Tone of "The Damnation of a Canyon" by Robinson Jeffers

Robinson Jeffers' poem "The Damnation of a Canyon" (referring to Glen Canyon dammed by Lake Powell) carries a tone that is:

• Somber & Elegiac: Mourns the loss of a wild, sublime landscape.
• Reverent: Honors the canyon's ancient beauty, geological grandeur, and ecological integrity.
• Indignant: Condemns the hubris of "engineers" who "drowned" a masterpiece for "power and water."
• Philosophically Detached: Reflects Jeffers' "inhumanism"—nature's indifference to human works; the canyon's destruction is a fleeting moment in deep time.
• Visceral & Imagistic: Uses stark imagery ( "the beautiful dead," "the river's heart stopped") to evoke visceral loss.

The poem is a seminal environmental lament, blending grief, outrage, and a cosmic perspective on human impermanence.