A poem may be an instance of morality, of social conditions, of psychological history; it may instance all its qualities, but never one of them alone, nor any two or three; never less than all.

What is the poem, after it is written? That is the question. Not where it came from or why.

Genetic theories, I gather, have been cherished academically with detachment.

So the poet, who wants to be something that he cannot be, and is a failure in plain life, makes up fictitious versions of his predicament that are interesting even to other persons because nobody is a perfect automobile salesman.

Other psychological theories say a good deal about compensation.

The Spring I seek is in a new face only.

Religion is the sole technique for the validating of values.