Research Paper on:
Unorthodox Writings of American Poet James Merrill

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
Prosody is a deeply personal poetic form that enables the poet to interact with the reader, through the conversational language which imitate different voices that represent different emotions and beliefs  (Prosody on the Web). Prosody is a distinctive literary art form that emphasizes the lyrical quality of poetry (Prosody on the Web). Words are carefully selected so that  they can evoke feelings through modulation, questions or raw intensity (Prosody on the Web). James Merrill was an individual in life and in art. His poems, which often  resembled the classical epic in terms of length and rigid structure, were also indicative of modernist prose that, while perhaps not confessional, were highly autobiographical (Hamilton 352). Merrill understood  that poetry required traditional structuring, but possibly his most impressive writing ability is in his affinity for language, for as one critic remarked, "His work is full of puns, extravagant  word-games, mythical allusions, intricate metres, and complex rhyme-schemes" (Hamilton 352). Merrills lyric knowledge and mastery of prosody is evident in his poetic compilation, The Fire Screen, published in 1970.  It is loosely structured, and described by The New York Times reviewer Daniel Hoffman as utilizing "minimal forms-the loose couplet, ballad meters, blank verse" (Traveler With a Trunk of Poetic  Devices). It begins with the poem, "The Friend of the Fourth Decade," which is framed in couplets, but the rigidity is broken up by the humorous observations of a  narrator, who describes saving stamps for a long-time friend: "I never used to throw anything out. Each card then soaks five minutes while its ink Turns to exactly the slow  formal swirls Through which the phoenix flies on Chinese silk. These leave the water darker but still clear, The text unreadable. Its true! Cards from my mother, great-uncle, you!