I've never encountered Tuckerman before now, and I'm glad to be introduced to this fascinating poem. It strikes me as simply a vignette, meant to elicit emotion rather than tell a story. The story can be anything we want it to be, as long as it ends in melancholy loss. I love the imagery.
I'm not bowled over by this poem, though I do like it. But Winters's remarks don't enhance his reputation in my eyes. Reputation being all there is, as I've never actually read him.
I had not come across this poem, or poet, before, so thank you for bringing it and him to my attention, Sally. A very striking sonnet. I suppose the ur-text here, with which Tuckerman is surely in dialogue, is Wordsworth's "The Ruined Cottage", a poem he worked on in various forms throughout his life, and which found its final shape in "The Excursion". That, though, does give us the cottage's backstory, and explains how it came to be ruined. Tuckerman, by not doing so, adds a mysterious intensity to his piece. https://medium.com/adams-notebook/wordsworths-excursion-2-the-ruins-of-book-1-1d9df4d6e505
I am no poet and have no understanding of poetic properties, but this is exquisite. I have read it several times now and will print it and stick it to the side of a bookshelf with others that have so touched me and I might try to memorise.
I've never encountered Tuckerman before now, and I'm glad to be introduced to this fascinating poem. It strikes me as simply a vignette, meant to elicit emotion rather than tell a story. The story can be anything we want it to be, as long as it ends in melancholy loss. I love the imagery.
Here's a far more attractive layout for The Cricket - including notes! https://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/content/cricket#3
I'm not bowled over by this poem, though I do like it. But Winters's remarks don't enhance his reputation in my eyes. Reputation being all there is, as I've never actually read him.
I had not come across this poem, or poet, before, so thank you for bringing it and him to my attention, Sally. A very striking sonnet. I suppose the ur-text here, with which Tuckerman is surely in dialogue, is Wordsworth's "The Ruined Cottage", a poem he worked on in various forms throughout his life, and which found its final shape in "The Excursion". That, though, does give us the cottage's backstory, and explains how it came to be ruined. Tuckerman, by not doing so, adds a mysterious intensity to his piece. https://medium.com/adams-notebook/wordsworths-excursion-2-the-ruins-of-book-1-1d9df4d6e505
Ah, yes, that connection makes sense. Thanks!
I am no poet and have no understanding of poetic properties, but this is exquisite. I have read it several times now and will print it and stick it to the side of a bookshelf with others that have so touched me and I might try to memorise.