Notes and Commentary on Delusions, Etc

Abstract

The title to each poem is given in quotation marks, preceded by a page number referring to the first English edition of the volume (London: Faber and Faber, 1972). Line numbers and quotations to which specific comments refer are in italics. Where variant readings of some interest or significance occur in Berryman’s draft manuscripts (John Berryman Papers, Manuscripts Division, University of Minnesota Libraries), I cite them in quotation marks after a colon following either the quotation from the text (word or phrase in italics) or the line reference. In addition, to avoid confusion, I have followed variants with the abbreviation ‘ms.’ in parenthesis. Where there is more than one variant, a further colon denotes that the following phrase or line is another (not necessarily second or later) variant; the sign ‘ms.’ is then placed at the end of all variants.