Questioning the view that the work is not representative of the poet's mature accomplishment, Suzanne Nash argues that the revisionary process involved in its creation led Valery to reflect on problems fundamental to poetic production and thus provided inspiration for all his later poetry. Originally published in 1983. 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.