Obsession vs. The Moderate Balanced Man
             Alfred Levinson's "Hampstead Revisited" closes with three interesting lines. "The man with an obsession/ is more interesting than/ the moderate balanced man." This definitely provides the reader with "food for thought."
             The poem's speaker is a writer. He lives in an area called Hampstead where poet and novelist, D.H. Lawrence once lived in 1915. In fact, Tagore lived there in 1912, so this must be a writer's haven. However, that seems far from the truth.
             The speaker spends time watching the people Hampstead. In fact, he seems slightly more interested in watching others than writing. Watching other people may be used as an excuse to find some sort of inspiration, but the speaker seems to look past any possible inspiration. Instead, he seems content that there is nothing of interest to put down on paper as some sort of inspiration to a great work. The author's obsession seems to be his eye for everyday things. "There is something in the concentration here/ that man: his dog, that woman, her hair/ that sun: small stopper for the jar..." These words show us a man who is fascinated with everyday activities.
             The speaker is a writer who lives in an area that has housed prolific writers before him, and many writers are products of their environments. The speaker hopes to find something, some sort of inspiration to pen a masterpiece. He does not seem able to find a piece of inspiration. It is not the same place where Lawrence and Tagore once lived. Time has changed the area, or has it? Both writers may have experienced the same atmosphere as the speaker, but he doesn't seem to know how to take advantage of the historic site.
             "The man with an obsession/ is more interesting than/ the moderate balanced man." The speaker is not a balanced man. He is a man with an obsession. He is obsessed
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