Abstract
This article notes that Robinson Jeffers initially planned to include “Shine, Perishing Republic” in the collection Tamar and Other Poems (1924), then deleted it from the collection and subsequently published it in the Roan Stallion grouping of Roan Stallion, Tamar and Other Poems (1925). This decision provides insight into Jeffers’ shifting conception of the narrative Tamar, and reconsidering “Shine, Perishing Republic” in its original placement in the Tamar collection reveals the extent to which the poem responds to World War I and the Versailles Peace rather than, more generally, the social and cultural ferment of the mid-1920s. The article attempts to recover and clarify some of the ways in which Jeffers understanding of Nature relate to his reactions to World War I and, more generally, to illustrate that his poems, perhaps especially pivotal poems such as “Shine, Perishing Republic” can be better understood by considering them both chronologically and as units contributing to the purposeful design of the collections in which they originally appeared.
Recommended Citation
Hunt, Tim
(2022)
"Why Did Jeffers Omit "Shine, Perishing Republic" from Tamar and Other Poems and How Might It Matter,"
Jeffers Studies: Vol. 22, Article 1.
Available at:
https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/js/vol22/iss1/1
