Lord Weary's Castle
Encyclopedia
Lord Weary's Castle, Robert Lowell
's second book of poetry, won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
in 1947 when Lowell was only thirty. Robert Giroux
, who was the publisher of Lowell's wife at the time, Jean Stafford
, also became Lowell's publisher after he saw the manuscript for Lord Weary's Castle and was very impressed; he later stated that Lord Weary's Castle was the most successful book of poems that he ever published.
notes to Lowell's Collected Poems, Bidart writes that the title comes from "the anonymous Scottish ballad 'Lamkin
.'" Bidart goes on to explain that in the ballad's narrative, "Lord Weary refuses to pay the stonemason Lamkin for building his castle; in revenge for this betrayal, Lambkin kills Weary's wife and child." However Bidart does not offer any explanation as to how the story of Lamkin and Lord Weary's castle relates to the content of Lowell's book.
and the New Critics
at the beginning of his career, Lowell wrote rigorously formal and dense poetry that won him praise for his exceptionally powerful handling of meter and rhyme. Lord Weary's Castle epitomized this early style which was also notable for its frequently violent imagery. For instance, in "The Quaker Graveyard in Nantucket
," the most well-known poem from the book, Lowell wrote the following:
(1944). Both Land of Unlikeness and Lord Weary's Castle were influenced by Lowell's conversion from Episcopalianism
to Catholicism
and explored the dark side of America's Puritan
legacy. However, one big difference between these two books is that, in Lord Weary's Castle, Lowell tempers the severe religiosity that characterized many of the poems in Land of Unlikeness.
There are also a number of poems that foreshadow some of Lowell's later poetic modes. Most of the poems in this volume are set in different locations within New England
. In the poems "In Memory of Arthur Winslow" and "Mary Winslow," Lowell elegizes
his deceased maternal grandparents, both of whom he would later write about in Life Studies
. He also writes about a physical fight that he had with his father (during which he "knocked [his] father down") in the poem "Rebellion;" Lowell's description of the same incident would appear later in multiple poems in his book History.
Lord Weary's Castle also includes the first of Lowell's idiosyncratic translations, including "War" (after Rimbaud), "The Shako" (after Rilke), and "Charles the Fifth and the Peasant" (after Valery
), and these kinds of loose translations would appear again in later books, notably in Imitations.
Robert Lowell
Robert Traill Spence Lowell IV was an American poet, considered the founder of the confessional poetry movement. He was appointed the sixth Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress where he served from 1947 until 1948...
's second book of poetry, won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
The Pulitzer Prize in Poetry has been presented since 1922 for a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author. However, special citations for poetry were presented in 1918 and 1919.-Winners:...
in 1947 when Lowell was only thirty. Robert Giroux
Robert Giroux
Robert Giroux was an influential American book editor and publisher. Starting his editing career with Harcourt, Brace & Co., he was hired away to work for Roger W. Straus, Jr. at Farrar & Straus in 1955, where he became a partner and, eventually, its chairman...
, who was the publisher of Lowell's wife at the time, Jean Stafford
Jean Stafford
Jean Stafford was an American short story writer and novelist, who won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Collected Stories of Jean Stafford in 1970....
, also became Lowell's publisher after he saw the manuscript for Lord Weary's Castle and was very impressed; he later stated that Lord Weary's Castle was the most successful book of poems that he ever published.
Book title
In a note before the first poem of the book, Lowell states that the title of the book was derived from "an old ballad." More specifically, in Frank Bidart'sFrank Bidart
Frank Bidart is an American academic and poet.-Biography:In 1957, he began to study at the University of California at Riverside and went on to Harvard, where he was a student and friend of Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Bishop...
notes to Lowell's Collected Poems, Bidart writes that the title comes from "the anonymous Scottish ballad 'Lamkin
Lamkin
"Lamkin" is an English ballad. It gives an account of the murder of a woman and her infant son by a man, in some versions, a disgruntled mason, in others, a devil, bogeyman or a motiveless villain...
.'" Bidart goes on to explain that in the ballad's narrative, "Lord Weary refuses to pay the stonemason Lamkin for building his castle; in revenge for this betrayal, Lambkin kills Weary's wife and child." However Bidart does not offer any explanation as to how the story of Lamkin and Lord Weary's castle relates to the content of Lowell's book.
Style
Under the influence of Allen TateAllen Tate
John Orley Allen Tate was an American poet, essayist, social commentator, and Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1943 to 1944.-Life:...
and the New Critics
New Criticism
New Criticism was a movement in literary theory that dominated American literary criticism in the middle decades of the 20th century. It emphasized close reading, particularly of poetry, to discover how a work of literature functioned as a self-contained, self-referential aesthetic...
at the beginning of his career, Lowell wrote rigorously formal and dense poetry that won him praise for his exceptionally powerful handling of meter and rhyme. Lord Weary's Castle epitomized this early style which was also notable for its frequently violent imagery. For instance, in "The Quaker Graveyard in Nantucket
The Quaker Graveyard in Nantucket
The Quaker Graveyard in Nantucket is an influential poem by Robert Lowell. It was first published in 1946 in his collection Lord Weary's Castle.The poem is mostly written in a combination of pentameter and trimeter and divided into seven sections...
," the most well-known poem from the book, Lowell wrote the following:
The bones cry for the blood of the white whale,
the fat flukes arch and whack about its ears,
the death-lance churns into the sanctuary, tears
the gun-blue swingle, heaving like a flail,
and hacks the coiling life out: it works and drags
and rips the sperm-whale's midriff into rags,
gobbets of blubber spill to wind and weather.
Themes and subject matter
Five of the poems in this collection were revised versions of poems from his first book, Land of UnlikenessLand of Unlikeness
Land of Unlikeness, Robert Lowell's first book of poetry, was published in 1944 in a limited edition of two hundred and fifty copies by Harry Duncan at the Cummington Press...
(1944). Both Land of Unlikeness and Lord Weary's Castle were influenced by Lowell's conversion from Episcopalianism
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
to Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
and explored the dark side of America's Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
legacy. However, one big difference between these two books is that, in Lord Weary's Castle, Lowell tempers the severe religiosity that characterized many of the poems in Land of Unlikeness.
There are also a number of poems that foreshadow some of Lowell's later poetic modes. Most of the poems in this volume are set in different locations within New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
. In the poems "In Memory of Arthur Winslow" and "Mary Winslow," Lowell elegizes
Elegy
In literature, an elegy is a mournful, melancholic or plaintive poem, especially a funeral song or a lament for the dead.-History:The Greek term elegeia originally referred to any verse written in elegiac couplets and covering a wide range of subject matter, including epitaphs for tombs...
his deceased maternal grandparents, both of whom he would later write about in Life Studies
Life Studies
Life Studies is the fourth book of poems by Robert Lowell. Most critics consider it one of Lowell's most important books, and the Academy of American Poets named it one of their Groundbreaking Books. The book won the National Book Award for poetry in 1960.-Publication:Life Studies was first...
. He also writes about a physical fight that he had with his father (during which he "knocked [his] father down") in the poem "Rebellion;" Lowell's description of the same incident would appear later in multiple poems in his book History.
Lord Weary's Castle also includes the first of Lowell's idiosyncratic translations, including "War" (after Rimbaud), "The Shako" (after Rilke), and "Charles the Fifth and the Peasant" (after Valery
Paul Valéry
Ambroise-Paul-Toussaint-Jules Valéry was a French poet, essayist, and philosopher. His interests were sufficiently broad that he can be classified as a polymath...
), and these kinds of loose translations would appear again in later books, notably in Imitations.