SOURCE: "The Philosophical Element in C. Day Lewis's Poetry," in Thought in Twentieth-Century English Poetry, Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd, 1951, pp. 196-249.

In the excerpt below, Swiss educator, author, poet and critic Tschumi analyzes various aspects of Day Lewis's major poetical works, pondering the author's endeavor to incorporate metaphysical elements and social concerns into his verse.

Transitional Poem

Lewis writes, in his first period, poems of sustained unity, but with an analytical structure. Because of his discursive manner of composing, we have to respect the chronological order and to avoid a general discussion which would prevent us from taking any of the three poems as a whole.

The first of the long poems is Transitional Poem. Notes to Transitional Poem, written in January 1929, may serve as an introduction to the poem. Their first part indicates Lewis's purpose:

The central theme of this poem is the single mind. The...