The Form of the Unfinished

Book excerpt: Distinguishing between the incomplete poem and the unfinished poem, Professor Rajan sees the unfinished poem as remaining in dialogue with its own dissensions. He contributes to current critical debates by showing how the long poem resists assimilation to the forces of both unification and undecidability, finding its significance on the line of engagement between them. Originally published in 1985. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.