“The Death of Saint Narcissus”

The Death of Saint Narcissus” stands out—stylistically, thematically and intellectually—from Eliot’s earlier juvenilia. More primitive in form and polish than its highly rhetorical precursors, the playful free-verse poem describes, in detail, Narcissus’ sadomasochistic sexuality, equating religious “worship” with solipsistic vampirism. Meandering, composed of longer, unmetered lines and shorter, haphazard stanzas, “The Death of Saint Narcissus” is light years from the gynephobic set pieces of “Nocturne” and “Circe’s Palace,” or the rhetorical preciousness of “Spleen.” It provides a breath of fresh air to conclude Poems Written in Early Youth—if nothing else, its difference marks it as a turning point in Eliot’s poetic attention and it introduces images and ideas that Eliot returns to throughout his career.