Robinson Jeffers

The figure of Robinson Jeffers is one of the most interesting in contemporary literature. From 1925 to 1935, Jeffers was often ranked with T. S. Eliot as a poet and with Eugene O'Neill as a tragic dramatist. Beginning with the Great Depression and continuing through WWII, his critical reputation and popularity alike declined. What caused this sudden fall from eminence? Were the times at fault? It has become increasing apparent that the sudden changes in Jeffers' reputation, and the sharp disagreements concerning his poetry, have been caused by something more fundamental than changing tastes or critical opinions. The basic problem involves the poet's philosophy of life, or morality, or religion. Meanwhile, critics and readers of his poetry have agreed upon one characteristic of it: the stamp of a unique personality, giving expression to a "singular" or "particular" mind. What makes his poetry challenging is that it has always dared to follow his thought to the end, wherever it might lead. Jeffers' singularity is the absolute self-reliance of transcendental individualism in its most extreme form. While the permanent value of Jeffers poetry must be measured by the standards of objective criticism, the unique nature of his poetry emphasizes the importance of the subjective reactions of individual readers to it.