Books: Pathetic Fallacy

LANDSCAPE WITH FIGURES—Lionel Wiggam— Viking ($1.75).

Of all the fallacies which man hugs to his bosom, the one characterized by Ruskin as "the pathetic fallacy" is the most common to romantic poets. As generally applied, "the pathetic fallacy" imputes to Nature the appropriate emotional states of the despairing, joyful or ironic poet. Poe's croaking ravens and ghastly rushing rivers were clear examples; T. S. Eliot used the same stage effects in more modern terms. Last week a new poet struck his lyre, and to ears that could remember echoes, the minor strains were far...

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