Borrowed Mysteries: Lines Composed on Tantalus

Abstract

A collection of poetry arranged in six series on varying subjects. These poems are meant to be purely expressive, without any kind of didactic purpose. Each series is introduced by an epigraph from a different work, and the most important theme throughout the entire work is, as the title suggests, the concept of borrowing. Nearly every poem relies on some kind of allusion. The second most important theme is the inconstancy of the poet, both his feeling and his expression, and the guilt and dread that this results in; the guilt of indulgence, and the dread of the abyss. As a result, any other theme may or may not be the fantasy of the reader.