To a Sad Daughter Essay & Criticism

To a Sad Daughter Critical Overview

Secular Love has not been the subject of an abundance of critique over the years, but, in general, Ondaatje's poetry has been highly acclaimed. One of the poet's most faithful reviewers has been critic Sam Solecki who, in his article "Nets and Chaos: the Poetry of Michael Ondaatje," says that in Ondaatje's work "the fundamental or essential nature of experience is consistently being described and examined. The entire thrust of his vision is directed at compelling the reader to reperceive reality...." We can see this theory at work in "To a Sad Daughter" in the way the speaker keeps describing and examining his own responses to his daughter's actions. He feels joy, he feels loss, and he seems to feel nearly everything in between. Although he is sometimes compared to Robert Lowell, John Berryman, or even Anne Sexton because of his tendency to write from real-life experiences, Ondaatje cannot really...
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