Wikipedia:Peer review/Lost in Translation (poem)/archive1

Lost in Translation (poem)
This page is certainly useful to students who study James Merrill in class, but I'm wondering what improvements might help this quirky article gain a wider audience. Does it have FA potential? If so, what improvements might help it in that direction? Sandover 22:04, 15 April 2006 (UTC)


 * First off, FAs (as shown in WP:WIAFA) require references and inline citations (see WP:FOOTNOTE). The article has a lot about the poem, but not its significance or the perspective of critics (there is a brief paragraph about praise in the lead, but that should be given its own section along with other praise and criticism). Thanks, AndyZ t 22:56, 15 April 2006 (UTC)


 * There should be an overview of interpretations and approaches to the poem, I see that now. The good news is that a fair bit of that criticism is available online. Also, I think some grounding in Proust is warranted; Merrill borrows the Proustian conceit that an object can evoke, unbidden, a sequence of childhood memories. Sandover 01:07, 16 April 2006 (UTC)


 * Comment I must say I just don't understand the "puzzle" of the poem. Tuf-Kat 03:20, 16 April 2006 (UTC)
 * Uh-oh. Either I haven't done my job right, or I'm relying too much on readers to look at the poem for themselves and to use the article as a kind of reader's guide. What to do? Let me give this some thought... Suggestions are welcome, of course, from others who are 'puzzled' by the article. Sandover 12:02, 16 April 2006 (UTC)


 * Trying to re-read it more closely... The first paragraph under "A puzzle within a puzzle..." seems out of place -- make that paragraph a summary that says in clear English what the "puzzle" is. What is the "solution to the puzzle of the poem (that is) hidden in plain sight"?  Maybe I'm just dense, but, having still not read the actual poem, I can't make hide nor hair out of the last couple sections of the article. Tuf-Kat 01:49, 17 April 2006 (UTC)