existential elements in the poetry of theodore roethke
abstract
this study is an attempt to illustrate, through a
chronological reading of the collected poems, the existential
elements in the poetry of theodore roethke (1908 - 1963).
though he was by no means a rigorous philosopher, roethke's
particular responses to human life in the 20th century
constitute a meaningful and unigue philosophy of existence.
these particular responses are bound up in roethke*s
language, his dominant images, and his primary thematic
concerns. the intent of this study is to examine these
responses in light of the general concerns of existentialism
in order to ascertain to what degree roethke can be considered
an existential poet.
existentialism is commonly accepted to be the philosophy of
influence in the 20th century. all artists of this era,
therefore, demonstrate a growing concern for the meaning of
their personal existences. to examine the language, images,
and thematic concerns of roethke*s poetry in light of a
generally accepted definition of existentialism is to discover
what makes him more blatantly existential than many of his
contemporaries. for the purpose of clarity, i shall use the
term "existentialism” to denote only the most general
characteristics of the doctrine.
collections
- retrospective theses [1604]