The paper introduces the Anglo-American Poet Thom Gunn (1929-2004), his voluntary exile from Europe to the United States in the late 1950s, his problematic coming to terms with and acceptance of his homosexuality. It then focuses on images of masculinity in his work, from his early heroes in uniforms, like the motorcyclists of “On the Move”, to the surfers in “From the Wave”. Particular attention is devoted to images of metamorphoses of the male body, from “The Allegory of the Wolf Boy”, to “Rites of Passages”, to “The Hug”. The experience described in the latter poem testifies to the deep need of same-sex couples to become and feel part of a family microcosm within which affection and cohabitation turns into something beyond sex.
Metamorfosi del maschio nella poesia di Thom Gunn
Stefania Michelucci
2025-01-01
Abstract
The paper introduces the Anglo-American Poet Thom Gunn (1929-2004), his voluntary exile from Europe to the United States in the late 1950s, his problematic coming to terms with and acceptance of his homosexuality. It then focuses on images of masculinity in his work, from his early heroes in uniforms, like the motorcyclists of “On the Move”, to the surfers in “From the Wave”. Particular attention is devoted to images of metamorphoses of the male body, from “The Allegory of the Wolf Boy”, to “Rites of Passages”, to “The Hug”. The experience described in the latter poem testifies to the deep need of same-sex couples to become and feel part of a family microcosm within which affection and cohabitation turns into something beyond sex.
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