Cross-Genre Reflections in Paul Muldoon’s ‘Le Flanneur’

I read Paul Muldoon's dense, complex, shifting sonnet, ‘Le Flanneur’ (2011), to explore Muldoon’s reflections on and affinities with Brian O'Nolan. 'Le Flanneur' delicately considers O'Nolan's life, creations, and reception, in playful and slightly unsettling tones; it creates a mesh of impressions rather than a verdict. I suggest that both O’Nolan and Muldoon are drawn to reused and otherwise less-than-pristine language, like cliches and terrible puns; both are not only almost inevitably funny, but profoundly tricky and elusive-- while also inevitably readable. After discussing ‘Le Flanneur,’ I end by briefly suggesting grounds for a broader consideration of O’Nolan and recent English-language poetry.