A Mask for Janus

A Mask for Janus is the debut poetry collection by W.S. Merwin, published in 1952. It was selected for the Yale Series of Younger Poets award by W.H. Auden. Merwin's early poetry, including that in this collection, often featured lyrical works and philosophical narratives drawing from myths and folk tales.1

The title itself, "A Mask for Janus," likely alludes to the Roman god Janus, who is associated with doorways, beginnings, and transitions, often depicted with two faces looking in opposite directions. This imagery suggests themes of duality, passage, or perhaps a hidden aspect of beginnings. Merwin's work in this period, while critically acclaimed, began to explore concerns about human alienation from the environment, a theme that would become more prominent in his later poetry.21