Abstract
Abstract This article examines five poem extracts written by the fictional Victorian poet Randolph Henry Ash in A. S. Byatt’s Possession: A Romance, which, depicting the Paradise gardens in various mythologies across the world, become rewritten tales of the Paracelsian elemental spirits guarding treasure hoarded in nature.These poems, placed at the heads of different chapters, are read as summaries of the detective stories, indicating to the reader the developments in the forthcoming quest plot. Furthermore, they are interpreted as embodying Roland’s search for coherence in the postmodern world, which culminates in his psychological maturation at the end of his quest. Finally, these poems are deciphered as expressive of Ash’s quest for the prelapsarian Eden which he believes inspires generations of poets’ literary imagination. In conclusion, this article addresses three readings of the philosopher’s stone and two characters' visions of the past.
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