No other contemporary poet’s work has such a well-earned reputation for near impenetrability, and there are few whose moral vision is so imperiously unsparing. Of late, however, the almost belligerent demands of his severe and densely forbidding poetry have taken an improbable turn. This new collection is the poet’s fourth book in six years — an ample output even for poets of sunny disposition, let alone for [color=red]one of such penitential austerity over the previous 50 years. [color=blue]Yet for all his newfound volubility, his poetry is as thorny as ever.
What [color=blue]“Yet” Suggest? Can I replace it by “then also”?
What does the red part suggest?
I’d say “yet” is similar to “but” or “nevertheless”.
“for all” means “despite” or “in spite of”.
…
four books in six years is an ample output even for poets of sunny disposition, let alone for one of such penitential austerity over the previous 50 years.
He is a poet of penitential austerity, and he managed to write four books which is an awful lot of output for him (even for poets of sunny disposition it’s a lot of output).
***** NOT A TEACHER *****
Wow, Duet! Those two words really made me think.
First, let’s concentrate on “austerity.”
- My dictionary tells me that it refers to a situation that is characterized by STRICTNESS.
a. For example, some people have an austere diet. Maybe some soup, some bread, and a glass of water. No desserts, no coffee, no soft drinks, etc. Maybe a small piece of meat once a week.
b. In the case of the poet, I gather that his “austerity” refers to the number of books that he has published over the previous 50 years.
i. That is, he has been SUPER STRICT with himself over the previous 50 years. He has refused to publish many books.
- Now we are ready for the word “penitential.”
a. My dictionaries tell me that it refers to “penance.” That is, when a person has a guilty conscience because he did something bad, and now he decides to do something good in order to say, “I’m sorry for my past bad deeds.”
b. In my opinion, the poet’s austerity [the VERY few books over the previous 50 years] is SO strict that it SEEMS as if it were an act of penance.
i. I am NOT saying that his austerity IS an act of penance. But the person who wrote this paragraph wanted to use a strong adjective to describe the poet’s austerity, so the writer decided to use the adjective “penitential.” The writer wanted a word that expressed the depth of the poet’s austerity.
James
Thank to you, James and Our Tort System.