The Sound of Silence: How W. S. Merwin Unties His Ecological and Poetic Ethical Knots in His Animal Poems

Abstract

Abstract: Harold Broom criticized early Merwin for feeling impelled to prophesy yet having no Transcendental vision. In response, this paper reviews Merwin's animal poems-how Merwin ties, unties and integrates his ecological and poetic ethical knots-and argues that Merwin's belief in the inherent worth of living beings regardless of their instrumental utility to human needs is what differentiates him from Broom who calls for ethical behaviors “of benefit to mankind.” Merwin holds that poetry is the art of witnessing and poetic form is testimony of a way of hearing how life happens in time. In the same way, Merwin's life-long poetic practice serves as testimony of a life devoted to the revelation of human destructiveness, the revival of the world of silence, and the integrity of existence as a whole.

Key words: Merwin, animal poems, ecological, poetic, ethical knots

Zhu Xinfu, Lin Dajiang. The Sound of Silence: How W. S. Merwin Unties His Ecological and Poetic Ethical Knots in His Animal Poems[J]. Foreign Literature Studies, 2017, 39(4): 26-35.

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