ABSTRACT
Pailthorpe’s poem “Karoo” was published in The International Journal of Psychoanalysis (1938, 19: 221–225). The poem was written by a patient during a spell of analysis, while in the lavatory making a constipated stool. The reason for presenting the analysis of the poem is to exemplify the extent to which the unconscious mind works in the creation of poetic literature. The style is in the modern vogue of “vers libre”. Rhyme is absent. Rhythm is abundantly present and adapted throughout to the feeling-tone of the subject matter. Each phrase of the poem is analysed and traced to its unconscious origin, which afterward was clearly recognised by the patient.
