88 Poetry for Students

less than positive, for it implies a pathetic perse-

verance to attain the unattainable.

Tate’s persona has chosen the lonely profes-

sion of writing poetry, made even lonelier by be-

ing rejected or ignored by readers. In the metaphor

that he sustains throughout the poem, the

speaker/poet operates in a self-inflicted vacuum.

Alone and sleepless, he works in the freezing

weather, and his attempt to accomplish the job is

hardly more than futile. He appears to acknowledge

that futility, but then relieves his despair by open-

ing the door—only slightly—to possibility: “Ifthis

trick works” and “maybestart a little fire.” The fact

that he and the person inside the casket would have

to show “identification papers” to one another fur-

ther indicates a lack of relationship or closeness.

While darkness and “freezing sleet” are obviously

gloomy images, we may expect that the introduc-

tion of the “moon” at the end of the poem provides

a touch of optimism or accomplishment. Instead,

however, the moon slips easily into the themes of

loneliness and despair, for the speaker feels “half

eaten” by it. Once again, though, Tate does not re-

linquish the entire poem to hopelessness. In the end,

the word “half”—used twice—tells us that his ha-

tred for readers and the viciousness of the moon do

not make a complete picture; there is still room for

the betterhalf.

Style

“Dear Reader” is a 12-line, free-verse poem, di-

vided into five stanzas that alternate between two

and three lines each. There is no obvious rhyme

and very little alliteration, with the exception of the

long “i” sound in “I am trying to pry” and the long

“e” sound in “freezing sleet keeps.” The poem is

made up of simple, declarative sentences that de-

pend on surreal language for effect rather than any

stylized approach to its appearance on the page.

Tate’s earlier work tended to be more formally

structured with attention to the number of syllables

and an intentional rhythm. With the publication of

The Oblivion Ha-Hain 1970, which contains “Dear

Reader,” the poet presented a looser style, show-

ing much less poetic restraint than in his previous

work. Commenting on the poems in this collection,

critic Stephen Gardner stated that “the strengths

and weaknesses of his style become evident. For

Tate is a skilled poet, a turner of metaphors and a

shaper of images. When he is terrifying, the fear is

universal. And when his stories are captivating,

there are few poets who can be more successful.”

“Dear Reader” is an example of Tate’s resorting to

metaphors and images to tell a “captivating”

story—a brief and limited story, yes, but one that

piques our curiosity and holds our attention.

Historical Context

In “Dear Reader,” there is no specific time or place

in which the events occur. To the contrary, any

work of surrealism tends to defy certain markers

that would set it in a particular year or decade, or

in any particular area of the world. By definition,

metaphysical poetry is boundless and more in tune

with the intellect than actual surroundings. This, of

course, is not to say that concrete images and nat-

ural objects do not play a role in this type of work.

“Dear Reader” is full of images that, by themselves,

are very “normal” or easily recognizable. We can

Dear Reader

Topics for

Further

Study

• Pretend you are a composer of classical music
  and are writing a poem entitled, “Dear Listener.”
  What would you say to your audience and how
  would your thoughts and sentiments compare or
  contrast to James Tate’s in “Dear Reader”?


• Write an essay exploring the basic differences
  between realistic and surrealistic writing. Be-
  yond the obvious, what sets the two apart and
  which style do you find more appealing to read.
  Incorporate your opinion into the essay.


• Research the topic of starting fires by rubbing
  sticks or stones together and write an article ex-
  plaining how this phenomenon occurs. Be sci-
  entific, but accessible to informed readers, in
  your essay.


• James Tate’s father was shot down over Ger-
  many in WWII, and his remains were not found
  until many years after the war. Do some research
  into soldiers missing-in-action (for any war) and
  write an article discussing the main issues on
  why these men and women were never found.