A Closer Look: "Praise Them" & "His Ocean"

"A Closer Look" serves to really dissect the editorial changes that two specific poems went through in the time it took Book of My Nights to be published. While the previous section gave excerpts of several manuscripts, this section looks closer at the significance of language developing with edits over time. Evidently, each syntax, structure, or diction change is representative of a shift in Lee's attitude or understanding of his own words. And while there is not enough context to deduct what Lee's exact thoughts were, breaking apart "Praise Them" and "His Ocean" provides an understanding of how even the smallest changes in a poem can affect its meaning wholeheartedly.