Anniversary of My Death, he talks about how each day that passes by him, he’s not really sure as to when his death will occur. There’s no real sense of any specific type of structure in this poem; there aren’t any punctuation marks, there are just a couple of divided statements that seem to make the poem unique. After William Merwin dies, he won’t longer find himself lost in his life because then he’ll know what is happening to him. I think that this poem serves as somewhat of an obituary to people who have lost loved ones in their lives, and this poem can serve as one way to remember those loved ones. As opposed to the other poem, When You Go Away, William Merwin talks about how much pain and torture that he experiences when this certain person goes away. He uses a lot of metaphors to make the poem more effective in the way that it flows. I suspect that this person may be a girlfriend, a certain family member, or maybe a son or daughter that he might have had. Once again, this poem has no punctuation marks; this poem has divided statements in each line. I think that if punctuation marks were placed in this poem, I think that the poem wouldn’t flow as easily without the punctuation marks. I really enjoy the way that this certain poem flows easily like the waves of an ocean. This poem really brings the reader into the author’s mind while reading the whole poem together.
Throughout these two poems, there are a couple of ideas about the works of William Stanley Merwin that make them distinctly American. The two experiences that Merwin talks about, death and agony, can relate to his American work because these are just two similar experiences that all people, not just Americans, can relate to in some way. Another idea that makes William Merwin’s poems distinctly American is that throughout these two poems, there aren’t any punctuation marks, only small statements. Yes, I’m positive that other world authors don’t use punctuation marks, but these works are vastly different in that his statements are much longer in length. One final idea that makes this writer’s work distinctly American is that he writes his poem starting with five stanzas. Then, he writes the second part in seven or eight stanzas, creating a longer poem towards the ending. If I could, I would definitely read another poem done by William Stanley Merwin, not only because he’s an American, but because of how his poems are formed and how they all flow so easily when read aloud.
William Stanley Merwin is an American author who writes so wonderfully based on possible experiences that he might have lived through during his lifetime. I admire his creativity by using metaphors to express how much pain he experiences when this certain person goes away, and I also admire the way that he writes about the anniversary of his death even though he’s uncertain as to when that day will ever come. His poems are really unique, and they really stand out from all of the other poems that I read so far in my lifetime. The variety of his poems brought me closer to his sense of writing, and after reading only two works, I’m glad that I chose the author that I did.