North-West University

• ENGLISH 322

• T.E. Hulme "A City Sunset" • different line lengths apparent to the eye, but count the syllables in each • vers libre = free verse • the play on ‘l’ consonant, beginning with ‘Alluring’; note also ‘s’ consonantal play. Purpose? • compression of literal and figurative: ‘high conceits’ • juxtaposition of royal ‘reigns’ with ‘streets’. Romantic brought down to earth. • descriptive; eg., ‘sudden flaring sky’, but illuming familiar in uncanny way: ‘troubling strangely’ • natural phenomena linked to myth and history, as in Redon’s ‘Orpheus’: ‘Cytherea’, ‘lady Castlemaine’ • ‘fretted city roofs’ precise description; ‘homeward going crowds’ precise observation, mixed in with older elements • effect of poem? Imbues something heavy with lightness; modern conflation of nature and man-made, but still strong Romantic elements