The essay, mostly about E. E. Cummings, is titled "The Poet as Person"

[Of "so much depends," Pearce wrote:]

This says . . . So much depends upon our continuing clear and coherent perception of such a little scene; so much depends, because we depend upon seeing objects thus; what is important is the perceptive act; it is a way we have of taking possession of our world without destroying it. The bare claim of the first line literally 'depends' upon the effectiveness of what follows; the generalization comes alive only if the instance is fresh and strong, forever new.