Fire and Ice: The Poetry of Xavier Villaurrutia

This study concentrates on close analysis and evaluation of his poetry. It moves from the specific to the more abstract, from commentary on lexicon and syntax through metrics and figurative language to a consideration of the poet's major themes: love, death, and oppressive solitude. The final section is an evaluation of the poetry itself and of Villaurrutia's place in Mexican literature and in a larger Western tradition.