T.S.ELIO
ry I T RFAC to the second edition o his electe y published in 1951, the author sad: "There remain everal uncollected papers whi am disposed to presee as wel as a number f un-
pblished lectres, on matters connected wih he art o poetry, which await their nal form. Mr Eiot has now ulled the implied promise and aded several essays written snce the dae he te promise was made. This book contais seven essays on poetry and nine essays o oets The most recent essay in elece is daed 1936; all o the ontnd on bk ap)
F ARRAR T RAU A CA W RK
(contiued from fro ap
ea n etry n et th oe exceto ere rtte ubequetl Aog thoe o oet are clde the log ea o Goethe ot htherto obtaable th coutr ad the Bllard Mahe Lecre elvere a Uver College North Wale n Saue Johon a Poet and Crtc t revol publhed a1944, ee There are alo ea o Vrl r Joh Dave Mlto Byron Klg ad Yeat Aog thoe o poetry are The Mc of Poetr Poetr ad raa ad The Froter of Crt ' ch a delvered at the U verty of Meota 956 :·. 'f
T. . LIT was awarde th Nobel Prize fr Lterte n 8 Among hi ore recent pubhed work ar th vere pay, The Cockail Pary an Th Codenia Cerk, an hi pm The Cuvio of Chsmas Trees.
lPOGPHY, BINDNG D B
CH
JCK DESIG
E. S
N PEY D PE
T S. ELIOT
On
Poet and Poets
E NOODAY PRESS a subsidia of FAR, STRU & GIROUX
Copyrigh© 194 1945, 1951 1954 195 1957 by S Eot "The Fabuliss by Rudyard Kipling qued on pages 28281, is frm iveri f Crere opyrigh 197 by Rudyard Kipling reprine by permissin o Mrs. Gerge Bambridge an Dubleday mpany Inc Library o Congress caalg card number 57121 rs Noonday Paperbund diin, 11
ecd riig 6 ird riig 6 Fr riig 66 Fif riig 6 6 e ix riig riig6
Manuacured in he Uned Saes o Americ
. Wol Bk Manuacuring ompany n. ew Yor
Vaeri
Contents ee O POETRY The Fcto of Poe [ 19 5 ] The Mc of Poet [ 1 92 ] Wh Mo Poet? [ 19 ] Wh Cc [ 194] Poet d Dm [ 1951 The Thee oce of Poe [1953] he Foe of Ctcm [ 1956 ] O POET g d the Cht Wod S Joh De [ 1926 to [ 1936 o [ 1 947
[1951]
Joo Ctc 9 37 d Poe [ 19 ] Bo [ ethe he Sge [955 dd Kpg 19] [ 19 0 ]
3 6 6 3 6
N PETRY AND PETS
Prece oe eceptio e esss icded i tis boo e sbseqe to tose icded i m Seected Essas
os of em ee itte iti te s sitee es
Seected Essas s misceeos coecio tis book s e tite idictes is imied to esss coceed i poets o it poet Te pese coectio dies om m Seected Essas i ote espec O oe ess i t book e ppe o Ces ibe s ite fo deie o diece te est ee it fo pbictio i peodics Of e sitee ss ic mke p te peset book, te ee oi i ddessed diect o dieces; eeet ess tt o ig s bodcs k pbisig ese ddesses o e o temped o sfom em io t e migt e bee if oigi desiged fo e ee ised o te o e mde tetios beod omitig e pef to emks o oet nd aa d so some of ose pe mb emks d icide psies ic ig bee iteded to sedce e isee migt mee iie e ede o did i seem o me ig, i pepig fo pbictio i oe ome ppes ic ee ite t dieet imes d fo ios occsios ee o emoe pssges ic epet stemes mde eseee o to t o sppess icosisecies d ecocie codicios Ec iem is sbsti te sme s o e de of is deie o s pbicio
r o Sr Joh v whch d The Tme te Sppemet 1926 t w rcud rom obvo d rcommd uo r by Mr Joh Hywrd
Xll
REFACE
Some ppe o ddee qued b dte nd ubject mt te fo ncuon he eeced on eedng fe ome pe of me not good enough h tht coud he found woh of ncuon to ecue deeed Ednbugh Un befoe the W on The eveopent of Shakespere \se fo wht I tng to t eem to me oh But he etue tuc me bd tten nd n need of hoough eon t to be defeed to ome nente fuue eget he omon the e hoee hd p gd h et of ectue of one of bet pge n n of e t cene of Haet - to ncopote n nothe dde Por and raa So hng d obbed one ectue fo he bene of nthe no ppend to oetr and raa nohe bef etct fom the me Ednbuh ecue note on the bcon cene n Roeo and Juiet. cknoedgment ppe n the fom of footnote to the ee e The do not cone m gefu memoe of opt n ee ce n Ggo Sne nnepo Bno We] nd Dubn The debt of gtude e oo numeou to pcze but m e on oeth he age deeed on the occon of m eceng the Hnetc Goeth ze houd e o epe m ppec ton of he hopt of the Stftung FS the foundon ch dnd theSente pze] of thethe Recto of mbug the Unet nd the Bgomte Ct of
Oober 956
T S. E
On Poetry
he Socia unction of Poet
o deen e of eay i o likely o ugge dieen ing people a I may be excued fo expanin
wa do no mean by befoe going on o t to e plain wa do mean we peak of e functon of anyting we ae kely o be tinkng of wat a ng o to do ae a of wat doe do o a done at i an poan dncion becaue I do no inend o talk abou wa I tn poey o o do People wo el u wat poe oug o do epecialy f ey ae poet emelve uualy ave n mind e paicua kind of poey ta ey would ike to we I i alway poble, of coue, a poe may ave a deen ak n e fuue fom wat i a ad in te pa; bu even f ta o i wo wile to decide t wa funcon aoad in e pat, bo a one tie o anoe n one language anoe, and univeally could eaily we abou wa I do wi poey myelf o wa I ould like o do, and en y o peuade you a i i exacty wa all good poet ave ied o do o oug o ave done n e p only ey ave o ucceeded compleely, but peap at no hei faul Bu t eem to me pobable a f poey and mn ll gea poe a ad n o ocia funci on in pa i no likely o ave any in e fuue. Wen I ay ll gea poey I mean o avoid anoe way in A dd dvd h BrhNo g Iu d ub
quy dvopd o dv o udc Pr I he Adelph
ON OERY
AND
OES
ic I migt teat te ubect One migt take up te aiou kind of poety one afte anote and dicu te ocial function of eac kind in tun witout eacing te geneal uetion of wat i te function of poey a poet I want to _ditingui between te geneal and paticula function o tat we all know wat we ae not talking about. Poet may ave a elibeate conciou ocial pupoe In it moe pimitive fom ti pupoe i often uite clea ee ae fo example ealy une and cant ome of wic ad vey pactical magical pupoe to avet t e evil eye to cue ome die ae o to popitiate ome demon Poety i eay ued in eligiou itual and wen we ing a ymn we ae till uing poety fo a paicula ocial pupoe. e ely fom of epic and aga may ave tanmitted wat wa eld to be itoy befoe uviving fo communal entetainment only and befoe te ue of witten language a egula vee fom mut ave been extemel elpful to te memo and te me moy of pimitive b ad totelle nd cola mut ave been podigiou In mo advanced ocietie uc a tat of ancient Geece te ecognzed ocial untion of poet ae alo vey conpicuou e Geek dama develop out of eligiou ite and emain a fomal public ceemony aociated wit taditional eligiou celebatio te pindaic ode develop in elation to a paicula ocial Cetainly poety gave a famewok wictee madedenite poibleue teofattainment of poety occaion pefection in paticula kind In moe mode poety ome of tee fom emain uc a tat of t e eli giou ymn wic I av e mentioned e m ning of te tem didcic poety a undegon ome cang cic may mean conveying infomation o it may mean giving moal intuction o it may mean ometing wic compeend bot Vigil Geogic fo intance ae ve beautiful and ound atinfomation about goodpoey faming Butcontain it wouldome eme impoible te pent day to wit an utodat boo about faing wic
THE SOCIA UNCTION O OETRY
old alo be ne poet fo one t}ng te bject itelf a become mc moe complicated and cientic and fo an ote it can be andled moe eadily in poe No old e, a te Roman did ite atonomical and comological tea tie in vee e poem te otenible aim of wic i to con ey infomation, a been peeded by poe Didactic poetry a gadally become limted to poetry of moal exo tation, o poet wic aim to pede te eade to te a to point of view abot ometing It teefoe inclde a geat deal of wat can be called e, tog atie oveap it blee and paody, te ppoe of ic i pmaly to cae mit Some of Dryden poem, in te eventeent centy, ae atie in te ene tat tey aim to idicle te obect againt wic tey ae diected and alo didactic in te aim to peade te eade to a paticla political o e ligio point of view and in doing ti tey alo make e of te allegoical metod of digiing eality a ction The ind nd he nhe wic aim to peade te eade tat igt wa on te ide of te Cc of Rome againt te Cc of ngland, i i mot emakable poem in ti kind In te nineteent centry a good deal of te poetry of Selley i inpied by a zeal fo ocial and political efom A fo dc poety, tat a a ocial fnction of a kind now o weea i wit t topeclia be eadtoinitelf olitde, o to bemot eadpoetry alod today in a mall com pany damatic vee alone a a it fnction te making an immediate collective impeion pon a lage nmbe of peo pe gateed togete to look at an imaginay epiode acted pon a tage Damatc poetry i dieent fom any ote b a it pcial law ae to of te dama it fnction i meged into tat of te dama in geneal and I am not ee con cened wit te pecial ocial fnction of te dama A fo te pecial fnction of piloopical poet tat wold involve an analyi and an itoical accont of ome length ave tink aleady mentioned enog kind o
6
ON OETRY AND OES
poety to make clea ta te peca function of c i elated to ome ote function of damatic poey to ama, of didactic poet of infomation o e function of ubjecmatte, of didacic poety of piloopy o eligion o pol tic o moal o te functon of tee ubject. We mig conde te function of any of tee kind of poet and ti leave untouced te uetion of te function of Fo a tee ting can be dealt wit in poe But befoe poceeding I wan o dimi one oecton tat may be aied People ometime ae upiciou of any poety tat a a paticula pupoe poet in wic te poet ad ocating ocial moal political o elgiou vew And tey ae muc moe nclined to ay a it n poet wen tey diike te paticula view ju a ote people often tink tat ometng eal poety ecaue t appen to expe a point of view wic tey like I ould ay tat te ueton of wete te poet i uing poet to advocae o atck a ocial attitu e not matte ad vee may ave a tanien ogue wen te poet i eecting a popula attitude of te mo ment bu al oet uvive not only a cange of popula opinion but te complete extinction of inteet n e ue it wc te poe wa paionately concene Lucetu poem emain a geat poem toug i notion of pyic and atonomy dicedited Dyden toug te poltcal eventeent centuy no longe concen utuaa a el of te ae geat poem of te pat may til give geat pleaue oug it ubjectmatte i one wic we ould now tea n poe. Now if we ae to nd te eential ocial function of poet we mut look t at t moe obviou function oe wic it mut pefom f it i to pefom any e t, ink ta we can be ue about i tat poety a to give pleaue. If you ak wat kind of pleaue ten I can only anwe e knd of pleaue tat et gve imply becaue any ote anwe ould take u fa aeld nto aetetic and te genea ue tion of te natue of at
HE SOCIA UCIO O OERY
I uppoe t wll be ageed tat eve good poet wete be a geat poet o not a ometng to gve u bede pleaue o t wee only pleaue te pleaue tel could not o te get knd Beyond any pecc ntenton wc poety may ave uc a I ave aleady ntanced n te vaou knd o poet tee alway te communcaton o ome new epeence o ome e undetandng o te amla o t expeon o ometng we ave expeenced but ave no wod o w c enlag e ou co ncou ne o ene ou en blty But t not t uc ndvdual benet om poet any moe tan t wt te qualty o ndvdual pleaue tat t pape concened. e all undetand I tnk bot te nd o pleaue wc poet can ge and te knd o de ence beyond t e pleaue w c t make t o ou lve to ut poducng tee two eect t mply not poety e may acknowledge t but at te ame te ovelook ometn wc t doe o u collectvely a a ocety And I mean tat n te wdet ene o I tnk t motant tat evey peo ple ould ave t own poet not ly o toe wo enoy poet uc people could alw ay lea n ote la nguag e and enoy te p oet but be cau e t actually make a deence to te ocety a a wole and tat mean to people wo do not enj oy poet. I nclu de even toe wo do not know te na o te o natonal poet at te eal ubect o t pape e obee tat poety de o evey ote at n avng a value o te people o te poet ace and language, c can ave o no ote. It tue tat even muc and pantng ave a local and acal caacte but cetanly te dculte o appecaton n tee at o a oegne a muc le. It tue on te ote and tat poe tng ave gncance n te own language wc lot n tanlaton but we all eel tat we loe muc le n eadng a novel n tanlaton tan n eadng a poe and n a tanlaton o ome knd o centc wok te lo may be vtu ally nl at
ON OERY
A
OETS
et i mc moe local tan poe can be een in te itoy o opean langage Tog te Middle Age to witin a ew nded ea ago tin emained te langage o pi loop teology, and ci en ce Te imple towad te lit a e o te langage o te people bgan wit poet And ti appea peectl natal wen we ealize tat poety a pimail to do wit te expeion o eeling and emo ton and tat eeling and emotion ae paticla weea togt i geneal It i eaie to tink in a oeign langage tan it i to eel in it eeoe no at moe tbbonly national tan poety A people may ave it langage taken awa om it, ppeed and anote langage compelld pon te cool bt nle o teac tat people to fl in new langage yo ave not eadicated te old one and it ill eappea in poet wic i te eicle o eeling I ave t aid eel in a new langage and I mean ometing moe tan meel expe e i eeling i n a new lan gage A togt expeed in a dieent langage may be pactically te ame togt bt a eeling o emotion expeed in a dieent an· uage i o t ame eeling o emotion. One o te eaon o lning at leat one oeign langage well i tat we ac ie a kind o pplementa peonalit one o te eaon o not acqiing a nw langage id o o own i tat mot olangage do not to be become a dieent peon A peio can want eldom exteinated ecept by te e temination o te people wo peak it en one langage peede anote it i all becae tat langage a advantage wic commend it and wic oe not meely a dieence bt a wide and moe ened ange not only o tinking bt o eeling tan te moe pimitie an gage. motion and eeling ten ae bet expeed in te common lang age o te people tat i, in te lan gage com· mon o all clae te tcte, te ytm te ond, te idiom o a langage expe te peonalit o te people
H SOCIA UNCTIO O OTRY
ic peak it en ay tat it i poety ate tan po tat i concened it te expeion of emotion and feelin do not mean tat poety need ave no intellectual content o meanin o tat eat poety doe not contain moe of uc meanin tan lee poety. But to develop ti invetiation ould take me aay fom my immediate pupoe will tak it a aeed tat people nd te mot conciou epeio of tei deepet feelin in te poety of tei own lanua ae tan in any ote at o in te poety of ote lan uae. i doe not mean of coue tat ue poety i li ited to feelin wic eveone can econize and undetand; e mut not limit poety to o poety t i enou ta in a omoeneou people te feelin of te mot ened and complex ave ometin in common wit toe of te mot cude and of imple teypeakin ave notanote in common wit And to f people tei wic o level lanuae wen a civilization i ealty te eat poet wil ave ome tin to ay to i fellow countmen at eve level of edu cation e may ay tat te duty of te poet, a poet i only indi ecty to i people: i diect duty i to i t to p ve and econd to extend and impoe n expein wat ote people feel e alo canin te feelin y makin t moe conci ou; e i makin peop le mo e awae of at te fl aleady and teefoe teacin tem omet in aout temele But e i not meely a moe conciou peon tan t oe; e i alo individually dieent fom ote people, and fom ote poet too and can m ak e i eade ae con ciouly in new feelin ic tey ad not expeienced foe. at i te dieence etween te wte wo i meel eccentic o mad and te enuine poet e fome ma av feelin wic ae unique ut wic cannot e aed and ae teefoe uele; te latte dicoe new vaiation o eniility ic can e appopiated y ote. And in e
ON OETRY ND OETS
pressing them he is developing and enriching the anguage hich he speaks I have said quite enough about the impaable dierences of eelng beteen one peope and another, dierences hich are med in, and deveoped by, their dierent languages But peple do not only eperience he orld dierently in dierent plces, they eperience it dierently dierent times.about n fact, or sensibiity is constanty changing,at as the ord us changs ours is not the same as that of the Chinese or the Hindu, but also it is not the same as that of our ancestors everal hundred years ago t is not the same as that of our fathes and naly, e ourseves are not quite the same per ons that e ere a year ago This is obvious but hat is not o obvious is that this is the reason hy e cannot aord to riting poet Most educated peope take a certain pride in the great authors of their anguage, though they may never read them, ust as they are proud of any other distinction of their count a e authors even become celebrated enough to mentined occasionally in poitica speeches But most peo le do nt eaie that this is not enough; that uness they go on producing great authors, and especialy great poets, their anguage i deteriorate, their cuture ill deteriorate and rhap become absorbed in a stronger one eOne shalpoint become is, ofmore course, and that moreif alienated e have from no iving the iterature of the past; unless e keep up contnuity, our literature of the ast il become more and more remote from us until it is as tange to us as the iteature of a foreign peope For our angage goes on changing our ay of ife changes, under the pressure of material changes in our environment in al sor of as and unless e have those fe men ho combine an ex ceptiona sensibiity ith an exceptional poer over ords, our on abiity, not merey to epress, but even to fe any but the rudest emotions, ill degenerate. t matters little hether a poet had a large audience in hi
HE SOCIA UNCION O OERY
wn ime ha maers is ha here od awas be a leas a sma audience for him in eery generaion Ye wha hae js said sess ha his imporance is for his o ime, or ha dead pes cease o be of any use o us ness we have living poes as well wold even press my rs poin and say ha if a pe ges a arge adience very quicky, ha is a raher sspicios i eads o fear he iswha no ry doingcircumsance: anyhing new,forha he issony giingha people hey are ardy used o, and hereore wha hey hae aready had from he poes of he previous generaion ha poe shold have he righ, smal audience in his own ime is im poran here shoud aways be a small vangard of people, appreciaive of poery, ho are independen and somewha in advanc f heir ime or ready o assimilae noey mor uickly he developmen of culre does no mean bringing eebod p o he fron, which amons o no more han making everone keep sep: i means he mainenance of sch an lie he main, and more passive body of readers no agging more han a generaion or so behind he changes and deveopmn of sensibiiy which appear rs in a few work hemsev ino he anguage gradaly, hrogh heir in ence n oher, and more rdiy popar ahors; and by he ime he have become wel esablished, a new advance wil be calledremain for. alive is, moreover, hrugh he livinghasauhors ha he he dd A pe like Shakespeare inenced English anguage very deply, no ony by his inence on his immedia sccessors For he greaes poes have aspecs which d n come o ligh a once; and by eercising a direc inence n oher poe cenries laer, hey conine o aec he iving angage Indeed if an English poe s o earn how o se words in or im� he mus deoe close sudy o hose who have used hem bes in hei ime o hose who, in heir o he angage So day, ar have havemade only sggesed he new nal poin o which I hink he inuenc of pery may be said o exend and ha can
12
N OETRY ND OETS
pu es y he assero ha, he log u, makes a d· erece o he speech, o he sesly, o e lves o all h meers o a socety, o all he memrs o he commuy, o he ole people, heher hey read ad ejoy poey or o: ee, ac, heher hey ko he ames o er greaes poes or o. The uece o poe, a he urhes perphery, o course veryollog dused,he verycourse drec, ad or verya dcul o sproe. I s lke o a rd aeroplae a clear sky you have see he as u ear, ad kep you eye o as e arhe ad arhe aay, you ca sll see a a grea dsace, a dsace a hch he eye o aoher perso, o hom you o po ou, ll e uale o d So, you ollo he uece o ey, hrough hose readers ho are mos aeced y , o hose people ho ever read a all, you ll d prese everyhere. A leas you ll d he aoal culure lvg ad healhy, or a healhy socety here s a cou ous recproc uce ad eraco o each par upo he ohers Ad hs s ha I mea y he socal uco o poery s lares sese ha does, proporo o s cellece ad vgour, aec he speech ad he sesly o h hole o You mus o mage me o e sayg ha he laguag srucure hch eospeak culure s deermed s much more eclusvey compleyha ourha poes Ideed Th l equally e rue ha he qualty o our poery s deped e upo he ay hch he people use her laguage o a poe mus ake as s maeral hs o laguage as s ac ually spoke aroud hm. I s mprovg, he ll pro; s deerorag, he mus make he es o . Poery ca o some een preserve, ad eve resore, he eauty o a la guage; ca ad should also hlp o develop, o e jus a ule ad precse heomore complcaed he chagg purposes moder le, as codos as adadoro smpler age Bu poe, lke evey oher sgle eleme h
mseious soci pesoliy which we cl ou culue mus be depede upo ge my ccumsces which e beod is cool This eds me o few fehoughs of moe geel ue My emphsis o his poi hs bee upo he io d oc fucio of poey d his mus be qulied I do odiide wish opeople leve he hI do he o fucio of poey o omimpessio people fo beiee h heis cuues of he seve of Euope c ouish i isolio fom ech ohe Thee hve bee o doub i he ps high civi iios poducig ge hough d lieue which he deveoped i isoio Of h I co spek ih ssu ce fo some of hem my o hve bee so isoled s s pps Bu i he hisoy of Euope his hs o bee so Eve Acie Geece owed much o Egyp d somehig o he Asiic foies d i he elios of he Geek ses o ch ohe wih hei dee diecs d diee mes we my d ecipocl iuece d simulus logous o h of he couies of Euope upo ech ohe Bu he his o of Euope lieue wil o show h y hs bee idepede of he ohes he h hee hs bee cos give d ke d h ech hs i u fom ime o ime bee eviized by simulio fom ouside A geel HE SOCI UCION O OETRY
kcuue i cuue simply will o he hope of pepeuig he of y couy ies wok i commuico wih ohes Bu if sepio of cuues wihi he uiy of Euope is dge so so woud be uicio which led o uifomiy The viey is s esseil s he uiy Fo isce hee much o be sid fo ei limied puposes fo uives lng fnc such s Espeo o Bsic Eglish Bu supposig h l commuicio bewee ios ws cied o i such ici lguge how impefec i woud be! O he i
would be wholckdeque i some especs d hee be complee of commuicio i ohes Poewould is cos emide of l he higs c oly be sid i
ON OETRY AND OTS
on lngug, nd unnsb Th p communcon bn o nd o cnno b cd on wh o ndds o k h oub o n s on fogn lngug s ll s on cn n ny lngug bu ons on nd ho consqunly bl, o g o ss dg, o n noh ngug s s n h on. And ons ndsndng noh ol n hsnddus wy, ndsmong o b snd y ofndsndng of hos o ho h gon o ns o n ons on lngg. Incdnly, sudy of no ols o s cl y nsuc h sd h h qus of oy of ngug c ony os o hom h n gg s n cn ndsnd B h s noh sd o s oo I somms fond, n yng o d ngug h dd no know y l, h I dd no ndsnd c of os un undsood ccodng o h sndds of h schoo h s hd o b su of h mnng of y od gs h gmm nd syn, nd hn I coud nk h ss ou n ngsh. B h lso fond som ms c of oy hc coud no ns con nng mny ods nfm o m, nd snncs hch cold no consu, conyd somng mmd nd d, ws unq, dn n ngs som hng c I cold no fom nonyng ods nd y fh ndsood nd on nng lngug b found h hs sson ws no n lluson no somng hch hd mgnd o b n oy, bu somhng s lly So n oy yo cn, no nd hn n no noh couny, so o sk bfo you sso s bn ssud o you ck kn T ol qson of h lon of cons of dn ng c whn mbncdly of Euo sby hfo b on ld no hch d, s nqng no h socl fncon of oy cnly do no
nnd o pass om hs pon no pely poca qesons b I cod wish ha hos who a cncend wh pol qons wold mo on coss he one no hese whch I hav bn consdng Fo hese give h spal aspc o poblems h maeal aspec o whch s h concn o polcs On my sde o he lne one s conceed wih lvng hng whch have b hems own s awsbeoacceped gowh by whch no always easonabl he a eason hngs whch canno b nay planned and p no od any mo han he winds and he ans and he seasons can be dsc plned I nay I am gh n belevng ha poey has a soca ncon o h whole o he pop o h pos angage whehe hey a awa o hs esence o no ollows ha maes o each people o ope ha h ohs shod conne o have poey I canno ead Nowegan poey b I we old ha no moe poey was beng wen n h Nowegan angage I shold eel an alam whch wold b mch mo hn geneos smpahy. I shold egad as a spo o malady whch was lkely o spead ove he whole Con nen he begnnng o a decln whch wod mean ha peo pl evewhe wold cease o be able o pess and conse qenly b able o eel he moons o cvlzed bengs. hs THE SOCA UNCTO O OETRY
o mgh happen bele Mch has sad evhee ecos declne o elgos no bn so mch noce has abo been aken o he decln o elgos sensbly he oble o h moden age s no meely he nably o beleve cean hngs abo God and man whch o oeahes bleved b h nably o f owad God and man as hey dd A bele n whch yo no longe beleve s somehng whch o sme en o can sll ndesand b when elos eelng dsap peas he wods n whch men have sgged o epess be come meanngless. e haandelgos eelng vaes ally om conIoscony om age o age sna a poec lng does he eelng vaes even when e bele
ON OETRY AND OETS
he dcne emans he same Bu hs s a codo of human fe ad wha I am appehesve of s deah s eay possbe ha he feeng fo poey ad he feengs whch ae he maea of poey may dsappea eveywhee: whch mgh pehaps hep o facae ha uncao o h od whch some peope cosde desabe fo s own sake
· he Music of Poet
culapot,qualcatos wh h talks o ts about pot, has ad pcla lmtatos f w allow
fo th latt w ca bt t appcat th fom a cato
whch I commd to pots thmslvs as wll as to th ads of what thy say about poty I ca v ad a
of oadpos wtgs wthout I shk thmy task, cosqtly may otacut tak mbaassmt accot of all th asstos to whch I hav at o tm o aoth commttd myslf; I may oft pat what I hav sad bfo, ad I may oft cotadct myslf But I blv that th ctcalwtg of pots, of whch th past th hav b som vy ds tgushd xampls ow a gat dal of th tst to th fact that th pot, at th back of hs md, f ot as hs os tsbl ppos s always tyg to dfd th kd of pot h s wtg, o to fomlat th kd that h wats to wt. Espcally wh h s youg, ad actvly gagd battlg fo th kd of poty whch h pactss, ss h po of th past lato to hs ow ad hs gattud to thos poto d, as wll as hs dc to thos whos as hav b al to hs ow, may b aggatd H s ot so mch a dg as a advocat Hs kowldg v s lkly to b patal fo hs stds wll hav d hm to coctat o about ctapotc athos to th hgct of oths h thozs cato s lkly
Th hrd V . Kr Mmo Lr drd Go U
d ubh by Go Uvy r h m yr.
ON OETRY AND OETS
be genelizing ne tpe f expeence hen he venue in eheic he i likel be le he hn me cmpe en hn he philphe nd he m d be meel ep f he infmin f he philphe he d hi n inpecin Wht he ie bu pe in h mu be eed in elin he pe he ie We mu eun he chl f cenmen f fc nd he me deched citc f impl udgmen The ciic ce inl huld be mehing f chl nd he chl mehing f ciic Ke he enin deved minly he lieue f he p nd pblem f hicl el inhip mu be pu n he ceg f chl bu he hd n high degee he ene f vlue he gd e he unde tnding f ciicl cnn nd he bili ppl hem h u hich he chl' cnibuin cn be nl ndec Thee i nhe me picul epec in hich the chl' nd he pcine' cqunnce ih vecn die e pep huld be puden pek nl melf hve neve been ble ein he nme f fee nd mee he ppe epec he cceped ule f cnin. A chl enjed ve much eciing me igil in m n fhin Pehp hd me inincive upicin h nbd ell kne h Geek ugh be pnunced h f igil Geek nd nve hhm he Rmn e mighineeving ppecie n pehp nl hd n ninc f pecive lzine Bu ceinl hen i cme ppling ule f cnin Englih vee h i ve dieen ee nd vible llbic vlue I ned kn h ne line gd nd nhe bd nd hi cnn culd n ell me Te nl len mnipule n knd f Englih vee eemed be b imilin nd imtin b becming enged in he k f picul pe h pducehe ecgnizble deivive Thifi he nt nehculd I cnide nlicl ud f meic bc fm hich und exdnil dieen hen
HE USIC O OTRY
handed b dieren poe, o be an uer ae of ime I i on ha a ud of anaom i no each ou ho o make a hen a egg I do no recommend an oher a of begn ning he ud of Greek and Lain vere han h he aid of hoe ru of canon hich ere eabihed b grammarian afer mo of he poe had been rien; bu if e coud re vive anguage o beregard abe ohepeak hemhoe a he auhor ucien dd, e coud rueand ihhear indierence \Ve have o earn a dead anguage b an arcia mehod, and e have o approach i vericaion b an aricia mehod, and our mehod of eaching have o be appied o pupi mo of hom have on a moderae gf for an guage Even n approaching he poer of our on anguage, e ma nd he caicaion of mere, of ine h dieren number of abe and ree in dieren pace, uefu a a preiminar age, a a imped map of a compicaed erri or bu on he ud, no of poer bu of poem, ha can ain our ear. I i no from rue, or b codbooded imiaion of e, ha e ea o ie e earn b imiaion indeed, bu b a deeper imiaon han i achieved b anai of e When e imiaed Shee, i a no o much from a deire o ie a he did, a from an invaion of he adoe cen ef b Shee, hich made Shee a, fo he ime hehe onpracice a in of hich o ie Engih vericaion ha, no doub, been aeced b aarene of he ru of prood i i a maer for he hiorica choar o deermine he inuence of Lain upon he nnovaor \Va and Surre he grea gram marian o peren ha mainained ha he rucure of Engih grammar ha been miunderood in our aemp o make i conform o he caegorie of Lain a in he up poed ubuncive In he hior of veicaon, he queion hehern poe have foreign miunderood he rhhm hemu anguage miaing mode doe no areof e ccep e pracice of r poe of he pa, becaue he
N PETRY .ND ETS
ae pacices pon hich o ea has been ained and ms e ained I eieve ha a nme of foeign inences have gone o enich he ange and vaie of Engish vese Some classica scholas hod he vie his is a mae bond m compeence ha he naive mase of Lain poe as accena ahe han sllaic ha i as oveaid he in enceoofsomehing a ve dieappoimaing en a ngage o is Gee k fom and hinapoems i e veed ea sch as he evigiliu Veneis and he ea Chistian hmns If so I canno hep sspecing ha o he civaed adience of he age of igi pa of he pease in he poey aose fom he pesence in i of o meica schemes in a kind of conepoin even hogh he adience ma no necsai have been ae o anase he expeience Simia i ma e possile ha he bea of some Engish poey is de o he pesence of moe han one meical sce in i Delibea aemps o dvise Engish mees on Lain modes ae sall vey igid Among he mos sccessf ae a fe execises b Campion in his bief oo ie ead eaise on mecs among he mos eminen faies in m opinion ae he e peimens of Robe Bidges old give al his ingenios invenions fo his eaie and moe adiiona ics B hen a poe has so hoogh absoed Lain poey ha is move me n ninand fomsin his itho ieae atice ascanibeh Milo somve e ofse Te nnsonsdepoems he esl among he gea imphs of English vesicaion Wha I hink e have in English poe is a kind of amal gam of ssems of dives soces hogh I do no like se he od ssem fo i has a sggesion of conscos ien ion ahe han goh] an amalgam like he amalgam of aces and indeed pa de o acia oigins The hhms of AngoSaon Celic Noman Fench of Middle Engish and Scoshe have al made Engishpeiods oeofoghe ih hhms of thei Lainmak andpon a vaios Fenc aian and Spanish As ih hman beins in a omosi
ace dieren sains may e domnan i dieen individuas even in memers o e same amiy so one o anoer eemn in e poeic compound may e more congenia o one o an oer poe or o on or anoer period Te kind o poery e ge is deermned rom ime o me y e inuence o one or anoe conemporary ieraure in a oreign language or y cicumsancesan icanoe make one period ou onempasis pas morein sympaeic o y e o prevaiing educaion Bu ee is one a o naure more poeru an any o ese varying currens or inuences rom aroad o rom e pas e a a poery mus no sray oo a rom e ordinary eveday anguage ic e use and ear Weer poey is accenual o sylaic rmed or ymeless omal or ree i canno aord o lose is conac i e canging language o common inercouse I may appear srange a en proess o e alking aou e music' o poery I pu suc empasis upon conversaion Bu oud remind you rs a e music o poery is no someing c exiss apa rom e meaning Oerise e could ave poery o gea musica eauy ic made no sense and I ave neve come across suc poery Te apparen excepions ony so a dierence o de gree: ere are poems in c e are moved y e music E USIC O OETRY
and ake senseo o ee y aree poems c e e aend e graned sense andusareasmoved musicin iou noicing Take an appareny exeme example e nonsense verse o Edard Lea is nonsense is no vacuiy o sense is a parody o sense and a is e sene o i The blie s a poem advenue and o nosalgia or e romance o oreign voyage and exploraion The ongBong Bo and The ong wih Lino Noe are poems o un requied passion lues in ac Ve enjoy e music ic isoards o a ig e enjoy eoeeling o irresponsiiiy e order sense. and Or ake a poem anoe pe e Ble Cloe o Viiam Mos I is a deigu poem oug
2
ON OEY AND OES
annot epan at t means and I doubt ete te auto oud ave planed t t as an et someat ke tat of a une o arm but runes and ams ae vey prat fomuae desgned to podue dente esuts su as gettng a o out of a bog But ts obvous ntenton and I tk te auto sueeds s to podue te eet of a deam It s not nessa enoy te poem kno atbeef te deam ans butn ode umnto bengs ave an to unsakeable tat dams mean sometng: tey used to bl eve and many stll beeve tat deams dsose te seets of te futue t oodox moden fat s tat tey evel te seets o at east te moe od seets of te past t s a ommon plae to observe tat te manng of a poem may olly es ap paapase. t s not qute so ommonplae to obseve tat te eanng of a poem may be sometng age tan ts autos onsous pupose and sometng emote fom ts ogns One of te moe obsue of moden poets was t Fen te Stpane Malla of om te en some tmes say tat s anguage s so peula tat t an be unde stood only oegners Te ate Roger Fy and s fend Caes Mauon publsed an Engls tanslaton t notes to unddle te meanngs l1en I n tat a dut sonnet as nspred by seeng a pantng on te elng eeted on te polsed of a of tae or Ibyan seeng foam ontop a gass bee onytesaygt tateeted ts mayfom be a oret embology but t s not te meanng. f e ae moved by a poem t as meant sometng peraps sometng mpotant to us f e ae not moved ten t s as poetry meanngess We an be deeply stred by eang te eta ton of a poem n a anguage of w e undestand no od; but f e ae ten told tat te poem s gbbes and as no meanng e sall ons der tat e ave been deuded ts as poem as meey mtaton nstumenta If asnoe ae taae ony aanpat of te ofmeanng an bemus on veyed by paapase tat s beause te poet s ouped t
onte o concone beyond whh wod a, thog eanng t ext A oe ay aea to ean vey de ent thng to deent eade, and a o thee eanng ay be deent o what the atho thoght he eant Fo n tance the autho ay have been wtng oe ecla e onal exeence, whch he aw qte uneated to anythng otde o thetaton, eade te becoevate the exe on o aetgenea a oe wel aay o oe exe ence o h own The eade nteetaton ay de o the atho and be eqaly vad t ay even be btt Thee ay be ch oe n a oe than the atho w awae o The deent nteetaton ay al be ata o aton o one thng; the abgte ay be de to th act that the oe ean oe not le than odnay ech can concate So, whe oety attet to coney oethng beyond what can be conveyed n oe hyth, t ean, al the ae, one eon takng to anothe and th jt a te yo ng t, o ngng i anothe way o takng The edac o oety to conveaton not a atte on whch we can lay down exact aw Evey evouton n oety at to be, and oete to annonce tel to be, a et to coon eech hat the evoluton whch \Vodwoth annonced n h USC O OTY
eace, anda he wa ght ae evoton had been aed out centy beoebt by the Odha ae, Denha and Dyden and the ae evouton wa de agan oethng ove a centy ate The olowe o a evouton deveo the new oetc do n one decton o anothe; they olh o eect t eanwhe th" oken angage goe on changng, and the oetc do goe ot o date Peha we do not eaze how natal the eech o Dyden t have onded to the ot ente o h conteoae No oety, o couebt eve eactly thatto the talko and hea: t ha to bethe n ae ch aeech elation theoet eech h te that te tene o eade can ay that how hold
ON OETRY AND OES
tlk f I could tlk poetry' Ths s the reso hy the bt cotemporry poetry c gve us feelg of xctemet d sese of fullmet deret from y setmet roused b eve very much grete poetry of pst ge The musc of poetry the, must be musc ltet the commo speech of ts tme Ad tht mes lso tht t must plce be ltet commo speechto ofvegh the poets ould ot be to mythepreset purpose gst the Itubuty of stdrded, or BBC. Eglsh If e ll cme to tl lke there ould o loge be y pot our ot rtg lke but ut l tht tme comes d I hope t my be log postpoed t s the poet's busess to use the speec h hch he ds bout hm tht th hch he s most fmlr I shl lys remember the mpresso of W. B ets redg poetry loud To he hm red hs o orks s to be md to recogze ho much the Irsh y of speech s eeded to brg out the beutes of Irsh poetry to h ets redg Wllm lke s experece of deret kd mor stoshg th stsfyg Of course e do ot t th poet merly o reproduce exctly the coversto dom of hmself, hs fmly hs freds d hs prtculr dstrct but ht he ds there s the mterl out of hch he must mk hs oetry. He must lke the sculptor be fthful to the mterl hch he orks; t s out of souds tht he hs hed tht he must mke hs melody d hrmoy I ould be mstke hoever to ssume tht ll poetry oght to be melodous or tht melody s more th oe of the compoets of the musc of ords Some poetry s met to e sug most potry, moder tmes s met to be spoke d there r e my other thgs to be spoke of besdes the murmur of umerble bees o the mo of doves mmemorl elms. Dssoce eve ccophoy hs ts
plcebetee just s poemof ofgreter y legth must be tos pssges d lessthere test to trs gve rhythm of uutg emoto essetl to the muscl struc
THE USC O OETRY
re of he whole and he paage of e ineni wil be in relaion o he level on whch he oa poem operae pro aic o ha in h e en e implied b h a conex i ma be ad ha no poe can wrie a poem of amplde nle he i a maer f he proaic \ maer in hor i he whoe poem and f he whole need ha no be and ofen hod be whol · folow a poem i no madenoonl o of melodio beaifl word I dob wheher from he poin of vew of o alone an word i more or le beaif han anoher whn i o angage for he eon wheher ome lan guage are no more beaif han oher i ie anoher eion The gl word are he word no ed for he compan in which he nd hemelve here are word which are gl becae of rawne or becae of anaion here are word which are gl becae of foregnne or ilbreeding [eg. elevision] b do no beleve ha an word well eabihed in i o langage i eiher beaif or g The mic of a word i o o peak a a poin of inerecon i arie from i relaion r o he word immediael preced ing and following it and indeniel o he re o _n ex; and from anoher relaion ha of i imdae mn ing in ha conex o al he oher i ha had in conex o i greaer or rich _ _nd llconneced of aociaion ooher Qbvi are ea i i par of he bine of he poe o dipoe he riche among h he rgh pon and we cann aord o load a pm oo heavil wih h e former for i i onl a cerain momen ha a word can be made o ininae he whole hior of a langage and a civiliaion Th i an allvene which i no he fahion or eccenrici of a pe clar pe of poe b an allivene which n he nare 1 hi i the mplementar dtrine t that f the thstne' ine r pa ag f athe Ald thi et f the eatnes f a et i the ay h it� hi le inene bt rtrally vital matter.
ON POETRY AND POES
o ods and hh s eqally he onen o evey knd o oe My ose hee s o nss ha a msa poe s oem hh has a msal aen o sond and a msal n o he seonday meanngs o he ods hh om ose and ha hese o aens ae ndssole and one And yo oje ha s only he pe sond apa om e sense o hh he adjeve msa an e ghly ap led an only eam my pevos asseon ha he sond o a oem s as mh an asaon om he poem as s he sense The hsoy o lank vese llsaes o neesng and e laed ons: he dependene on seeh and he skng deene n ha s osodally he sme om eteen dama lank vese and lank vese emloyed o eal hlosohal medave and dyll oses The deendene o vese on seeh s mh moe de n dama poey han n any ohe n mos knds o poey he neessy o s emndng s o onempoay seeh s eded y he la de aoed o esonal dosynasy: a poem y Gead okns o nsane may sond ey emoe om he ay n hh yo and expess oselves o ahe om he ay n hh o ahes and gandahes exessed hemselves okns does gve he mpesson ha hs poey has h neessay dely ovese hs ay o hnkng and alkng hmsel n dama he oe s seakng n oneohaae ae anohe hogh he medm o a omany o aos ned y a ode and o deen aos and deen odes a deen mes: hs dom ms e omehensve o all he voes pesen a a deee evel han s neessay en he oe seaks ony o hmsel ome o Shakeseae's e vese s vey elaoae and ela emans he lagage no o one eson o a od o esons I s sed he seeh o hee hnded yeas ago ye hen e heaon e endeed e an oge he dsane o me as s ogh home o s mos paeny n one o hose lay
THE USIC O OETY
o whch let s he che, whch c e gy poduced mode dess By he me o Oy dmc ese hs become c d es emsce d whe w ge o he ese pys y eeehceu poes o whch he ge s poy The Cenc s dcu o pesee y uso o ey Ney he gee poes o he s ceuy ed ed moe he hds ese hese hch pope h oce, epys eed whpys, espec s e poey d he spdy s usuy bued o he c h he uhos hough ge poes wee meus he hee Bu ee he poes hd hd gee u gs o he hee o hd oed o cque he c he pys woud he ee jus s eece, uess he hec e d expeece hd show hem he ecessy o de e d o esco I s o pmy c o po o c o co d suspese, o mpeec ezo o ch ce, o c o yhg o wh s ced hee, h mes hese pys so eess s pmy h he hyhm o speech s somehg h we co ssoce wh hum eg excep poey ece Ee ude he poweu mpuo o Dyde dmc ese shows ge deeoo. hee e spedd pssges All fo Love ye Dydes chces moe uycoupes mesh hey he heoc pyswoud whchseem he he oe hymed do wh moe u om o ese hough ess uy h do he chces o Coee d Rce Fech he cuses o he se d dece o y om o e wys compex, d we c ce ume o couoy cuses whe hee seems o em some deepe cuse cpbe o omuo I shoud o ce o dce y oe eso why pose cme o susede ese he hee Bu I ee sue h oe eso odc es co poey, e empoyed ow odmc he dm s h why so much d ge poey, hs ee we he s hee huded yes
N PRY AND PES
Or nds r srd hs nondrc orks h s orlly h s knd o vrs If cn gn s gh o ncy Mon cong bor Shkspr Shksp od hv hd o dscovr q drn ro h hch h sd nd prcd. Mon hndld bnk vrs n y hch o o hs v ppochd o vr ll pproch: nd n so dong dd or hn nyon o nyhng ls o k possbl fo h dr hogh y so bv h dc bnk vrs hd hsd s rsocs nd hd o fr n ny vn ndd Mon los d blnk vs possb or ny prpos fo copl o g ons s prcrsors o Words oh Thopson Yong Cop ho d h rs ors o sc ro h dgrdo o hch h ghnhcnry ors of Mon hd dcd . Thr s ch d vrd n blk vrs n h nh c h rs o cooq spch s h f Brong b sgncn y hs oo ogs h hn n hs pys o k gnrzon k hs s o o py y dg n o rv sr o pos. ry cls no o h prood drc b dc nd oh knds o vrs drnc n h sc hch s dc n h lon o h crrn spokn ngg I lds o y n hch h sk of h poblccordng d o only po ccodng o shsh prson conson o h prod n hch h nds hs. A so prods h sk s o plor h sc possbls of n sbshd convnon of h ron o h do o vrs o h of spch ohr prods h sk s o cch p h h chg coloq spch hch r fndnlly chngs n hogh nd snsbly hs cycc ovn so hs vy g nnc pon or crc jdgn A k os hn of poc dco sr o h brogh bo byrfrshn Wordsorh hd b cd o hh hs sscory ccopshd or no] ncd
HE USC ERY
r jdgments n the ast t exaggerate the mrtance the nnatrs at the exense the etatn the dee es I hae sad en gh I thnk t make cea r that I d nt be lee tat a et5 and aways t eect age It wld nt be desrable een t e n a state ee tal et n the were cra nna nelty dctn and metrc s as n whesme an bstnate adheren ce t the dm r grandt Th e a re t me s r exra tn an d t es r te deement the terrty acqed. The et wh dd mst r the nglsh langage s Shakeseare and he cared t n ne shrt letme the task tw ets. can ny sa here brey that the deement Shakeseare's erse n be rghy dded nt tw erds Drng the rst he wa swy adatng hs rm t cqal seech: s that by the tme he wrte Anton nd Cleopt he had desed a medm n whch eerythng that any dramatc character mght hae t say whether hgh r w etca' r rsac cld be sad wth natraness and beaty Hang gt t ths nt he began t elabrate The rst erd the et wh began wh Ven nd Adoni, bt wh had aready n Love bo Lot, begn t see wha t he had t d s rm art
calty t smcy rm stness slenes. The ays me rm smcty twadst eabatn The later ate Shakeseare s cced wth th e the task the et that exermentng t see hw eabrate hw cmcated the mc cd be made wtht sng tch wth clqal seech agether and wtht hs chaacters ceasng t be hman bengs Ths s the et Cbeline, The Winte Tle, eicle, and The Tepet O thse whse exlratn tk them n ths ne dectn ny Mltn s the greates master may thnk that Mltn the rchestra sc We langage smetmes ceasesntexrng k a scal dm a a we may thnk that Wrdswth n attemtn e
ON POERY AND POES
the socal om sometmes oersteps the mark a ecomes pstra ut t s ofte tre that oly y gog too far ca o o fr e ca go thoug oe has to e a ery gt poet to ustfy such peros aetres So far hae spoke oly of erscato a ot of poetc strcture a t s tme for a remer that te musc of erse sOy ot th a eths y e mattercatea qesto theee holeqesto poem m approachofthe of orma atter a free erse I the pays of Shakespare a scal esg ca e scoere partcuar scees a s more perfect plays as oes It s a msc of magery as el as so Mr Wlso Kght has sho hs eama to of seera of the plays ho mch the se of recurret magery a omat magery throughout oe pay has to o th the tota eect A play of Sakespeare s a ery com ple muscal structre the more easy graspe structre s that f forms sc as the soet the forma oe te aae the llaele oeau or sesta t s sometmes assme that moer poetry has oe aay ith forms ke the hae see sgs of retr to them a ee eee that the teecy to retur to set a ee eaorate patters s per maet as permaet as the ee for a refra or a chorus to a opar sog Some forms are more approprate to some ages tha peros to oters thaa to others ay form At oe may stage e more the staza appro prate to some s a rght a atura formazato of speech to patter ut te staza a the more eaor ate t s the more rues to e oere ts proper eecuto the more surey ths hapes tes to ecome e to the om of the momet of ts perfecto t qucky os cotact th the chagg colo qa speech eg possesse y the meta otlook of a past geerato t ecomes screte he empoye soey y tose rters ho hagther o mpuse to form th hae recourse to porg qu setmet to a them ry a mol hch thy ay hop that t l set
THE USC ETRY
perfec sonne wha you admre s no so much he auhors sl n adapng hself o he paern as he skl and power wh whch he makes he paern comply wh wha he has o say Vhou hs ness whch s conngen upon perod as wel as nddua genus he res s a bes ruos and where he musca eleen s he only elemen ha also an shes reurn bu here hae o be perods durng Elaborae whch heyforms are ad asde s for free erse I epressed my w wenye years ago by sayng ha no erse s free for he man who wans o do a good ob No one has beer case o know han I ha a grea dea of bad prose has been wren under he name of free erse hough wheher s auhors wroe bad prose or bad erse or bad erse n one sye or n anoher seems o me a maer of nderence Bu ony a bad poe coud wecome ree erse as a beraon from form I was a reo agans dead fo and a preparaon for new form or for he renewa of he od was an nssence upon he nner uny whch s unque o eery poem agans he ouer uny whch s ycal he poem comes before he form n he sense ha a form grows ou of he aemp of soebody o say somehng us as a sysem of prosody s only a formulaon of he denes n he rhyhms of a successon of poes nuenced by each oher orms hae o be andhe reade I belee ha any anguage so ong as broken remans sae bu anguage poses aws and resrcons and perms s own lcence dcaes s own speech rhyhms and sound paes nd a anguage s always changng s deeopmens n ocabuary n syna pronuncaon and noaon een n he ong run s de eroraon mus be accep ed b y he poe and made he bes of He n urn has he prege of conrbung o he de eopmen and mananng he qualy he capacy of he language o epresshs a wde gradaon of fee ng and emoon ask range s bohando sube respond o change an ake conscous and o bae aans degradaon beow
ON OERY AND OES
ndrd whch he h ln ro he p he lbere ha he y ke re o he ake o order wh ge conepory vere now nd el eve yo o dge o yorelve ppoe ha w be agreed ha he work o he weny yer worh o beng claed a a belongng o a perod o erch or oproper odern coloql do We hve here good wy go n he nvenon o a vere ed o he ed n whch we hll be be o her he peech o coneporry hn beng m whch dc chrcer cn epre he pre poery who hghln nd n whch hey cn convey he o coonpace eage who abrdy B when we rech pon whch he poec do cn be bzed hen a peod o cl elboon cn oow hnk h a poe y gan ch ro he d o c how ch echnca knowedge o cal o derbe do no know, or hve no h echnc knowedge yel B beeve h he propere n whch c concern he poe o ney re he ene o rhyh nd he ene o rce I hnk h gh be pobe or poe o work oo coey o cl anoge he re gh be n eec o acy b I know ha a poe or a pge o pe y end o eze e r parcl rhyh beorebrng reache n word and ha y o brhepreon he de and he ge nd h do rhyh no beeve ha h n eperence pecla o yel he e o recen hee a nr o poe o c Thee are poble or vere whch ber oe anogy o he deveopen o a hee by deren grop o nren hee ae poble o ranon n a poe coprble o he d eren oveen o yphony o qre hee ae poble o conrpn arrngeen o becaer n he rooy raher hn n heMore operhn hoe e geconce o a pe be qckened hha canno ay b eve he aer here o hoe who have had a
E USC E
musical education But would reind you again of the asks of poetry, te two irections in wic language must at dierent times be worked: so tat owever far it ay go in usical elaboration we ust expect a tie to coe wen poety ave again to be recaled to speec Te sae pro les arise, an awas in new fors; and poet as way before it as F S Oliver said o poitics an 'enless dere
Wht s Minor Poe?
no propos o or thr t t bgnnng or t th nd dnon of mnor pory Th dngr of sh dnton od b mgh d s to xpt t d s on for o r mjor nd ho r t
mor mnornd pots on Thn of mnor f pos rdntoEngs mk ot rr o sts sod on of nd tt grd bo f pots for h st tht r od b mor bot hom sod dr nd tht no t pop od prod qt t sm sts: nd ht hn od b th s of or dnon? Wh I nk n do hovr s o tk no of t ft ht hn spk of po s mnor mn drnt thngs drnt tms n mk or mnds : rr bot hs drn mnngs nd so onfson d drn msndrstnd n W sh r rn go vod on mnng svr thngs b rm so ms s h mny or ords mk t s of nd no mpt to sqz vryng no on dnon Wt m onrnd to dsp s ny drogory ssoton onnd h h rm mnor pory og th h sggson t mnor potry s sr to rd or s ot o rd thn mor potry T qson s sm p t knds of mnor potr r hr nd hy sod rd ? addess delvered efore h Assocato o f Bookme of Swse d \es ales a Swase Seemer Sseqely lshed h Seaee Reve
HA S MOR OERY
e most diect appoach I th is by cosideig te sevea kds of athoogies of poet: because oe associatio of the tem mio poety makes it mea the kid of poems that we oly ead i athooges'. Ad icidetall am gad of a oppotuity to say somethig about the uses of atholo gies because if e udestad thei uses we ca also be guaded agast thei dages fo thee ae poetloves wo ca be caled athoogyaddcts ad caot ead poety i a othe way Of couse the pimay value of athoogies as of l poet lie i the beig abe to give peasue but beyod this they shoud seve seveal puposes Oe kid of athoog which stads by itself s that hich cosist of poems by youg poets those who have ot et published volumes o whose books ae ot yet dely kow eades Such coectios whethe they haveepeset a paticula the wok valueoffooeboth oup poets of poets ad with cetai pciples i commo o whethe the oy ut of the cotets is that give by the fact that all the poes beog to the same litea geeatio o the youg poet it is geealy desiable to have seveal stages of publicity befoe he aries at the poit of havig a small book all to himself Fist the peiodis ot the wellkow oes with a atioa cicuatio the oly advatage to the youg pet o f ap pearig is catio the possible gui guieas] that h may eceiivethese o pub but the sma[o l magazi devoted to cotempoay vese ad edted by youg editos The smal magazies ofte appea to cculate oy amog co ibutos ad oudbe cotibutos thei codito s usualy pecaious they appea at iegula iteals ad the exst ece is bief yet thei colective impotace is out of al po potio to the obscuity i which thy stuggle Apat om the alue they may have i givig expeiece to futue liteay ditos ad goo d iteay edito s have a im potat pat t pay i a healhy iteatue they ge the poet the advatage of seeig his wok i pit of compai it ith that of his
ON OERY AND OETS
equy obcure or gy beer nown conemorre, n of recevng e enon n crcm of oe wo re mo ey o be n ymy w ye of wrng For oe mu me ce for mef mong oer oe, n wn own generon, before e e o eer rger or n oer ubc To oe eoe wo re neee n ubng oery, ee m mgzne o rove men of eeng eye on e begnner, n wcng e rogre N m grou of young er, w cern ne or regon yme beween em, my rouce voume ogeer Suc grou frequeny bn emeve ogeer by formung e of rnce or rue, o wc uuy noboy ere n coure of me e grou negre, e feeber member vn, n e ronger one eveo more n uefu uoe: vu ye Buyoung e grou, o o nno eornry grou noogy ge n eve nee re beer wo, muc enon from e gener ubc, bu ey nee e uor n crcm of ec oer n of few oe eoe An, ere re e more comreenve nooge of new vere referby comed by more ece young eor Tee ve e vue of gvng e oery reer noon of w gong on, cnce of uyng e cnge n ubecmer n ye, wou gong roug gre number of eroc or ere voume;ofn eyoe ee furer enon o e rogre few o rec wo my eem o m of rome Bu even ee coecon o no rec e gener reer wo rue w no ve er of ny of e oe un ey ve rouce ever voume n conequeny foun ncuon n oer nooge coerng geer n of me Wen e oo one of ee boo, e o juge by nr wc ou no b e: o uge rome f were mure erformnce, o juge e noogy, no by e few be oem n bu be by e verge e nooge wc ve e we crcuon r of
HA S MNOR OERY
ose thos hch ke the Oxfo ook of Englh Vee co the who o Engsh tet p to the st gnton o those spczng n ptc pod o the pst o thos whch cove the hstoy o some pt o pot n Engsh o thos whch e mtd to modn' poety o the st two o the gntons ncdng sch vng pots s hve estb shd som ptton. Ths st o cos seve some o the ppose o the py contmpo nthoogy s we t connng osvs o convnnc to those nthooges whch ncd ony the wok o ded pots t s sk wht pposs they my be epcted to seve th ds No dobt The Golen Tesu o th Oxfo Book hs gven mny pope th ntodcton to Mton to Vods woth o to Sheey [not to Shksp bt w dont epct to mke otcqntnc dmtc n thooges I shod notwth sy tht nyonpot whothogh hd d nd njoyd thse poets o h dozn oths n n n thoogy nd yt hd not the costy nd pptte to tcke th compt woks nd t est ook to se wht s the mght ke I shod not sy tht n y sc h peson ws poet ove The v o nthoogs n ntodcng s to the ok o the gtst poets s soon ove nd we do not go on dng nthooges o th sectons om thse poets thogh thy hvethe to b e th nthoogy so hps s to nd whth notTh som sse pots o whos wokot we hod k to know moe pots who do not g so con spcosy n ny hsto o tt who my not hve n encd th cos o tte poets whos wok s not necs sy o ny bstct schm o tey edcton bt who my hve stong peon pp to cn des Indd I shod be ncnd to dobt the gnnnss o th ov o pot o ny d who dd not hv one o moe o thse pson ectons o th ok o som pot o no gt hs toc mpotnce: I shod sspct tht the pson who ony kd the pots whom th hstoy boks gee to b th mos
ON OETRY AND POS
potnt s pobby no moe tn conscentous student bngng vey tte of msef to s ppectons. Ts poet y not be ey mpotnt yo soud sy denty bt s o s good fo e It s gey mtte of cnce e nd o one mkes te cqntnce of suc oety In fy by tee my be boo c somebdy bogt t e tme t s pbsed becuse t s gy soken of nd c nobody ed It s n ts y tt came coss s boy poem fo c I ve peseved m ecton The ght of , by S Edn Anod t s ong epc poem on e fe of tm dd I must ve d tent sympty fo te sbjectmtte fo I ed t tog t gsto nd moe tn once I ve neve d te costy to nd ot nytng bot te uto bt to ts dy t seems to me good poem nd en I meet nyone ese o s ed nd ked t I fee dn to tt peson o you dont s e come coss extcts fom fogotten epcs n ntooges neeteess t s y possbe tt n n ntoogy you b stck by some pece by n obsce uto c eds to cose cqntnce t te ok of some poet om nobody ese seems to enjoy o to ve ed. Jst s te ntoogy cn ntoduce us to poets o e not vey mpotnt bt ose o s t one ppens to ke so good ntoogy cn gvebt us om sefu e knoedge of Tee ote oets o e vey mpotnt dont ke e ony to esons fo edng te oe of The Fe Queen o of Wodsot's eude One s tt you enjoy eadng t nd to enjoy ete of te poems s ve good mk. But f yo dont enjoy t te ony eson s tt yo e gong to set p s tece of tetue o s tey ctc nd ve got to kno tese poems Yet Spense nd Wodsot e bot so mpotnt n te stoy of Engs tetue becse of te ote poety c yo undestnd bette becse of knong tem tt eveybody ougt to kno sometng abot tem Tee e no mny ntooges c gve sub
HA S OR OERY
tantia extact fom ong poem the i a very uefu one, compied by Chae Viiam, who had the pecuia quaication of eay enoying a ot of ong poem which nobody ee d ut een a gd anthoogy compoed of hot pece can give one ome knowedge, which woth having, of thoe poet whom we do not enoy And jut a evebdy mut have hi peona tates fo ome poety which othe peope et no toe by, o eeybody, I upect, ha a bind pot towad the wok of one o moe poet who mut cknowedged to be geat The next ue of the anthoogy i one which can ony eved if th compie i not ony vey we ead, but a man of ey enitve tate Thee ae many poet who have been genay d, but who have occaiona ahe ot of u hae guhed not timedu to ead poetthough peciay thethoe wokofofanothe competent epoch, andtoditinnd out the good bit fo oueve and it oud edom be wo whie even if we coud aod the time A centuy ago o moe, eey poet ove devoued a new boo y Tom Mooe a oon a t came out who today ha ead he whoe even of Lll Rookh? Southey wa Poet Laueate, and accodingy ote epic do know one peon who had Thlb, if not The C of Keh ead to he a a chid, and etan omething Ligh and of A of the amewhethe aectionmany fo t peope that I have I onde eve fo eadTheGb yet Lando, the autho of that dignied ong poem, a a ey be poet indeed Thee ae many ong poem, howee, which eem to have been vey eadabe when they t appeaed but whch no one now ed though I upect that nowada , when poe ction uppie the need that wa ed, fo mot eade, by the vee omance of Scott and on and Mooe, few peope ad a ey ong poem even when it i new fom th pe So anthoogie, and voume of eection, ae uefu ecaue no one ha time to ead evething and becaue the e poem ony pats of which emain ave
ON OETRY AND OETS
Te antoogy can ave anoter us wic foowing t in of togt ave been pursing we migt overook t ies n te nterest of comparison of being able to get in a sort space a conspects of te progress of poetry and t)ere is mc tat we can only earn by reading one poet entire tere is muc to earn by passing from one poet to anote To to and frobybetween a border iabetan yricpass a yric poem Blake or Seeybaad and a anmonooge by Browning s to be abe to get emotona experences as wel as subjects for reection wic concentration of attenton on one poet cannot give Jst as n a we arranged dnner wat one enjoys is not a nmber of dises by temselves bt te combination of good tngs so tere are peasres of poetry to be taken in te same way and severa very dieren poems by ators of dierent temperaments and dierent ages wen read togeter may eac bring ot te pecular savour of eac oter, eac avng someting tat te oters ack To enjoy tis peasur we need a good antoogy, and we need aso som practce in te use of it sall now rtrn to te subect from wic you may tink tat I ave strayed. Toug t is not ony te minor poets wo are represented in antologies we may tink of te mino poets s tose wom we only read in antoogies ad to c nter against in minor asserting tatwom for every poetry reader atere ougt to betis some poets t is wort wie for him to read entire Bt beyond ts point we nd more tan one type of minor poet Tere are of course poets wo ave written jst one, or ony a ey few good poems so tat tere seems no reason for anybody going beyond t an tology Sc for exampe was Artur OSagnessy wos poem beginning We are te msic makers is n any antoogy wic incdes late nineteentcentuy erse Suc for some
rdes for al or tat JontDavd son. Btbt tenot nmber of wil poetsbeofErnest womDwson we can say ods e for a readers tat tey eft only one or two particua
HA S MOR OERY
poms woth adn s actally vy small th chancs a that f a pot has wttn on ood pom th wl b somthn n th st of hs wok whch w b woth adn fo at last a fw psons avn ths fw ot of accont w nd that w oftn thnk of th mno pot as th pot who has only wttn shot poms Bt w may at tms aso spak of Sothy and ando and a host of ts n th svn tnth and htnth cnts as mno pots also althoh hy ft poms of th most monmnta sz and I thnk that nowadays fw at last amon yon ads wod thnk of onn as a mno pot vn f h had nv wttn sats an pstls o of Blak as a mno pot vn f h had nv wttn hs Pophtc Books So w mst cont as mno pots n on sns som pots whos ptaton sch as t ot s stsony pon shot vons lon poms and as mao pots som who It mht sm at st smpl to f to th mno wts of pcs s scondry o stll mo hashy as fld r pots hy hav fad ctany n th sns that no on ads th lon poms now thy a sconday n th sns that w jd on poms accodn to vy hh standads V dont f that a on pom s woth th tob nss t s n ts knd as ood as The Fery Qun o Prdse Los, o Th Prlud o Don Jun, o Hypron, and th oth on poms hch a n th st ank Yt w hav fond that som of
ths sconda poms a woth adn fo som pop. V notc fth that w cannot smply dvd lon poms nto a sal nmb of mstcs and a la nmb of thos w ndnt both abot btwn sch poms as thos I hav js mntond and an stmabl mno ok k Th Lh o A, th a all sots of lon poms of dnt knds and o vy d of mpotanc so that w cannot daw any nt ln btn th mao and th mno What abot homsons Ssons and owps Tsk? ths a on pom whch f ons ntst s n oth dctons on may b con
ON OETRY
AND
OETS
o know only by rc b I woul no m ey rc or p or ny prt o e o m goo e wole W bou Mr rownng uror Lh, c v vr r or long pom by Gorge lo o wc I o rmbr e nme f w ve culy prg e wrer o og pom or or veereng o r ce con w o or poepo Oewvery George Icrbcr. W l kow ew o pom wc ppr g n olog b wn we re rog o lc pom we rc urpr o n ow mny o poem r u u goo o w ve m wn olo gs u T/ T omeg more n numbr o r go poem by o uor w mn o l conruc ccorng o pn we ge o o ook rbr poe ber we come o n re ng w ro woe book wc more n o pr W rt e ppernce o ucc o o bu bu epre lyrc com o rve e o relgou meon w n nelecu rwork; e book wole co o u Angcn o on pr o e r l o e evenen ceury W or w ge o unr erbr ber n e e r or e rob we know omeng bou e ng s oogcl wrr o me w know omeng ngls yc wrr o our cury f we kow omng o crn or po conm pr Don g Tr crnc n com o per c ong commo bwen e n r We or bckgron ly we lrn ong bou Icrbr by copng e ypc nglcn evoo wc pr more conne n omn rgou l o w conporry cr Cr So en I. 0r o cno br c b cl mnor
3 poe for s o of few fvoure poes m remded whe h of hm bu of he whoe wor Now mpre Herber wh wo oher poes oe sor o hm d oe of he prevous geero bu boh er dsgushed wrers of rs. From e poems of Roer Herr so Ag prso bu m of ver dr emperme we sohsgeperso he feegbeer of b ufg d e ge ow redgprso of hs poems ad for hvg red of hs poems we eo s be er e we e bes Bu rs here s o suh ouous osous ppos bou errs poms; he s more he ur ur d usfosous m wrg hs poems s he f sees hm; d seod he perso epressed hem s ess us f s s oes ordss w ges he h Reve we ge mu more of m from oe poem h e do of Herber from oe pom s here s soh more he whoe h he prs N o sder Thms mpo he Ebeh wrer of sogs shoud y h wh hs ms here ws o ore om pshed rfsm he whoe of Egs poer h po dm ha o udersd hs poems fu here re some hgs oe shoud ow mpo ws mus d he wroe hs sgs o be sug We ppree hs poes beer HA S MNOR OER
fsrumes we hve some que w Tudor whf e for whh ws wre we emus hemd eer we e hs mus; d we w o mere o red hem bu o her some f hem sug d sug o mpos ow se Bu we o o so muh eed o ow of e hgs h he s f erge Herber hep us o udersd m e er d eo hm more we eed o oe ourseves w w he hough or wh w boos he hd red or wh hs r broud or hs perso A we eed s e E beh seg we gehoogs whe we proeed hoseo of s poems hh\ we red o red from hs ere eo s reped pesure he ejome of ew beues
ON OETRY AND OETS d e eh vro o h o mpreo \V o y h hm h he hoe more h he m o pr. do o y h eve h e hh y e every oe m pply fo r hmelf h vro re of he er he hole more h he m of pr elf fory rero for dghg eee mjo d mor poe Nohg o mple h d hogh e do o feel fer redg Cmpo h e o he m Cm po e do fee fer redg errk y o oher grod ee he o mh he more remrle rfm hold yef re Cmpo more mpor poe h errk hogh ver mh eo err. Al hve rmed h ork hh o of mer of hor poem eve of poem hh ke dvdly my per rher gh my f h y of derlyg per e he eqve of rre og poem ehg hor m o jor pe. T m my of ore e elhed y on log poem d he h log poem good eogh he h h el he proper y d vrey e do o eed o o or f e ko e do o eed o ve hghly he poe oher ork hold myef regrd Sme Joho mjor poe y he gle emoy of Th Vny o Humn W d Goldmh y he emoy of The
Dd Vll
e eem o fr, o hve rrved he eve olo h hever mor poe my e mjor poe oe h hoe of hoe or e ogh o red order fy o p pree y pr of e hve omeh qled h erme ero redy y dmg y po ho h r e eve oe log poem hh ome eogh vrey here re erly very fe poe Eglh of hoe ork oe y he hoe o eoeed. hepere erly dh Mlo d ogh o Mo po o h h everl o poem rde Lo d
Rnd and Sson ons no only ould eac be read enire or on ake e need o read em all ju a e need o read ll o e play o Sakepeare n order ull y o un deand any one o em; and unle e read Sakepeare on ne a ell an e mnor poem o Mlon ere ome ng lackng o our apprecaon o a e ave read. u e poe or om ne can make uc a claim are very e. One can ge on very ell n le ou avng read all e laer poem o roning or Sinburne; ould no arm condenly a one oug o read evering by ryden or Pope; and i cerany no or o ay a ere no par o Th Prlud or Th Excurson c ll no bear kpping ery e people an o give muc ime o e early long poem o Selley Th Rol o Isl and Qun Mb oug e noe o e laer poem are ceranly or rd ing. So e all ave o ay a a major poe one o oe ork e ave o read a grea deal bu no alay e ole. And beide aking e queion O ic poe i i or le o read e ole ork e mu alo ak e queion O ic poe i i or y ile o read e ole? Te r queon implie a e ould alay be ng o improve our ae Te econd imple a e mu b incere abou a ae e ave. So on e one and i no S MOR OER
ue even acro Sakepeare or Mlon rom coverdligenly o covergong unleroug you come oming ere ic ou like a once i only i immediae pleaure ic can gve you eer e move poer o read e ole or e propec o any bene en you ave done o And ere may be ndeed ere oud bea ave already aidome poe o mean enoug o ou o make you read e ole o eir ork oug ey may no ave a value or mo oer people And i knd o lking doe no only perain o abuage your developmen ae c youyourel ill ougo mayin ndcae alo ome oany beeen and a parcular auor ic ill la a leime ma even be a
ON OTRY AND OET
yo re pecy qled o pprece poe whom very few oher people re be o enjoy I shod sy en here s knd of orhodoxy bo e relve greness nd mpornce of or poes hogh here re very few repons whch remn compeey consn from one generon o noher No poec repon ever remns ecly n he sme plce s sock mrke n consn con here re he ve gre nmes whc only ce so o spek whn now rnge of pons eher Mlon s p o 0 ody nd down o 97 o orrow does no mer here re oher repons ke h of Donne or ennyson whch vry mch more wdey so h one s o jdge her ve by n verge ken over long me ere re ohers gn whch re very sedy ong wy below pr nd remn good nvesmens h prce nd ere re some poes ho re good nvesmens for o peo ple hogh no prces re qoed for hem on he mrke nd e sock my be nsleb e I m frd compr son w e sock ecnge rer fdes o hs pon B shold sy h lhogh here s n objecve del of orho do se n poer no one reder cn be or shold ry o be qe orodo ere re cernly some poes whom so ny generons of people of nellgence sensbly nd wde redng hofwhy we ese lke people ny per s hem wor or wlehve o rylked o nd hve ked nd wheher we cnno enjoy hem oo Of e smller poes ere re cernly some bo whom fer smplng we cn prey sfely ke he sl opnon h hey re qe de ely represened by wo or hree poems for s ve sd nbody hs me o nd o everyng for hmsef nd we ms ccep some ngs on he ssrnce of oers he mjory of smller poes however of hose who pre serve y repon ll re poes of wom rederny of poensold know someng b only fewevery of wom ne reder ll coe o know well Some ppel o s becse
S MNOR OERY
f a pecuia cngeniaity f penai; me ecaue f thei ubectmatte me becaue f a paticua quaity f wit path f eample. When we tak aut Pety with a capi ta P, we ae apt t think ny f the me intene emtin the me magica phae nevethee thee ae a geat many caement in pet which ae nt magic and which d nt pen n the fam f peiu ea ut ae pefecty gd win dw f a that I think that Gege Cabe wa a ey gd pet ut yu d nt g t him f magic: if yu ike eaitic accunt f viage ife in Suk a hunded and twenty yea ag, in vee we witten that it cnvince yu that the ame thing ud nt be aid in pe, yu wi ike Cabe Ca i a pet wh ha t e ead in age chunk if at a; if yu nd him du yu mut ut gance and pa y. But it i wth whie t knw f hi eitence in cae he might e t yu ik ing and a becaue tha wi te yu mething abut the pepe wh d ike him The chief pint which I have fa tied t make ae, I think, thee The dieence between ma and min pet ha nthing t d with whethe they wte ng pem ny ht pem thugh the geatet pet, wh ae few in numbe have a had mething t ay which cud nly be aid in a ng pem The imptant deence i whethe a WA
knwedge the whe, at eat f aecaue vey age pat fne a pet wk,f make ne eny me it make undetd bette any ne hi pem That impie a ig nicant unity in hi whe wk One cant put hi incead undetanding atgethe int wd I cud nt ay ut why I think I undetand ad eny ette f having ead bette f having ead ut I am cnvi ced that thi i I cannt away ay why thugh knwing a pen in a nume f dient ituatin and that eving hi ehaviu in a vaiety f cicum tance I fee I undetand bette hi ehaviu de meanu n a paticua ccain ut we d eiee hat tht
ON ORY AND OTS
ron i a nity, however inconitent hi condct, and tha acqaintance with him over a pan of time make him more inteigibe Finay, have qaied thi obective dicrimina tion beteen maor and minor poet by referring it back to the particar reader For no two reader, perhap, wll any gea et have qite the ame ignicance, however in accord they may be a to hi eminence a the more ikely, then, that to no to peope wi the pattern of Engih poetry be qite the me So that of two eqay competent reder, a particar et may be to one of maor importance and to the other of minor here i a na reection to be made, when we come to con ider contemporary poetry We ometime nd critic con dnty aerting, on their rt acqaintance with the work of a new poet, that thi i major' or minor poetry gnoring the oibiity that what the critic i praiing or pacing may no poetry at a for ometime one can ay, ti wa poetry, t wod be maor poe try bt it i n't' I dont think it i ad iabe to make p one mind o qicky. he mot that hod ventre to commit myef to, abot the ork of any iving poet when met it for the rt time, i whether thi i nun poetry or not Ha thi poet omething to ay, a itte dierent from what anyone ha aid before, and ha he fond, ot onyit awhich dierent way oftheaying it, btinh dierent of aying epree dierence what he i way aying Even when commit myef th fa, know that may be taking a pecative rik may be impreed by what he i n to ay, and overook the fact that he han't fond the new way of aying it or the new idiom of peech which at r give the impreion that the athor ha omething of hi own to ay, may trn ot to be ony a trick or mannerim which concea a hoy conventiona viion or anyone who ead ike myef, a good many hemancript, and befoe, mancript of writer no work by whom may have een the pi fa are more dangero ti for one ot of poem may be o
HA S MNOR OERY
muh better than any of the othes I have just bee looking at that I may mistake my momenay feeling of elief for a awaeness of distingished taent. May people ontent them selves eher with lookin g at anthologies and even when the ae stuk by a poem they may not realize the fat or if the do they may not otie the name o f the author or wth aitigseveal untl itolumes beomes that issome after pro duing andappaent that in itself somepoet assuane] ha been aepted by the eviewes and it is ot what evewer say i iting about a poet but their eferenes to that poe when witing about some other poet that impesses us most The rst method does not get us very fa the seond is o vey safe or one thing we ae all apt to be somewhat o the defensive about our ow epoh e like to feel that our o epoh an podue ge at at all the moe so beause we ma have a lukng suspiion that it ant and we feel someho that if we ould believe that we had a great poet that would in some way eassure us ad give us selfondene This atheti wish but it also distubs itial udgment fo we ma ump to the onlusion that somebody is a geat poet who i not or we may quite ufaily depreiate a good poet beause he ist a gea one And with our ontempoaies we ought' to be so busy enquing whether they ae geat or not e ought to stikwhether to the they question Aretothey andwhih lve the questio ae geat the nun? only tribunal an deide: n ou ow time thee is in fat a onsideable publi for ontemporay poety thee is, pehaps moe uiosity and more epetation abou ontempoay poetry than thee was a geneaton ago Thee s the danger on the one hand of de velopng a eading publ whih wll know othing about an poet ealier than say Gead Manley opkins and whih will ot have the the bagound neessay Thee is also danger that people fo wll itial wait toappeiation read a poet until his ontempoa eputation is established; and the anx
ON POERY AND POETS
y or hos of us who r n h busnss h fr nohr gnron hs sbshd s os w who r s onmo rry w no ongr b rd Th dngr for h rdr s doub h h w nr g nyhng qui frsh nd h h w nr rurn o rd wh wys rmns frsh Thr s hrfor rooron o b obsrd bwn our rdng of od modrn shoud no ory rus hnd s of nyon whond nr rd ory. ny onmorry shoud rny no rus h s of nyon who rd noh ng s u n mny o who rd onmorry ory mss h sur nd h ro of ndng somhng ou for hmss Whn you rd new ory ory by somon whos nm s no y wdy known somon whom h r wrs h no y ssd you r xrsng or shoud b xrsng your own s Thr s nohng s o go by Th robm s no s rs o mny rdrs h of ryng o k somhng you don bu of ng your snsby fr o r nuy nd hs hrd nough mysf: for whn you r rdng nw o wh h dbr uros of omng o dson h uros my nrfr nd obsur yor wrnss of wh you f s hrd o sk h wo qusons s hs good whhr k or no' nd o k hs?' h sm m nd ofn nd h h bs s s whn som hrs or mg or n ou of oo nw h om my m mnd frwrds unsummond nd srurs sfuo for o ook h nw oms n h ory mgzns nd h ons from nw os n h onmorry nhoog bus n rdng hs m no bohrd by h quson Ough o s h hs oms r ubshd' hnk smr o my xrn h whn go o hr nw of mus for h rs m or o s nw xhbon of r rfr o go on or f m on hr s nobody o m obgd xrss oinon sn'whom h nd m oomk u n my mmd mnd nd m n ordr o kno wh ry f h momn And h f
HA S MOR OERY
ng no a udgmen of greane or mporance an awarene of gnuinnss So we are no realy concerned n readng a conemporary poe wh wheher he a major or a mnor e Bu f we read one poem and repond o e shoud wan read more by he ame auhor and when we have read enough we ough o be able o anwer he queon I h he merey more he ame hn ?addng up n o oher words merey ame or of deren whou anyhng or her a relaon beween he poems whch mae u see a e more n each of hem? Tha s why wh he ame rer aon as abou he wor of dead poe we mus read no only eparae poem a we ge hem n anhooge bu he wor of poe
Wht s Clssic?
Whatsubect hch I have taken s smpy the queston s a cassc?' It s not a ne queston Thee s fo
nstance a famous essay by Ste Beuve th ths tte The pertnence of askng ths queston th rg patcuary n
mnd obvous denton e arve at tdecan not besone hchhatever ecudesthe rg e may say c on nt that t must be one hch epessy reckon th hm But before I go farhe I shoud ke to dspose of certan preju dces and antcpate certan msundestandngs I do not am to supersede or to outa any use of the ord cassc hch precedent has made permssbe The ord has and con tnue to have sevea meanngs n sevea contets I am con cerned th one meanng n one contet. In denng the term n thsnay do the not othe bnd mysef the future use theIf tm anyI of ays nfohch t has not beento used for nstance I am dscovered on some future occason n rt ng n pubc speech or n conversaton to be usng the ord cassc merey to mean a standard author n any anguage usng t mere as an ndcaton of the grtness or of the permanence and mportance of a rte n hs on ed a hen e speak of T Fi Fr a S Dini's as a cassc of schooboy cton o and Crss as a cassc of the hunt ng ed no one shoud epect one to apoogze. nd there
The Peideial Adde he igil Soiey i Pbihe by r Fabe
HA S A CASSC
a ver neren book caed A Guide o he Classis whch e o how o pck he Derb wnner On oher occaon perm mef o mean b he cac eher Lan and Greek erare in oo or he reae ahor of hoe anae a he cone ndcae And na hnk ha he accon of he cac hch propoe o ve here hod remove from he area of he anhe beeen cac and romanc a par of erm beonn o erar poc and herefore aro n wnd of paon whch ak Aeo on h occaon o conain n he ba Th ead me o m ne pon B he erm of he cac romanc conrover o ca an work of ar caca mpe eher he hhe prae or he mo conempo abe ac cordn o he par o whch one beon mpe ceran parcar mer or fa eher he perfecon of form or he aboe zero of frd B wan o dene one knd of ar and am n concerned ha aboe and n ever repec eer o orse han anoher knd ha enmerae ceran qae whch hod epec he cac o dpa B do no a ha f a erare o be a rea erare m have an one ahor or an one perod n whch a hee qae are manfeed f a hnk he are a o be fond n r ha no o aer ha he he reae poe who ever wroe e eem me meann e ch and anaeron ceran abo no o an aerpoha Lanoera re reaer han an oher erare Ve need no conder a a defec of an erare f no one ahor or no one perod compee caica or f a re of Enh era re he perod whch m near he caca denon i no he reae hnk ha hoe erare of whch En h one of he mo emnen n whch he caca qae are caered beween varo ahor and evera perod ma we be he rcher Ever anae ha own reorce o maon he condon of a anae and he and con don of he hor of he peope who peak ma p o
ON OTR AND OTS of question the epecttion of clssicl period, o clssicl utor Tht is not in tself ny more mtte fo reget thn it is for grtultion It did hppen tht the histoy of ome s such, the chrcte of the Ltin lnguge s such, tht t cetin moment uniquely clssicl poet s possble tough e must emembe tt it needed tht prticulr poet
nd lifetime lbour onnd, the of prtcouse of tht poet,couldnt to mkekno the clssic out of hsof mteil irgil tht a s ht he s doing e s, if ny poet ever s ctely e of ht he s trying to do the one thng he couldnt im t or kno tht he s doing, s to compose clssic for it s only by hindsight, nd in historicl perspectve, tht clssic cn be knon s such If there is one ord on hich e cn , hich ill suggest the mimum of ht men by the tem clssic t is the ord aur shll distinguish beteen the unvesl clssic like gil, nd the clssc hich is only such in reltio to the other litertur its on lnguge o ccoding to the ve of life of prticulr period A clssic cn only occu hen civiliztion s mture hen lnguge nd litertue e mtue; nd it must be the ok of mture mind t is the importnce of tht civlzton nd of tht lnguge, s ell s he comprehensveness of the mind of the ndvidul poet hh gives the unieslity To dee aur thout s suming tht the hre lready knos ht t mes, is lmost impossible let us sy then, tht if e re poprly mture, s ell s educted persons e cn recognize mtuity n cvi liztion nd n literture, s e do i the othe hum bengs hom e ecount To mke the meng of mtuit elly ppehensble ndeed, even to mke it c ceptble to th e imture, is perhps mpossible But if re mture e eithe ecognize mtuity mmeditey, o come to kno t on moe reder of sShkespe in stncintimte cn filcuitnce to ecognze, No nceasingly he himself fo os up, the dul ipenng of Shkesperes md: eve les de
HA S A CASSC
veoped reade can perceive the rapid development of Eiza bethan iteratur and drama as a hoe from earl Tudor crudit to the pas of Shakespeae and perceive a decine in the ork of Shakespeares successors e can also bserve upon a itte conversance that the pas of Christophr Mar o exhibit a greater maturit of mind and of stle than t plas hich Shakespeare rote at the same age it is inteest ing to specuat hethe if Marloe had ived as long as Shakespeare his deveopment ould have continued at the same pace doubt it for e observe some minds maturing earlier than others and e observe that those hich mature ve ear do not aas deveop ver far aise this point as a reminde rst that the vaue of maturit depends upon the value of that hich matures and second that e soud kno hen e ar concerned ith the maturi of individual riters and hen ith the eative maturit of literar peiods A iter ho individual ha a moe matue mind ma belong to a ess matue period than another so that in that respect his ork il be ess matue The maturit of a literature is the eection of that of the societ in hich it is produced an in dividua au tho notab Shakespeare an d ir gil can do much to deveop his anguage but he cannot bring that lan guage to maturit uness the ork of his pedecessos has pre paed it for his na mature histor behind it: a touch histoAthat is notiterature mere atheefore chroniclehas an accumulation of manuscipts and ritings of this kind and that but an ordeed though unconscious progress of a lan guage to rea its o potentialities ithin its on imi tations t is to be observed that a societ and a liteature like an individual human being do not ncessari mature euall and concurrentl in ver respect The precocious chid is often in some obvious as chidish age in comparison th ordinar childen Is there anfor onhisperiod of Engish iteratur o hich e can point as being ful mature compehensive
ON OETRY AND OETS
and n eqlbm do not hnk so and, as shall re ater, hope t s not so We annot say that any ndvda poet n Englsh has n the ose o hs le beome a more mate man han Shakespeae we annot even say that any poet has done so mh, to make he Englsh langage aable o expessng the most sbtle hoght or the most ened shades o eelng Yet we annot bt ee that a play lke Con geve's Wa f e World s n some way more matre than any play o Shakspaes bt only n ths respet, that t re es a more matr e soety that s, t rees a greater tt y o anners The soey or whh Congeve wrote was, rom o pont o ew, oase and btal enogh ye s neare to ors than the soey o the Tdors perhaps or that reason we jdge t the more severely Neverthless, t was a ety moe polshed and less povnal s mnd was shallowr, s sensblty more restrted t has lost some pomse o m tty bt ealzed another So o matrty o ind w mst add matr o 1anners The pogess towads matry o langage s, thnk more easly eonzd and more readly aknowledged n the developmen o pose, han n tha o poety n onsdeng prose e ae less dstaed by ndvdal derenes n geatness, and moe nlned to demand appomaton towards a om mon sandad, ommon voablay and whh a ommon sentene stte t s aoen, n a, the prose depats the arthest om these ommon sandards, whh s ndvdal o the exteme, that we ae apt to denomnate poet prose At a tme when England had aleady aomplshed males n oety her pose was elavely mmatre, developed s ently or etan pposes b not or othes at that same tme when he Fenh langage had gven ltle pomse o poe as geat as hat n Englsh, Fenh pose was mh more mae than Englsh pose Yo have only o ompare any T dor wre r wh Montagne and Monta gne hms el, as a styl, s only a pesor, hs style no pe enogh to l
HA S A CASSC
th Frnh rquirmnts or th assi Our pros was rady or om tasks bor t oud op with thrs: a Maoy oud om ong bor a Hookr a Hookr bor a Hobbs and a Hobb bor an Addson Whatvr diutis w hav in appying this standard to potry it is possib to s that th vopmnt o a assi pros is th dvopmnt towads a oon syle By this I do not man that th bst writrs ar indistinguishab rom ah othr h ssntia and haratr sti dirns rmain it is not that th dirns ar ss but that thy ar mor subt and rnd o a snsitiv paat th din btwn th pros o Addison and that o Sit w b as markd as th dirn btwn two vintag wins to a onnossur What w nd in a priod o assi pros is not a mr ommon onvntion o ritng k th ommon sy o nwspapr adr writrs but a ommunity o tast h ag whih prds a assi ag may hibit both n triity and monotony monotony baus th rsours o th anguag hav not yt bn pord and ntriity baus th is yt no g nay aptd stan dard i indd that an b ad ntri whr thr is no ntr Its writing may b at th sam tim pdanti and intious h ag o owing a assi ag may aso hibt ntriity and monotony monotony baus th rsours o th anguag hav or th timoms at ast bn haustd and ntriity orginaity to b mor vaud than orrtnss baus But th ag in whih w nd a ommon sy wi b an ag whn soity has ahivd a momnt o ordr and stabiity o quibrium and harmony as th ag whih manists th gratst trms o individua sty wi b an ag o mmaturity or an ag o sniity Maturity o anguag may naturay b ptd to aom pany maturity o mind and mannrs W may pt th an guag to approah maturity at th momnt whn mn hv a ritia sns o th past a ondn in th prsnt and no onsous doubt o th utur In itratur thi mans tha
ON OERY
ND
OETS
the poet s aware o hs predecessors and that we are awre o te predecessors behnd hs work as we may be aware o an cesal tra ts n a person who s at the same tme ndvda l and nqe The predecessors shold be themselves great an hon ored bt ther accomplshment mst be sch as to sggest stll ndeveloped resorces o the langage and not sch as to oppress the yonger wrters wth the ear that everythng that can be done has been done n ther langage The oet cer tanly n a matre age may stll obtan stmls rom the hope o dong somethng that hs predecessors have not done he may even be n revolt aganst them as a promsng ado lescent may revolt aganst the beles he habts and the man ners o hs parents bt n retrospect we can see that he s also the contner o ther tradtons that he preserves essental amly characterstcs and that hs derence o behavor s a derence n the crcmstances o another age nd on the other hand jst as we sometmes observe men whose lves are overshaded y the ame o a ather or grandather men o whom any achevement o whch they are capable appears compaatel nsgncant so a late age o poetry may be con scosly motent to compete wth ts dstngshed ancestry We meet poets o ths knd at the end o any age poets wh a sense o the past only or alternatvely oets whose hope o the tre s onded poncreatveness the attemptntoany renonce ast. he persstence o lterary peole the accord ngly conssts n the mantenance o an nconscos balance between tradton n the lrger sense the collectve prson alty so to speak realzed n the l teratr e o the past and the orgnalty o the lvng generaton We cannot call the lteratre o the Elzabethan perod great as t s wholly matre we cannot call t classcal No close parallel can be drawn between the development o Greek and Latn lteratre or Latn had Greek behnd t stll less can we draw a arallel between these and any modern ltera re or modern lteratres have both Latn and Greek behnd
HA S A CLASSC
thm n th Rnassan th s an ly smblan o ma trty whh s boowd rom antqty ar awar o a poahng narr to matty wth Mlton Mlton was n a bttr poston to hav a tal sns o th past o a past n Engl sh ltratr than hs gra t pdssos To ad Mlton s to b onmd n spt o th gns o Spns and n gattd to Spnsr or havng ontrbtd tads makng th vs o Mlton possbl Yt th sty o Mlton s not a lass styl t s a sty o a langag stl n oma ton th styl o a rtr whos a w not Englsh b Latn and to a lss dg Gk Ths thnk s ony sayng what Johnson and n tn Landor sad whn thy ompland o Mltons styl not bng qt Englsh Lt s qaly ths jdgmnt by sayng mmdaty that Mton dd mh to d lop th angag On o th sgns o appoah towards a lass syl s a dvlopmnt towads gatr omplxty o sn tn and prod stt Sh dvlopmnt s appant n th sngl ok o Shakspa whn ta hs sty om th aly to th lat plays: an vn say that n hs at plas h gos as a n th drton o omplxty as s possbl wthn th lmts o damat vs whh a narowr than thos o othr knds Bt omplxty or ts own sak s not prop goa t ppos mst b st th prs xpson o shads o l ng d thogohtms sond th ntrodton o nr grtr nmnt andanvarty hn a atho appas n hs o o th laborat sttu to hav lost th abty to say anythng smply whn hs addton to patt boms sh that h says thngs laboratly whh shold proply b sad smply nd ths lmts hs rang o xps sion th poss o omplxt ass to b qt halthy an th wt s losng toh th th spokn langag Nvth lss as vs dvops n th hands o on pot atr anoth t tnds om monotony to va om smply to omplxt as t dlns t tnds towads monotony agan thogh t may pptat th ormal strt to whh gns ga and
6
ON OETRY
AND
OETS
ning Yo will dge o yoselves how a his genealizion is appiable o he pedessos and ollowes o Vgil an all see his seonday onoony n he eigheenhen y ii os o Mil on who hisel s neve ono oo s Thee oes a ie when a new sipiiy even a elaive diy ay be he only alenaive Yo will have aniipaed he onlsion owads whih have been awing: ha hose qaiies o he lassi whih have so en ion ed a iy o in d ai o an nes ai y o langa ge an d peeion o he o on syle ae os nea ly o be ilsaed in Engish i ee in h eigheeh eny and n poe os in he poe o Pope I ha wee a I had o say on he ae i wold e ainly no be new and wod no be woh saying Tha wold be eey poposing a hoe beween wo eos a hih en have aved beoe one ha he eigheenh en y is he nes peod o English lieae; and he ohe ha he !asa deal shod be whoy disedied. My o opinion is ha we have no lassi age and no lassi poe n nglish; ha hen we see why his is so we hae no he slighes eason o ege; b ha neveheess we s ainain he lassi ideal beoe o eyes Bease we s ainain i and bease he English genis o angage has had ohe hingso o han he o ealize we anno aod ehe o eje o do oveae age o iPope; we anno see English ieae as a whole o ai ghly in he e who a ial appeiaion o he degee o whih he lassial qaliies ae eepied in he wok o Pope whih eans ha nless we ae able o enoy he wok o Pope we anno aive a a ll ndesanding o English poey I is aily obvios ha h ealizaon o lassa qaies by Pope was obain ed a a high pie o he ex lson o soe geae poenialies o nglish vese. Now o soe e en he saie o soe poenaliies in ode o eaz hes is a ondiion o aisi eaion as s a ondiion o
HA S A CLASSC
n gnra In l th man who russ to sar any thng to gan anythng ls, nds n mdorty or alur; though, on th othr hand, thr s th spalst who has sar d too muh or too lttl, or who has bn born too om pltly th spast to hav had anythng to sar But n th Englsh ghtnth ntury, w hav rason or lng that too muh was udd Thr was th matu mnd but t was a narrow on Englsh soty and Englsh ttrs wr not provnal, n th sns that thy wr not solatd rom and not ngrng bhnd, th bst Europan soty and lttrs Yt th ag tsl was, n a mannr o spakng a provna ag Whn on thnks o a Shakspar, a Jrmy Tayor, a Mlton, n Englan d o a Ran, a Molr, a Pasa, n Fran n th sv ntnth ntury, on s nlnd to s ay that by th rstrtng ghtnththntury had prtd orma gardn ony ara undr ultvatonts\ l that th ass s rally a worthy dal, t must b apabl o hbtng an ampltud, a atholty, to whh th ghtnth ntury annot lay am qualts whh ar prsnt n som grat authors, lk Chaur, who annot b rgardd n my sns as asss o Englsh ltratur and whh ar ully prs nt n th mdava mnd o Dant For n th Dn Comdy, anywhr, w nd th ass n a modrn Eu pan languag In th ghtnth ntury, ar opprssd by th lmtd rang o snsbty, and spaly n th sal o rlgous ng It s not that, n England at ast, th potry s not Chrstan It s not vn that th pots wr not dvout Chrstans or a pattrn o orthodoy o prnpl and snr pty o lng yu may look ong bor you nd a pot mor gnun than Samul Johnson Yt thr ar v dn o a dpr rlgous snsblty n th potry o Sha spa, whos bl and prat an b ony a mattr o ontur And ths rstrton o rgous snsbty ts produs a knd o provnaty though w must add that ths sns th nntnth ntury was mor provna stl
ON OEY
ND
OTS
te oiniality wi indiates te disintegation o Cis tendom te deay o a ommon beie and a ommon tre t wold seem ten tat o eigteent entry in site o its lssial a ement an aie ement I be liee wi still as g eat im otan e as a n exam le o r te t re was akng some ondition wi makes te eation o a tre lassi ssible at tis ondition is we mst etn to Vig to disoer sod ke st to reease te arateistis wi I ae aleady attibted to te lassi wit seial aiation o igil to is langage is iiization, and te artiar mot in te isto o tat angage and iilization at wi e aried Matity o mind tis needs istory and te on siosness o istoy. Consiosness o isto annot be lly aake, exet wee tee is oter istor tan te istory o e oet's own eole we need tis in order to see or own pae in istoy Tee mst be te knowedge o te istory o at east one oter igy iiized eoe and o a eole wose iilization is siently ognate to ae inened and entere int or own Tis is a onsiosness wi te omans ad and wi te Greeks oweer m more igly we may es timate tei ai eem ent and indeed, we may ese t it al l te m ore on tis ao nt o ld not o s sessm I was a onsiosness wi Virgl imsel did to deelo Fom teetainly, beginning, Virgil ike is ontmoraries and immediate edeessos was onstantly adat ig and sing te disoeies, taditions and inentions o Geek oety to make se o a oreign iterate in tis way marks a te stage o iilization beyond making se ony o te eari er stages o ones ow n tog I tink w e an say tat no oet as eer sown a ner sense o oortion tan Virgi in te ses e made o Geek and o rier Latin oet It is tis deeoment o one itatre, or one iiiation, in eation to anote wi gies a eliar signiane to te sbjet o Vigi's ei In Homer, te oni
HA S A CASSC
etween the Greeks an the rojans s harly arger n sope than a e beeen one Greek tystate an a oaton o other states: behn the sto o Aens s the onsos ness o a more raa stnton a stnton whh s at he same tme a statement o ldnss, between to geat res an naly o ther reonlaton ner an alembra ng estny Vrgl's matrty o mn an the matrty o hs age are ehbte n ths awareness o hsto Wth matrty o mn I hae assoate matry o manners an absene o pron alty I sppose that to a moern Eropean senly prep tate nto the past the soal behaor o the Romans an the Athenans wol seem nerenty oarse barbaros an oense Bt the poet an portray somethng speror to ontempora t s notoe n the ay o antpatng soe ater anprate qte erent o behaor bt by an nsght nto what the ont o hs own people at hs o me mght be at ts best Hose partes o the weathy n Ewaran Englan were not eaty what we rea o n the pages o Henry James bt Mr. James's soety was an ealza ton o a kn o th soey an not an antpaton o any other I th nk that w e are onsos n Vrg more than n any other Latn poet or Cat ls an Prop erts seem r ans an Hora e som ewh at p lebe an by om pars on o a rene ment o manner sprngng rom a elate sensbty an par tary n that test o manners prate an pbl ont between the sees. It s not or me n a gatherng o pople al o whom may be better shoars than I to reew the sto o Aeneas an D o Bt ( hae al ways thogh t the meetng o eneas wth the shae o Do n Book VI not only one o he most pognant bt one o the most lze passages n potry It s omple n meanng an eonomal n epresson or t not only t els s ab ot th e attt e o Do st more mporant s what t tells s abot the attte o Aeneas o's behaor appears almost as a projeton o Aen•
ON OETRY AND OETS
own onsiene his we eel is the way in whih Aeneas on iene wold xp Dido o behave o him The poin i seems t o me is no hat Dido i s nogivin g hogh it is impotant that insead o ailing at him she meely sn him pehaps the mos el ing snb in all poet y: wha mate s mos is, tha Aeneas does no ogive hims el and his signi anly, in spite o he a o whih he is wel awae, tha al a he has done has ben in ompiane wih desiny o in onseqene o he mahinations o gods who ae themseve, we eel ony insmens o a geate insabe powe ee, what hose as an insane o iviized mannes poeeds o tesiy to iviized onsiosness and onsiene b all o e levels at whih we may onside a paia episode belong to one whoe. wi be obseved, naly ha the behavio o Vigls haaes [ migh exep Tns he man wiho destiny neve appeas to be aoding o some pey o o ibal ode o mannes i is in its ime both Roman and Eopen igil eainly on the pane o mannes is no povinial To atmp o demonsae he maity o angage and yle o Vigl is, o he pesen oasion a speos ask many o yo old peom i bee han , and hink a we sold a be in aod Bt i is woth epeaing hat Vi gils style no havehisbeen possibe ieae behind imwold and withot aving a ve wiho inimae aknowedge o this liteae so ha he was, in a sense, ewiing Lain poety as when he boo ws a phase o a devie om a pedeesso and impoves pon i He was a eaned aho all o whose leaning was eevan o his task and he had o his se jst enogh ieate behnd him and no oo mh As o matity o syle do not think tha any poe has eve developed a gte ommand o he omplex se boh o sense and sond, witho losing he esoe o diet, bie and statlng simpiiy when the oasion eqied i On his need not dilate bt hink it is woth whie o say a wod
A S A CASSC
mor abo h o sle, bas s s somthng whh w annot rtly llstrat rom Engsh ory and to whh w ar at o ay ss han drn In modrn Er n tratr h loss aromaons to th da o a ommon styl ar robably to b ond n Dan and Ran th nars w ha o t n Englsh otry s Po and Pos s a ommon sy whh n omarson s o a ry narro ang. A ommon sty s on whh mas s lam no hs s a man o gns sng h angag bt ths rlz th gns o th langag W do no say hs whn w rad Po bas w ar o onsos o al h rsors o th Englsh sh uon whh Po dos no draw w an a mos say ths razs th gns o th Englsh langag o a artlar oh' \ do not say ths whn w rad Shak sar bas alwaysthat onsos o th gatnssor oMlton th man and owthar mrals he s rorm ng wth th langag w om narr rhas wth har bt tha har s usng a d rnt rom or ont o w a dr sh And Shaksar and Mton as latr hsto shows lt on many ossbts o othr uss o Engsh n ory: whras atr Vrg t s trr o say hat no gra domnt was ossbl untl th Latn langag bam somthng drnt At ths ont I shold k o rt to a qston whh I ha arady sggstd th qston whhr th ahmn o a lass n th sns n whh I ha bn sng th trm hroghot s or th ol and th langag o ts orgn altog th r an nm d bssng n hogh t s nqs onaby a grond or r o ha ths qston rasd n on's mnd t s almost nogh smy to ha ontmatd tn otry atr Vrgl to ha onsdrd th tn o whh lar ots ld and workd ndr th shadow o hs ratnss so that w ras or dsras thm ordng to sand ards wh h h st admrn g thm som tm s or d s orng som araton whh was nw or n or mrly
66
ON OETRY
ND
OETS
rearrangng paerns o words so as o ge a peasng an remnder o he remoe orgna B Engsh poer, and renh poery aso ma be onsdeed onae n hs ha he grees poes hae ehased on prar areas We ann sa a, sine he age o Shakespeare, and respe sne he me o Rane, here has been an rea rsrae poe drama in Engand or n Frane sne Mon, we hae 1ad no grea ep poem hogh hre hae been grea ong poems I s re ha eer spreme poe, ass or no, ends o ehas he grond he aes, so ha ms aer edng a dmnshng rop na be e n aow or some generaons Here i ma be obeed ha he ee on a ierare whih am mpng o he ass, ress no rom he ass hara er o ha work, b smp rom s greaness: or hae dened o Shakespeare and o Mon he ie o asss n he sense n whh am empong he erm hrogho, and e hae admed ha no spreme grea poer o he same knd has een wren sne Tha eery grea wor o poer ends o make mpossbe he prodon o eqa gr works he same knd is ndspabe The reason ma be saed par n erms o onsios prpose no rsrae poe wod aemp o do agan, wha has aread been done as we as an be done n hs angage. I is on aer h ang e isme ad an ene si more h,ansen oab araere an d d,sna has,agwh d ,soa hange ha anoher drama poe as grea as Shakespeare, or anoher epi poe as grea as Mion, an beome possbe No on eer grea poe, b eer genne, hogh esser poe s one or a some possib o he angage, and s eaes one possbi ess or hs sessors The en ha he has e hased ma be a er sma one or ma represen some maor orm o poer, he ep or drama. B wha he grea poe has ehased is mere one orm, and no he whoe angage When he grea poe s aso a grea assi poe, he ehass, no a orm on, b he angage o his ime nd he an
WHA S A LASS ?
gag o hs tm as sd by hm wll t langag n ts prcton So that t s not th pot alon o whom w ha to tak accont bt th langag n whch h wt s : t not mrly that a classc pot hasts th langag bt that an hastbl langag s th knd whch may prodc a classc pot \ may b nclnd to ask thn whthr w ar not ortnat n possssng a langag whch nstad o havng prodcd a classc can boast a rch varty n th past and th possblty o rthr novlty n th tr? No whl w ar inside a l tratr whl w spak th sam langag an d hav ndamntally th sam cltr as that whch prodcd th ltratr o th past w want to mantan two thngs a prd n what or ltratr has alrady accomplshd and a bl n whatnt th maytr stll accomplsh n th tr w cs to blv th past wold cas to bI lly ur past: t wold bcom th past o a dad clzaton And ths con sdraton mst oprat wth partclar cogncy pon th mnds o thos who ar ngagd n th attmpt to add to th stor o Englsh ltratr Thr s no classc n Englsh: thror any lvng pot can say thr s stll hop that I and thos atr m or no on can ac wth qanmty onc h ndrstands what s mpld th thoght o bng th s pot may b abl to t som n g whch wll b worth prsvng Bt rom th aspct o trnty sch ntrst n th tr has no manng whn two langags ar both dad langag w cannot say that on s gratr bcas o th nmbr and varty o ts pots or th othr bcas ts gns s mor compltly prsd n th work o on pot What wsh to arm at on and th sam tm s ths: that bca Englsh s a lvng langag and th langag n whch w lv w may b glad that t ha nvr compltly ralzd tsl n th work o on classc pot bt that on th othr hand th classc crtron s o vtal mportanc to s W nd t n ordr to dg or ndvdal pots thogh w rs
6
ON O AND OS
dge o leae as a whole n ompason wh one whh has poded a lass Wehe a leae does lmnae n lass s a mae o one I s lagely I sspe a qe o o e degee o son o he elemens whn ha lan gge so ha he Lan langages an appoxmae moe loely o he lass no smply bease hey ae Lan b base hey ae moe homogeneos han Englsh and hee oe end moe naally owads he oo l wheeas Englh beng he mos vaos o gea langages n s onsens ends o aey ahe han peeon needs a loge me o ealze s poeny and sll onans pehaps moe xploed possbles I has pehaps he geaes apay o angng and ye emanng sel I am now appoahng he dsnon beween he ela and he absole lass he dsnon beween he leae whh an be alled lass n elaon o s own langage and ha whh s lass n elaon o a nmbe o ohe langage B s I s o eod one moe haaes o he lass beyond hose I have enmeaed whh wll help o sablsh hs dsno and o mak he deene beween sh a lass as Pope and sh a lass as Vgl I s onvn o eaplae ean asseons whh I mad eale I sggesed a he begnnng ha a eqen no n vesal eaeno o he mang o ndvdals be a poess o seleon alogehe onsos o hemay developmen o some poenales o he exlson o ohes and ha a smlay may be ond n he developmen o langage and leae I hs s so we shold expe o nd ha n a mno lass leae sh as o own o h lae sevenenh and he egheenh eny he elemens xlded o ave a may wll be moe nmeos o moe seos and ha asaon n he esl wll always be qaled by o awae ness o he possbles o he langage eveald n he wok o eale ahos whh have been gnoed he lass age o nglsh leae s no epesenave o he oal gens o
A S A LASS
the rae as I have intimated, e anot say that that genis is holl y real ized in any one peri od ith the r es lt that e an still, by reerring to one or another period o the past, envisage possibilities or the tre The English langage s one hih oers ide sope or legitimate divergenies o se it seems to be sh that no one age, and ertainly no one iter, an establish a norm The renh langage has seemed to be mh more osely tethered to a normal style yet een in Frenh, thogh the lagge appeared to have established itse, one or a, in the seventeenth entry, there is n espr gulos an eement o rihness present in Rabelais and in Villo n, th e aa ren ess o hih ma y qali y o r jdgment o the wholeness o Raine or oire, or e may eel that it is not ony nrepresente d b t nr eon ile d e may ome to th onlsion, then, that peret mst be one al in hih the hole genis o athe peope illassi be latent, i not revealed and that it an only appear in a langage sh that its hoe genis an be present at one We mst aordingy add, to or list o harateristis o the lassi, that o coprehensve ness he lassi mst, ithin its orma limitations, express the maximm possibe o the hole range o eeling hih represents the harater o the people ho speak that langage It il represent this at its best, and it il also have the widest appeal among the people to hih it belongs, it ill nd its response among al lasses and onditions o men When a ork o iteratre has, beyond this omprehensve ness in relation to its on langage an eqal signiane in relation to a nmber o oreign literatres, e may say that it has also unversly W may or instane speak jstly enogh o the poetry o Goeth e a s onst itt ing a lassi, bease o the plae hih it opies in its on langage and literatre Yet, bease o its partiality, o the impermanene o some o its ontent, and the germanism o the sensibility; bease Goethe appears, to a oreign eye, limited by his age, by his angage, and by his tre, so that he is nrepresentative o
ON OER AND OES
h who Eropan radon and k or own nnnh n ahors a prona w anno a hm a u versa ass H s a nrsa ahor n h sns ha h s an ahor wh whos works ry Eropan ogh o b aqand: b ha s a drn hg Nor on on o n or anohr an w xp o nd h proma approah o h ass n ay modrn angag s nssary o go o h o dad angags: s mporan ha hy ar dad bas hrogh hr da h w ha om n o or nhran h a ha hy ar dad wod n s g hm no a apar rom h a ha a h pops o Erop ar hr nars And o a h gra pos o Gr and Rom I hnk ha s o Vrg ha w ow h mos or or sandard o h ass: whh I w r pa s o h sam hng as prndng ha h s h gras or h o o whom w ar n r way h mos ndb d s o a par ar db ha I spak Hs omprhnsnss hs par kd o ompr hnsns o h q poson n or hsory o h Roma Empr and h La angag: a poson whh may b sad o onorm o s deiy hs sns o dsny oms o onsosns n h Aeed Anas s hms rom rs o as man n a a man who s nhr an adnrr nor a shmr nhr a agabond nor a arrs a man ng h dsny ndr ompson dr and any rom o no sms o gory or barbrary by srrndrng hs r w o hghr powr bhnd h gods who wod hwar or dr hm H wod ha prd o sop n roy b h boms an x and somhng grar and mor sgnan han any h s d or a prpos grar han h an know b whh h rognzs; and h s no n a hman sns a happy or sss ma B h s h smbo o Rom ad as nas s o Rom so s ann Rom o Erop hs Vrg aqrs h nra o h nq ass h s a h nr Eropan zaon n a poson whh o ohr po an shar or srp h Roman Empr and h La an
WT
S ASS
gag wr no any mpr and any angag, bt an mpr and a angag with a nq dstiny in raton to orsvs nd h po in whom tha Empir and tha ngag a o onsiosnss and xprsson s a pot o nq dsny Virg s ths th onsosnss o Rom and th sprm vo o hr angag, h mst hav a signan or s whh anot b xprssd whoy in trms o tra ppriation nd rsm Yt, adhrng o th probms o rtr, or o h trms o itratr n daing wth , w may b aow o mpy mor than w sta Th va o Vrg o s, n rary trms, s n providng s wth a rrion W may, a hav said hav rasons to rjoi hat his rrion s r dd by a po wrting in dirn angag rom or o bt ha s no a rason or rjtng h ririon To prs th ssia sndrd, and o masr v ndivda wor rar by is o s ha, whi or rtr as a who may ontan vthng, v sng work n it my b d iv n somthing Ths my b a nssry d, a d who whh som qiy prsn wod b akng b mst s as a d, at h sam m hat w s nssty n th absn o his standard o whh spak sandard w anno kp ary bor s i w ry on ow ratr aon, w tnd, rst o admr works o gni or h w rongorr s asand w rom xo this Bak h s phlooph and Hokns hsonsl w or prod o grar ror, o giving th sondrat q rank wh th rsr n shor who th onsant appation o h ass masr, whih w ow o Vrg mor han o any oth n po, w tnd to bom provna By provna man hr somthng mor than nd h dionary dnons man mor, or nstan, ha waning h r or poish o h apta' thogh, rany, Vrg was o th Capia, o a dgr whh maks any at po o qa sttr ook a provna; and man mor han narrow n thoght, in r n r d sip pry d
ON O AND OS
niton this or rom a modern beral pont o ve w ante wa narrow in thoght n ltre n reed et t ma the Broad Churhman rather than the Narrow Churhman who s the more provnia I mean also a dstortion o vaes the exluson o ome the exaggeration o others wh sprngs not rom ak o wde geogaphia perambulaton but rom ppng sandards aqired wthn a mited area to the whoe o hman experene whih onounds the ontngent wth the essential the ephemera wth the permanent In our age when men seem more than ever prone to onse wsom wth knowedge and knowedge with normaton and to tr to sove problems o e n terms o engineerng there s om ng nto existene a new kind o provnialism whih perhaps deserves a new name It s a provnaism not o spae bt o tme one or w hih histor s mer the hr oni e o human deves whih have served their trn and been srapped one or whih the world s the propert sole o the vng a prop er n whh the dead hod no shares The menae o ths knd o provnalsm s that we an a a the peopes on the globe be povals together and those who are not ontent to be provinals an on beome hermts I ths knd o pro vniaism led to greater toerane n the sense o orbearane there ght be more to be said or t bt t seems more ikel to leadto to or beoming nderent matters and where we ought maintain a distntive dogma orinstandard to or beomng ntolerant n matters whih might be et to oa or persona preerene We ma have as m n variete s o re igion as we ike provided we l snd or hildren to the same shoos But m onern here s onl wth the orretive to provinialism n literate We need to remnd ourseves that as Erope s a whole and stl n its progressive mtila ton and disgrement the organism ot o whih an greatr world harmon mst develop o Eropean literature s a whoe the several members o whih annot oursh the ame bloodstream does not irlate throghout the whole
S CLASSC
body e blood-steam of European iteature is Latn and Geek not as t o sstems o cicuation but one, fo it i through Rome that our paentage in Greece must be taced \at common measue of excellence hae we in iteatue mong our several languages, ·hich is not the cassical ms e? ht mutua intelligibility can e hope to pesee, e cept in our common heitage of thought and feeling in thos o languges, fo the undestanding of which, no Euopn people is in any position of dantage oe any othe? No moden language could aspre to the uniersality of atin, een though it came to be spoen b millons more than ee spok tin and een though it came to be the uniersal means of communication beteen peoples of al tongu and cultues o mode angage can hope to poduce classic, in th sense in which I hae called Vigl a classic Our cassic th classic of a Euope, is Virgl n ou seea lteatures, we hae muc weath of which to boast, to which tn has nothing to compae; but ch itera tue has its greatness not in isoation but becuse of its plc in age patten a pattern set in Rome I have spoken of the ne seiousns gra might say the ne insight into histoy illustated by the dedication of Aeneas to Rome, to a futue fa beond his lng achieement H read as hadly more than a naow bchhead and a politca maag in a weay middle age: his ou intered, its shado mong ith the shades the other side of Cumae And so, I sad, one ensages the destin of ancient Rome So e may think of Roman liteatue at s sght a lteratue of lmted scop, ith a o muster of geat names et unesa as no othe lterature n be a teatue unconscousl sacricing, in com pliance to its destiny n Euope, the opuence and aety of later tongues, to produce, fo us the classic It is sucient that this standad should hae been establshed once fo all th tas does not hae to be done agan But the mantenanc o the standad the pice of ou freedom the defence of fre
ON OE
ND
OE
om aganst aos We ma remnd ourselves o ts oblga ton b our annual observane o et towars te great gost wo gued Dantes lgrmage wo as t was s unton to lead Dante towars a vson e oud never msel en led Euroe towards te Crstan ulture w e oul never now and wo seakng s na words n te new Itala ee sad n arewel tempoa foco e ' eteo eduto ha go e e veuto pate do o p me p ote o dceo So the tempoa e ad the etea hat thou ee ad at come to a pace hee I, o vJlf ce o futhe
Poetry d Drm
VWIG m rtal otpt or the ast thrtyodd years am srprsed to nd how ontantly I have retrned R to the drama whether by examnng the work o the ontem porare o Shakespeare or by reetng on the possbltes o the tre. t may even b e that people a re weary o hearng m on ths sbjet Bt whle nd that I have been omposng aratons on ths theme all my le, my vews have been on tnally moded and renewed by nreasng experene so tha I am mpelled to take stok o the staton aresh at eve sge o my own expermentaton As have gradally leaned more abot the problems o poe t dra ma an d the ondton s whh t ms t l t s t o j sty tsel, I hae made a lttle learer to mysel, no onl my own reasons or or wantng to to wrte ths o, th more general reasons wantng see tnrestored to tbt plae. And I thnk that I say somethng abot these problems and ondtons t shold make learer to other people whether and so why poet drama has anythng potentally to oer th playgoer, that prose dra a annot For start wth the assm ton that poetry s merely a deoraton, an added embellsh ment t merely gves people o lteray tastes the pleasr o lstenng to poetry at the same tme tht they are wtnessng a play, then t s speos It mst sty tsel dramatally,
The st Thede Spee emal Lee deiveed at aad ive sit ad bsed by Fabe & Fabe ad by he aad Uivesity P
ON POETRY ND POETS
and n merly be ne pery shaped n a drama m Fm hs llws ha n play shd be wen n vese whh prse s drmcll adeqae And m hs l lws, agan, ha h adene s aenn held by he dra ma an, s emns srred by he san bewee he haraers, shd be nen pn he play be wh nsus he medm Wheh w use prse r verse n he sage, hey are bh b means an end. The derene, m ne pn vew, s n s grea as we mgh hnk. In hse prse plays whh svve, whh ae ead and prded n he sage by ae gnerans, he prse n whh he haaes speak s as re e, he bes par, rm he vabary, syna, and rhyhm r rdnary speeh wh s mbng wrds s nsan ese appman, s dsrde and s nn shed sene nes as vrse s Lk e verse, has been w en, and rwren Or w greaes pse sylss n he drama apar rm Sh akespe re and he he Elzab ehans w h ed p rse and v rse n he same pay are I bel eve C n grev and ernrd Shaw A speeh by a haraer Cngev r Shaw has hwever learly he haraers ay be de en aed ha nms akabe pes nal r hyh whh s he mark a prse sye, and whh nly he ms a pl shed nvrsa na ls wh r k.ha ae nlgss shw anys a e n are h eal Wemhav e alsa l hearlyd [ n) Mlre's haraer wh epressed spse when ld ha he spke prse B was M Jdan wh was gh, and n hs men r hs rear he dd n speak pse he n ly a ked. F I mean dra w a pe dsnn bewen pse and verse, and rdnary speeh whh s msly belw he evel ehe verse prse S y k a n hs way wll appea ha pse n he sage s as aral as vese r aernavely ha verse an be as nara as prse. B whe he sensve membe he audene w appre
POETRY ND DRM
iate when he hears ne prose spoken in a play that this is something better tan ordinary oneration he does not re gard it as a wholly dierent langage rom tat whi e im sel speaks or that wod interpose a baier beeen imsel and the imaginary araters on the stage oo many people on the other hand approah a play whh tey know to be in erse with te onsiosness o te derene. It is nort nate when they are repeled by erse bt an also be deplorable when they ae at trated by it i that means that they are prepared to enjoy the play and the langage o te pay as two separate things he ie eet o style and rythm in dramati speeh, wether in prose or erse sod be nonsios. From this it olows that a mitre o prose and erse in te same play is generally to be aoded eah transition maes the aditor aware jolt owises te medim It is may sa jstiable wenwith te aator to prode thiswejolt wen that is he wshes to transport the adiene olently rom one plan e o re ait y to another. I sspe that ths kin d o transition was easiy aeptable to an Eliabetan adiene to whose ears both prose and erse ame natraly who liked high atin and low omedy in the same play and to wom it seemed perhaps proper that te more hmble and rsti har aters shold speak in a homey angage and that those o more eated rank sold rant in erse. Bt een in te plays o Shakespeare some o the prose passages seem to be designed or an eet o ontrast wih hen ahieed is something tat an neer beome oldashoned. he knoking at the gate in Macbeh is an eampe that omes to eeryones mind b t has long seemed t o me that the alternati on o senes in pose wit senes in erse in Hr points an ironi ontrast between the world o igh politis and the wold o ommon lie. he adiene probably thogt wit tey amsing were getng astomed hronile play garnished senestheir o low lie yet te prose senes o bot Part I and Part II prode
ON POERY AND POES
a sardoni omment pon the bstling ambtions o th hes o the partes in the nsrreton o the Perys Today, however, bease o the handap nder whh erse dama sers, I beieve that i n verse drama prose shold be sed ery sparingly ndeed that we shod aim at a o verse in whh evethng an be sad that has to be said and that when we nd some staton whh s ntratabe n verse, it s merey bease or orm o verse s neast An there prove to be senes whh we annot pt n verse, we mst either deveop or verse, or avod havng to ntrodue sh enes For we have to astom or adenes to verse t the point at whih they wll ease to be onsos o t and to introde prose daoge would ony be to dstrat ther atten tion rom the pay itsel to the medim o ts expession Bt i or verse s to have so wde a range that t an say anythng that has to be sad, t olows that t w not be poetry al the tme It w ony be poetry when the dramati staton has reahed sh a pont o ntensty that poety beomes the na tra tterane , bea se the n t s the ony anguage n whih the emotions an be expressed at all t s ndeed neessary or any ong poem, t s to sape monotny, to be abe to say homey things wthot bathos, as ell as to take the hghest ghts wthot sondng exagger ated And it s st more mportant n a pay, espealy it s onerned wth ontemporary le he reason or tng even the more pedestran parts o a verse pay n verse nstead o prose s, however, not ony to avoid aling the adienes at tenton to the at that t s at other moments stenng to poetry It is aso that the verse rhythm shod have ts eet pon the hearers, wthot ther being onsios o t A bre anayss o one sene o Shakespeare's may strate ths pon The openng sene o Hamlet as we onstr ted an open ng sene as that o an y play e ver wri tten has the advant age o beng one that everybody knows
POETRY AND DRAA
hat we do not notice, when we w�tness this scene in the teatre is the geat ariation of style Nothing is superuous, and there is no line of poetry which is not justied by its dra matic alue. The rst twentytwo ines are built of the simplst words in the most homey idiom Shakspeare had worked for a long time in the theatre, and itten a good many plays, before reaching the pont at which he could wrte those twentytwo ines. There is nothing quite so simplied and sur in his preious work He rst deeloped conersatonal, collo quial erse in the monologue o f the charact er part - Faulcon bridge in Kig Jo, and ater the Nurse in Romeo ad Julit t was a much further step to carry it unobtrusiely into the diaogue of brief replies No poet has begun to master dramatic erse until he can write lines which, like these in Hamlet, are traspaet You are consciousy attendng, not to the poet, but to the maning of the poetry f ou were hearing Hamle for he rst time, without knowing anything about the pla, do not think that it would occur to you to ask whether th speakers were spaking in rse or prose. The erse is haing a dierent eect upon us from prose but at the moment, what we are aware o is the frosty night, the ocers keeping watch on the battlements, and the foreboding of a tragic action do not say that there is no place for the situation in which part willthabet the the aut enjoyment tiful of poeones try peasue proidng hor gesofit,hearing in thatbeau pl ace, dramatic ineitabity And of course, when we hae both sen a play seeral times and read i beween performances, we be gin to analyse the means by which the author has produced his eects But in the imediate impact of this scene we are unconscious of the medium its expression. From the short, brusque ejaculatons at the beginning, suita ble to the situation and to the char acter of the guards but not expressing more character than is reuired for their func tion in the pay the ers e glides into a slo wer moement with the appearance of the courtiers Horatio and Marcellus
ON POERY AND POES
Horio i bu o ur fn, .
nd the mement change agan n the appearance f R ty, the ght f the Kng, nt the emn and nru h r hou h uurp hi ime of nigh,
ndthente antcpatn f the pt cnveyed uurp] ue b f the the way verb th and majet uggeted n a reference remndng u whe ght th So fro d he once, when in n ngr prle He moe he ledded Polck on he ice
ere an abrupt change t taccat n Hrat wrd t the Ght n t ecnd appearance th rhythm change aga th the wrd We do i wrong, being o meicl To oer i he how of violence; For i i, he ir invulnerble And our vin blow liciou mocker.
e cene reache a reutn wth the wrd f Marceu I fded on he crowing of he cock Some h ever gin h eon come \herein our Sviour birh i celebred The bird of dwning ingeh ll nigh long
d Hrat anwe So hve I herd nd do in pr believe i Bu, look, he morn, in rue mnle cld, Wlk o'er he dew of on high eern hill Brek we our wch up
Th great petry and t dramatc but bede beng petc and dramatc t methng mre There emerge when we naye t a knd f muca degn a whch renfrce and
POETRY ND DR
o with th dramatic movmt It ha chckd ad acclr atd th pu of our motio without our kowig it Not that i th lat word of Marclu thr i a dibrat bri mrgc of th potic ito cociou h w har th li Bu, look, rue Walk oerhe hemorn, de oin on hghmanle eaernclad hll,
w ar liftd for a momt bod charactr, but with of ut of th word comig, ad at th momt, from th lip of Horatio Th traitio i th c ob aw of th muic of dramatic potr ot that th two li of Horatio which I hav quotd twic ar prcdd b a i of th impt pch which mght b ithr vr or pro So hae I heard and do n par belee i, ad that h folow thm abruptl with a half i which i hardl mor tha a tag dirctio Break e our ach up.
It would b itrtig to puru, b a milar aali, thi problm of th doubl pattr i grat potic drama - th pattr which ma b xamid from th poit of vw of tagcraft thatc of th muc But I thik that vr th amatio or of from thi o i ough to how u that i ot mrl a formalizatio, or a addd dcoratio, but that it iti th drama It hould idicat alo th importac of th ucociou ct of th vr upo u Ad latl, do ot thik that thi ct i flt ol b tho mmbr of a audic who lik pot but alo b tho who go for th pla alo. B th popl who do ot lik potr, I ma tho who caot it dow with a book of potr ad jo radig it th pop alo, wh th go to a pla i vr, hould b actd b th potr Ad th ar th audic who th writr of uch a pa ought to kp i md
ON POETRY AND POETS
t ths it I might sa a wd abut ths las whch w call poc, thugh th a wrtt i s Th las f h Milligt Sg fm ath a scial cas bcaus th a basd u th idim f a ua l whs sh is atuall tc, bth i imag ad hthm bliv that h v icatd hass which h had had fm ths cut f ad Th guag f Sg s t availa b xct f las st amg that sam W ca daw m gal ccusis fm th las i s [s much adid i m uth, ad hadl v ad] b Mat ick Ths las a i a dit a stctd thi sub ct matt; ad t sa that th chaactzati i thm is dim s a udsatmt I d t d that th hav sm tc quat. But d t b tic i s, a damatist has t b s cssttl that hswhs scigias is v imitd Sg wt as abuttc chaacts i f takd tical s h culd mak thm talk t ad mai a l Th tic s damats wh as t ths dvatag, has t b t tic Th tic dama s s m limitd b tc cvti b u cvts as t at sub ct matt is tic, tha i s th tic dama vs A all damatic vs ca b mld as Shasa m d t, t sa th mst mattffact thigs. ats s a v dit cas fm Matlic g. A tud f hs dvlmt as a damatist wuld sh thi, gat distac h wt, ad th tiumh f hs last as I hs st id, h wt as vs abut subjcts c t all acct d as suitab f vs, i a mtic wh ch thugh v at that al stag havig th rsa Yats hthm - is t al a fm f s ch qut suitab f a bd xct mthical kigs ad qus Hs middpd ays o Dances a v batifu, but th d sv a blm f th damatist vs th a tic s as it imtat itluds i vs It was l i h ast la
POETRY AD DRAA
tat e sled s pblem f spee vese ad ad all s suesss ude blgat t m
Nw I am gg t etue t mae sme bseats based m w epeee wll lad me t mmt m tets falues ad patal suesses m plas d ts te belef tat a eple epemete ew tet ma b puttg ed a d f jual f s eplats, sa smetg f use t tse w flw m t te same egs ad wll peaps g fate. e st tg f a mptae tat I dseed was tat a te w as wed f eas, ad aeed sme suess tg te f ese appa te wtg f aese pla akds deet fameasftmd fm tat t w e as be austmed s peus w tg te ese I tk tat e s tg, s t spea tems f es ve te wa t suds we u ead t t uself s te tet F t s uself speag Te quest f m muat f wat te eade wl get fm t s t paa mut: f u pem s gt t u u a l pe tat te eades wl etual me t aept t Te pem a wat a ltte te appal a few ad eug judus tswle t begft adsmpatet t s f futue des t eet te pet me ta alf wa. But te tea te te blem f mmuat pesets tself mmedatel. Yu ae deeatel tg ese f te es t f u w, ad u d t k wse es tey wl be Yu ae amg t wte l w wll ae a mmedate eet up a uk ad upepaed audee t be tepeted t tat audee b u ats eeased b a ukw pdue. d te uw audee at be epeted t sw a dulgee twads te et. he et t ad t te s pla meel f s admes tse w
ON POETRY ND POES
nonrti work n re prepre to reeive vorb n thing he pt hi ne to He t write with n iene in viw hih know nothing n r nothing bot n previ o e he hve h before he ventre into the the tre Hene one n ot tht n of the thing one i e to o, n know how to o, re ot of ple; n tht ever ine t be jge b new w, tht of rti relevne. When I ote Mude in te Catedra I h the vntge for beginner, of n oion whih e for bet gen erll itte to be itble for vere. Vere pl, it h been gnerl he, hol either tke their bet tte fro oe thoog, or ele hol be bot oe reote hitoril perio, fr enogh w fro the preent for the hrtr not to nee to be reognizble hn being, n therfore for the to be iene to tlk in vere Pi tree perio ote rener vere h ore eptbe Frtherore, pl w to be proe for rther peil kin of e - n iene of tho e e rio people wh o go to fetivl n expet to hve to p t p with poetr thogh prhp on thi oion oe of the were not qite prepre for wht th got An nll it w religio p, n pople who go libert to religio p t religio ftivl expet to be ptientl bor n to tif theelve with feling tht the So thetheph e hve one oething eritorio t w o hn I pt in to thinking wht ort of pl I wnte to o next, tht I relize tht in Mude in te aeda I h not olve n gnerl probe bt tht fro pont of view the pl w e en For one thing the probl of lngg whih tht pl h preente to e w eil probl Fortnt, I i not hve to write in the i of the twefh ent, be tht iio, even if I knew Norn Frenh n AngloSxon, wo hve been n inteligible Bt the voblr n te o not be extl the of oern onv ertio n in oe oer n Frenh
OETRY
ND D
la uing plo a n pronag of G k drama - bcau I ad o ak m auinc back o an iorical n; an could no aord o be arcaic r bcau arcaim ould onl a uggd ong prio and cond bcau I wand o bring om o audinc e conmporar rl anc of iuaion T l ror ad o b eural commi nir o prn nor o a A for ricaion I a onl aar a i ag a nial wa o aoid an co of Sakare for I wa pruad a prima failur of ninncnur po wn y wro for ar and mo of gra Engli po ad id ir and a drama a no in ir arical c niqu bu in ir dramaic languag and a i wa du argl o ir limiaion o a ric blank r wic afr xni u r for nondramaic xibiliy wic blank mu a ifpor i i oad gilo c of con raion T m of rgular blank r ad bcom oo rmo from momn of morn pc Trfore a kp in min wa ricaion of Eera oping a aning unuual in ound of i would be on wol adanagou An aoidanc of oo muc iambic om u of alliraion and occaional unxpcd r lpd o di ngui ricaion from a of ninn cnur i he Cahe Taricaion of m opinion dialogu onl in Murder dra rfor in a eaie mri: i uccdd in aoiding wa a o b aoid bu i arrid a no poii nol: in or in o far a i old prob lm of c in r for riing oa i old i for pla onl an roidd m wi no clue o r I ould u in anor kind of pla r n wr wo problm lf unold a of idiom and a of mric [i i eall on and am problm for gnal u in an pla I mig an o i in fuur I nx bcam awar of m raon for pnding in a la o ail un a nce of cou Tr wr wo raon for i wic
6
ON OE AND OES
n the ccumtance juted t The t wa that the een ta acton of t he pa - both the h toca fact and the m at te whch I nent ed - wa omew hat mted man come home, foeeeng that he wll be kled and he kled I dd not want t nceae the numbe of chaacte I dd not ant to wte a choncle of twefthcentu poltc, no dd I wat to tampe uncupulou wth the eage ecod a Tenn on dd n ntoducng a oamund, and n ugetng that ecket had been coed n loe n ea outh wanted to concentate on death and matdom he ntoducton of a chou of excted and ometme hteca women eectng n the emoton the gncance of the acton heped wonde fu he econd eaon wa th that a poet tng fo the t te fo the tage, uch oe at home n choa ee han n daogue weaknee felt ue, wa omethng coud dodmatc and peha the damatc woud be omeI what coeed up b the ce of the women Te ue of chou tengthened the powe and conceaed the defect of m theatca technque o th on I decded that next tme I ud • t t o n tegate the chou moe oe nto the pla I wanted to nd out ao whethe I coud ean to dene altogehe wth the ue of poe Te two poe paage n Mue in e Caera not hae tten Cetanl, wth the knd ofcould daogue eebeen whch I uednnee tha pa the audence would hae been uncomotab awae that t wa ee the wee heang emon cat n ee too unuua an expeence fo en the mot egua chuchgoe nobod coud hae eponded to t a a emon at a nd n the peeche of the knght who ae qute awae that the ae adeng an audence of peope ng eght hunded ea afte the theele ae dead the ue of latfom oe n tended of coue to hae a peca eect to hock the audence out of the compacenc But th a knd of tck that , a dece toleable onl n one pla and of no ue o an othe
POETRY ND DR
may, or ugt now, ae een lgtly under the nuence o S oan do not to ge you te mpreon tat would rue out o dramatc poety tee tree tng htorcal or myto ogcal uject matter te coru, and traditonal blan er. do not w to ay down any law tat te ony utabe car acter and tuaton are toe o modern e, or that ere play hould cont o dalogue only, or tat woly new ercaton neceary am only tracng out te route o ex poraton o one ter, and tat one mye. the poetc drama to reconuer t place, t mut, n my opnon enter nto oert competton wth proe drama A hae ad, peo ple are prepared to put up wt ere rom te lp o peron age dreed n te ahon o ome dtant age: thereore they houdnbeoue madeand to ear t rome peope leteepone ourele, ing apartment our,dreed and ung and motor ca and rado et Audence re pepared to ac cept poetry ected y a cou, o tat a nd o poety rectal, wc t doe them credt to enjoy And audence toe wo go to a ere play ecaue t n ere expect poetry to e n rytm wc ae ot touc wt coloua pec. Wat we hae to do to rng poet nto te word n wc the udence le and to wc t return en t eae the word teatetotaly not tounle tranport te an audence ome magnary t own, unrea nto word n whc poet tolerated \at oud op mgt e aceed, by generaton o dramatt ang te enet o our experence, tat t< audence ould nd, at the momen o awarene tat t hearng poetry, that t ayng to tel I could tal n poetry too! en we ould not e tranported into an artcal world; on te contrary, our own ordd dreary daily world woud e uddenly llumnated and trangured wa determned, thereore, n my next play to tae a teme o contemporary e, wt caacter o our own tme ng n our own wor The Faml Reunion wa te reut Here m
ON O N D POS
s oce was e polem of e escao o d y close o compoay seec wc e sesses cou e mae o come weee we sould aal pu em u eg e pacula pase o e pacula occaso. a oked o s ssaally wa e coed o employ: a le of ayg leg ad ayg ue of syllales a caesua ad ee sesses e caesua ad e sesses may come a dee places almos aywee e e e sesses may e cose ogee o wel sepaaed y lg sla les; e oy ue eg a ee mus e oe sss o oe sde of e caesua ad wo o e oe eospec soo saw a ad ge my aeo o escao a e e pese of po ad caace ad ded made some pog ess dspesg w e cous u e dece of usg fou of e mo pesoages epeseg e Famly somemes as ddual caace pas ad somemes coece as cous does o seem o me ey sasfacoy Fo oe g e mmeae aso fom ddual caacezed pa o memesp of a cous s askg oo muc of e acos t s a ey dcu aso o accompls Fo aoe g seemed o me aoe ck oe wc ee f successfu could o ae ee applcae aoe play Fuemoe ad wo passages used e dece of a ycal due fue solaed les fomw e oly es of dalogue y passages eg we soe woe sesses ese ae a sese eyod caace e speakes ae o e peseed as fallg o a kd of acelke sae ode o speak em Bu ey ae so emoe fom e ecessy of e aco a ey ae adly moe a passages of poey wc mg e spoke y ayody ey ae oo muc ke opeac aas e m of e audece f e ejoys s so of g s pu g up w a suspeso of e aco ode o eoy a poec faasa ese passages ae eall ess elaed o e ac o a ae e couses Murde in e Caedra oseed a we Sakespeae oe of s maue
OETRY AND DRAlA
plas, ntouces at mgt seem a pel poetc ne o passage, t neve nteupts te acton, o s out o chaacte, but on te conta, n some msteous a suppots bot acton an caacte en Macbet speaks hs so oten quote os bgnnng Tomorro d tomorro d tomoo
o en Otelo, cononte at ngt t hs ag atenla an ens uttes te beautul ne Kp up your brght ord or th d rut thm
e o not eel tat Sakespeae has tougt o lnes hc a beautul poet an ses to t tem n someo, o tat e as o te moment come to te en o s amatc nspa ton psng, anan as et tune tetotpoet t to ll teupcaacte; t. eolnes elseaeesu a copelle to ajust ou concepton o te caacte n suc a a tat te lne ll be appopate to t Te lnes spoken b Macbet evea te eaness o te eak man o a been oce b s e to ealze s o aleate ese an e ambtons, an o, t e eat s et tout te motve to contnue Te ne o Otello expesses on, gnt, an ealessness an ncenal emns us o te me oo ngt n c te scenepoet takes tat paces, On cou ts but t s drmc t oespoet not neupt but ntenses the aatc stuaton It as not on because o te noucton o passages c calle too muc attenton to themseves as poet an coul not be amatcall juste, tat I oun h Fmy Ruo eectve tee ee to eaknesses hc came to stke me as moe seous st e st as, tat I ha emploe a too muc o te stctl mte tme aloe to amatst, n pesentng a stuaton an not et mse enough me, o pove msel t enoug matea o evelopng t n acton I a tten at as, on te hoe a goo st
ON POETRY AND POETS
ct except tht o st ct it ws ch too og he the cti ises gi the diece is expectig, s it hs ight to expect, tht soethig is goig to hppe Isted, it ds itsel teted to the expotio o the bckgo: i othe wods, to wht oght to hve bee give ch elie i t ll. The begiig o the secod ct pesets ch o the ost diclt pobe to podce d cst o the diece's ttetio s begiig to wde d the, te wht st see to the diece iteible tie o peptio, the coclsio coes so bptly tht we e, te l, ed o it This ws eeety lt i echics Bt the deepest w o ll, ws i ile o dstet betwee the eek stoy d the ode sittio I shold eithe hve stck cose to eschys o ese tke get del oe ibety with his yth Oe evidece o this is the ppe ce o those illted ges the Fis They st, i te, be oitted o the cst, d be destood to be viible oy to ceti o y chctes, d ot to the diece We tied evey possible e o pesetig the We pt the o the stge, they looked like ivited gests who hd tyed i o cy dess l We coceed the behid gze d they sggested still ot o Wlt Disey We de the die, d they looked like shbbey st otside thsigllig widow Io hvecoss see othe expediets tied I hve see the the gde, o swig o to the stge ike oob te, d they e eve ght They eve scceed i beig eithe eek goddesses o ode spooks Bt thei ie is eely sypto o the ile to dst the ciet with the ode oe seios evidece s tht we e let i divided e o id, ot kowig whethe to coside the ply the tgedy o the othe o the svtio o the so The two sittios e y otsypthies ecociedow I d cotio thisthe i the ct tht hve coe to be lowth othe, who sees to e, except pehps o the che,
POETRY AND DRAA
the on complete uman beng n the pa; and m eo now te me a an nueabe pg. e ad made ome poge n eang how to wte te t act of a pla and had - the one thng of whch felt ue - made a good deal of po ge n nd n g a fo of ecaton and an dom whch would ee al m pupoe wthout ecoue to poe and be capabe of unboen tan ton beeen the mot ntene peec and the mo elaed daogue You w undetand afte m mang thee ct cm of The Fa Reuon ome of the eo that en doued to aod n degnng The Cocka Par To begn wth no cou and no got wa tl nclned to go to a Gee damatt fo m theme but wa detemned to do o mee a a pont of deptue and to concea the ogn o we that nobod them ucceful; untl ponted out melf n th would at leatdentf hae been fo no them one of m acuantance and no damatc ctc ecognzed the ouce of m to n the cess of upde. n fact hae ad to go nto detle d expla naton to con nce t hem mn of coue thoe who wee fama wth the pot of that pa - of the gen unene of th e npaton. But tho e who we at t dtubed b the eccentc behaou of m un nown guet and h appaentl ntempeate abt and tend enc to but nto ong hae found ome conolaton n ha ng the attenton called to the behaou of Heace n upde pla n the econd pace ad down fo melf the acetc ue to aod poet whch c uld not tand the tet of ct da matc ut wth uch uce ndeed that t pehap an open ueton whehe thee an poet n the pa at al. nd nall ted to eep n mnd that n a pla fom tm to hould appen; that tatomethng te audence houd be tme ept nomehng the contant expectaton gong to happen and that when t doe happen t hould be deent
ON POETRY AND POETS
but not too rnt, from what th audinc had bn ld to xpct. h not yt got to th nd of my instigation of th wknsss of tis play but hop and xct to nd tn tos of wich am yt awa say ho' bcaus whl on can n pat a succss and tfo must always ty to din nwill if ss th dof sind to somthing w somthing which b popular f of to thdodfcs ons ast wok is a ry powfu and usfu incnti am aw that th last act of my pay ony ust scps if indd it os scap, th accusaion of bing not a ast ac but an pi logu and am dtmind to o somthing dint if cn in tis spct aso bli tat whil th sducation of a pot tying to wri for th tha sms to qui a ong piod of disciplinng hs poty and puting it, so to spak, on a y thin it n odr to aapt t to th nds of th stag, h may nd that latr, whn [an if] th undstanding of thatrical tchniqu has bcom scond natu h can da to mak mo iba us o poty and tak gat libtis with on olloqua spch bs ths bif on th o uion of hakspa, and on som study of th languag in his lat pays n doting so much tim to an xamnation of my own plays, ha bi bn animatd by a btt moti than gotism t ss to m that if w a to ha a otc drama, it is mor likly to com fom pots arning how to it pays, than fom skiful pros dramatists aning to writ poty That som pots can lan how to it plays, and wit good ons may b ony a hop, but bi a not un asonabl hop but that a man who has statd by writing succssful pos pays should thn larn how to it good poy sms to m xtmly unliky nd, und psnt day conitons, unti th s play is cognizd agr public as and a possib souc of nttainmnt th by ptth i ikly to gt his st oppotunty to wok fo th stag only
POETRY ND D
after kng se srt f reputan fr hsef as he auhr f er knds f erse I hae herefre wshed t pu n rc rd, fr ha t ay be wrh t thers, se accun f he dcues I hae encuntered, and the stakes nt whch I hae faen, and e weaknesses I hae had try t erce I shud nt ke t cse wthut atepng se befr yu, thugh ny a d utne, the dea twards whch pc draa sud sre It s an natanabe da and hat s why t nteress e, fr prdes an ncente wards fur her experen and expran, beynd any ga whch here s prspec f attanng It s a funcn f a art t ge us se perceptn f an rder n fe, by psng an rder upn The panter wrks by seecn, cbnan, and phass ang the eeen f he sbe wrd the uscan n the wrd f sund I sees t e ha beynd he naeabe, cassabe etns and tes f ur cnscus fe whe dreced twards actn - the par f fe whch prse draa s why adequate t express here s a frnge f nden te exten, f feeng whch w can ny detect, s t spk, u f h crner f the eye an can neer cpetey fcus f fee ng f whch w are ny aware n a knd f tepray detac en f r act n Th ere are grea prs e dra ats s - such as Ibsen and Chek h wh hae at tes dn e thngs f whch I wud haef suppsed prsetthae be capabe, but wh seentttherwse e, n spe her success, been ha ped n expressn by wrtng n prse Ths pecuar range f sensbty can be expressed by draac petry, a s ent f greatest nensy A such ens, we tuch he brder f thse feengs whch y usc can express e can neer euae usc, becase t ae a the cndn f sc wud be he annhan f petry, and especay f draac pey Neerheess, I hae befre y eyes a knd f rag he perfectn f erse draa, wud be a desg f han acn and f rds, suchwhch as t present a nc the tw aspcts f draatc and f sca rder I sees e h
ON POETRY AND POETS
ae pae achi eed hs a ea st in ce ain sce nes een ah eay, fo ee is he bacony scene of meo nd Julet nd ha is was w a e was si ing o ads i n is a e pays To go as fa n s decion as i s possibe o go, wih· u osng ha conac wi he odinay eeyday wod ic daa us coe o es, sees to e he pope ai of daaic poey Fo it supon utiat funcion a, n iposng a cedibe ode odnayheeaiy andoftheeby ecing so peception of an ode eaiy o bing us o a condiion of seeniy, siness, and econciiaion and en ae us, as gi ef Dane, o poceed owad a egion whee ha guide can ai us no fahe PY AND DRAMA'
As expained in y Peface, te passage in this essa ana ysing he s scene of Hmlet was aken fo a ectue e eed soe yes peous at Edinbugh Unesi o he sae Edinbugh ectue ae exacted e foowng noe on te baony scene n Romeo nd Julet: n oeos beginning hee s si soe aicia: Two f the fret sts n ll the heven Hng some busness d ntret he eyes T twnle n the spheres tll they eturn
Fo sees unikey hat a an sandng beow in te gaden een on a ey bigh oonight nigh, woud see te eyes of the ady aboe asing so bianty as o justfy suc co pason Ye one is aae, fo the beginning of ts scene, a tee s a usica paen coing as supising n s knd tha n te ea wok of Beeoen The aangeent of oi ces uiet s tfoow ee snge foge owespeec d b Roiseo hee fou a ndae ed bines he on eys eakabe n tis paen, one fees ta i is uies oce
OETRY AND D
that a the eadg pat to he voc aged the do at phae of the whole det M bount s as boundess as the sea, M ove as dee the moe I gve to thee The moe I have fo both ae nnte
d gve ewod oflghtg whch aga to let the pla ad the gcat the dde ad occ da to powe of he pao whe he a Ts ke the ghtnng, whch doth cease to be Ee one can sa t gtens.
th cee Shaepeae acheve a pefecto of vee whch eg pefecto ethe he o aoe ele cold exce fo th patcla ppo e. The te the atcat the poetc decoato of h ea vee ha all gve place to a plcato to the agage of atal peech ad th la gage of coveato aga aed to great poet ad to grt poet whch eetall daatc fo the cee ha a c te of whc each e a etal pat
The Three Voces of Poet
or orstnobody oice is the oi ce of he poe alk ig t o hise lf The secod is he oice of he poe addess
ng an adiece, wheher arge or sa The hid is he oice of the poe whe he aeps to creae a daaic characte speaking i erseb whe is sayig he wod sa n his ow person onyhewhat he canosaywha wihin he iis of oe iagiay characer addressig anoher iagiay chaac r The disincion beween he rst and the secod oice, ween he poe speakig to hiself and he poe speaking to oher people p ins o he prole of poeic conicaion he disictio beween the poet addessing oher peope i ehe his own oice or a assed oice ad h poe inen ig speech i which iaginar characters address each oher, pois o the probe of the dierence bewee draac, sidraaic, ad odaaic erse wish o aicipae a esion ha soe of yo ay e ie Cao a poe be wrien for he ear, o for he eye of oe prson aloe? Yo ay say siply s' oe poer m a for of coicaion beween oe person and oe oer wih o hoght of a frher adiece? ee ae a leas o people who igh hae disagreed wh e o is oi Mr ad Mrs Robert Browig he poe e ord More ie as an epioge o Me a Women lh ua u of h aonal Book gu dr ad uhd fo h .B.L. y h Camidg iy Pr.
HE HREE VOICES OF POETRY
n adeed to M Bowning te uband make a iking aue ugmen Rafael made a ceury of soes ade ad wroe hem i a cerai olume ied wih he silerpoied pecil lse he ol used o draw Madoas hese he world migh iew - bu oe he olume Who ha oe, ou ask? You r hear irucs ou ou ad would raher read ha olume Wuld we o? ha woder a Madoa . ae oce prepared o pai a agel Whom o please? You whiper Bearice . You ad would raher see ha agel, aied we b he of aDae Would oederess ha read fresh fero
I agee ta one feo een by Dante i enoug and pe ap we need not too mu ege e at tat Raael did not mulpy i Madonna: but I an only ay tat eel no u oity watee about Raae' onne o Dante ange I Raae wote o Dane pained o e eye o one peon aone e ei piay be epeed \e know at M and M Bowning iteopoem ote beaue pubied emikd andoome emoaeea good poem \e tey know a Roeti tougt ta e wa iing i Houe o Lie onnet o one peon and ta e wa ony peuaded by i fiend o diine tem ow I do not deny at a poem may be addeed o one peon ee i a welknon o no lway amatoy in onent alled Te Epile \e al nee a onluie edene o te tetimony o poet a to wa tey ougt tey wee doing wen ey wote a poem annot e taken a it iae But my opnion i a ia good loeaogete poem oug mayalue be addeed to one peon alway mean to be oeead by oe peope Suely
ON POETRY ND POETS
prper language f lve - a is f cmmunicain e beved and n ne else - is prse aving dismissed as an iusin e vice f e pe ain ne persn ny I in a e bes way fr me r mae my ree vices audibe is race e genesis f e disincin in my ind Te rier wse mind e dis incin is ms ikely ccur is prbaby e wier ie my sel w as spen a gd many years in iing pery befre aemping ie fr e sage a al. I may be as I ave read a ere is a dramaic elemen in muc f my early wrk I may be a frm e beginning I aspired uncn sciusl y e ea re r unfriendly criics mig say Safesbury venue and Bradway I ae wever gradualy cme e cncusin a in iing verse fr e sage b e prcess and e ucme ae ver dieren frm wa ey are in wiing verse be read r recied. Tweny years ag I was cmmissined ie a pagean pay be caed Te ock Te invi ain wie e wrds fr is speca le e ccasin f wic was an appea fr funds fr curcbuild ing in new uing a reas came a a mmen wen I see med mysef ae exaused my meagre peic gifs and ae ning mre say T be a suc a mmen cmmis sind wrie smeing wic gd r bad mus be de
P a ceain as dae maya mr ave e abae vigrusis aningbysmeimes upn car eec wen e run dwn Te as was ceary aid u I ad nly wrie e wrds f prse diague fr scenes f e usua isrical pagean paern fr wic I ad been given a scenari I ad as prvide a number f cra passages in verse e cn en f wic was ef my wn devices excep fr e reasn able sipulain a all e cruses were expeced ave sme releance e pupse f e pagn and a eac crus wasin ccupyua is precise number f my minues f sage ime Bu carrying secnd par f as ere was ning cal my aenin e ird r dramaic vice i
HE HREE VOICES O OERY
was t e second oice tat of sef add res sing - indeed a ranging - an a dienc e tat was ost distinctl adile pa rt fro te oos fact tat writing to order s not te sae ting as iting to pease onesef earnt onl tat erse to e spoen a coir sod e dierent fro erse to e spoen one person; and tat te ore oices o ae in or coir te siper and ore direct te ocalar te sntax and te content of or ines st e This cors of The Rock was not a draatic oice; tog an ines were distrited te ersonages were nindiidated Its eers were spea ing fo me not ttering words that rea represented an sp posed caracter of teir own Te cors in Muder n he Cahedal does thin repre sent soe adance in draatic deeopent: tat s to sa I set self te tas of writing ines not for an anonos cor s t for a cor s of wo en of ant er one ig t aost sa carwoen of anter ad to ae soe eort to identif self wit tese woen instead of erel identifing te wit self Bt as for te diaoge of te pa te plot ad te drawac fro te point of ew of own draatc edcation of resenting on one doinant caracter; and wat draatic conict tere is taes pace within the ind of that caracter Te tird or draatic oice did not ae itselftwo adie to e caracters ntil rst attaced of presenting or ore in soe te sortproe of con ict snderstanding or attept to nderstand eac other caracters wit eac of wo ad to t to identif self ile witing te word for i or er to spea Yo a re eer at Mrs lppins in te tria of te case of Bardell v. icwic testied tat te oices was er lod sir and forced teseles pon ear Wel Mrs lppins said Sergnt Bzfz o were not istening t eard the oices It was 938 ten tat te tird oice egan to fore itself pon inear At ti int can fanc te reader rring I sre e
ON PORY AND OETS
has sad all ths before. I wll assst memory by spplyng the reference In ecre on Poetry and Drama' delered exctly three yers go and sbseqenty pblshed I sad In wrtng other erse e. nondramtc erse] I thnk tht one s wrtng so to spek n terms of ones own oce the wy t sonds when yo red t to yorself s the test For t s yor sef spekng he qeston of commncton of wht the e de r w l get fr om t s not p r am o nt . . here s some confson of pronons n ths passage bt I thnk that the meanng s cear so clear as to be a glmpse of the oos At tht stge I noted only the derence between speakng for onesef and speakng for n mgnary chracter nd I passed on to other consderatons aot the natre of poetc drama I ws begnnng to be aware of the derence between the rst and the thd oce bt ge no ttenton to the second oce of whch I shl say more prsently. I m now tryng to penetrte ttle frther nto the probem. o before gong on to consder th other oces I want to prse for few moments the complextes of the thrd oce In ers ply yo wl probably he to nd words for sev eral characters derng wdey from ech other n bckgrond temperment edcaton nd ntegence Yo cannot aord to dentfy one of these chracters wth yorself and gve hm or heratalthose the dramatc poet tomoments speak. he poetry I menntenst the n gge when t reaches mst be as wdey dstrbted s charcterzaton permts nd each of yo chracters when he hs words to speak whch re poetr and not merely erse mst be gen nes approprte to hmsef en the poetr comes the personge on the stge mst not ge the mpresson of eng merely mothpece for the athor ence the athor s lmted by the knd of poetr and the degree of ntensty n ts knd whch can be psbl ttrbted chstfy character n hs play Anddevopment these lnes of oetry mstto also themseles by ther of he stton n whch they are spoken. Een f brst of m
TE TREE OCES OF POERY
1
ncen per s suale enugh fr e characer whch s assged us als cnnce us ha s necessar h acn; ha s helpg exrac he us ena n ens u f he sua The pe wrg fr he hear a as I hae fud ake w sakes ha f assgg a persage les f pe n suale e spken ha persnage and ha f assgg les whch hweer sual he persage e fa frwad he ac f he pla There are n se f he r Elzaeha draass pas sages f agnce per whch are n h respecs u f place - n e enug h pres ere he pla f r eer a s eraure u e s napprprae as pree he pla fr eg a draac aserpece The eskw nsaces ccur n Mar we's Tambulae Hw hae he er grea draac pe s - Sphc es r Shakespere r acne - deal wh h s dcu l ? Ths s f curse a pre whch cncers al agna e cn nes ad prse plas - n whc h he characers a e sad le can see self an wa ake a characer l excep hae a prfund spah wh ha charac deal draas wh has usual far fewer characers anpulae han a nels and w has nl w hurs r s f lfe aw he shuld spahze prfundl wh al f hs u een ha as er a cunsel f perfec ecause he plcharacers f a pa wh sal as a requre he pr ence f ne r re characers whse rl apar fr her crun he ac we e unneresed I wder hweer weher s pssle ake cpleel real whl llaus chara �er - e ward wh eher he auhr r ae else can feel ang u apah. \e need an adxure f weake wh eher herc rue r sa anc llan ake characer plausle Iag frghens re ha chard III I a n sure ha Parles n All Well Tat Ed \ell des dur e re han ag. [d I a que sure ha saund Vn n Mddle
1
ON POERY ND POES
march ghes me a moe ha Goe o Rega) I seem o me ha wha happes whe a auho ea a va ha ace s a so o gveadae The auho ma p o ha haace besdes s ohe abues some a o s w some segh o weaess some edecy o voece o o deso some eey eve ha he has ou hmse
omehg evehm eaed hsbe ow e meg o whch hosepehaps who ow bes may uawae smehg o esced asmsso o chaaces o he ame em peame he same age ad eas o a o he same e ome b o hmse ha he auho gves o a haae may be he gem om whh he e o ha haace sas O he ohe had a chaae whch sueeds eesg aho may e om he auo ae poeaes o hs ow beg I beeve ha he auho mpas somehg o hmse o hs haaes bu I aso beee ha he s uece by e cha aes he eaes I woud be oy oo easy o ose oee mae o speuao abou he poess by whch a maga haae a beome as ea o us as peope we have o I have peea ed o hs mae so a oy o cae he d ues he maos he asao o a poe who s se o wg poey hs o peso o he pobem o mag magay pesoages a poe Ad he deee he abyss bewee g o he s ad o he hd voce The pecuay o my hd voe he voe o poe dama s bough ou aohe way by ompag h he voce o he poe odama poey whh has a dama ee me - ad osp uous y he d ama mo oogue Bowg a ua mome addessed hmse as Rob· e Bowg you we o pays How may o us have ead a pay by Bowg moe ha oe ad we have ead moe ha oe was ou move he epeao o ejoyme? ha psoage ahad pay who by Bowg vg ou md O he ohe a ogeemas Fa ppo pp o dea de ao o Bshop Bugam o he ohe bshop who
E HREE VOICES OF POERY
rdrd s I uld s wh furr xanan fr Brwnng's asr f h draac nlgu and hs r dra acn n h draa ha h w frs us ssnall drn Is hr praps anr c whch I ha fald har h c f draac p whs draac gfs ar bs rcsd usd f har nd cranl f an p n f h sag dsrs characrd as draac s Brng's In a pla as I ha sad an auhr us ha ddd l als; h us spah w characrs wh a n n wa spahc ac hr And h us allca h p as wdl as h lans f ach agnar charac pr Ts ncss dd pr pls s ar an f sl f h p accrdng h characr w s gn Th fac ha a nubr f characrs n a pla ha clas upn aur fr hr alln f pc spch cpls r rac h pr fr h car acr rar han ps s pr upn Nw n h dra ac nlgu w a n such chck T auhr s us as lkl dnf h caracr w hslf as slf w characr fr h cck s ssng ha wll prn fr d ng s - and a c ck s ncs s fr dnf ng hslf wh s hr characr rplng rs ha w nrall har n fac h n draac nlgu s h c f h p wh hasnpu h csu and akup hr f s hsrcal characr r f n u f c n s prsnag us b dnd us as an nddua l r a las as a p fr h g ns sp ak f as fr qunl w Brwnng h p s spakng n h rl f an srcal prsnag lk p pp r n h rl f a knwn characr f cn lk Calban h has akn pssssn f a characr And drnc s s dn n hs Cal an upnupn Sbs' In Th� Tempest, s Calban whw spahar ks; n alan Sb s Brng's c ha Brwnng alkng ald hrug Calban was Brwnngs
ON POERY AND POES
greatest dspe r Ezra Poud who adopted the ter p soa to date the seera hstora haraters throug who he spoke ad the ter s ust rsk the geerazato aso whh ay deed be fa too sweepg that draat oooge aot reate a harat For harater s reated ad ade rea oy a ato a ouato betwee ooogue agary peoe t to s ottherreleat at whe the draat s ot put outh f soe harater aready kow to the reader - fo hstory r fro to - we are kely to ask the ques to Who wa s e orgal? About Bshop Blougra peope hae alays bee peled to ask how far was ths teded to be a porrat of ardal Mag or of soe other eesast The poet peakg as Browg does hs ow oe aot brg a harater to fe he a oly a harater otherwse ow to us Ad does ot the pot of le the eogto of the perso ked ad the opeteess of the lluso We hae to be aware that the ad the perso ked are deret peope f we are atuay de ed beoes persoato Whe we ste to a pay by hakespeare we ste ot to Shakespeare but to hs haraters whe we read a draat ooogue by Browg e aot suppose that we are steg to ay other oe a that of Browg hself the draat oologue the t s surely the seond oe the oe of the poet takg to other peope that s doat The ere fat that he s assug a roe that he s speakg through a ask pe the presee of a audee: why should a a put o fay dress ad a ask oly to tak to hef The seod oe s fat the oe ost ofte ad ost earl heard poetry that s ot of the theatre a poetry erta y that ha s a oso us soa purpos e poetr teded ause or or pots to strut poetr that whh tels as tory poetry thattopreahes a ora or satre � for of preahg For what s the ot of a sto wthot
THE THREE VOICES O POETRY
n audinc or of a rmon witout a ngrgation? T voic of t pot addring otr popl i t dominant voic o pic toug not t only oic In Homr fo intanc t i ard alo from tim to tim t dramatic voic: t ar momnt wn w a not Homr tlling u wat a r aid but t voic of t o imlf e De omed nt in t xact n an pic but r alo w mn an womn paking to u And w av no raon to po ta ilton ympaty wt Satan wa o xcluiv a to a im of t Dvil Party But t pic i ntiay tal told t an udinc wil drama i ntially an action xibitd an udinc Now w at ab out t po ty of t rt vo ic tat wc i not pimaily an attmpt to communcat wt anyon at all mut mak t point tat ti potry i not nar at w cal ool lyric potry T tm lyric itf i u atifacto W tink t of vr intndd to b ung om t ong of Campion and Sapar and u to t aia of W S Gilbrt o t word o latt muical num b But w pply it alo to potry tat wa nv intndd fo a muical tting o wic w dociat fom it muic w pak of t lyic v of t mtapyical pot of Vaugan and Marvl Donn and Hrbrt Ttat vryt dnitio of lyric in a twll Oxfod Dictionay indicat wo cnnot b atifactorily dnd Lyrc: Now t nam for ot pom uualy dvidd into tanza o trop and dirctly xpring pot own tougt and ntimnt
How ot do a po av to b to b calld lyic mpai on brvity and t uggtion of diviion into tanza m idual fom t aociation of t voic wit muic Bu tr i no ncay ltion btwn brvity and t xpr ion of t pot own tougt and fling Com unto t
6
ON POETRY ND POETS
yellow sands or H ark hark he ark ae ly cs are hey not ? - but wha sense s there n say n g ha hey express drecly he poes own thoughts and senmens? odo The Vay of Huma Whe and The Deered Vllae are all poems whch appear o express the poets own thoughs and sen mens, bu do we eer hnk of such poems as lycal? They are ceranly not short Between them, a he poems hae enoned seem to fal to qualfy as lyrcs, just as M Daddy onglegs and Mr Floppy Fy faed to quafy as courters Oe eer more ca o o cour Becaue h le hae row oo hor The oher cao a o Becaue h le hae row oo lo!
s obousy yrchoughs n he sense a poem drecly ex pressng he poetsheown and of senments, not n he qute unrelated sense of a shor poem nended to be set o musc, hat s re ean o my rst oce he oce of the po akng to hmsef - o to no body t s n ths se nse tha h German poe Gotfred Benn, n a ery nterestng ecue en led Probleme der yrk thnks of yc as he poery of h rst oce he ncudes, fee sure, such poems as Rlkes Du ese leges and Vals Jeue Parque Whee he speas of Wha, yrc poe, then, should say he medae asks Herr Benn n ths prefer lecure,odoes wte of ese such a poem, addressed to no one, start wh? Thee s rs, h says, an nert embryo or create germ [e dumpfe chp fercher Ke and, on he oher hand, he Language, the e ouces of the wods at he poes command He has somethng germnang n hm fo whch he ust nd words but he can not know wha words he wans unl he has found he wods h e cannot denfy hs embro untl has been tansfome no an arangemen of he rgh words n th rgh order hen you hae the words , he thng for whch th ods had o be found has dsappeaed, repaced by a m
HE HREE VOICES OF POERY
a ou sar from is noing so d as an moion in an ordi nar sns i is s ill mo r cra inly no an ida i is o ada o lins of Bddos o a dirn mani ng - a bodless cldful of lfe n e gloo Crng wh frog voce wa sll I be?
I agr Gofrid Bnn and I would go a lil furr In a om wic is nir didacic nor narrai and no an ad b an ohr social puros po ma b concrnd soll i rssing in rs - using all is rs ourcs of words i ir isor y ir connoaions ir mu sic is obscur ipuls H dos no know wha as o sa unil as said i and in or o sa i is no con crnd i making or ol undrsand aning H is no concd a is sag wi ohr opl a all onl wi nding rig ords or anow las ong words H is no cncd hr anbod ls will r lisn o m or n o r anbod ls wll r undrsand if dos is orssd b a burdn wic mus bring o bir in ordr o obain rlif Or o cang gur of sc i aund b a don a dmon agains wic fls rls bcaus in is rs manifsaion i has no fac no nam noing and words pom aks ar a kind formof all xorcism of is dmon In ohr again h is ofgoing a roubl no in ordr o wors communica wi ann bu o gain rlif from acu iscomor and wn ords ar nall arran gd in h rig wa - or in wa cs o accp as bs arrangmn can nd ma rinc a on of xausion of aasmn o f absoluin and of soing r nar annilaion wic is in islf indcribabl And n can sa o pom Go awa Find a pl ac for ourslf in a book - and don e o k an furr inrs in ou xc I don' bli a rlaion of a pom o is srcins is abl f bing mor clarl racd ou can rad ssa
ON POETY AND POETS
of Pal Valry who std th workngs of hs own mnd h omposton of a pom mor prsrngy tan any othr pot has on Bt f th on th bass of wht pots try to tll yo or by bographal sarh wth or whot th tools of th psyhologst yo attmpt to xplan a pom yo w probably b gttng frth and frthr away from th pom wthot arrng at ny oth dstnaton h attmpt to x plan th pom by trang t bak to ts orgns wll dstrat attnton from th pom to drt t on to somthng ls whh n th form n whh t an b apprhndd by th crt and hs radrs, has no laton to t pom and throws o lght pon t I shold not lk yo to thnk that I am t ng to mak th wrtng of a pom mor of a mystry than t s What I am mantanng s, that th rst ort of th po hold b to ah larty for hmslf to ssr hmslf that h pom s th ght otom of th pross that has takn pla h most bnglg form of obsrty s that of th pot who has not bn abl to xprss hmslf o hmslf th shod dst form s fond whn th pot s tryng to prsad hmslf that h has thng to say whn h hasnt S o far ha bn spakng for th sak of smplty of th thr os as f thy wr mtally xls as f th pot n any patlar pom was spakng eier to hmslf o to othrs and as frs nthrAnd of th two sos adblto n good dramat thsrst ndd th was onlso whh rr Bnns argmnt appars to lad hm h spaks as f th potry of th rst o - whh h o nsdrs mor or to b on th whol a dlopmnt of or own ag - was a totally drnt knd of pot from that of th pot ad drssng an adn Bt fo m th os ar most oftn ond to gthr - th rst and sond I man n nonda mat pot and togthr wth th thrd n dramat potr too En thogh as I ha mantand th thor of a pom m ha wrttn t prmarly wthot thoght of an adn h wll also wnt to know what th m whh has satsd i
THE THREE VOICES OF POETRY
wl he o s o oher people There re rs of ll hos few frends o hose crcsm he m sh o sbm before consderng compleed The cn be e helpfl n sg gesng ord or phrse hch he hor hs no been bl o nd for hmself; hogh her grees serce perhps s o s smpl hs pssge won ' do- hs conrm ng ssp co whch he ho hd been sppressng from hs on con scosness B m no hnkng prmrl of he few jd cos frends whose opnon he hor pres b of he ge nd nknon dence - peope o hom he hors nm mens onl hs poem hch he he red The nl hndng oer so o spek of he poem o n nknown dence fo wh h dence ll mke of seems o me he consm mon of he process begn n solde nd who hogh of he dence he long process of geson of he poem ecse mks he nl sepron of he poem from h hor e he hor hs pon res n pece o mch for he poem whch s prmrl poem of he r oce hnk h n ee poem from he pre medo o he epc or he drm here s more hn one oce o herd f he hor neer spoke o hmsef he resl wod no be poer hogh mgh be mgncen rheorc n p of o enjomen of gre poe s he enjomen of o heaing words hch no ddressed o s B fn he poe were excsel for herehor old be poem p nd nknown lngge; nd poem hch ws poem onl for he hor wold no be poem ll. And n poe drm m nclned o belee h ll ree oces e d ble Frs he oce o f ech chrcer - n nddl oc deren from h of n oher chrcer so h of ech ence we cn s h cold onl he come from h chce There m be from me o me nd perhps when
we les sng noce he ocespprope of he horo nd chrcerb n nson somehng hehe chrcer omehng hch he hor cold s for hmself so hogh
ON POERY AND POES
he word a not hae qte the ae eanng or oh ha a be a er deren thng ro he entroq whh ake the haraer onl a ohpee or the ahor dea or enten Tomorrow ad tomoow ad tomorrow
notedene he perpea hok andand rpre o thee hakneed ne hat Shakepeare Mabeth are terng the word n non, hogh perha wth oewha derent eanng? And nall here are he ne n pa one o he pree poet draat n whh we hear ore peronal oe t than hat o ether he haraer or the thor Rpeess s all
or
Smpl te tg I am Sall mae me le
And now hold ke to retrn or a oen o Gottred Benn and h nknown dark ps materal we ght a he otop or ange wh whh he poet rggle gge ha beween he three knd o poetr o whh three oe oepond here a ertan deren o proe n he poedonae n whh he r oeatera hat o tend the poe akngtoown h e p to reate or e eenal or wll be to a greaer or e degree he or or hat one poe and or no oher I eadng or ore o peak o the aera a reang or pong own or wha happen a taneo deeopen o or and atera or he or ae he atera a eer age and perhap a the atera doe o repeat not hat! not tha!' in he ae o eah ne aept at ora organzaon aeral or B n and poetrnall o theheeond and n dented that o thewh thrd oe, he or alread o oe exent gen Howeer h
THE THRE VOICES OF POETRY
t m e formed efore e poem s nsed, t cn represened fom te strt n oulne o scenro If I coose to te sor, I must ve some noon of te plo of te stor I popose to tel f I undee sre, molzng, o nvecve tere s red someng gven wc I cn ecog nze nd wc exss fo oes s wel s mself And f I set ut to we p, I st n c of coce: I settle upon pcu emoon suon, out of wc cces nd plo wl emege, nd I cn me pln pose outlne of te pl n dvnce - owever muc outlne m e ered efore e p s nsed, te w n wc e crcers develop It s le of course, t t s n te egnnng e pressure of some rude unno pcc me t dec te poe to tel t prculr stor, to develop tt pcul stuon And on te oter nd, e frme, once cosen, wtn wc e utor s eleced to wor, m sef evoe e pscc mterl nd en, nes of poetr m come no eng, not from te ogn mpuse, ut fom second smulton of e unconscous mnd Al mtes s, n e end e voces sould e erd n mon nd, s I ve sd, I dout weter n n rel poem onl one voce s ude e reder m wel, now ve een sng msef w I ve een up to nwe ll tese specungenut? l on s Hve I een olng to weve loued of useess Well I ve een rng to t l, no o ms elf s ou m ve een temped o tn - ut to e rede of poer. I soud e o n t mgt ntees e eder of poe to es m sserons n s own redng Cn o dsngus ese oces n e poet ou red, or er ected, or er n e ee? If ou com pn poe s oscure, nd ppenl gnorng ou te reder, or t e s speng onl o lmed cce of nt es from wc ou re exclu dd ememe wt e m ve een rng o do, ws o put someng no wod wc coud not e sd n n oer w, nd eefoe n
ON POERY AND POES
anguage whch may be wrth the truble f learnng f y cmplan that a pet t rhetrcal and that he addee u a f yu were a pubc meetng try t lten fr the m ment when he nt peakng t yu but merely allng hmef t be erheard he may be a Dryden a pe r Byn And f yu hae t lten t a ere play take t rt a t face ale entertanment peakng fr melf wth a whatee degree fr f each realtycharacter h authr ha been ble t endw hm. erhap f t a great play and yu d t try t hard t hear them yu may dcen the the ce . Fr the wrk f a great petc dramatt lke Shakepeare nttute a wld ach characte peak fr hmelf but n the pet culd have fund the wrd fr hm t peak u eek fr Shakepeae yu wll nd hm y n the char cter he created fr the ne thng n cmmn between the character that n ne but Shakepeare culd hae created ny f them The wrld f a great petc dramatt a wld whch te creatr eerywhere preent and eehee dden
The Frotiers of Criticism
whichthesisin one of this paper is ha there are limits, eceedin direcon lerary criicism ceases o be i
rary, and eceeding which in anoher it ceases o be criicism
In 3 I rote an aricle enied Te Fucto o C rt I mus hae hough wel of his essay en years laer, a included it in my Seected Esss here i is sll o found On rereading his essay recenly, I was raher bew dered, wondering wha al the fuss ha d been abou - houg I was gad o nd nohing posiely o conradict my presen opinions For, eang aside a wange wih r iddeo Murry abou he inner oice ' a dis pue i n which I r ecogni he od po of Auhoriy v In diidua udgment - I fo un i impossible o recal o mind the background of my ouburs siderabe had made a number statements andhad con warmh and iof woud seem wh ha assurance I mus hae mind one or more welesabished criics senior o myse whose wiings did no satisfy my reuiremens of wha lit erary criticism shoud be Bu canno reca a singe book o ssay, or he name of a ingle criic, as represenae of h kind of impressionisic criicism whch aroused my re hir hree years ago he only poin in menioning his essay now, is o cal tention o he eent o which wha wroe on his subjec • Th Gdo Symou Lcu dvd h Uvs o Mo 956 d pubihd by h Uv
ON PORY AND POETS
1923 s dted Richdss Prcples o Lterary Crtcsm w published n 1 9 25 A get del hs hppened in litey cti cism since this inuentil book cme out nd my ppe ws itten two yes ele Citcsm hs developed nd bnched out in sevel diectons The tem he N Cti cism s often emploed by peole without elzing wht viety it compehends but ts cuency does I think ecog nize the fct tht the mo distnguished citics of tody how eve wdely they die fom ech othe ll die n some sig nicnt wy fom the ctics of pevious genetion Mny yes go I pointed out tht evey genetion mst povde ts own litey cicism fo s I sid ech geneton bings to the contempltion of t ts own ctegoes of ppe citon mkes ts own demnds pon t nd hs ts own use o t When I mde ths sttement m se tht hd in mnd good dl moe thn the chnges of tste nd fshon hd n mnd t lst the fct tht ech genetion looking t mstepiec of the pst in deent pespectve is f ected n s ttitude by gete nmbe of nuences thn hose whch boe upon the geneton pevio But I dout hethe I hd n mind the fct tht n impotnt wo of tey citcism cn lte nd expnd the content of the tem tey citicism tself Some yes go I dew ttention to th educat dy of the wod fom sx eenth chnge centuyntomning the pesent dy chnge whch hdthe tken lce owing to the fct tht eduction not only compised moe nd moe subects but ws beng supplied fo o im osed upon moe nd moe of the populton If we could fol ow the evoluton of the tem lterary crtcsm n the sm y we wold nd somethng siml hppening Compe iticl mstepiece like ohnsons Les o te Poets with the next get citicl wok to follow it Coledges Bograph Literara t is not meely tht ohnson epesents ltey dition to the end of which he hmself elongs whle leidge s defending the meits nd citczng the wk
H FROIRS OF CRIICIS
nsss o a nw syl h drnc mr prnn o wha I hav bn sayng s d o h scop and varty o h n rss whch Colrdg brogh o bar on hs dscsson o poy H sablshd h rlvanc o phlosophy ashcs and psychology and onc Coldg had nrodcd hs ds cplns no lrary crcsm r crcs cold gnor hm only a hr o rsk o apprca Johnson an or o hs orcal magnaon s ndd a modrn crc can nd mch n common wh Colrdg h crcsm o oday ndd may b sad o b n drc dscn rom Colrdg who wold I am sr wr h alv now ak h sam nrs n h so cal scncs and n h sdy o langag and smancs ha h ook n h scncs avalabl o hm h consdraon o lrar n h lgh o on or mor o hs sds s on o h wo man cass o h rans ormaon lrary crcsm n or m ohr cas has no bn so lly rcognzd h ncrasng anon gvn o h sdy o Englsh and Amrcan lrar n or nvrss and ndd n or schools has ld o a saon n whch many crcs ar achrs and many achrs ar crcs I am a rom dplorng h saon mos o h rally nr sng crcm oday s h work o mn o lrs who hav ond h way no nvrss and o scholars whos crcal acvy has sros bn rs xrcsd n hs classroom Andasnowa days whn lrary jornalsm an nadqa wll as prcaos mans o sppor or all b a vry w hs s as ms Only mns ha h crc oday may hav a somwha drn conac wh h world and b wrng or a somwha drn adnc rom ha o hs prdcssors I hav h mprson ha srs crcsm now s bng wrn or a drn a mor lmd hogh no ncssarly a smallr pblc han was ha o h nnnh cny
I was sck no long ago by an obsrvaon o Mr Aldos Hly n a prac o h Englsh ranslaon o Te Speme dom a book by a Frnch psychars Dr Hbr Bno
u6
ON POERY AND POES
on he psychology of Zen Buddhs Mr Huxley's observaon responded o he presson whch I had yself ecevd fro ha rearkable book when I read n French uley s co parng \esern psychary wh he dscplne of he Es as found n Tau and Zen The a of esern psychay he says] s o help he rou bled ndvdual o adjus hself o he socey of less roubled nd vduals - ndvd uals who are observed o be well ad j used o one anoher and he local nsuons bu abou whose ad usen o he fundaenal Order of Thngs no enury s ade Bu hee s an ohe r knd of nora ly - a nor al of perfec funconng Even a an who s perfecly ad used o a deanged socey cn prepae hself f he so de sres o becoe adused o he Naure of Thngs The applcably of hs o y presen ae s note daely obvous Bu us as esern psychary fro a Zen Buddhs pon of vew s confused or saken as o wha healng s for and s aude needs really o be eversed so I wonder wheher he weakness of odern crcs s no an un erany as wha crcs s for? s o wha bene s o brng and o who? Is vey rchness and varey have perhaps obscured s ulae purpose Eve cc ay have hs eye on a dene goal ay be engaged on a ask whch needs no jus caon ye crcs as o s asha f sohe hs s noand suprsng: for sself noay nowbe alos coonplace cences and even he huanes have reached a pon n d elopn a whch here s so uch o know abou any spe caly ha no suden has he e o know uch abou any hng else? nd he search for a currculu whch shall cobne specalzed sudy wh soe general educaon has surely been one of he probles os dscussed n ou un erses e canno of course go back o he unverse of rsole or of S Thoas unas and we canno go back o he sae o eray ccs before Colerdge Bu perhaps we can do
THE FROIERS OF CRIICIS
ohng to av ourlv fro bg ovrwhld by our own crcal acv by coualy akng uch a quon a wh crc o lra crc bu ohg l I hav b owha bwdrd o d fro o hat I a rgardd a o of h acor of odr crc f oo old o b a odr crc ylf Thu book whch I rad rcnly by an auhor who craly a odrn crc I nd a rfrnc o Th Nw Crtcs' by whch h ay I an ot only h Arcan crc bu h whol crcal o hat drv fro T S Elo I dot udrand why h auhor hould ola o harply fro h Arcan crc but on h ohr had I fal o ay crcal ov whch can b ad o drv fro ylf hough I hop tha a a dtor I gav h Nw Crc or o of couragnt ad a rc ground The rierio ow vr I hk ha I hould o ufy th apparn ody ndca wha I condr y ow conrbuton o ltrary cr c to hav bn ad what ar t lao Th b of y ierary crtc apar fro a fw noorou p hra whch hav had a truly baag ucc n th wo rld cot of ay o po ad potc draat who had ucd I a byproduc of y prva poryworkhop or a prolongaon of h hkg hat wn no h forao
of y who own vr. rtropc I bwho about po workIhad ucd yha oI wro ad wh pory I had bco horoughly falar long bfor I drd o wt abou h or had foud h occao o do o y crc ha h n coo wh tha of Ezra Poud ha r ad lao can b fully apprcatd oly whn codrd rlao o h po hav wrtn ylf I Poud crtc thr a or ddacc ov: h radr h had d I hk wa prarly h youg po whowho lhad wanucd ll uford Bu a I ad h lov of cr an po h ad of ylf prolongaon o h nkg about h o work tha npr
ON POETRY AND POETS
an early ook whch emans one o the est o ound's teay essays The Spr of oane Ths nd o crtcsm o poety y a poet or what have called workshop ctcsm has one ovous lmtaton hat has no reaton to the poets own wo or what s antpathetc to h s outsde o hs copetence Another lmtaton o workshop crtcs s that the ctc's udgent may e un sound outsde o hs own art My vauatons o poets hve e aned pret onstant thoughout y le n patcular my opnos aout a nue o lvng poets have remaned un changed t s however not only o ths eason that what have n mnd n takng as a today aout crtcsm s crtcsm o poetry Poetry as a matter o act s what ost ctcs n the past have had mnd when geneazng aout lteature The ctcsm o prose cto sto o copaatvely ecent nsttuton and am not uaed dscuss t ut t seems to me to eue a somewhat deent set o weghts and measues rom poety t mght ndeed povde an nteestng suject o some crtc o ctcsm - one who was n ether poet nor novest to consder the deences etween the ways n whch the ctc must appoach the vaous genres o lteature and etween the nds o eupment needed But poe s the ost convenent oject o crtcsm to have n mnd when talkng the reason that ts oma uatesaout end crtcsm themsevessmpy mostorready to geneazaton n poet t mght seem that style s eveythng That s ar om eng te ut the luson that n poetry we coe neae to a purey aesthetc expeence maes poety the most con venent genre o teature to eep n mnd when we ae ds cussng lteary ctcs tsel A good dea o conteporay crtcm orgnatng at that pont at whch crtcs merges nto schoashp and at whch scholashp meges nto ctcsm may e characterzed as the crtcsm o epanaton ogns To make clea what mean sha menton two ooks whch have had n ths connecton
HE FROERS OF RS
rher ad inuence. do no ean he re ad ook On he conrr: he re oh ook wh which everone houd e cquained The r i John Livingon Lowe The Road o Xadu - a ook which recoend o ever u den of poer who ha no e read i The oher i Jae oce Fega ake - a ook which recoend eve uden of po e o rd - a ea oe p age o f Liv ng on owe wa a ne choar a good eacher, a ovae an nd an o who for one have privae reon o fee ver grefu Jae Joce wa a an of geniu perona friend nd ciaion here of Fega Wake i neiher in prie nor dipaie of a ook which i cerin in he caegor of ork ha can e caed moumeal Bu he on oviou coon chrceriic of The Road o Xaadu and Fega ake i h we a a of each one ook ike hi i enough For hoe who hve never red The Road o Xadu w pain h i i a facinaing piece of deecion. Lowe fer reed ou he ook which Coeridge had red [and Coe ridge wa an onivorou and inaie reder and fro which he hd orrowed ige or phrae o e found in Kubla Kha and The Acie Mae The ook h Coeridge read are an of h e oc ure and forg oe n ook he red for in nce ever ook of ave upon which he coud a hi hnd iAnd Lowe once of ndeing for ha ni arge an howed srcina wa hepoeic o srci d prae and unike aeri o ke new whoe The deon raon i quie convincing a evidence of how aeria i digeed and anfoed he poeic geniu No one fer reading hi ook cou uppoe h he underood The Ace ae an eer or wa i in he ea Dr Low inenion o ake he poem ore ineige a poer He wa engaged on n inveigaion of proce n inveigion which a ric peaking eond he fronier of ierr criici How uch aeria a hoe crap of Coedge' reading e cae ranued ino gea poe reain a uch of
1 2
ON POETRY AND POES
ty a Yt umb of hopfu chola h izd up th Low mthod a oig a clu to th udtadig y pom by ay pot who gi dc of haig ad ay thig I wod, a gtma fom Idiaa wot to m ya o mo ago I wod it i poibl that I am mad of cou (thi wa h itjctio, ot mi of cou h wa ot th at mad, mly lightly touchd i o co of hi had fom haig ad The Road o Xaad] whth th dad cat of ciilizato, "ott hppo ad M Kut ha om tuou coctio with "that cop you patd lat ya i you gad hi oud i aig, ul yo cogiz th alluio it mly a at tyig t tablih om coctio btw The Wase Lad ad Joph Coad Hear o Darkess Now whil D Low ha d uch pactitio of hm utic with mulati zal, Fegas Wake ha poidd thm with a mod of what thy woud li all itay wok to b I mut hat to xplai that I m ot didig o d igatig th labou of tho xgtit who ha t thm l to ua l th thad d folow ll th clu i tht boo If Fega Wake i to b u dtood at al l - ad w caot j udg it without uch labou that id of dtcto mut b puud ad M Campbll ad obio (t mtio th of o uch pic of wo] hJoyc, do a dmiabl jobautho My gac if ay i agait am th autho of that motou matpic, fo witig a boo uch that ag ttch of it a, without aboat xpaatio, mly bautful o [y bautiful idd wh citd by a Iih o ic a l oly a that of t h utho - would that h had codd mo of it] hap Joyc did ot aliz how obcu hi boo i What th al judgmt ad I am ot goig to attmpt a judgmt] of th plc of Fegas Wake may b, I do ot thi that mot pot (fo it i a id of at po pom] i witt i that way o ui that ot of dictio fo it joyt ad udtadg But I
THE ROIERS O CRITICIS
121
sec ha he engas rovded b Finnegans Wake have gven sor o he error, revalen nowadas, o sakng exlanaon for undersandng Aer he roducon o la The Cockal Pay, al was swollen or onhs wh eers oerng surrsng soluons of wha he wrers beleved o be he rddle o he las eanng And was evden ha he no resen he had se hewrers - heddlked n dee d, ule houghhe hehough were unconscous of he fac, he nvened he ule or he leasure o ds coverng he soluon Here us ad ha a, on one conscuous occason, no glless of havng led crcs no eaon. The noe o The Wase Land had a rs nended onl o u down all he reerences for quoaons, wh a vew o skng he guns o crcs of earler oes who had accused e of agars Then, when cae o rn The \ ase Land as le book or he oe on s rs aearance n The Dial and n The Cieion had no noe s whaever w as dscovered ha he oe was nconvenenl shor, so se o work o exand he noes, n order o rovde a ew ore ages o ned aer, wh he resul ha he bcae he rearkabe exoson o bogus scholarsh ha s sll on vew oda hae soees hough o geng rd o hese noes nowoul hear can han neverhe be oe unsuck. have had aos bu greae selThe - anone w ho bough book o oes, and ound ha he noes o The Wase Land were no n , would deand hs one back Bu don hnk ha hese noes dd an har o oher oes ceranl canno hnk o an good coneorar oe who as abused hs sae racce As or Mss Maranne Mooe, he noes o oes are alwas ernen, curous, concluve, deghul and gve no encourageen whaever o he re searchr of orgns] o, s no because o bad exale o oher oes ha a enen: s because noes su aed he wrong knd o neres aong he seekers o source
1
ON POETRY AND POETS
was jus o doub ha shoud pay my ribue o h work o Miss essie Weso bu regre haig se so ma euies o o a wid goose chase aer Taro cads ad h oy Gai Whie was poderg his uesio o he aem udersad a poem by expaig is ogis, came aross a uoaio rom C C ug which sruck me as haig some reeae. The passage was uoed by F Vico Whe OP his book God and the Unconscious Fr Whie uoes i he course o exposig a radica dieree bewee he mehod o Freud ad he ehod o ug is a geeray reogised uh [says ug ha phys ees ca be ooked a i wo ways, ha is rom he echa isic ad rom he eergc sadpoi The mehaisi i is puey ausa rom his sadpo a ee is oeied as he re su o a cause T he e egic i ewpoi o he o he had is i essece a he ee s aced rom eec o caus o he assumpio ha eergy orms he esseia basis hages i pheomea The uoao is rom he rs esay i he oume tributions to Analytical Psychology add aoher seec o uoed by Fr Whie, whch opes he ex paragap Bo iewpois are idipesabe or he comprehesio of physia ake pheomea his sy as a suggesie aaogy Oe ca expai poem by iesigaig wha i is made o a he auses ha brough i abou ad expaao ay be a eessay prepara io or udersadig Bu o uderad a poem i is aso eessary ad shoud say i mos isaes si more ec sar ha we shod edeaour o grasp wha he poery is aim ig o be oe mi gh say - hogh i is og sie hae empoyed suh ems wh ay asurace e deaourig grasp is eeehy Perhaps he orm o riiism i which he dage o e cessie reiae upo causa expaaio is geaes is he c
HE FRONIERS OF CRIICIS
cal igraphy, especially when he igrapher suppleens his nwedge exeal acs wih psy hlgical cnecures au nner experience I d n sugges ha he persnaliy and he privae e a dead pe cnsiue sacred grund n whch he psychgis us n read. The scienis us e a liery sudy such aerial as his curisy eads hi in vescann igae e s ng as he vc i deadisanhere d heanylaws ie inved sp hii s Nr reasn why graphes pes shuld n e wien Furherre, he igrapher an auhr shuld pssess se criica ailiy; he shud e a an ase and judgen, appreciaive he wr he an whse igraphy he underaes nd n he her hand any cric seriusly cncerned wih a an's wr shuld e expeced nw sehing au he ans lie Bu a criical igraphy a wrer is a delicae as in ise; and he cric r he igapher wh wihu eing a ained and pracising psychlgis rings ear n his sujec such anayical sill as he has acquired y reading s wrien sychlgiss, ay cnuse he issues sill urher The quesin hw ar inrain au he pe helps us undersand he pey s n s siple as ne igh hin ach reader us answer i r hisel and us an swer i n generally u in paricular isances, r i ay e recase ipran in heFr casehe enjyen ne pe and less ipran he anher pey cn e ain cplex experience in which several rs saisacin are ingled and hey ay e ingled in dieren prpins r dieren readers I ill give an illusrain I is generally agreed ha he greaes par rdswrhs es pery was ien wihin a rie span years re in isel and re in prprin he whle san Vrdswrh's lie arius sudens Wrdswrh have prpunded eplanans acun r rheRead edicriy his laer upurh Se an years ag, Sr ere wre a n Vrdsw neres ng hugh I hin ha his es appreciain Wrds
O POETRY
AD
POETS
wr s f i a lar ssay a l A Coat o May Colors w pai rs a fall f Wrsrs gs by s p i f is aar wi A al ab wi frai a a a i ig Mr ry sil a Mr Bas as wr a bk ab Wrswr wi s as f sirabl irs is apr sy TnTw lp Wrswrs s is bk s aas arsa A s gr arly s ipray as Sr rbr Ra a g a a ral sr was a \rswr f i l w is sisr Dry a is plais i pariar Ly ps an las wy afr rswrs ar rag is spra ri p l ay b rig s arg is ry pasib B ra si w rar f \rswr s aswr fr isf s s ar s s a lp rsa L ps ay br a bfr Fr yslf an y say a a knwg f springs wi rlas a p s ssary a p wars rsaig p ifri ab rgis f p ay brak y a wi I fl fr ay ig p y ps by raa s by ps ss a aaig rfs Srorbr xRa w frai r ra as a a s Mr Bas ay b rla is ra if w wa r sa \rswrt b i s rly rla r sag f is pry Or rar s ra r rsaig f te poetry as poetry I a prpar sggs a r is i al gra pry sg wi s rai aabl wr pl ig b r kw g f p a a a s wa ars s W bnb a sg wbyas app igp aas a wly xpai aytg tats et eore Ta I bli s wa w a by rai
THE ROIERS O CRITCIS
xpaato of otr b xaato of t ourc ot t tod of a cotpora crtc b a but t a tod wc rpod to t dr of a good a radr tat pot oud b xpad to t tr of otg t cf part of t ttr I rc fo pro ukow to cocrg ow po co t of rut for a kd of xpaato tat I caot po g T a otr tdc uc a tat rprtd b Pofor Rcard tgato of t prob of ow t apprcato of potr ca b taugt or b t rba ubtt of dtgud pupi Profor po Ad a rct otcd a dopt wc I upct a t g t caroo tod of Profor Rcard wc t wa a at ractio agat t dro of att o fro t potr to t pot It foud a book pub d ot og ago ttd Iepeos a r of a tw of t ougr g crtc ac aag o po of ow coc T tod to tak a wkow po ac of t po aa d t book a good o of t kd - tout rf rc to t au tor or to otr work aa t taa b taa ad b ad xtract qu ta pr r drop of ag out of t tat o It gt b cad t oqur coo of crtc
xtt ctur to t prt dat a po t drag ir afro goodt d a fro o aot - t book bg wt T Pox ad t Turt ad d wt Prufrock ad Yat' Aog Scoo Cd' ad a ac crtc a ow procdur t rut trtg ad a tt cofu g ad u t b a dttd to tud tw po ac aad o patakg a r trg wa of pag t t I ag tat o of t pot [t ar a dad cpt f woud b urprd at arg wat t po a I ad o or two or urpr f a o arg tat t fog tod ar Prufrock' a w ot to t drawgroo But t aa of Prufroc
ON POETRY AND POETS
as o a aep o orgs, eher erare or n he arker recesses o y pae e was an aep o n o wha he p oe rea y ea whe he ha was wha I ha a o ea or o A or ha I was grae here were sera essays whch srck e as goo B as eery eho has s own aos a agers, s oy rasoabe o eo wha see o e he aos a agers o hs oe, agers agas hch, were pracse or wha I sspec sho be s che se, ha s, as an exercse or pps wo be he bsess o he eacher o war hs cass he rs ager s ha o assg h here s be js oe erpreaon o he poe as a whoe, ha s be rgh here w be eas o expaao, especay wh poes wre aoher age ha ow, aers hsorca sos, he eag o aor cera wor aa ac ceran ae, whch ca be esabshe, a he eacher ca see ha hs pps ge hese gh B as or he eag o he poe as a whoe s o exhase by ay expaao, or he ea g s wha hepe eas o ere sese reaes The seco age r - a ager o whch I o o h ay o he crcs he oe hae eoe has aen b a ager o whch he reaer s expose - s ha o ass g ha he oerreao o a coscosy poe, a, s necessary was an cco wha he aho or coscosy ryg o o For he eecy s so geera, o beee ha we ersa a poe wh we hae ee s ogs a ce he process o whch he poe sbe hs aeras, ha we ay eay beee he conerse - ha a y expa ao o he poe s aso a acco o how was wre The aayss o rock' o whch I hae reerre erese e becase hepe o see he poe hrogh he eyes o an ege, sese a ge reaer Tha s no a a o say ha saw he poe hrogh y eyes, or ha hs acco has ayhg o o wh he expereces ha e p o y
E ROIERS OF CRIICIS
ting t or wth anything I experenced n the process of ting it And y third coent is that I shod as test ike to see the ethod appied to soe new poe soe e good poe and one that was preiosy nknown to e case I shod ike to nd ot whether after pesing the anysis I shod be abe to enjoy the poe For neary a the poes in the oe were poes that I had knon and oed for any years; and after reading the anayses I fond I was ow to recoe y preios feeng abot the poes It was as f soeone had taken a achine to pieces and eft e wit the task of rssebing the parts I sspect in fact that a good dea of the ae of an i nterpr etation is - that it sho d be y o nterpretation There ae any things perhaps to now abot this poe or that any facts abot which scho rs can instrct e which wi hep e to aoid denite m nderstanding bt a aid interpretation I beiee st be at the sae tie an interpretation of y own feengs when d it I t has been no pat of y prpose to gie a coprehensie ew of a the types of iterar criticis practised in or tie l wished rst to ca attention to the transforation of itera cticis which we ay say began with Coeridge bt whch as proceeded with greater acceeration dring the ast twent e yearsofThis to be propted th the acceeration socia sciencesI took to crticis and by thebyteach reeance ing of iterate [incding contemporr iteratre in coeg and nersties. I do not depore the transforation fo i sees to e to hae been inetabe In an age of ncertaint an age in which en are bewidered by new sciences an ag n which so tte can be taken for granted as coon beefs ssptions and backgrond of a readers no exporabe ar n be forbidden grond Bt aong a this ariet we a sk what is there if anthing that sho e coon to a iterar crticis Thrty years ago I asserted that the essen fnction of iterar criticis was the ecidaton o wo
ON POERY AND POES
a and the oen o ase That phase ay soun soewhat popous o ou eas n 956 ehaps ud pu t oe sply, and oe aepably o the pesen age, by sayng o pooe the undesandng and enjoyent o ltea ue would add tha thee s pled hee also he negate as o ponng out wha should not be enjoyed Fo he t ay on oason be alled upon to onden he seondae and expose he audulent: though ha duy s seonday to the duy o dsnang pase o wha s pasewohy And us sess the pont tha do no hn o enjoment and unertanng as ds n ve a tves - one e ot ona l and h ohe ntelleual By unetanng do no an explanaton hough explanaton o what an be explaned ay oen be a neessay pelnay o undesandng To oe a vey spl nsane o lean the unala wods, and the unala os o wods, s a neessay pelna o the undestand ng o Chaue s explanaon but one ould aste th oab ulay , spell ng, ga a and syna x o Chaue - ndeed, o ay he nsane a sage uhe, one ould be ve well noed bou the age o Chaue, s soal habs, s beles, s leanng and ts gnoan e and yet not unetan the poet To undesand a poe oes o he sae thng as t enjoy t o the ght easons One gh say ha eans geng o ahe poe suha enjoyent as t s as apable o g ng to enjoy poe unde sundesandng to wha s, s to enjoy wha s eely a pojeon o ou own nd o dul a ool o handle, s language, that o enjoy and t ge enjoyen o do no see o ean qute he sae hng tha o say hat one gets enjoyen o poety does no sound ue he sae as o say ha one enjoys poet And ndeed, the vey eanng o joy vaes wth he obje nspng joy deen poes, even, yeld deen sasa tons t s ean ha we do not ully enjoy a poe unless we undesand t and on the ohe hand, s eually u a we do not ully undestand a poe unless we enjoy
HE FROERS OF CRCSM
1 29
nd h ens, enjoyn o he deee nd n h h y, ee o ohe poes s n he elon of ou njoyen of poe o ou enjoyen of ohe poes h te s shon I should hdy be necessy o dd h hs pes h one shoudn enjoy bd poe s - unless he bdness s of so h ppels o ou sense of huou he sd h Iexplnon yhoee, be necessy o Iundesndn sees o e, h I peln udesnd oe poey hou explnon, fo nsnce Shkespee Fu fhom "e hy fhe es
o helleys A hou pe fo weness Of cmng heen nd gzng on he erh
o hee, nd n e del of poery, I see nohn o be e p nd - nohn, h s, h ould help e o undes nd bee nd heefoe enjoy oe And soees expn on, s I he ledy hned, cn dsc us loehe fo the poem s poey nsed of ledn us n he deco of undesndn My bes eson, pehps, fo belen h I no deluded n hnkn h I undesnd such poey he lycs by Shkespee nd Shelley hch I he jus ced, s hody hese s ohey poes s kee he dd e fy e yes o hl hen I epe he deence, he, beeen he ley cc, d h c ho hs pssed beyond he fone of ley ccs, s no h he e cc s puely ley, o h he h no ohe nees s A cc h o s n eesed n nohn bu leue ould he ey lle o sy o us, fo hs leue oud be pue bscon Poes he ohe neess besde poey ohe se he p oey oud be ve epy hey poes becuse he donn nees hs been n unn he expeence nd he houh [nd o expeence nd o hn ens o h e n eess b eyond poe ry - n un n h e
lO
ON OETRY AND OETS
perence and ther thnkng into poetry. The critc accordngy s a lera critc if hs prary nterest, n tng critcis is to hep hs readers to udersad ad ejo But he ust ha other nterests, just as uch as the poet sef for th ter a crtc s not erey a technca expert who has eaed the rules to be obsered by the wrters he crtczes the crtc ust b the who an a an withofconctions and principes and of knowedge and experence fe W can therefore ask, about any writng whch s ore to us as terary crtics is t aied towards understanding and enjoyent? f t is not it ay still be a egtate and usefu actty but it is to be judged as a contrbution to psychoogy or socoogy, or logc , o r pedagogy, o r so other pursuit nd s to be udged by specalists, not by en of etters We ust not dentfy bography wth crtcis bography is ord nariy usefu n prodng explanation whch ay open the ay to futer understandng but it ay aso, n drectng ur attenton on th poet, ead us away fro th poetry W ust not con fus e knowledge - factu a nfor aton abo ut a poet s period, the ndtions of the socety n whch ed th deas current in hs te picit in hs wrtngs the stat of the language n hs peri od - wt understandng hs poet Such knowledge, as hae said, ay be a necessa prepara on for understandng the poetry furtherore t has a aue o f ts own, as history; but for the appreciation of the poetry t can only lead us to the door: we ust nd our own way in For the purpose of acuirng such knowedge, fro the point of iew taken throughout ths paper, is not prary that w shoud be abl to project oursees nto a reot pero, that we should be ae to think and feel when reading te poery as a conteporary of th poet ight hae thought and felt, though such experience has ts own aue t is rather to dt ourseles of the tatons of our own age, and the pot hose work we are readng of the iitations of h age n rder t get the direct experence the edat contact wth
HE FRO"ER O CRC
i petry \hat matter mot let $ay in reading an ode o Sappo not tat I old imane mel to be an iand Greek o entye nded ear ago hat matter i the epeene wih i the ame or al hman being o d erent entrie and langage apable o enjon poet te park wi n leap aro thoe z; ear So the riti to wom I am mot gatel i the one ho an make me look at omething hae neer looked at beore or looked at only with eye loded by pedie et me ae to ae it it and then le me alone wit it Fom that point mt rely pon my o eniblit intelligene and apaity or idom I in iter ary ritiim e plae all te emphai pon uder dg we are in danger o lipping rom ndertanding to mere expanation \e are in daner een o pring ritiim a i it a a iene whi it neer an be on the other and we oerempaize eoe, e il tend to all into te betie and impreioniti and or enoment l prot no more tan mee amement and patme hirthee year ago it eem to hae been the latter tpe o ti im te imprioniti that had aed the annoane I et when I ote on the ntion o ritiim day it eem to me that e need to be more on gard againt the prely expanatory Bt I do not ant to leae o th the impreion tat Iear ih hae to ondemn the ritim o period or time ee lat tity been I think a briliant in itea riim in both Britain and Ameria It may een ome to eem in retopet too billant \ho kno?
On Poets
Virgi d the Christi orld
Citian eteem in wic Vi i a een ed touo itoy may eaiy e made to appea in a i
toica account of it a
ey due to accident ieeanc miundetandin and upetition Suc an accoun n te you wy Viil poem wee pized o i y ut i may not ie to infe ou tat tat e deeed pace tiyou eany mi eaon t it peuade i wokoai an aue fo te wod today o omoow o foee a in teet me ee ae toe caactetic of Vi wic end im pecuiay ympatetic to te Citian mind To ae ti i not to accod im any exa eated aue a a poet o een a a moait aoe tat of a ote poet Geek Roman Tee owee one accident o miundetandin wic a paed uc a pat in itoy tat to i noe it woud appea an eaion Ti i of coue te fout Eclogue, i n wic Vi on te occaion of te t o e expectation of a on to i fend Poio ecenty named con peak in iown an uae in wat pupot to e a mee ett o conatuation to te a ppy fate No com e l e of e ong of Cume e gre line of e cenurie begin ne No e Virgi eu e eign of Surn eun • Bradt by th B.BC and pihd he ee
a td that th Lb Lbary h tala a q ad whr hat th pl Cla
POERY AND PES
He ll ve te gft of dve lfe, ll ee eroe mgled god, d ll melf be ee of tem d ll y orld to c fter vrtue ll ve brougt pece , Te erpet ll per, d te fle poo plt hl per Ayr pce ll prg up o every o
c phrses hve lwys seeme ecessive, the chil who s the sbject of them ever ct y gret gre i the wo t hs eve bee sggeste tht Vigl ws pllig his frie e by this orietl hyperbole Some scors hve thoght tht e ws mittig, or tkig o, the stye of the Sibyllie orcl ome hve coectre tt the poem is covertly dressed to ctvis, or eve tht it cocers the osprig of Atoy leoptr Frech gves goo reso elieve thtAthe poemschol, cotisrcopio, llsios to Pythgoe docto rie The mystery of the poem oes ot seem to hve t cte y tclr ttetio til the hrsti Fthers got old of it The Virgi, the Golde Age, the Gret Yer, the rlel with the prophecies of Isih the chil cr deum ubole - er osprig of the gos, re t scio of piter ol oly be the rist himself, wose comig ws foree y Vrgi i the ye 0 Bc Lctts St Agstie be ieve this; so i the etire meiev d eve perhps, his ow fshio, Vctohrch Hgo Dte It s possble tht stil other epltos my be fo, d e rey kow more bot the probbities th the h s i Fthers d We lso kow tht Virgil, who ws m f get erig i his time, d, s Mr ckso Kight hs how s, wel iformed i mtters of fokore tiities, t est iiect citce with the reigios d with the grtive lgge of the st Tht wol be sciet tself to ccot for y sggestio of Hebrew prophecy ether we coser the preictio of the ctio merely coidece will eed o wht we me by cocidece
RG AND THE HRTIAN WORD
whr w cosdr Vrgl a Chrsa prop w dpnd pon or rpraon of h word propcy Tha Vrg mslf was conscosy concrd oly wh domsc aar or wh Roman pocs I f sr I hnk ha wod a n ry mch asonshd y h carr wch s forh was o a If a proph wr by dno a man wo of whaB h was odndrsood b fo mh fll ndmag of mar f sayng, word hs n spraon s o ha any manng, ms man s hs, ha h spakr or r s rng somhg whch h dos o wolly d rsad - or whch h may n msn rpr wn h nsprao as dpard from m. Ts s cranly r of poc spraon and hr s mor obos rason for ad mrg Isaah as a po ha for clamg Vrg as a prop A po may bl a s prssng oly hs pra prnc; s lns may b fo hm only a mas of alkg bo hmsf who gng mslf away y for s radr wa as may com o b h prsson bo of r own scr flngs ad of laon or dspar of gnraon H nd no know wha hs pory wl com o man o ohrs ad a proph d no ndrsand h man ng of s propc ranc W ha a ma hab whc maks mch asr for o pan mraclos n naral pla naral h macos rms y rms ar han s asoncssary a formr. A mracl wc rybody accpd ad bld n wh no dcy wold b a sag mracl dd; b cas wha was mracl for rybody wod aso sm na ra o rybody. I sms o m a o can accp wha planaon of for , by a scholar ad hsoran, s h mos plasb; bcas h schoars and hsoans can only b cocrd wh wa Vrgl was dog B, a sam m, f hr s sch a hng as nspraon ad w do go o sg h word - n s s omh ng whc caps hsorca rsarch
ON OETRY AND OETS
ha ad t csidr th furth Eclogue bcaus it is s imprtat i spakig f th histry f Virgi's plac in th Christia traditi tat t aid mti f it migt lad t misudrstandig Ad it is hardy pssibl t spak f it wit ut indicatig i what way n accpts, r rjcts, th iw that it prphsis th cmig f Christ I watd ly t mak car that t itra accptanc f tis Eclogue as prphcy ad muc t d with th arly admissi f Virgil as suitabl radig fr Christias, ad thrfr pd th way fr is iuc in t Christia wrd I d nt rgard this as smpy a accidt, r a mr curisity f itratur But what raly ccrs m is th lmt i Virgil which gis im a signicat, a uiqu plac, at t d f th pr Christia and at th bgining f th Christia wrld H ks bth ways h maks a iais btwn th ld wrld ad t w, ad f his pculiar psiti w may tak th urt Eclo s a symb In what rspcts, trfr, ds gratst f Rma pts aticipat th Christian wrd in a way i wich th Grk ps d t? This qustin has bst aswrd by th lat Tdr Hackr, in a bk ublisd sm yars ag i an gis translatin udr th ti Vrgl the Faher o the West shal mak us Hacr's mtd HrI Iwas shal mak a sigt ad lt prhaps triia dirsin. h a sclby, it was my t b intrducd t th Ilad ad t t Aeed i t sam yar I ad, up t tat pint, fud th Grk aguag a muc mr xcitig study ha Latin I still thik it a muc gratr laguag a aguag which has r surpassd as a ic fr th fulst rng ad th st sads f thught ad flig Yt I fund myslf at as wit Virgi as I was t at as with Hmr I might ha bn rathr dirt if w ad stard with th dsse istad f th Ilad fr whn w cam t rad crtain ctd bk f th Odsse ad I ha r rad mr th Odsse i Grk ta ts slctd bks wa
VRG ND TH HRIfiAN 'ORD
uh happe My pefeee eay did , I a gad say, ea ha I hugh Vg he geae pe Tha s h kid f e f hih e ae peseed i yuh, sip eause e ae au a as suh a aa quesi aia eause, haee ays Vigi fed he p edue f He, he as yig d he sae hig O ighfjus easay y Jyes ae hele paaie ess e asOde ad Jaes spy gea eaus Jye f quie diee pupses used he faek f he Ode The sae y ejye f he Ilad a ha age, as he ehaiu f he pepe He e au The gds ee as iespsie, as uh a pey he passs as deid f pui spii ad he sese f fa pay as he hees Ths as shkg Fuhee, he sese f huu exeded y he udes f f hsepay Ahes as a ua he y he h ud e eded f eihe du judge as He; ad seeed e ha his as Shakespeaes e as Helen hen be e Spara' kn knn he hee mra a O naure and nan peak alud T have her back reurned .
A eeysipy ape- f eay ysee I hae hae died eay he pis hea epg xpa gish his a I shud gie s sipy ha I isiey pefeed he rld f Vig he rld f He - eause as a e iiied d f digiy eas ad de he I sa he d f Vig, I ea ha Vig hsef ade f h d hh he ied The Re f he peia ea as ase ad asy eugh; i ipa espes fa ess zed ha Ahes a s geaes The Ras ee ess gifed ha he Aheias f he as, phsphy ad pue see ad hei aguage as e duae he expess ehe pe aa hugh Vgi ade f Ra
ON POERY AND POES
zaton n hs poet soethng bette than t ell as. H sensblt s oe neal Chstan than that of an othe Roan o eek poet: not lke that of an eal Chstan pe haps but lke that of Chstant fo the te at hch e can sa that a Chstan clzaton had coe nto beng We cannot copae Hoe and Vgl but e can copae the clzaton hchbHoe acceptedof th Roe as ened the sensblt Vglthe clzaton of What then ae the chef chaactestcs of Vgl hch ake h spathetc to the Chstan nd? I thnk that the ost posng a of gng soe ndcaton be s to fol lo the pocedue of Haecke and t to deelop the sgn cance of cetan ke ods uch ods ae lbor pets and ftum The Georgcs ae I thnk essental to an undestandng of Vgls phlos oph - usng the od th the dstncton that e do not ean qute the sae thng hen e speak of the phlosoph of a poet as hen e speak of the phlosoph of an absact thnke. The Georgcs as a techncal eatse on fang ae boh dcult and dull Most of us hae nethe the coand of Lan necessa to ead the th pleasue no an dese to end ouseles of schoolte agones hall onl ecoend the n the tanslaton of M Da es ho has put the nto oden ese But the ae a ok hchthe? the autho deoted tol and dd heto te t s not to be te supposed thatgenus. he asWh en deaoung to teach the busness to the faes of hs nate sol o that he aed spl to pode a useful handbook fo tonsen eage to bu land and launch out as faes No s t lkel that he as eel anxous to cople ecods fo the cuost of late geneatons of the ethods of agcultue n hs te It s oe lkel that he hoped to end absentee landoes caeless of the esponsbltes and dan b loe of pleasue of poltcs to the etopols of the funda ental dutotoloe chesh the land. Whatee hs conscous e t ses clea to e that Vgl desed to a
VRGI ND HE CHRISIN WORD
14
dgn of agrculural abour and h porance of good culvaon of he sol for he ellbeng of he sae boh aerall and sprual The fac ha ever ajor poec for eploed b Vrg as soe preceden n Greek verse us no be alloed o obscure he orgnal hch he recreaed ever for he used. There s I hnk no preceden for he spr of he Georcs; and he aude oards he sol and he labour of he sol hch s here epressed s soehng ha e ough o nd parcuarl nelgble no hen urban ag gloeraon he gh fro he land he pllage o he earh and he squanderng of naural resources are begnnng o a rac aenon I as he Greeks ho augh us he dgn of lesure s fro e ha e nher he percepon ha e hghes fe s he lfe of coneplaon Bu hs respec for lesure, h he Greeks, as accopaned b a conep for he banausc occupaons. Vrgl perceved ha agrculure s fundaenal o cvlzaon and he ared he dgn o nual labour hen he Chrsan onasc orders cae n beng he coneplave fe and he lfe of anua labour ere rs conjoned. These ere no longer occupaons for df feren classes of people he one noble he oher nferor and suable onl for slaves or alos slaves There as a grea dea n ch as no Chrsan pracce e edaeva la orld od as ver deren fro tha of and h regous n he orders a her bes bu a leas Chrsan dd esablsh he rncple ha acon and coneplaon abour and praer are boh essena o he lfe of he coplee an I s possble ha he ns gh of Vrgl as recogn zed b onk s ho read s orks n her relgous hoses Furherore e need o keep hs araon of he Geo· s n nd en e read he Aened There, Vg s con imperm romnum, h he exenson and cerned h ofheperal uscaon rule He se an deal for Roe and for epre n general hch as never realzed n sor bu
ON PO£TRY ND POETS
te idea o epie Vigi ee it i a nobe one H deoton to Roe w ounded on deotion to the and to te aticu a egion, to the paticua iage and to the ai in t iage To the eade o hitoy thi oundation o the gnea on the paticua ay ee chieca jut a the union o te conteptie and the actie ie ay ee to ot peope chieica Fo oty thee ai e eniged a atenatie we exat the conteptie ie, and dpage the actie o we ext the actie and egad the contepatie with aued contept not with oa diappoa. And yet it ay e t an who a the appaenty incopate who ight We coe to te econd wod It i a coonpace tat the wod piet i ony a educed ateed and peciaed tan ation o pita We ue it in to ene in gene it ugget deout chuchgoing, o at eat chucgong with te appea ance o deoutne In anothe ene, it away eceded y the adjectie ia eaning coect behaiou toad a pa ent We igi pek a e doe o piu Aenea we ae apt to think o hi c o hi athe o i deotion t hi ate eo, and o hi touching encounte with ate on hi decent into the nethe egion ut the wod pieta th Vigi ha uch wide aociton o ening it ipie an ttitude towa the ndidu towd the iy towad the egion ndi towd the inipeia detiny o oe And nay Aenea piou ao i epect towad the god and in i punctiiou obeance o ite nd oeing t i an attitude towad a thee thing and teeoe ipie a unit and an ode aong the it i n act an attitude towd i ene i theeoe not ipy an endowed with a nu o itue each o whic h i a kind o piety - o that t o ca hi pu in genea i eey to ue a conenient coecte te iety i one Thee ae apect o piety in dieent con text a py ach othe n deotion to hi athe and he ithey not being jut n adibe oni Thee i peona aection, without which ia piety woud e ipeect but
VIRGI AND THE HRISTIAN WORD
persona aeton s not pety There s aso devoton to h father as hs father, as hs progentor ths s pety as the a eptane o a bond whh one has not hosen he quaty f aeton s altered, and ts mportane deepened, when t be omes love due to the obet But ths la pety s aso the reognton o a urther bond, that wth the gods, to who suh an atttude s pleasng to al n t would be to be gut of mpety aso towards the gods he gods must thereore gods worthy o ths respet; and wthout gods, or a god, re garded n ths way, a pety must perh For then t beome no onger a duy our eelng toards your father wl be due merely to the ortunate adent of ongenalty, or w be re dued to a sentment o grattude for are and onsderato Aeneas s pous towards the gods, and n no way does hs pe appear more eary than when the gods at hm He had good deal to put up wth from Juno; and even hs moth Venus, as the benevoent nstrument of hs destny, put h nto one ve awkward p os ton here s n Aeneas a vrtu an essental ngred ent n h s pety - hh s an ana ogue an d oreshadow of Chrstan humlty Aeneas s the antthess n mportant respets, o ether Ahles or Odysseus n so far a he s hero, he s hero as the orgna Dsplaed Person, t ugtve from a runed ty and an oblterated soety o whh thethe ewGreeks other survvors exept hs own anguh as slaes of He was not to have, lke band Uysses, maellous and extng adventures wth suh oasonal erot epsodes as et no anker on the onsene o that wafarer He was not t return at last to the remembered hearthre, to nd an emplary we awatng h to be reunted to hs son, hs dog and hs servants Aeneas end only a new begnnng and the whoe pont o the plgrmag s somethng whh wll ome to pass or future generatons nearest lkeness s Job, but h reward notdestny what Jobs was, but s only nhethe ment oshs He suers or hmsef, atsaompsh ony n obedene He s, n at, the prototype o a Chrtan her
ON POETRY AND POETS
or he humy a ma wh mo ad he mo eryhg The peas h way explcae oy erm of atu h a word whch coaly recur he Aeed ord harged wh meag ad perhap wh more meag ha Vrgl hmef kew Our eare word dey, ad ha at word whchwhch meacamore we ca d deou for a word haveha o meag aay mechaca ere f ha whch woud up mu ru dow wha dey here ha Dey o ecearam, ad o aprce omehg eeally meagfu Each ma a h dey, hough ome me are udouedy me of de ty a ee whch mo me are o ad Aeea gregouly a ma of dey ce upo hm he fuure of he eer World deped Bu h a eeco whch cao explaed a urde ad repoy raher ha a reao for elfglorcao. I merely happe o oe ma ad o o oher o ha he gf eceary ome profoud cr, u he ca ae o cred o hmelf for he gf ad he repo ly aged o hm Some me have had a deep covco of her dey ad ha covco have propered u he hey ceae o ac a a rume ad hk of hem eve a he acve ource of wha hey do her prde pu hed y daer Aeea a ma guded y he deepe co co of dey u he a hume ma who ow ha h dey omehg o o e dered ad o o e avoded Of wha power he he erva No of he god who are hemelve merely rume ad omeme reeou oe The cocep of dey eave u wh a myery, u a myery o corary o reao for mple ha he word ad he coure of huma hory, have meag Nor doe dey releve mad of moral repot Such of a Aeea lea ad my Ddo readg of he epode of Ddo Theoflov ar arraged y Veu eher h oer wa free o aa ow Veu heref o acg o
RG ND THE CHRISTIN WORD
w, r u e. Se era pru e e f er , bu er beavur a f a g er se s ere a srue fr e reaza er ss e Aeeas a D a be ue, a a e separae. Aeea eur e was bee s ae Bu e was era ve uapp abu , a I a el a wa beavg aeful sue Vrg aveerve eeg w Fr e w Saees D aes, a e ub a e reeve? We e se D e re exue elf fr s beraa Sed me iuss deum bu I was uer r ers fr e gs wa a ve upeasa es ave pe up e, a I a sr a u s ar Se av s gaze a ur awa w a fae as be a f a bee ae r r Marpea r I ave ub a Vrg, we e w ee es, wa aug e rle f Aeeas a feeg ver eel a wr , e e a Aeeas es ae e a fe a eaer a ver ea rss br A I f a er f au w u e ue s evabe a eprabe p I a e w ul be ave eulae Vrg reae f s sua was Rae eral e Cra pe w ga e furus Rxae e bag e Renre dns le n d'o e 'i i sorir u, f ae, ave u wr r D a Wa e e s e, w er er ar w Aeeas, ea? Fr Vrgl u , a fr eprar reaer, ea e imperium romnum T self, as Vrgl saw , a a wr ua f I a e a few lu a a e aw earl b es ever ue e ase fr e er a we a ae r e wer. everele eve e w ave as a aHI u reeber a rll a e e: go ne mes rerum ne empor pono mperiu sine ne dedi . .
ON POETRY AND POETS
Tu eee impeio populo, Romane memeno [ae ibi eun ae paique imponee moem, paee ubiei e debellae upebo say tat t was al te end of istoy tat Vigil could e sked to nd and tat it was a woty end And d you eay tink tat Vigilwas was tansfoed istaken? You tat E te Roan Epie intoust te eebe Hoy Roan pe at Vigil poposed to is contepoaies was te igt idea even fo an unoy Roan Epie, fo any ey tempoa epe We ae al so fa as we ineit te civilzaton of Euope, sti citizens of te Roan Epe and te as not yet poed Vigi wong wen e wote ne empoa ono impeium ine ne dedi But, of couse, te Roan Epie wic Vigl iagined and fo wc Aeneas woked ut is destiny as not exactly te sae as te Roan Epie te egionaies te poconsuls and govenos te busness en and spculatos, te deagogues and geneals t was eting geate but soeting wc exists because Vgi agined t t eains an deal, ut ne wic Vigi passe to Cistianity to deveop and to ceis n te end, t sees to e tat te place wc Dante sed to Vgil n te futue ife, and te oe f guide and tce as a as te baie wc Vigi was not aowed t ss was not pabe of passing, s an exact stateent f V s elation to te Cistian wod. We nd te wod of Vi copaed to te wod of Hoe to appoxiate to a Cistan wod in te coice ode and eatonsp of ts aues I ave sad tat tis iplies no copason etween Hoe te poet and Vigi te poet Nete do tink tat it exacty a copaison etween te wds in wic tey lived, nsideed apat fo te intepetation of tese wods wc e poets ave given us It ay e eely tat we know e out te wod of Vigi, and undestand t ette; and teeoe see oe cealy ow uc, n te Roan idea accoding
VIRG AND THE CHRITIAN ORD
to irgi, i due to te pig d d te pioopicl mid of irgi imelf or, i te ee i wic poet i pioper [ ditict from te ee i ic gret poet my emody gret piloopy i gret poety] irgil i te grete pilooper of ciet Rome It i ot, terefore, imply tt te civiliztio i ic igil lived i erer to te civiliztio of ritiity t i tt of omer; we c y tt irgi, mog clic ti poet or proe iter, i uiquely er to ritiity Tere i pre wic I ve ee tg to void, ut wic I o d mef oliged to ue: nm urler Crsana eer e ppy it to ir gi i mtter of perol coice; ut I m iclied to tik tt e jut fl ort d tt i wy I id jut ow tt I tik Dte put irgil i te rigt plce I wil t to give te reo tik of oter key word, eide lbor, peas d faum, wic wi tt I could ilutrte from irgil i te me wy t key word c oe d i te vne Comed wic et from te Aened Oe word of coure i lume, d te word expreive of te piritul igicce of igt Bt ti I tik, ued y Dte, meig wic eog oy to expicit ritiity, fued it meig wic eog to myticl experiece Ad irgil i o mtic Te teItwic oe c jutily te lck i irgil i mor i, ove l oter, teregret key word for of Dte I do ot me tt irgil eer ue it Amor recur i te c logues [amor vnc omna But te love of te eperd rep reet rdly more t poetic covetio Te ue of te word amo te clogue i ot iumited y mig of te word i te Aened i te wy i wic, for exmple, e retur to Polo d rcc t greter udertdig of teir pio fter we ve ee tke troug te circle of love i tetrgc Pradso eily te love ofd Aee Dido grt force Tere i tedere ptod eoug i te ned But ove i ever give to my mid, te me
ON POETRY AND POETS
gncance as a pncple f de n e uman su n s ce and n e unvese a pieas s gven and s n Lve a causes faum mves e sun and e sas ven f n ens f pscal passn gl s me epd an sme e Lan pes and fa belw e ank f aullus If we ae n clled we a lest feel uselves w g be vng n a knd f emnal wlg gl was ang all aus f classcal anqu ne f wm e wld made sense f wm ad de an d d gn an d f wm as f n ne befe s me excep e Hebew ppes ad meanng Bu e was dened e vsn f e man w culd sa Wn s deps I saw ngaeed und lve n n um q �caeed leaves f all e unvese Lao con amo in un oum
Sir oh Dvies•
Jst John Davs on Db 166. H F lt a nb o pos a phlosophal tats Ra-
C ons Aay, so lgal wrtngs an sval ong Stat
Paps on Ian a pbl sant h ha a stngsh a; bt v kly th po whh has ps hs oy Nosce Tepsum was what on h to Kng Jas Possbly Jas was o appatv o lanng than o pota t bt n any as, h ognz t n a pot who was, n so spts as ot o pla n hs own ag as h s n os Davs shot pos a sally gal an oasonally ovly bt thy a so opltly ps vn by th ost ptaton o Nosce Tepsum an Orchestra that thy a nv hosn as anthology ps Nosce Tepsum by ts gno ttan an ts slfontan qatans ns tsl to taton; bt a stanza o two s all that has bn an thologz Pobably all that ost as know o Davs s psnt by th two stanzas n th Oxford Book of Enlsh Vese know my soul hath powe to know all thn et she s blnd and norant n all know m let one of lttle am kns, to the andNatures vlest thns thrall.
Pbsd The Tme te Sppemet 6
ON OETRY AND POETS
kno y lies a pain and but a span kno my sense is mok d in eveting And to onlude kno mysel a Man Wi is a proud and yet a reted ting Fe a colee as e wo saas ae ey o o ee e e oe, a o seeco of saas ca eese aves s a oe of e es, u e s oe a a He s o o e o f seco a of oes wo ee a ee, ec e oes of e e f ee s, Orestra a of e uece of Sese, s o oe a e e wc a laeas owe o a ase of vescao e a, e vescao, a e coe of Nose Teipsum ae, a ae, ly oal Te oe of Nose Teipsum s a o scusso vese of e aue soulofa eao o e oy Davess eoes ae of oe ose e s ae seveeeceu oso es, o ae ey vey oo soeas Dave s oe cocee o ove a e sou s sc fo e oy a o exa o suc sc ees ca e ue e sou s a s, a s uc, as w, w, easo a ue oes o a as e fo of e oy, a e wo fo aeas e oe ae e sese of eeseao similitudo e soul s e oy as l s e a wc ueso wee s oe oses oe aof ofeescolasc oy a aoe No aeeesoul o es of sese eco cul o esolve Daves s o oule y e eceo o os wou ae Hs co uo o e scece of acouscs s e exaao a sous us ass ou e us a ws of e F sould te oie diretly strike te braine t ould astonis and onuse it mu
W eeoo o oweNe s fo ey ee e e a eDave oes so fo eseo us o soeesoe Eal Csa auo a wee e o e ec o
SR
OHN
DAVES
secodand t s edent tat we cannot tae tem er se osl Bt te end o te sxteent centr was not a perod o plosopc renemen t n ngland - were ndeed ploso ad sbl langsed or a ndred ears and more on derg te place and te tme ts plosopcal poem b an ement jst s b no means a despcable prodcton. In an age wen plosop rom teolog mnt sall and especall n erse aapart collecton o enecan commonplaces aess s an ndependent mnd e mert and crost o te poem oweer resde n te perecton o te nstrment to te end In a langage o re marable clart and astert aes scceeds matanng te poem consstentl on te leel o poet e nee es to perbole or bombast and e neer descends as e sl mgt to te pedestra and ldcros ertan odd lnes and qatrans reman n te meor as: ut th ou le o t w doth lde doth hug egle though the wd smle wc Alexander borrows or s Jul Ce o d thou lke chld ddt ee beoe eg the dke whee thou ddt othg ee ow he bought thee tochlght e o moe ow he thou det thou ct ot hudwkt be aes as not ad te credt or geat elct o prase bt t ma be obsered tat wen oter poets ae plered rom m or ae arred ndependentl at te same gre t s s all aes wo as te best o t Grosa compares te ol owng two passages s wng a sle sed b aes an Pope Much lke btll de whch doth t mddle o he web whch edeth de ught do touch the utmot thed o t he eel t ttl o ee de
ON OERY ND OES
Po The spes touch, ho exqustely ne Feels t ech the n lves long the l Daess ser s he ore e hough he nees n o he Aoher nsance s he wenon gre he nent Mne Stll s sle efoe hs lo The ocen hth no lst; s get ght eye most slentl Up to the Moon s cst he s s a besh Daes has n Ochest Fo loe the Se tht eets out the Ln n lke gle clps he sole st Muscke unestn; Fo hs n getmesue chystlloth eye oth lys cst Up to the Moone n on he x ft; n s she unceth n he pll spheee So unceth he out hs cente heee I Bu he asery o woransh o Nosce Tepm an beay ae no o be arecae by eans o scaere qo ons I eec s cuuae Daes chose a cu sanz one n whch wh s aos monoony. e ebeshe none oossbe he owersooao conce o hs o age o he nex an he has none o he anheses o erba w wh whch he Augusans susan her eros. s ocabuay s cear choce an recse s hough s o an Ezabehan oe aazngy coheren; here s nohng ha s rreean o hs an arguen no excursons or ghs An ahough eey quaran s coee n se he sequence s neer a s r ng o ears such as was ashonabe n he nex age as n eer Crashaws Weepe he hough s connus Ye no sanza s enca n rhyh wh anoher he sye ears an een ba ye Daess ersona caence a
SIR
OHN
DIES
ays h ay ctcs hav ma th cosao of thoght h coomy of laguag a h cosscy of cllc b som hav fall to th o of supposg ha Davss m s of pos Hallam a ft pasg h pom say s If t achs th h of all s thogh th so. But sc sog agm s a coct syl fals ot to gv s plas pos t sms sag tha t shoul los s ffct wh t gas h a of gula mt to gaf h a asss th mmoy' Hallams ctcsm s opsytvy Hallams h mst hav pculaly accssbl o hs aso v asly och. Th agumt s ot sog ha Davs h g of phlosophcal agmt hs compoay Caal Bllam col hav oc hm out th st o Davs ha o a phlosophcal m; h was pmaly a pot bu wh a gft fo phlosophcal poso Hs appal s to wha Hallam calls th hat though w o log mploy ha sgl oga as h vhcl of all poc flg Th cc of h thoy of boy a soul whch Davs po s how v lva If somo ha pov hm wh a hoy th pom mgh hav b o aspc a o; aoh aspc t os ot matt a g Th wo s hat Davs hs plac a tm coul pouc so coht a spctabl a hoy h No quata o ot whch v Gay has spass Davs thasus of h h mploy fo Nosce Tepm a o pom ay smla mt [com pa The Wch of Alas s mtcally spo o Ochesa v hs lttl acostc poms o h am of Q lzabth a amal gac a mloy A wth hs gus fo vscato wth a tast lagag maably pu fo hs ag Davs ha ha stag gft so aly bstow fo u g hought to flg I h ot to plac Davs who appas aomalous ctcs hav compa hm o th o ha to th Scals o Chapma a Dal a Gvll a o h oth ha
ON POETRY AND POETS
o Donn an ahysials Nihr lassaion i u xa Daviss only ir b as a o ss o b o Sn sr asr o vryboy y o h hough an onsunly on o his xrssion saras i ro Snals Hs oug as hav sa s nrior as hilosoy bu i is orn an r ro nriy or os H inks a solasi hougaan ualiy o hsan ough oul alik shok a sholas Danil Grv ill so ar as hy an b sai o av oug a all oug lk Lan rorians Lik or raaiss y bb ro Sna a ilosohy s ssnially a harial os Hn r languag vn h n ur an rs rain an Danil's i asonshing ly ur an rs rai n s alays oro un an oraorial hir vrs s as i sokn in ubl an hr lngs as l n ubl Davss is h languag an on o soli ary aon; h sa ks l k a an rason ing isl n soliu an h nvr raiss s vo n s ay Davis ay b sa o hav lil in oon h Donn I is no rly Daviss rsrain n us o sil an aor vrbal on as us by Donn il a vr irn aiu oars as ro a o Davs ras a uh or onsious on Donn as ray o nran alos any a o lay ih o ollo ou o urosy o xlor s ossbilis Davis is uallor aval o saing aay hs or snsbl bly is grar H as bu on ia hi ursus n all srousn ss a kn o s riousn ss rar n his ag. oug s no xlo or sak o ling is ursu or s o sak; an h ling s a kin o byrou ough a by rou orh ar or an houg o sun o h o s no o ivrsy or bllis l ing is olly o innsiy variaion s n rs o oNoe Teipm houg is hr a arngis ony on ons aralll no unair Davs I is han svral as- i sags o xosiion o h naur o soul hi our n h
SR OHN DAVES
ml o t uga o oma avs wt Dat ma apa atast But at all, vy w ol a t ats o Dat a w stll t a lasu out o tm sot ts assas a obably as ltl a o oy as Nce Tpu tsl. O ous ty a vastly o two qut t aso s Dat wa s a vastly at ot a t losoy w xous s tly mo substa tal a subtl Ec d an a lu, ch la aghgga pa ch a, a gusa d anculla h pangnd dnd paglga, ana plca, ch a nulla, al ch, a da l a, ln na a c ch la asulla pccl bn n pa n ap qu nganna, ad c, guda n nn c u a h hand wh ndly l h h n bng, h su, a h ahn a le chld ha p, nw wpng, nw laughng, h pl, nd ul wh knwh naugh a ha, pung a yu ak, wllngly he unh ha whch dlgh h h a h au a ng gd h h bguld and unnh a , gud ub un n h l d It s ot a way to ut Davs o a lvl wt Dat to sa tat ayo wo a appat t bauty o su l as ts soul b abl to xtat osabl lasu o Nc Tpu
Milto I
mus e ame ha Mlon s a vey g oe nee s somehng o a uzzle o ee n
wha hs geaness onsss On analyss he mas agans hm
aea oh moe numeous an moe sgnan han h mas o hs e. As a man he s anahe Ehe om he moalss on o vew o om he heologans on o ew o om he syhologss on o vew o om ha o he olal hlosohe o jugng y he onay sanas o lealeness n human engs Mlon s unsasaoy. he ous whh I have o exess aou hm ae moe seous han hese Hs geaness as a oe has een suenly ele ae ough hn lagely o he wong easons an wh ou he oe eseaons Hs msees as a oe have een alle aenon o as y M Eza Poun u usually n ass ng g a seems me wh neessay s o al he samee me hs aness noha a e ou l asse o wel he e han anyone else has eve one an he seous ha ges o e mae agans hm n es e o he eeoaon he e ula n o eeoao n o whh he suee he lan guage. Many eole wll agee h a a man may e a gea as an ye have a a nuene. hee s moe o Mlons nuene n he ans o he a vese o he egheenh enuy han o he eanly moe han whh Den ananyoys Poe anlse ehas a goo eal o heham oloquy has
•
Ctbut h Egh Aiati O U it P
ION
aen on tese two oets, especaly te latte, ecause of te uence ougt to e tansfee to iton. But to ut te matte simpy in tems of a inuence s not necessay to ing a seious cage ecause a goo ea of te espons ility wen e state te poem n tese tems may evolv on te egteencentuy poets temseves o eing suc a oets tat tey wee ncapale o eng inuence ecet o ll Tee s a goo ea moe to te cage aganst Milton tan tis an it appeas a goo ea moe seous f we a tat Mitons oety cou oly e an inuence o te wose upon any poet wateve It s moe seious aso f we am tat Miltons a nuence may e tace muc fate tan te egteent centuy, an muc ate tan uon a oets i we say tat t was an inuence against wc we sti ave to stue Tee s a age cass o esons ncung some wo a n pint as citics wo ega any censue uon a geat oet as a eac of te peace as an act of wanton conocasm o even ooumism Te kin of eogatoy c tc sm tat I av e to make upon Mlton s not ntene fo suc esons o cannot unestan tat it s moe motant n some vta spects to e a good poet tan to e a geat oet an of wat ave to say I conse tat te ony uy of ugment s tat o eTe aest pactitiones my ownotime mostpoetical mpotant act aoutofMton my uose s is linness I o not mean tat to go in in mle ie is itse enoug to etemine te woe natue o a man s poet Binness must e consiee n conunction wit Milton pesonaity an caact, an te eculia eucation wc eceve It must aso e consiee n conneon wit s e votion to, an eetness n te at o music Ha Mlto een a m an o f vey kee n sen ses I man of all te ve sens s nness wou not ave matt ee so muc But f o man wose sensuousness suc as t was, a een wtee ay y ookeanng an wose gts wee natuay au
ON POTRY AND POTS
aered a grea dea I oud eem, deed, o ave ee h o oerae o wa e oud do be A o perod e vua gao opuou o poery I woud be a we o have a few urao o wa I mea by vua magao From Macbeth Ths guest o suer The telehauntng artlet does aroe By hs loed ansony that the heaens breath Sells woongly here: no jutty reze Buttress nor cogn o antage but ths brd Hath ade hs endent bed and rocreant cradle Where they ost breed and haunt I hae obsered The ar s delcate ay be oberved a u a age a we a aoe amar quoao from a e aer e ae pay ght thckens and the crow Makes wng to the rooky wood o oy oer omeg o e eye, bu, o o pea, o omo ee ea ha ey ovey e eeg o beg paruar pae a a aruar e e omparo w Sakepeare oer aoer dao o e peuary o o W Sakepeare far more a w ay oer oe g, e ombao of word oer perpeua ovey; ey earge e meag o he dvdua word oed: hu prorea rade, rook wood omparo, o age do o gve ee of paruary or are e epa rae word deveoped gae H aguage , oe may ue e erm wou dparagee artcal ad con entonal
er the sooth enaeld green . aths o ths drea wood The noddng horro o whose shady brows hreats the orlorn and wanderng pseng.
ON
Shay row here i a iminution f the vaue f the wr from their ue in the ine frm Dr Faustus Shadwing mre beauty in their ai brws] he magery in L'Allegr an Il Pensers i al genera While the plughman near at hand Whistles 'er the furrwed land And th e milkmaid singet h blithe And the mwer whets his scythe And every sepherd tells his tale Under the hawthrn in the dale not a particular ploughman milkmai an hepher that ilton ee a Worworth might ee them; the enuou eect of thee vere i entirely on the ear an i joine to the concept of ploughan ilkai an hepher Even in hi mt mature work ilton oe nt infue ne ife nto the r a Shakepeare oe The un t me is dar And silent the mn When she deserts the night Hid in her acant interlur cae. ere interlunar i certainly a troke of geniu ut i mere cmine with vacant an cave rath than giving an receivng life from them Thu it i not o unfair a t might at rt appear, to ay that ilton write Englih ike a ea lan guage he critici ha een mae wth regar t hi inove ynta But a tortuou tyle when it peculiart aime at precion [a ith Henry ame not neceary one; nly when the copication ictate y a eman f er a uic int ea of y any eman of ene Thrnes dminati princedms irtues pwer If these magnic t merely tiulartitles sinceyetbyrein decree nther nw hath t himelf engrssed
ON POERY ND POES
powr, nd us cipsd undr h m f King noind, for whom his hs f midnigh mrch nd hurrid ming h This ony o cou how w my bs Wih wh my b disd of honours nw Rci him coming o rci from us Knribu y unpid, prosrion i, Too much o on bu doub how ndurd To on nd o his img now procimd?
ih which cmae: Hwee, he ddnt mnd thinkng that i Cissy shud a hat was key enugh thei hang a suec n cmmn cudn ut actcay cnduce hugh the ma a amunted athe t a tent, the ne tha Haughy, y the same ken, had dne eas eassue him aganst, he e en t which he natie unge haued the emae secimen and whch ts stense ce he ast ee med whs sied wangy n whatee eeze, was at t e dentiae ut as an agitatin the atest edundan hing in adies hats hs qutatn aken ams a andm m Th o Towr is nt intended t eesent Heny James at any hy Prdis theti bes, anyeme than hythetica he ne assage Los s meant Mtns wst m he questn s the deence nentn in the eaan syes h which deat s a m ucid simcty he sund cuse is nee eeant, and the stye James ceainy de ends its eect a gd dea n the sund a ice, James's wn, ainuy exanng Bu the cmcatn, wth James, s due t a deteminatin nt smy, and in that sim can se any the ea nticaces and yaths men ta memen wheeas the cmcatin a Mtnic sentence s an acte cmicatn, a cmicatin deeaey in uced nt what was a eusy smied and astac
TON
I
og e ak ange ee no hikg o conng u makng a peec caey pepae o m; an e aangemen o e ake o muca value no o gncance A agowa ueance a o a Homec o Daneque aace woul make e peake vey muc moe eal o l no pa o e nenon e ave n ac o ea c a paage no analycay o ge e poec mpeon am no ggeng a Mlon a no ea o convey w e ega a mpoan only a e yna eemne y e mca gncance y e auoy magnaon ae han y e aemp o olow aca peec o oug a ea moe neay pole o ng e pleaue wc ae om e o, om e pleae ue o oe eemen an w e vee o Sakepeae n wc e auo magnaon magnaon ee oe enee ae moe nealy ean ane e ogee o w oug. eul w Mlon n one ene o e wo rhorc Ta em no nene o e eogaoy kn o eoc no necealy a n nence; u may e conee a n eaon o e ocal e o a angage a a woe ave a elewee a e lvng Engl wc wa Sakepeae ecame pl p no wo componen one o wc wa eploe y Mlon an e oe y Dyen O e wo l nk Dyen evelopmen e eae ecaue wa Dyen wo peeve o a a a peee a all e aon o conveaonal angage n poey: an mg a a eem o me eae o ge ack o ealy anguage om Dyen an o ge ack o om Mlon o wa c a geneazaon wo Mlon nuence on e egeen cenu wa mc moe eploale an Dyen evea vey mpoan evaon an ecepon ae mae nk a no unpoale o compae Mon eveopmen w a o Jame Joyce e na mla ae muca ae an ale olloe y mcal ann we an cou knowege g o acqng anguage an
ON POETRY AND POETS
rearkabe power o eor perap orte b eect on e portant erence tat Joce agnaton not natural o o purel autor a tpe a Mton In earl work an at leat n part o Uysses tere ua an oter agnaton o te get kn an I a be taken n tnkng tat te later part o Uysses ow a turnng rom te sble worl to raw rater on te reource o panta agoa In an cae one a uppoe tat te repenent o ua ager urng later ear a been nucent o tat wat I n n Work in Progess an autor agnaton abnora arpene at te expene o te ua er tl a lttle to be een, an wat tere to ee wort ookng at An I wou repeat tat wt Joce t eeo ent ee to e arge ue to crcutance werea Mlton atebeconcentraton a neer to on aeoun een wa antng tereore woFora Mton benet Inee I n n reang Parade Lost tat I am appet ere tere leat to uae. e ee not ocke n wt He a t n te Garen o en were I or one can get peaure ro te ere onl b te elberate eort not to ualze Aa an e an ter urrounng I a not uggetg an coe parae between te retorc o Mlon an te ater te o Joce. It a erent muc an antan coneratonaJoce tonealwa But t a proe oe to be contact equal awt blnte alle or te uture eelopent o te language A aantage o te retorca te appear to be, tat a ocaton take place troug te pertrop o te auo agnaton at te expene o te ua an tactle o tat te nner eanng eparate ro te urace an ten to becoe oetg occut, or at eat wtout eect upon te reaer unt ul unertoo o extract eetng po e ro Parade Los t woul ee necear to rea t n two erent wa rt oe or te oun, an econ or te ene Te ul beaut o on pero can ar be
ITON
enoed whle we are weslng wh he meanng as wel and or he ease o he ea he meanng s hardl necessary, ece n o a as ceran ewords ndcae he emoonal one o he assage Now Shaeseare, o ne, wl bear n nmeale eadngs, b a each readng all he elemens o aeaon can be esen here s no neon beween he srace ha hese oes esen o o and he coe Whe heeoe, canno eend o hae eneraed o an sece o hese oes, eel ha sch arecaon o her wor as I a m caabe o ons n he rgh decon whereas canno ee ha m aecaon o Mlon leads anwhee osde o he mazes o sond a, I eel, old e he mae or a earae sd, e ha o Blaes ohec oos mgh be well woh he roble, b wold hae e o do wh m nees n he oe So ar as I ercee anhng, s a gmse o a heolog ha I nd n lage ar reelen, e ressed hogh a mhology whch wod hae ee been e n he Boo o Genesis, on whch Mon has no moed hee seems o me o be a dson, n Mon, eween he hosoher or heologan and he oe and, o he lae, I ssec also ha hs concenaon on he adory magnaon leads o a eas an occasonal le can enjo he oll o . Cambua, seat by o Cathaian Can thone, And Samachand us, Temis To aquin o Sinaean kings, and thence To Aga and Laho o geat ogu Down to the goden Chesonese, o whee The Pesian in Ecbatan sate, o since I n Hispahan, o whee the Russian a n osco, o the Sutan in Bizance, Tuchetanbon ,
and he es o , b I eel ha hs s no seos oe, no oey ll occed abo s sness, aher a solemn ame More oen admed, Mon ses oe names n
O OR AND O
odeaio, o oai e ae ee of agiee e a doe aoe oere e ra eer a aage fro Lcid: Whether bend the strmy Hebrides, Where thu perhaps under the whelming tid Vist st the themis mnstr us den wrld her btt htu mtfur t ws Or wet Sleepst b the fable f Bellerus ld, Where th e great isin f t he guarded un Lks t ward Namancs and B ana's hl d
a i for e igle ee of gadeu of oud, ee i og e oery ake o ae o araie e geae of ilo i elaio o oe o o e oreore oeeiv ee alaed; aee eeed o e fuiful fo ad e ree o re e arallel eee Paradis Lst ad Wrk n Prgress; ad o ilo ad oye ae o ealed er o kid e ole of lieraure a e oly rier i o o oare e are rier o ave aeed oeig very diere. Ou vie aou oye, i ay ae u eai a e ee ie eaive Bu ere are o aiud o of i are eeay ad ig o ado oiderig e ork of ay oe Oe i e e olae i e e ry o udead e rule of i o gae, ado i o o of vie: e oe era le uual e e ure i y ouide adard, o eriely y e adard of laguage ad of oeig alled oey i ou o aguage ad i e ole ory of Euroea lieraue fo e eod oi of vie a y ojeio o ilo are ade i i fo i oi of vie a e a go far a o ay a, aloug i ork realie uely oe oa elee i oey, e ay ill e oideed a av· g doe daage o e Egl laguage fo i a o olly reovered
Milto II*
AMUL Johnson addessing imself to examine Milto esication, in the Ramber of Satuda, Janua 12
S 751,
thought it necessa to excuse his temeit in witing pon a subject alead so full discussed. n justication of hi essa this geat citic and poet emaked Thee ae, in ee ge, new eos to be ectied, and new pejudices to be op posed am obiged to pase m own apolog ate die entl Te eos of ou o times ae been ectied b igo ous hands, and the pejudices opposed b commanding oices Some of the eos and pejudices hae been associated with m own name, and of these in paticula shall nd mself mpelled to speak; it wil, hope, be attibuted to me fo modest athe than fo conceit if maintain that no one can oect an eo wit bette authoit tan the peson wo ha been held esponsible fo it And thee is, tink, anothe ustication fo m speaking about Milton, besides te singula one which ae just gien The champions of Milton in ou tme, wit one notable exception, ae been scolas and teaces a e no clai to be e ithe am awa e tha t m on l aim upon ou attention, in speaking of Milton o of an othe geat poet, is b appeal to ou cuiosit, in the hope that ou ma cae to know wat a contempoa wite of es tinks of one of te is scola pedecessos beliee that and te pactitione in te eld of • h Hntta Htz Lt, dlvd to th Btsh Admy, a bsqty at th k Msm Yor
66
ON POETRY
AND
POETS
tey ctc oul uppleent e ote' wo e ctc of te pcttone wll be ll te bette etnly f e not wolly ettute of colp n te tc of te ol wll be ll te bette f e oe epeence of te ulte of tn ee But te oentton of te two ctc eent. e col oe onene wt te unetnn of te epee n te nonent of t uto wt te wo n w tt uto le e tepe of e ntellectul foton te book wc e e n te nuence w oule e pc tone onene l wt te uto tn wt te poe n wt te poe n elton to own e He k Of wt use te poety of t poet to poet tn toy? I t o cn t beoe ln foce n nl poet tll un wtten? So we y y tt te col' nteet n te penent te pcttone n te ete e ol cn tec u wee we oul betow ou admaton n e spect te pttone oul be ble wen e te t poet tlkn bout te t poet to ke n ol tepee tul e t ntepoy potnce n peue u ence tt t nteetn exctn enjoyble n acte I cn e only one eple of contepoy ctc of lton by ctc of te type to w belon f I e ny tcl English petenon t llol tt Cl te ntoucton to lton oems n te ee by te lte Cle ll It not copeene ey; t notble p ly becue t poe te bt poleoenon to Comus wc ny oen ee coul e; but wt tnue t touout n te e tue of ot of Wll ctcl wtn] te uto' wt of feeln n uce n counctn t to te ee In t o f I we te ey of Wll olty exple tnk t ueful n uc n exnton I popoe to ke to keep n n oe t of te pt of one' own type by wo to eue one opnon ctc ucentl
MILTON II
eote n te fo s local eos an pejudices to be no dentical wit ones own Tat s wy I began by quoting Sauel Jonson It ll adly be contested tat as a cit of poety Jonson wote as a pactitione and not as a scola Because e was a poet iself and a good poet wat e wote about poety ust be ea wit espect. nd unless we know and appecate Jonsons poety we cannot judge eite te ets o te ltatons of is citcs It is a pty tat wat te coon eade today as ead o as eebeed o as seen quoted ae ostly tose fe stateents of Jonson's fo wic late ctcs ave veeently dissented But wen Jonson eld an opinion wic sees to us wong we ae neve safe n disssng it witout inqung wy e was wong e ad s own eos and pejudices cetainly but fo lackofofeely exaining te eo spatetcally we ae alwayswt n dange counteng wt eo and pejudice pejudice Now Jonson was n is day vey uc a oden: e was concened wit ow poet sould be itten in is o ti e Te fac t tat e cae towa s te end at e tan te begnnng of a style te fact tat is tie was apdly passng away and tat te canons of taste wic e obseved wee about to fall nto desuetude does not dinis te nte st of s citicis No does te lkeliood tat te develoent of poet n te next fty yeas ill take quite dieent diectons fo tose wic to e see desiable to exploe, dete e fo askng te questions tat Jonson iplied: How sould poety be itten now? and wat place does te answe to tis question give to ilton nd I tnk tat te answes to tese questons ay b dieent now fo te anses tat wee coect twentyve yea ago Tee s one pejudice against ilton appaent on alost evey page of onsons Lfe of Milton wc iagine s stll geneal: we oweve wit a longe stoical pespectve ae n a bette position tan was Jonson to ecognize it and to ake allowance fo t. is s a pejudice wc I sae y
ON POETRY
AND
POETS
sel n nipy owds Milon e mn O s in ise ve noin u o sy is necessy is o eco ones weness o i. Bu is pejudce is oen involved wi noe moe obscue: nd do no ink Jonson d disened wo in s own mind. Te c is simply e Civil \ o e seveneen cenu in wic Milon s symbolic ue s neve been concluded Te Civl W is no ended uesion wee ny seious civi eve does end ouou peiod nlis socey ws so convulsed nd divided e eecs e sill el Redn Jonsons ssy one is lwys we Jonson ws obsinely nd ssioney o noe py No oe nlis poe no Wodswo o Selley lived ou o ook sides in suc momenous evens s did Milon o no oe poe is i so di cul o conside poey simpy conscious s poe nd wiou ou eo oic nd poliicl disposiions unconscious ineied o cuied mkin n unlwul eny. And dne s ll e ee bcuse es emoons now k dieen vesues s now consdeed oesue on poiic ounds o b o e py o Kin Cles i is now beieve consideed eully oesue on mo ounds o b o e py o e Puins nd o mos pesons ody eliious views o bo pies my seem eully emo eveeless e pssions e unuenced we e no v wide wke ei smoke will obscue nd e ilss ou ic we emne Milons poey Somein s been done ceinly o pesude us Milon ws neve ey o ny y bu diseed wi eveyone M Wilson Kni in Chariot of Wrath s ued Milon ws moe moncis n epublcn nd no in ny moden sens democ nd Poesso Su s poduced evdenc ow Milons eoloy ws ily eccenic nd s scnou s o Poes n s s o Colic s e ws in c so o Cisdelpin nd peps no vy oodo Cisdelin wile on e oe nd M C S
ION I
Lewis as oppose ofesso aua by sklfully agung a Mlon a leas in Paradse st can be acuie of e even fo a poin of view so ooox as a of M Lew self On ese uesions I ol no opinion i s pobabl benecial o ueson e assupion a Milon was a soun Fee Cucan an ebe of e Lbeal ay; bu I in a we sill ave o be on gua agains an unconscous paisansip if we ai o aen o e poey fo e poey's sake o uc fo ou pejuices I coe nex o e posiive o jecion o Milon wic as been aise in ou own ie a is o say e cage a e is an unwolesoe inuence An fo is I sall pocee o e peanen sicues of epoof o eploy a pase of Jonsons an nally o e gouns on wic I consie i a gea poe an one wo poes ig ofsuy po belief in e unwole Fo oay a saeen e wi generalized soeness of Milons inuence I un o M Mileon Muy iue of Milon in is Heaen and Earth a book wic conains capes of pofoun insg ineupe by passag wic see o e inepeae M Muy appoaces Milo afe is long an paien suy of Keas an i is oug e eyes of Keas a e sees Milon Keas [r urry wrtes as a poeic ais secon o none since akespeae an Blake as a pope of spiual valu uniue in ou isoy bo passe subsanially e sae ugeen on Milon: "Life o i woul be ea o e An aeve ay be ou veic on e evelopen of Englis poey since Milon we us ai e usice Keas's opinion a Milns agnicence le nowee Eng lis us be kep up sai Keas o be inuence beyon a ceain poin by Milon's a e fel ae e ceaive ow of e Englis genius in an oug iself In saing i I ink eas voice e vey inos of e Englis geniu o pass une e spell of Milon is o be conene iae i I is uie ieen wi akespeae ake
ON POERY AND OES
spee bes nd libees Milo s pespicuous d con sics. Ts is ve conden ion nd ccize w soe didence becuse cnno peend o ve devod uc sud o Kes o o ve s nie n undesnding of s dicues s M. Mu. Bu M Mu sees o e ee o be ng o nsfo e pedicen of pcul poe wi pcul i picu oe n e no censue of eless vlid He ppes o sse e beve funcon of Sespee d e conscve ence of Mon e pene ccescs of ese wo poes To e nuenced beond cen pon' b n oe se s bd fo n poe nd i does no e wehe in uence s Mlon's o noe's nd s we cnno nicipe wee pon wi coe we g be bee dvsed o c n cei pon f i s no good o en unde e spe of Milo is i good o ei unde e spe of Se spee? depends p upon w genre of poe ou e ing o develop Kes wed o wie epc nd e found s g epeced e ie d no ved wic oe ngls epc copble in gndeu o Paradse could be wie He so ied s nd wig pls: d one ig gue Kng Stephen ws oe bliged b Hyperon Sespee n Hyperon b wc Milo eins gnicen fgen oeCenl eeds nd Kng Stephen is pl wic we ve ed once bu o wc we neve eun fo ejoe Milo de ge epic possible fo succeeding geneions Sespee de ge poeic d possble suc siuion is nevble d pesss unl e lnguge s so leed ee s o dnge becuse no possibili of iion Anone wo ies o we poeic d even od sould now lf of
s eneg us be exused in e eo o escpe fo consicing oils of Sespee e oen s enio elxd o is ind figued e w lpse no bd Se
ILON I
spn erse For a ong tme after a epic poet like Milton, or a dramatic poet like Shakespeare nothing can be done. Yet the eo must be repeatedly made; for we can neer know in adance hen the moment is approching at whch a new epc or a new drama will be possble; and when the moment do dra near it may be that the genus of an indidua poet wi perform the last mutaton of idiom and ersication which l brng that new poetry into being I hae referred to Mr Muy's iew of the bad inuence of Miton as generalzed because it is implicitly the whole per sonality of Milton that is in question: not specically his be iefs or hs anguage or ersicaton, but the beliefs as realized in that particular personality and his poetry as the expression of it the partular iew of Miltons inuence as bad, I men that ew which atends to the language the snta, the ersicaion the magery. do not suggest that there is here a coplete derence of subect matter it is the derence of approach te derence of the focus of nterest beteen the philosophl critic and he terary crtic An incapacity for the ase and an interest in poetry which s primarily a technca terest dispose my mind tards the more limited and peraps more supercial task Let us proceed to look at itons nuence from this point of iew that of the ter f The poetr n ur own tie reproach against Mlton that his technical inuence has been ba appears to hae been made by no one more posi te than by myself nd myself saying as recenty as 936, that ths charge against Miton appears a good deal more seri us f we a that Mtons poetry could oly be an inu ence for the woe upon an poet whateer It is more serious also f we arm that Mltons bad inuence may be traced much faher than the eighteenth centuy and much farter than un ad poets f we say that it was an inuence against hch we stl hae to struggle. n tng the sentences I faed to draw a threefold ds
N OERY AND OES
titio whih ow seems to me of some impotae. The ae thee sepaate assetios implied The st is that a i uee has bee bad i the past this is to asset that ood poets i the eihteeth o ieteeth etuy would �ave witte bette if they had ot submitted themselves to the iuee of Milto The seod assetio is that the o tempoay situatio is suh that the Milto is a maste whom we should avoid The thid is that iuee of Milto o of ay patiula poet a be always bad ad that we a pedit that wheeve it is foud at ay time i the ftue howee emote t will be a bad iuee Now the st ad thid of these assetios am o loe pepaed to mae beaue detahed fom the seod they do ot app to me to h ay mi o the st whe we oide oe t poet of the pas ad oe o moe othe poets upo whom we say he has exeted a bad iuee we must admit that the esposibility if thee be ay is athe with the poets who wee iueed tha with the poet whose wo eted the iuee We a of ouse show tha eai tis o maeisms whih the imitatos display ae due to osious o uosious imitatio ad emulatio but that is a epoah aaist thei ijudiious hoi o a model ad ot aaist thei mode itself Ad we a eve pove ayesaped patiula would have bette poety if that he had thatpoet iuee Eve witte if we sset what a oly be a matte of faith that Keats would have wtte a vey t epi poem if Milto had ot pe eded him is it sesible to pie fo a uwitte mastepiee i exhae fo oe whih we possess ad aowlede? Ad s fo the emote futue what a we am about the poet that will be witte the exept that we should pobably be uabe to udestad o to ejoy it ad that theefoe w a hold as toThe whatoly ood ad i bad iuees will meano i opiio that futue elatio whih the qutio uee o a it is the elatio to the
TON I
immediae uure W a uesio· I sal egage a ed I wis rs o meio aoer reproac agais Milo a represeed by e prase dissociaio of sesibiiy I remarked may years ago i a essay o Dryde a I e seeee ceury a dissociaio of sesibiliy se i rom wic we ae eer recoered; ad is dissociaio as aural was ceuy due o e iuece e wo mos poweruispoes of e Mio a ofDyde e loger passage from wic is seece is ake uoed by Dr iyard i is lton Dr iyard makes e foowg comme Speakig oy of wa i is passage coces Mio I would say a ere is ere a mixure of ru ad faseood Some sor o dissociaio of sesibiiy i Milo o ec sariy udesirable as o be admied; bu a e was e sposible o ay suc dissociaio i oers [a leas i is geeal dissociaio ad ieiably se i is urue I beliee a e geera amaio represeed by prase dissociaio o sesibiliy [oe of e wo or re pases of my coiage like obe cie correlaie wic ae ad a success i e world asoisig o eir auor eais some aidiy; bu I ow clie o agree wi D illyard a o ay e burde o e souldes of Milo ad Dryde was ae misake dissociaio place suspec a causes Ifaresuc ooa compe addid ooake profoud usiy our accouig for e cage erms of ierary ciicism All we ca say is a someig ike is did appe a i ad someig o do wi e Cii War a i would ee be use o say i as caused by e Cii War bu a i is a coseuece of e sae causes wic broug abou e Cii War a we mus seek e causes i Euope o i Eglad aoe; ad for wa ese causes were we may dig ad dig uil we ge o a dep a wic words ad coceps ail us efore proeedi o ake up e case agais Milo as i
ON POER AND OE
td fr pt twtv ar ag th c d ad l igicat maig f bad iuc thik it wuld b bt t cidr what prmat trictur f rprf ma b draw: th cur which wh w mak thm w ut aum t b mad b durig law f tat. h c f th prmat cur f Milt i, bliv, t b fud i Jh a hi i t thudgmt plac i which t ami crtai particular ad rru f Jh t plai hi cdmati f Comus ad Smson a th applica ti f dramatic ca which t u m iapplicabl r t cd hi dimial f th vricati f Lycids b th pcializati rathr tha th abc f hi f rhthm. Jh mt imprtat cur f Milt i ctaid i thr paragraph which mut ak lav t qut i full hrught all hi gratr wrk sys Johnson thr pr vail a uifrm pcuarit f dicion a md ad cat f pri hich bar lttl rmblac t that f a frmr writr ad which i far rmvd frm cmm u, that a ulard radr wh h rt p th bk, d himlf urprid b a w laguag hi vlt ha b b th wh ca d thig wrg with Milt imputd t hi labriu davur aftr wrd uitd t th gradur f hi ida Our lnguge a Addi, nk uthi thtl truth that bthadipdatic pr ad i vr, under h hadhi frmd b i a prvr pri
cipl H wa diru t u Eglih wrd with a frig idim hi i al hi pr i dicvrd ad cdmd; fr thr judgmt prat frl, ithr ftd b th baut, r awd b th digit f hi thught but uh i th pwr f hi ptr, that hi call i bd withut ritac th radr fl himlf i captivit t a highr ad blr mid ad criticim ik i admirati Milt waxtt t mdid b hi hw with tl gratr i Prdise Lostubjct ma bwhat fudii Comus O urc f hi pcularit wa hi familiarit with
MLTON I
h Tusan poes he d isposi ion of his words is hink freuenly alian pehaps someimes ombined wih ohe ongues Of him a las may be said wha Jonson said of pense ha he wrte n anguage, bu has formed wha uler alled a Babynsh daect, in iself harsh and babaus bu made by ealed genius and eensie learning he ehile of so muh insruion and so muh pleasure ha like ohe loers we nd gae in is deformiy' This riiism seems o me subsanially rue: indeed unles we aep i do no hink we are in he way o appreia he peuliar geaness of Milon His syle is no a cassc syle in ha i is no he eleaion of a cmmn syle by he nal ouh of genius o greaness is from he foundaion and in eey pariular a personal syle no based upon ommon speeh or ommon prose or dire ommuniaion of meaning Of some grea poery one has diuly in ponounin us wha i is wha inniesimal ouh ha has made all he dierene from a plain saemen whih anyone ould make he sligh ransformaion whih whie i leaes a plain sae men a plain saemen has always he maimal neer he minimal aleraion of ordina language Eery disorion of onsruion he foreign idiom he use of a wod in a foreign way or wih he meaning of he foreign word from whih i is deried raheris ahan he aeped meaning whih in English idiosynrasy pariular a of iolene Milonee has been he rs o ommi There is no lih no poei diion in he derogaory sense bu a perpeual seuene of srcinal as of lawlessness Of all modern wriers of ese he neares analogy seems o me be Mallarm a muh smaller poe hough sill a grea one. The personaliies he poei heories of he wo men ould no hae been more dieren bu in espe of he iolene whih hey ould do o language and usify here is a remoe similariy Milons poery is poer as he farhes possible remoe from prose his prose seems o me oo near o halfformed poe o be a good prose
ON OERY AND OES
To say tat te wor of a poet s at te fartest possb eove fro prose woud oce ave struc e as codeory t ow sees to e spy we we ave to do wt a to te precso of ts pecua greatess As a poet to sees to e probaby te greatest of a eccetrcs Hs or ustrates o geera prcpes of good wrtg te oy cpes of wrtg tat t ustrates are suc as are vad oly for Mto sef to observe ere are two ds of poet o ca ordary be of use to oter poets ere are tose o suggest to oe or aoter of ter successors soet c tey ave ot doe teseves o wo provoe a deret way of dog te sae tg tese are ey to be ot te greatest but sale perfect poets wt wo ate oets dscover a aty Ad tere are te great poets fro o ca but learsoe egatve caoters teac soe aoter o wrtewewe great rules poetsocapoet teac of te tgs to avod ey teac us wat to avod by sowg u w at great poetry c a d o wtou t ow bare t ca be Of ese are Date ad Race But f we are ever to ae use of to we st do so qute a deret way Eve a sal oet ca ear soetg fro te study of Date or fro te study of Caucer we ust peraps wat fo a great poet be fore e d oe wo ca prot fro te study of Mto repeat te reoteess Mto's vrse fro peec s tat veto of s owofpoetc guage seesordary to e oe of te ars of s greatess Ote ars are s sese of structure bot te geeral desg of Parade Lot ad Sao ad s syta ad ay ad ot east s erracy coscous or ucoscous wtg so as to ae te best dspay of s taets ad te best coceaet of s eaesses Te approprateess of te subject of aon s too obvou to eptate upo t was probbly te oe draatc sto out of wc Mto coud ave ade a asterpece But te co et utabty of Parade Lot as ot t bee so ofte
MLO I
eare was surey a ituitie rceptio of wat he cou ot o, tat arreste Mitos proect of a epic o Kg Ahur For oe tig, e a ittle iterest i, or uersta ig of, iiiual ua beigs Paadise Lost e was ot cae upo for ay of tat uerstaig wic coes fro a aectioate obseratio of e a wome But suc a iteres t i uma be igs was ot requi e iee its abse was a ec essary co iti o for te creatio of is gur es o Aam a Ee Tese are ot a ma a woa suc as a we ow if tey were, tey wou ot be Aa a Ee Te are te srcia Man a Woman ot yes, but protot They ae te geeral caracteristics of e a wome, suc tat we ca recogize i te teptatio a te fal, te rs otios of te faults a irtues, te abectio a te obi ity, of al teir esceats. Tey ae oria umait o te rigt egree, a et are ot, a soul ot be, oria ortals Vere tey ore particuarize tey woul be fase a if Mito a bee ore itereste i uaity, e cou ot ae create them Oter critics ae reare upo the eactess, witout efect or eaggeratio, wit wic Moloc Belial, a Mammo, i te seco boo spea accorig to te particuar si wic eac represets woul ot be suia ble tat te ifera powers soul ae, i te ua sese caracters, foraipulat a caracter is always but ibee te reuc ase of a ife rior or, te y igtie easily a to humous Te appropriateess of te material of Paadise Lost to te geius a te imitatios of Milto is stil more eiet we we cosier te isua agery ae areay remare, i a paper writte some years ag, o Miltos weaess of isua obseratio, a weaess wic t was always prese t te eect of is bliess may ae bee rater to stregthe te compesato qualities ta to icrease a fault wic was areay preset Mr \Viso Kigt, wo as eote close stuy to recurret imagery i poetry, as cae attetio
ON OETRY AND OE
Mito propety toward image o egieerig a me chaic; to me it eem that Mito i at hi bet i mage uggetive o vat ize imte pace abyma depth ad ight ad darke No theme ad o ettig other tha tha which he choe i araise Lost coud have give him uch cope or the kid o imagery i which he exceed or mae e demd upo thoe powe o viua imagiatio which were i him deective Mot o the aburditie ad icoitecie to which Joh o ca atteto ad which o ar a they ca juty b io ate i thi way he propery codem wi I thik appea i a more corect poportio i we coider them i reatio to thi geera udgmet I do ot thik that we houd at tempt to see very ceary ay cee that Mito depict: houd be accpted a a htig phatamagory To compa becaue we rt d the arched chaid o the burig ake ad a miute or two ee him makig hi way to the hore i to expt a kid o coitecy which the word to hich Mito ha itroduced u oe ot equre Thi imitao o viua power ike Mito imited iter t huma beig tur out to be ot merey a egigibe eect but a poitive virtue whe we vt Adam ad Eve i Ede Jut a a hgher degree o characterizatio o Adam ad Eve woud have bee uutabe o a more vivid pictue Fo o the arthy Paradie woud have bee e paadiaca eater deitee a more detaied accout o ora a aua coud oy have aimiated Ee to the adcape o arth with which we are amiiar A it the impeio o Ede which we retai i the mot uitabe a i that which ito wa mot quaed to give the impreio o light - a ayight ad a taright a ight o aw a o duk the igh hich remembered by a ma i hi bide ha a ue atura gory uexperieced by me o orma viio We mut the i readig Paraise Lost ot expect to ary our ee o ight mut be bue o that our hearn
MON
may beome more aute Parad Lost_ like nngan Wak [for I an think of no work whih provides a more interesting parallel two books by great blind musiians eah iting a language of his on basd upon English makes this peuliar demand for a readjustment of the reader's mode of apprehen sion The emphasis is on the sound not the vision upon the word ideaertain and in sign the end it is the intelletual unique versiation that isnot thethemost of Milton's mastership n the subjet of Milton's versiation so far as I am aware little enough has been written We have Johnson's essay in the Ramblr whih deserves more study than it has reeived and we have a short treatse by Robert Bidges on ilton Proody I spk of Bridges with respet for no poet of our time has given suh lose attention to prosody as he. Bidges atalogues the systemati iregularites whih gve perpetual vaiety to Miltons verse and I an nd no fault with his analysis. But however interesting these analyses are I do not think that t is by suh means that we gain an appreiation of the peuliar rhyhm of a poet It seems to me also that Miltons verse s espeially refratory to yielding up its serets to examination of the single line For his verse is not formed n this way It s the period the sentene and stll more the paragraph that isture thes uni Miltonsneessary verse andto emphasis the line struto the of mnimum provide aonounterpattern the period struture. It is only in the perod that the wavelength of Miltons verse is to be found: it is his ability to give a perfet and unique pattern to every paragraph suh that the full beauty of the lne i found in its ontext and his abiliy to work in lar ger musial uits than any oth er poet that is to me the most onlusive evidene of Milton's supreme mas te The peuliar feeling amost a physial sensaton of a breathless leap ommuniated by Miltons long periods and by his alone is impossible to proure from rhymed verse I deed this maste is more onusive evidene of his intelle
ON OERY AD OES
ual power than is his grasp of any ideas ha he borrowed or invented To be abe to control so many words at once is the token of a mind of most eceptional eneg t s interesting at this point to recall the general oberva ions upon bank verse which a consideration of Paadse Lst prompted Johnson to make towards the end of his essay The music of the English heroic lines strikes the ear so faintly tha i is easily lost unless all the sylabes of eer line cooperate together; this cooperation can only be obtained by the preservation of every verse unmingled with another as a distinct sstem of sounds; and this distinctness is obtained and preserved by the artice of rhyme. The variety of pauses so much boasted by the overs of blank verse changes he measues of an Engish poe to the periods of a declaimer; and there onlyaudience a few skifu and happy of iton who enabeare their to perceive wherereaders he ines end or begin Blank vese said an ingenious critic seem t be vese nl t e eye
Some of my audience may reca that this las remark in a ost the a words was often made a iterary generation ago about the free verse of the period and een without this encouragement from Johnson i woud have occurred to m mind to declare iton to be he greates master of free verse in our language hat is interesting about ohnsons para graph however is that it represents the udgment of a man who had by no means a deaf ear but simply a specialized ear for verba music. ithin the imits of the poety of his own period Johnson is a very good judge of the reative merits of severa poets as iters of bank verse ut on the whole he blank verse of his age might more properly be caled unrhymed erse; and nowhere is this dierence more evident than in the erse of his own tragedy Iene the phrasing is admirabe the syle elevated and correct but each line cries out for a compan ion to rhyme with it Indeed it is only with abour or by oc oal insration o bmission to he inuence of th
MLON
oe ramatists that the bank erse the nineteenth cen sccees in making the absence o rhyme ineitabe an ight with the rightness o Miton. Een Johnson amitte that he co not wish that Miton ha been a rhymer No di the nineteenth centry sccee in giing to bank erse the eibiiy which it needs i the tone o common speech tak ing o the topics o common intecose is to be empoyed; s that when o more moern practitiones o bank erse o no toch the subime they reqenty sink to the idicos iton perecte nonamatic bank ese an at te same time impose imitations ery hard to beak pon the se to which it may be pt i its greatest msica possibiities ae to be epoite. I come at ast to compare my o attite as that o a poetica perhaps ypica geneation e yearspractitione ago with my attitde toay.o I ahae thoughttwenty it we to take matters in the orde in which I ae taken them to iscuss rst the censues an detactions which I beiee to hae permanent aiiy an which wee best mae by Johnson in ode to make ceae the cases an the ustication o hostiity to Miton on te part o poet at a particua junc tre An I wishe to make cea those eceences o Mton which particary impress me beore epaining why I think that the stuy o his ese might at ast be o benet to poets I hae on seera occasions sggested that the important changes in the iiom o Engish erse which are represented by te names o yden and Vosworth may be caracteize as sccessu atempts to escape om a poetic idiom wich had cease to hae a reation to contempoary speech his is the sense o Vordsorths Preaces By te beginning o the pres ent centy another reouton i n idio m and sch reoutions bing wit them an ateration o metc a new appea to the ear was d e It ineita by appens that t he yong po ets e n gage in such a reotion wi eat the meits o those poets the past who oe tem eame an stimation an cr
ON OE A OES
down he meris of poes who do no sad for he qualiie whih hey are zealous o realize his is o only ieiable i is igh is een righ and erainly ieiabe ha heir praie sil more inuenia han heir riial pronou!e mes should aa heir own readers o he poes by whose work hey hae been iueed Suh inuee has erainy onibued o he ase if we an disiguish he ate from he faho for Donne do no hik ha ay modern poe uless i a of irresponsible peeishness has eer deied Milons onsummae powers Ad i mus be said ha Mions diion is no a poei diion in he sense of beig a debased ueny when he iolaes he English anguage he i imiaing obody and he is inimiable Bu Milo does as hae sad represe poery a he exreme limi from pose; adprose i washa oe diion of our enes erseassimiaed should haeo he irue of shoud ha beome uliaed onemporary speeh before aspiring o he eleaion of po ey Anoher ene was ha he subemaer and h imagey of poery shou be exended o opi and obe reaed o e f of a modern man or woma; ha we were o seek he nonpoei o seek een maerial refraoy ransmuaio ino poery ad words and phrases whih had no been used i poey before And he sudy of Mion oud beWe of oano help here i was oly hidrane in ieraure any amore han in he res of if ie in a perpeual sae of reouio f eery generaion of poes made i heir ask o bring poei diion up o dae wih he spoke language poery woud fail in oe of i mos im poan obligaions For poer shoud help no oly o rene he language of he ime bu o preen i from hanging oo rapidly a deelopme of aguage a oo grea a speed would be a deelopmen in he sense of a progressie deerioraio ad ha is our danger oay f he poery of he res of his eury akes he ine of deelopmen whih seems o me re iewig he pogress of poey hrough he las hee euries
L0:
the rght corse t wll dscoer new ad more elaborate pat terns of a dcton now establshed n ths search t mght hae mch to learn from ltons etended erse strctre; it mght also aod the danger of a seviude to colloal speech and to crrent jargon It mght also learn that the msc of erse s songest n poetr whch has a dente meanng epressed n the properest words Poets mght be led to admt that a knowl edge of the lteratre of ther \\ lagage wth a knowledge of the lteratre and the grammatcal consrcton of other lan ages s a er alable part of the poets epment And the mght as I hae alread hnted deote some std to lton as otsde the theatre the grtest master n or lan gage of freedom wthn form A std of San shold sharpen anones apprecaton of the jsted rreglarit and pt him on gard aganst the pontless rreglart In stdng Paadise s e come to percee that the erse s contn osl anmated b the departre from and ret to the reglar measre and that n comparison th lton hardl an sbseent wrter of blank erse appears to eercse an freeo at all e can also be led to the reecton that a m noton of nscannable erse fages the attenton een more ckl than a monoton of eact feet In short t now seems to me that poes are scentl lberated from ltons rep tatonprot to approach the std thot danger and h to her poet andoftohs thework Englsh langage
Johnson as Critic and Poet I
Lives s prmaril wth ohnson as a crtic, as the author of Th o the Poets that I am here concerned ut I shall
hae somethng to sa of hs poetr also because think that
in studing the criticsm of poetr, b a critic who s also poet, we can onl apprecate hs criticsm ts standards, t merits, and ts lmitatons, n the light of the kind of poet hat he wrote hmself I consder ohnson one of the thr greatest crtics of poetr in Englsh literature the other two beig Drden and Coleridge. All of these men were poets, and with all of them, a stud of their poetr s highl releant t the stud f t er criticism, because each of them was intersted in a particular kind of poetr f ths releace is less apparent in the case of ohnso, than with Drde and Coleridge, it is for trial reasons. A great deal of bibliograph has accumulated about ohnson, et relatiel little has been written about his writings hs two long poems hae been eglected and as for The Lives o the Poets few educated persons hae read more than half a dozen of them, ad of these halfdoze, what is remembered is chie the passages wth which eeron disagrees One reason for ndierence to hs criticsm, is that he was not the initiator of an poetic moement he was a secondar poet at the end of a moement which had been iitiatedariation b greater h, and his poems represent a personal of apoets stlethan which * he Balad Mathew Letue delveed at Uivet Clee th We i
OHNSON AS CC AND OE
el etablihed yden, and Cleridge n artnerhi th ordorth, rereent for u omething new in oetry their time Vhat ryden wrote about oetry i therefore ore exitng than hat Johnon ote In hi itial eay, he a outlining la of riting for o generaton to ome ohnon' vie i retroetive ryden, onerned ith deending hi on ay of iting, oeed from the general to the artiular he arm rinile, and ritiize aiular oet only n illutration of hi argument Johnon, in the cor e of ritizing the ork of arti ula r oet and of oet hoe ork a ended i led to gen erai zation The r h itorial ituation ere quite dierent It not, in the long run, relevant to our udgment of an author' greatne, hether he ome at the beginning of an age or at the end but e are inclned to favour unduy the former Of Johnon' inuene there nothing to ay and e are alay imreed by a reutaton for inuene, a inuene i a form of oer But hen the tde of inuene, hih a writer may et in motion for a generation or to, ha ome to it full, and another fore ha dran the ater in a dierent diretion, and hen evera tde have rien and falen, great iter remain of equal o tentiality of inuene in the future It remain to be een hether the iterary nuene of Johnon, a, n olitia thought the doe inuene of hi aait frienda of the other arty, mund Burke, not merely generation hih haEd not yet been born to reeive it n obiou obtale to our enoyment in reading Te Lives of te Poets a a hoe and e mu r ead it a a hole if e are to areiate the magnitude of Johnon ahievement i that e have not read the ork o f many of the oe t in luded, and no induement of leaure or rot an be oered to do o ome of hi mnor eighteenthentury oet I have read in order to undertand hy Johnon aroved of them ome I have only glaned at and there are a number, of hom ohnon' ommendation o mild or hi treatment o p�·
O OER AN OES
untory tat I ave not botheed even to loo tem up No body want to read te vere o Stepney or Walh I ardly thin that any PD andidate would be enouragd by hi advier to devote h thei to a tudy o the wo o hri topher Pitt Johnon aertion that Yalden' poem deere perual' i no more onvining tan a letter o introduton wrtten or an importunate vtor wom te witer want to get rid o he tudent o te hitory o literar tate may be tru by Johnon' remar tat perhap no ompoition in our languge ha been otene perued than Pomret Chice and want to nd out why ut te ommon rader will pob ably be more diontented by Johnon' omiion tan made uriou by all hi inluion Everyone now that the olle tion repreented the oe o a group o booeller or pub liher that thethought wo owth all thee author who were preumably aleable andthought wo ertanly more evident reaon that prae by Dr Johnon would go ar to ompenate or the want o opyrigt in ommending their edition to te publ We may be pretty ure that Johnon himel thoug he did hi bt by everybody would not have tougt all o i autor woth inluding. Yet we now that ohnon had ome liberty to add to the olletion o we are told tat e uggeted tree o te poet o one o whom Sir Riard lamore I alland have ometing more ay at the predeeor ontemporarie o to Shaepeare and the mtaphyial poet beore Cowley wer at that tme unaleable would have been jutiation or the booeller etoing any propoal by Jonon or teir inluion ut there no evidene tat Jonon wanted to inlude them te ev dene goe to ow that i aquaintane wit them wa very limited and tat he wa peretly ontent to edit a libray o poet wi began wit Cowly and Milton e very ne Peae to Shaepere i a eparate wor and ow no evi dene o awarene o te need to etmate any poet in re lation to hi predeeor and ontemporae Yet thi very
JOHNSON AS R AND OE
occ of t itorical ad comarat mtod c modr critcim ta for gratd, cotribut to t igular mrit of ti Prfac; ad t rtu of Sapar to c cal atttio ar motly to i ic Sapar a uiqu, ic did ot ar, i dgr, it t otr dramatit i limitatio of t ara of Egl pot i a poit caractrtic of importac t oud b a capital rror to at tribut t arro rag of oo itrt oll to igo rac, or oly to lac of apprciatio, or to bot o ay tat i igorac a du to ac of udrtadig, oud probably b tru ta to ay tat i lac of udrtadig a du to goac but it ot o impl a tat f cur a igttctur citic for ot aig a modr, torcal ad compri apprciatio, ic mut ourl adopt toard im, t attitud t lac of rpr d mut ot b aro i accuig im of arro, or prjudicd i accuig im of prjudc Joo ad a poi ti poit of i ic i ot our a poit of ic d a igorou or of imagatio to udrtad; but f ca grap it, al igorac or i iiblity a dirt ligt \altr Ralig a of oo tat ad rad immly for t Dtoa but t odg of Egl ltratur ic ad tu acquird a itot ricab fo a drt purpo om rpct aala a idrac Joo Dtoa a tdd prmarily to fui a tadard of polit uag, uitabl for t claic idal of t ag H a trfo obligd to forgo t u of t lr Ezabta, o autory o o acoldgd, ad o frdom ad traagac r mi to i purpo To t pot ad crtic of t igtt ctury, t alu of aguag ad itratur r mor coy alld ta ty m to t ritr ad to t radig public of today Ecc icity or ucout a pibl a pot a prid
ON OETRY AN OETS
not for hi invention of an oriinal form of peech but by h contribution to a common lanuae t wa oberved by John on and by men of hi time that there had been prore in renement and preciion of lanuae a of renement an< de corum of manner and both thee atainment bein recent were hihly eteemed Johnon i able to cenure Dryden or hi bad manner and bad tate in controvery. Now it i en erally obervable of mankind that in the elation of ucce in ome coure which we have et ourelve we can be obliviou of many thin which we have been oblied to rein in the accomplihment of it We do not take kndly to the thouht that in order to ain one thin, we may have to ie up ome thin ele of value With thee lot value the path of hitory i trewn and alway will be and perhap a purblindne to uch i a neceary formprovement anyone who apre to bevalue a political and ocialqualication, reformer The of lan uae which the eihteenth century had achieved wa a enu ne improvement of the nevitable loe only a later enera ion could become aware John on cetanly aw the body o f nlih poetry from point of view which took for ranted a prore a renement of lanuae and erication alon denite line and which implied a condence in the rihtne and permanence of the tyl achieve d a con ucho tron thane wh anyichwehad canbeen place in the tyle or dence tyeoofmour aeer that we can hardly ee it a anythin but a blemih upon h critical ability The emphai pon, the care for the common tyle and the common rule, which Johnon exhibit and which make him ometime appear to meaure reat eniu by the tandard uitable only to maller mind, may lead to an e aeration of the value of pedetrian poetry which conform, over that of work of individual eniu which i le lawabidn Yet the obtuene which we are apt to attribute to Johnon i eldom apparent in hi poitive armation, but chiey by ilence and th lence i evidence not of individual nen
HS AS
CRC
AD E
y u of an aue wh s u for us o assume rom Johnsons pon of vew he Engsh anguage of he prevous age was no sueny avane was sl n s nfany ; he anguage wh wh h earer poes wo rke was oo rough for hose poes o e reae on he same foong h hose of a more poshe age Ther work, when hey were no of he very hghes rank was a suje of suy more suae o he anquay han fo he uvae reang pu The sensy of any pero n he pas s aways key o appear o e more me han our ow for we are nauray muh more aware of our anesors ak of awareness o hose hngs of whh we are aware han e are of any ak n ourseves of awareness o wha hey pereve an we o no \Ve may ask hen wheher here s no a apa snon o e ra e e m eofsens ywe have rememerng hamakes he onge r e enenofa histo whh knowege a mns of h e pas see m o us m e an a efeve sen s y; an aorngy ask wheher Johnson whn hs proper lms, s no a sensve as we as jua r; wheher he vrues he ommene n poery o no aways reman vrues an wheher he kns of fau ha he ensure o no aways eman faus an o e avoe Even f I have no ye sueee n makng my meanng very ear I hope ha I have one somehng o unse our mns, an o prepare for an nesgaon of he harge agans Johnon of eng nsense o he mus of erse A moern reaer rememers nohng more eary from a reang of The Lies of the Poets han Johnsons remarks on he versaon of Donne an of ons Lydas If we rea no oher opn on of Johnson we rea he folowng The meaphysa poes were men of eang, o sho her rnng was her whoe eneaour: u uuky re solvng o show n rhyme nsea of ng poe hey onl e verses an very ofen suh verses as soo he ra of he nger eer a ; fo he mouaon a o
ON OER AD OES
mperfe ha hey were oy fou o be erses by ou he syllables Of he work of Cleela, some of he ohe mor meaphysals hs jugme woul be sou eough bu ha Johso lue oe hs esure e be sure from hs obserao ha Be Joso resemble oe more he ruggeess of hs oe es ha he aomplshe as of hs semes Nowaays e regar as aery rafsma ee as a erser of sgal ruosy a wha Johso e oes as ruggeess srkes our ear as a ery sube mus Bu he jugme o Lcidas as well ko as he jugme o he meaphysal poes equally ourages our sesbly Joh so elares ha hs poem he o s harsh he rhymes uera a he umbers upleasg. Wh some oher of Jhsos remarks abou Lcidas we may possble o agre f e hk ha a eegy requres he juso of u fege a oral regre we may he poem frg The ojuo of Chrsa a lass magery s aor wh a baroque ase whh o pease he egheeh eury a I mus a for myself ha I hae ee r fe happy he speae of Fr Camus a Peer marhg he same proesso ke a ouple of professors srolg o Kgs Parae o her way o hear he uersy sermo u surely ess hegraeur musl rue of he erse whh lohes he ask absur a makes all aepabe o we as Johso sesbe o he mus of erse? Ha he ha he whole of hs geerao efee hearg? Ther s perhaps o more subbor ause of ereme er ees of opo bewee respeable rs of poery ha a eree of ear a by ear for poery I mea a mmeae appreheso of wo hgs whh a be osere ab srao from eah oher bu whh proue her ee uyrhyhm a o oheree forrme he o he oa bua aThey osmpy ruoeah l he rhyhm a he rhyhms whh a poe s ogeal l e
JO NS ON AS CC A� OE
termne h dton. It the mmedat faourae mpreon of rhythm and dton whh dpoe u to aept a poem enourage u to ge t further aenon and to doe other ron for kng t Th mmeda may e akng, n the readng of the poet of one generaton y another Not unt a te ratu re ha ar ed at matu rt not, per hap, unt t ha paed the moment of maturt and adaned far nto ater age, n r peree tat rhythm and dton do not mpy mproe or deterorate, from one generaton to another, ut that there ao pure hange, uh that omethng awa eng ot a we a omethng eng ganed In th peeton of any te t n e oeed, a n the maturng of an nddua, that ome potenate hae een rought to ton ony y the urrender of other ndeed, part of our peaure n ry terature, a of the deght whh we tae n hdren, n our onoune of many potentate not a of whh n e rzed n t repet, prme terature rher than that whh foow A terature derent from a human fe, n that t n return upon ts own pat and de eop ome paty whh ha een aandoned e hae een our own tme, a renewed nteret n Donne and, after onne, n rer poet uh a Sketon A terature n ao renew tef from the terature of another anguage But th age od at enough to maturt fee th neednforwh uh Johnon renewa ed, t hadwa ut not ared t own Johnon oud thnk of the teature of h age, a hang at taned the tandard from whh terature of the pat oud udged n a tme ke our, n whh noety often aumed to e the rt reute of poetry f t to attrat our attenton, and n whh the name of pioneer and innoator are among the te mot honoured, t hard to apprehend th pont of ew e y ee ts aurdte, and mare at the aurane th whh Jonon oud reprehend for te aene o the mert hh we nd mot onpuou n t, and oud dm Donne for the roune of h dton nd when
ON OER AN OES
Johnon write of Shakepeare we are puzzed by Johnon ilence about the matery of verication Here there wa n preudice agant a particular fahon of witing a when he dicue the metaphycal no perona dilike of the man a when he treat of iton but only the acutet obervation the hghet eteem the mot jut and generou praie but h aign to Shakpeare thethat veyofhighet rank among potan on ve othe ground than the bauty of rhythm diction y point that we houd not conide thi obtuen hich to u i very trange a a peronal defet of Johnon which dimnihe hi tature a a critic What acking i an torica ene which wa not yet due to appear Hee ome thing which Johnon can teach u for f we hav arrived at thi hitorica ene ourelve ou ony cour to develop t further and one of the way in whch w can develop it in o elve i through an undertanding of a critic n whom t not apparent Johnon fa to undertand rhythm and dcion which to him wer archac not through ack of enibity but through pecialzton of enibiity If the ighteenth cent had admired the poety of arer tme in th way n which e n admire t the reut woud have been chao thre woud have been no eighteenth centuy a we know t hat a woud have had conviction fo pefecting the nd ofnotpoety thatthe it dd pefectnecay he deafne of Johnon r to ome kind of melody wa the neceary condition fo hi harpne 0f enibiity to verba beauty of another kind Wthin hi range withn hi time Johnon had a ne an r a anybody Again and again when he call attention to beau ie or to blemihe n th work of the poet of whom he wrte we mut acknowledge that h i right and that h pointing out omthing that we might not have noticed ind pendently. eevant It may prov that hi critera ar permanentl ere another conideraton n the poblem of the dr
OHNSON AS CRC AND OE
ne between the sensibil ities of one entury an a nother hih is worth mention. That is the problem of the emphasis on soun or on sense The greatest poetry, think we ma aee, passes the most seere examination in both subets ut tere is a great eal of goo poety, whih establishes itself b a nesie exellene The moern inlination is to put up ith egree of inoherene of sense,what to they be tolerant of ets some who o not know themseles exatly are tring to say, so long as the erse souns well an presents striking an unusual imagery. There is, in fat a ertain merit in me oious raing, whih an be a genuine ontibution to litera ture, when it respons eetually to that permanent appetite of humanity for an oasional feast of rums an ymbals We al want to get runk now an again, whether we o or not though an exlusie aition to some kins of poetry has an ges analogous to those of a steay reliane upon alohol e sies the poe of so un an, from one poi nt of ie upying an intermeiate position between the poetry o soun an the poety of sense there is poet y whih epre sents an attempt to exten the onnes of the human on siousness an to report of things unknown, to express the nexpressble ut wth this poetry am not here onerne etween the two extremes of incantation an meaning we are Iratingly think toay more easily the musi of thean exhila meaningless, than seue ontentebywith intelligene wis om set forth in peestrian measures The age of Johson, an ohnson hmself, were more inline to the latter hoie ohnson oul aept muh as poetry, whih seems to merely ompetent an oet; we, on the other han, are too reay to aept as poery what is neither ompetent nor or ret \Ve forgie muh to soun an to image, he forgae muh to sense An to exe in one iretion or the othe
is to risk mistaking the ephemeral for the permanent Johnson sometimes mae mistakes reerre a little earlier, to Sir har lakmore
ON OE AND OE
Impressed by Jnsn's assertin tat Blacmre's Cat aln as a pe ic uld ae transmitted im t psterity amng te rst faurites f te Englis Muse' and is statement tat it as by is n recmmendatin ta Blacmre as included in te library ic e intrduced ed te pem it sme curisity. I came t te cncusi tat directins Jnsns praise tis place pem te ss a grieus in t In tefrst pem amst lapse at nce ilates sme exceent rues ic Jnsn imself in treat ing f a greater pet ad aid dn fr te use f triplet and exandrine in te rymed cuplet frm. nstd f resering te triplet tree lines ryming tgeter and alexandrine a te tird ine] fr te cncusin f a perid ere tis termi natin can be ery eectie Blacmre intrduces a tripet a mst at te start and prsenty ers us an aexandrine as te secnd ine f a cuplet at is muc rse te ersicatin is smetimes n better tan tat f a sclbys exercise But Jnsn lie al gd curcmen and al gd Tries abmi nated Hbbe s a ntable ateis t and ttaitarian H e mut ae been bin t defects ic e ud ae repred : Dryden r Ppe by te satisfactin e gt frm te fl ng ines alluding t tat pisper A lh Baas sol mmoal dam! Bo foh a sa of clbad am, Wo wh comp blst Rlo od, oc all h pcps, ad oucd h G
T appy te ind f minute criticism in ic Jnsn celled e may remar tat te rst ine is bad grammar be cause dam is grammaticaly in appsitin t sol instead f t Btaa and e may censure te secnd line by remaring tat Hbbess name as nt celebrated until a ng time afte is birt We sud expect als tat te persnicatin f Religin as a elpless female stamped upn by Hbbes ul be t ineegant fr Jnsns taste I tin tat tis is te ind f lapse ic can mst se erey be censured i n a criti
OHNON CRC AD OE
the ape from h own tanar of tate An econ m eaing of the poem e me to upect that een on groun of content Johnon hou hae r eec te it For Johnon an t i a er mpotant thing ab out him wa one of the mot orthoo churchmen, a we a one of the mot eout Chitian, of hi a an Backmore eem to me to be e peng pure eim I can on uppoe that eim o per meate the atmophere of the centu that Johnon noe faie to repon to t me. want howeer to itinguih ti pe ce of error the ctic faure to app hi on tana from th oe appar nt error which pring from the princpe of a particuar min at a particuar time, an which no onger eem to u error in the ame ene, once we uccee in apprehenng the point of iew Such i be foun, an the w at rt be wier u, in Johnon ariou remark about riter of bank ere For thi kin of ere he appear to gie the highet pace to Akenie of whom he a, that in the genera fabri caton of hi ine he i perhap uperior to an oter writer of bank ere Een eaing out of account the bank ere of the great ramatic poet of a prei ou age or the ramatc er e of Otwa at hi bet thi eem at rt an etraagant aertion Nowaa webeueconceae wor ofrom ooe a writers ma ometime u, that imp becauemeaning he ha ai eact what he meant To etract the meaning from Johnon aertion abou Akenie, we mut rt compare Akenie ericaton wth that of other bank ere writers of hi centur we hae ao to compare hat Johnon ha a about the other, an with what he ai about Miton ere n hi ea on Miton, ou il remember that Johnon conrm the wor of Aion who ai of Miton the a guage suk uder hi Johnon goe on to a that Miton
ha fome hi te b a peere an peantic principe an hat he wa eirou to ue Engh wor with a foeign
ON OER AND OES
dom Bu avg mad crcm go o o u g pra lo wa mar of laguag o full x Ad mog wak of roc bak vr parcularly dculy pakg of pr vg mrca dy of ac ; ad ally afr ay g vryg a ca b ad aga blak vr mak adom admo I cao prval upo mylf o w a o ad b a rymr; for I cao w work o b or a y lk or ro o b admrd rar a mad T ackowldgm of o gra a a vrr uquvocal. Bu r ar law for u of word ad coruco of c wc lo d T awbrakr oud o b prad fo awl; ad a codra po may b mor awabdg a gra gu Akd gral caoa po of of l may bSomor corca lo;fabr ad f w valu corrc a rpc upror I do o k a ory of blak vr c lo m alogr gv T muc of Egl roc l k ar o faly' ay Joo a aly lo.' Ta ru alrav dagr a moo ou umpg wc ca o av ay muc a all a Joo fald o rmark a o mad bak vr a uccful mdum for rprov roc pom by a v cc rcy wc oo Joo dd owvr vr of lo a a cp o H adm a r ar puo for wc bak vr rma prop mdum; oug do o roubl d ad parcular o purpo Of Youg' Ngh Though ay: T o f fw pom wc blak vr coud o b cagd for rym bu w dadvaag T wld duo of m ad dgrv a of mag ao would av b comprd ad rrad by co m o rym
JONSON AS CC AND OE
i approval o te ue o blank vere by Tomon in i Seasons epree a imilar approval Hi i one o te work in wic blank vere propey ued Tomon wide epanon o general view, and i enumeration o circumtantial varietie would ave been o tructed and embarraed by te requent interection o te ene wic are necea eect o ryme et u return to Akenide te autor upon woe blan ere Jonon a betowed uc ig commendation In te general abrication o i line e perap u perior to any oter autor o blank vere; i ow i moot and i paue are muical; but te concatenation o i vere i too long continued and te ull cloe doe not occur wit ucient requency Te ene carried on troug a long i terteture o complicate claue, an a notng i ditn guied noting i remembered Te eemption [Jonon continue generalizing rom criticim o Akenie wic blank vere aord rom t neceity o cloing te ene it te couplet betray luuri ant and active mind nto uc elinulgence tat tey pile image upon image, ornament upon ornament and are not eaiy peruaded to cloe te ene at all Blank vere will tere ore ear, be too oten ound in decription euberant n argument and in narration tireome vere i too To ay loquaciou tat te concatenation o Akende long continued and tat te ene i carrie on troug a long interteture o complicated claue i a cenure wic i ully utied by our eamination o Akenide lne toug it only air to remark tat ti concatenation tee complicte claue were eactly wat Milton wa able to manipulate wit conpicuou and olitary ucce But te general obervation on te danger o blank vere are uc a later writer in ti orm would to ponder coul oreee tat ave later done poetwell would alo beAnd ableJonon to ebit in not te med couplet troug teir deire to etend te reource
ON OERY AND OES
f hs fm beynd he gd mts mpsed by the bes eght eenthcentuy ese the same exubeance the same quacty and the same esmeness hat Jhnsn sts as he ces f bank ese We hae ny lk at Wlam s _f xamples mngs all he pets whse wks Jhnsn ntduced, we can thnk agee ha Thmsn and Yung ae the ny nes wh hae eft bank ese pems whch ae stll me less eadable and whch ae stl f mptance f the student f Engsh pey t ead n pasng the escatn thee fe Jhnsn shws hmsef be n unawae f w blank ese shuld be ten n quacan f hs appal f kensdes escan, mus b added ha hs pase f the pem whch shws kensdes mdeate gfts at the best The Plasures of magination [ Plasus of the magina tion s ey fant ndeed The wds ae multpled ll he sense s hadly peceed; attenn desets he mnd and settls n the ea The eade wandes hugh the gay dusn smetmes amazed and smetmes delgted; but, afte many tunngs n te wey abynth cmes ut as h went n He emaked tle and lad hld n nthng Whch s as dect an ntmatn that the pety s n wth eadng as peatn Jhnsn caed ge hae thugh, put mysef h mechanca f eadng hs pem ye can nt say hat hae ead ; f as Jhnsn fetd atetn deseted he mnd S n eect hae ead nly passages et etan he mpessn tha the sund s me meldus han that f he eses f ethe Tmsn Yung hugh these ae much me subsana pets Hs syllabes ae well ds psed; hs pauses hs senence stuctues, ae geneally such as t ge pepetua aety whut beakng dwn the mete algehe; and thugh he s always dull he s sedm absud f yu dp nt Thmsn's Seasons, yu wl cnstanly nd eghfu andscapes; but yu wl nd als a equen en
JOSON AS CRC AD OE
199
avur t eevate the humbe a mbeish the matter act hich ivtes riicue ake r istace hs huma hrtati t the ager But et nt n thy h k the trtur d wrm Cnvusive, twist in anisin fd
Akesie ever says aythig rth sayig but hat s r sayig he sas e he cse the thir bk his pem [hich s et uishe i the mie the urt bk s g euh t qute \hen ast The Sun and Natures face aain appeard, Nt far I fund me where the pubic path, Windin thruh cypress rves and ein meads, Frm Cnssus t then; cave Jve Heedess I fwed ti f sn theascends. skirts f Ida rse befre me, and the vaut Widepenin pierced the muntains rcky side Enterin within the threshd, n the rund I un me sad, faint, vern with ti
I yu i t k h te these ies yu might attribut them t sme better pet ut as Jhs bserves th same riter's t hat ca e theca rk criticie that i t es be rea?' Yet Iuse thik beuersta a th imits accept the asserti that i the geera a ricati hs ies kesie] is perhaps superir t ay ther riter bak verse I cat hep erig h may bak verse pems o the iteeth cetur i be peruse by psterit th a greater ecitemet tha e erive rm thse hm s Yug r Cper here i remai Hyperin The Preude [hich hever teius i may paces has t b
rea etire a e e shrt pieces eys sme ra matic mgues rig ut i geera thik that
ON POETRY
AND
POETS
te nneteententury ems w rmse t reman er manently leasurable are ems n ryme Tat Jnsn regarded blank erse as mre sutabe fr te teatre tan ryme, we may nfer frm s referene fr amng Drydens er lays, and frm s ang sen bank erse as te medum fr s wn tragedy Tat Jnsn faled t understand te eulartes f da matc blank erse s edent frm ts lay fr we nd te blank erse t be tat f a wrter w tugt and felt n terms f te rymed ulet ae aready bsered, tat n all f Jnsn's g and just rase f Sakeseare as a dra mat et, e seaks as f Sakeseare ad wrtten n a lan uage f w te sense ad been resered, but f w te sund meant ntng t us fr tere s nt a wrd abut te Sakeseare's ds tat erse smus mrefsutable t te erse stage Jnsn smly beause t sblank nearer t rse n ter wrds, ele nersng d asnay r due an unnsus amb entameter, but amst neer fal nt ryme nt tnk tat ts judgment s altgeter ad f Jnsn faed, n te ne and, t areate te seal mus f dramat blank erse e was as deeed n tnkn tat bank erse s neessarly te mre nersatnal frm remarked lng ag, tat Dryden seems t me t a rxmte mre lsely t te tnes f nersatn n s rymed lays tan e des n All Jnsn 's as al te rtues w erse by Jnsn suld be exeted ae; and fr Jnsn, w dd nt rdnarly labur at s wrtng, t aears a ery anstakng ee f wrk Hs erse has nne f te dramat ualtes t s rret but rret ness n su satn bemes tsef a faut Te lay wud be mre readable tday, f he ad wrtten t n ryme te we wuldremembered be mre easly delamed and ftets gd tngs mre easly t wuld lse nne exllene f struture tugt, abuary and gures f see Wat
JOHSO AS AD OE
woud b meuous n rhyme s merey monotonous wthout t I hae been occuped so far prmary wth the task of tryng to reduce some of the obstaces to the apprecaton of Johnson as a crtc efore cosng, there reman two ncdenta opnons of Johnson whch I must face because otherwse I shoud epose mysef to the charge of eadng them The rst s Johnson opnon of chora drama whch was unfaourabe the secon s hs atttude towards regous or deotona erse, whch wa condescendng I must therefore drect the ury on these two ponts If Parase egane has been too much deprecated Sam sn Agnstes has n requta been too much admred It coud ony be by ong preudce and the bgot of earnng that ton preferred the ancent tragedes wth ther encumbrance of a chorus to the ehbtons of the rench and Engsh stages, and t s only by a bnd condence n the reputa ton of ton, that a drama can be prased n whch the ntermedate parts hae nether cause nor conseuence nether hasten nor retar the catastrophe I may hae occason to remnd you agan how emphatcay Johnson was men n hs tme hs preference of the rench and Engsh theatre to the Greek s ony one eampe of ths I shoudust wsh to quafy hs reproof n thetpassag hae uoted, by sayng that I ofdoton not beee was prI mary ong preudce, or the bgotry of eang, whch ed ton to wrte hs pay on the Greek mode I thnk that was rst of a a knowedge, conscous or unconscous of what were hs own gfts He chose n Samsn the one subect most sutabe for hm; and he took the Greek mode because he wa a poet and not a dramatst, and n ths form he coud best hbt hs mastery and concea hs weaknesses What s moe odd, howeer, snce Johnson hods up rench as we as Engsh drama for mtaton s that he makes no rference to h case nconenent for hs thess of Racnes Ahale Racn
N ER A ES
as a poe of he heare f hee ever was one; in Athalie h empoys he chorus and Athalie, I hink is a vy grea pay ndeed Bu wh his excepion Johnson as udging chora drama according o dramaic sandads hch I do no hink ha mos of us appy o Samson. For many people Samson is he mos readabe of Milons maor works ceainly more readable han Paadise Regained. We can even enoy Samson, as e can enoy Comus, when is performed Bu do no eleve ha anyone could enoy hem direcy as drama e need eihe o e prey famiiar h he ex or ese have a ve quick ear for he appeciaion of veba beauy Oherise I do no hnk ha he po o he characerizaon of her piece ould long hod our aenion I am ncined o eieve ha on he whoe Johnson f he is lowed o ciicze Samson as dama s igh I do no beieve ha he appreciaed he dramac force of he Greek conven ons in heir on place and me Indeed I doub hehe as possibe for anyone o do so in he undeveloped sae of archaeologcl knoedge n his ime cerany our on ndersanding f he Greek pays as pays has een immensey eended by recen sudy and eseach Bu he real quesion s hehe he form of Greek drama can be nauraled for he moden orld And I suspec ha he chief usicaion for on for some aer in imaing he Greek form of rama sasha he use of poes a chorus enabes poes h no ski n he heare o make he mos of her accomplishmens and heeby conceal some o hei defecs Johnsons opinons on religious verse ae mos fuly saed n hs ife of Waer I is hee ha he obseves e no pious ear e oended if I advance in opposion o many auho ii es ha poeica dev oion canno of en please onemplave piey of he inecourse beween God and heThese hu maand n sooher u ca nn o bemigh p oeichave a been ' ransposed ino s ords fe of as and are conrmed hee by he folon
JOHSO AS
CRITIC ND
OE
Hs deoona poey s, lke ha of ohes unsasfacoy The paucy of s opcs enfoces pepeual epeon, and he sancy of he mae eecs he onamens of guae dcon' As a ccsm of as hs s us enough To a geneaon whch has leaned o adme h elgous sonnes of Donne, he lcs of Geoge Hebe, Cashaw and aughan, seems naowy peese I hnk ha e hae o ake accoun no only of he maons of he leay ase of hs me, bu of s elgous lmaons also The wo suppo each ohe hee: fo as dd no occu o he mnd of ohnson ha hee wee poec alues n eale peods, whch had anshed dung he peecng of hose of hs own, so I do no hnk ha could occu o hm ha hee was a elgous sensbly whch had dsappeaed also ohnson's scues ae applcabe o mos of he elgous ese ha has been wen snce as well as o ha of hs o me Wha aes hs condemnaon, s he absence of any dscmnaon beween he elgous poey of publc woshp, and he elgous poey of pesonal epeence In he hymn, he anhem, he sequence, he nuson of pesonal epeence would be mpenen; and pehaps fo eason he poey of publc woshp s a s bes n he mpesonal eloquence of he Lan language I s ue ha some deoonalome elgous ese appeas be equally ad nnhymboh cones of Geoge Hebe'sopoems ae found nals ye always feel hem o be ess sasfacoy as hymns han hose of Was fo I am always awae of he pesonay o f Hebe, and neve conscous of any pesonay of Wats u mos of he deoonal poey of he egheenh cenu has he me nehe of he one knd no of he ohe The easons why good poey n hs knd was no en, and h easons why ohnson could no ecognze s possbly ha o do Iwh lmaons of elgous n hafocen uy say he lmaons ahe han lacksensbly of sensby n one can ead ohnsons Praers and ediaions o Law's Se
O OERY AD OES
ous Call wthout acnowledging that this age also has ts
onuments of religious devotion
do not propose to discuss the poetry of the eighteenth entuy in general; o even to discuss Johnsons ves of Dry en and ope, except to etract fro them soe stateents ndicating Johnsons ritical theory I must say soething of Johnsons poetry, on the principe whch have already af rmed, that we can only understand a poets critics of oetry in relation to the oetry which he ites Of his shorte poems, we can only say of the most of them that they possess those two ualities which Johnson beleved to be all that can be ased of short poes neatness and elegance One of them, Log expected oeadtwety, might povide an interesting omparson not to Johnsons diadvantage, with The Shrop shire Lad Housans erse s also neat an elegant, but on the poi nt of poetc diction, and on that of ed caton two of Johnsons criteria, as we shall seewe might gant that Johnsons poe is superior The only one, I thin, of Johnsons short poems which s more than neat and eegant, the only one which does what no one before him could have done and which eulate, poe the death of Dr evnoett,successor the mancould obs cur ely wiseisanthe d co arselyonind a poem uniue in tenderness, piety and wsdom The two poes on which Johnsons ttle as a poet must rest ae The Vaity of Huma Wishes and Lodo Lodo has 364 nes, The Vait y of Huma Wishe s 63 Johnson was a meditative poet he could not have expressed hmself fully in a poe of ess length and being ony a editative poet, he i not have the esources for a poe of ore ample scope Ldo has ne lines and passages, but it does not see to e successful as a whoe. The setting, o prologue to the poe, articial. It s wearisoe to have the nvectve against the
JOHNSON AS
CRIIC
AND OE
tplis psnt a th ph f inju T1als t fin wh is sing h at Gnwih as h nt a why f th ship whih will tak hi int luntay il in Pbksh Th is as lswh in th p a supiin f falsity. Jhnn wih t wit a ati in h ann f Juvnal in t nun th wikn f Lnn b ut that Jhnsn shul v hav Lnn f th t pnt f ntplat St ai i laving innsistnt with hi haat an his nfs sntint in lat lif hat w annt bli h ant it H wa th last an t hav il hislf at St Dai t ha app at th bauti f that ant spt whn h gt th Fr wh wud eave uried Hierias ad Or chage the rcks ctad r the trad?
Th anw i Saul Jhnsn if anyby Th ay s aping bjtins But thy inf y ubt whth Jhnsn wa th ght an f ati. Jhnn wa a alist an h lak a tain ivin lity hih ak spakl th lin f th tw gat English s atiit Inignatin a ak pty but it ut b nignatin llt in tan quillity in Ld I fl that a fign nignatin is p snt insta f al inignatin bing all. In th sati Dyniappas as in a int way ini that Ppthan th bt fatiiz n th pty halyf th ptt f pty. Vith Dyn th an iiul b s absuly giganti; an Pps nius inst b sthing bautiful an stang. In Ld th ttal t i n f quulusnss 1 initnt f a whl ity fail it i nibl n in th ightnth ntuy that yu ul nv g ut at night withut bing t upn by bistu unkas slp in yu wn hus withut ang f bing kill by buglas Jhnsn utts gnalizatins an th gn aliatins a nt tu what kp th p aliv is th nunt f psnal fling th bittns f th ha
6
ON PORY
AN
POES
p lg ue ad pvao eally epeencd by Joon you Joo' md eded oard e genea reecon up poed by ace a well kown paage mlac e pe cepo of aela made o oberve a e bune of a poe o exame, o e dvdual bu e pece; o remak geeral propere ad large appear ace e doe o umber e reak of e ulp o decbe e dee ade n e vedue of e foe. He o ex b pora of aure uc promnen ad rkng fea ure a ecal e orgal o eve md ad mu eglec e muer dcrmao, wc oe may ave emarked ad aoer ave egleced fo oe caacec wc ar alke obvou o vglace ad caelee' dpoo o e geeal aec eve Joo' regulao of poec dco a general rule of poer e ay f of Dyde a all appropaed e of a ould be uk n geneal mpeo, becaue poey o peak an unveal laguage ule ll roger w regad o a o lbel and erefoe fa removed from common kowledge; ad poceed o epmad Drde for ung ecc al em of eamap, mo of wc uc a em mle t paug - we ould now code ueceponable Bu w oly Joo of poec am nofor yepoy con ceed w dea o uge a dcon Jono' ule wee o ome degee lmed by e knd of poey wc melf wa able o wre n The Vnty f Humn Whe Joo foud e pefec eme fo able Te dea wc ndcaed by e le, wa o new ad neve ad been a no necea o eve derable for a poem of o wa eeal a ould be an dea wc e eader wll o for mo me queon n epec, a a medave poem, The Vanty f Human \he upero o Gay Elegy for e ae poem coa oe or wo dea wc are eap no
JOHNON A CRTC AND OET
20
ver soud e keood ta e vage uryard, or a uryard oaed te body of a poteta Hampde Mto or Cromwe s exeedgy sma Gray of ourse ts poem s by o meas purey medtave wa te legy gas by s desrpo by s evoato of te rura adsap of Egad s a mportat O te oter ad f Joso ad oed msef tete geera ot supported t wt staes ere woutobe ef ad of The Vany o Human Whe. Of tese e passage o Cares of Swede s e mos quoed ad te best susaed Tese trywo ompose a paragrap w s sef qute perfe for: te rsg ue of ambo e sudde aam ad sow dee ad degradao roug w we see e o queror Compelled a needy upplan o a Whle lade nerpoe and lae debae
umatg a baren rand A pey ore and a dubou hand
u s passage s o oe w preserves ts fu vaue w xated: requres bot wat preedes ad wa foows a akes oy s proper ompete Great poer of tepae type ofte The Vany poem o Human \he s rare; ad we aot reproa Joso for ot wrtg more o f we we osder ow te of su poet tere s Ye s ype of poery ao rse o e ges rak It s by ts ature of ater oose ostruto te dea s gve at e start ad as t s oe uversay aepted tere a be but te deveopmet oy varatos o te oe eme. Joso dd ot ave te gft of struure For a more eaborae o truo s trutu to beofatae mporat eerpt me of pet ad ompos torea od varety ts des v aratve ad dramat are requ red Ve d o ot ordar
ON POERY
AD
POES
pect vey close strctre o poem rymed coplets c ofte looks s , bt or wt te tor s to sy, mgt beg o ed ywee. t tere s poem, by otempory d fred of Joso, wc s g dgree of orgsto. I plce The Deserted Viage ger t y poem by Jo s o o by Gr y. I Golds mt' s poem , te rt o tsto s exempled perfecto If yo exme t pr p by pgrp, yo wll d lwys sft st t te gt momet, from te descrptve to te medttve, to te persol, to te medttve g, to te ldscpe wt gres, to te deleto o dvdls [te clergym d te scoo ster] wt skll d cocso seldom eqlled sce C cer ese prts re propely propotoed Flly, te de oe wc, wle s cceptble s Josos, s more orgl d lso popetc fares the ad, to hasteig is a rey, Wer weath accuuates, ad e decay.
I ve mde ts dgresso, becse I do ot tk tt Jo o sows gret power of costrcto s ow poems, d becse I do ot tk tt e recogzes te mporte o cosderg strctre te vlto of poem I pss ow to evew tose propertes o good poem, wc Joso bot lstrtes s ow verse d especlly commeds te ork o oters Joso ttced mportce to srciaity Orglty s oe of tose meros terms te meg o wc my lte om geerto to geerto, d we mst be crefl o eme wt t met to Joso Hs se o te word s llstrted by te followg pssge rom s Lfe o Tomso: As wrter, omso s etted to oe prse of te gest kd s mode of tkg, d o expressg s togt, s orgl Hs blk verse s o more te blk verse o Mlto or o y oter poet t te rymes of Pror re te rymes o Cowley Hs mbers, s pses, s dcto, re o s w
JOHNON A
CRITIC
AND OE
growh wiho ranscipion wiho miaion He hinks i pecliar rain, and he hinks always as a man of genis h looks ond on Nae nd on ife wh he eye which Nare esows only pon a poe he eye ha disingishes in eer hing presened o s iew, whaeer here is on which imag naion can deligh o e deained and wih a mind ha once comprehends he as and aends o he mine T ede of The Seasons wonders ha he nee saw efoe wha Thomson shows hm nd ha he nee ye hs fel w Thomson impresses Originaly is fond here in a mode of hinking and of pression he hogh iself does no hae o e noel dicl of pprehenson and accepance; i may e, and fo Johnson mos ofen is he commonplace, o a hogh which when grasped is so qickly admied ha he eader wonde ha he nee hogh of i fo himsef Oginaliy does no reqire he reecion of conenion e hae grown acc omed dring he las cenry and more, o sch rio of n didal syles ha we may forge ha srcinaliy is as signi cn in seled perod as i is in one of consan change we hae ecome so accsomed o dierences of poeic syle recog nizale y anyody ha we may e less sensiie o he ne ariaions wihin a form which he mind and ear haiaed o maymos perceie srcinaliy when ecomes heha onlyform or he przed ire of poery, mayicease o e a ire a all and when seeal poes and hei respecie grops of admirers cease o hae in common any sandards of ersicaion, an y ideniy of ase or o f ene s o f elef, criicis may decline o an aderisemen of preference The srcinali which Johnson approes, is an srcinaliy limied y he ohe qaliies which he demands Johnson aached mporanc o ediatio This erm a ecome he oec of derision, hogh wha he erm mens may e somehing from which we can neer escape Tha poery shold each wisdom or inclcae re seems o mos
O OER D OETS
eope a ute secoary eve a extraeous vaue to some ee seems icompatible wit e true unctio of poetry ut e must rst obsee tat Joso we is critca sese is alert is ever give to overratig a poem o te sole groun o its teacig a pure morality He e tat a poem sou be erestig a tat it soul give immeiate peasure Iee e overstates tis reuiremet we e says n his ifeI ti of Cowey Watever professes to beet by pleasig must please at nce. e pleasures of te m imy sometig sue a nexpecte tat wic elevates must aso surprise Wat is erceive by slow egrees my gratify us wit te conscious ness of improvemet but wil ever strie wit te sese o sure' I agree tat a poem wic maes o immeiate impresso hic i no way compels our atteto is ot ikey to arouse trill later ut Joso oes ot seem to me to allow or te ssbiity of ay evelopmet or expasio of enoymet a he graua awareess to new beauties to foow from bette cuaitace or oes e alow for te rpeig of te reaer te eveopmet o is sesibilty troug eeper experece a more extesive owege I i ot owever uote his setece for te purpose of isageemet but to icate e strictess mi wit wic pleasure a eicato are assocate n Josos He speas of watever professes to beet y pleasig e says tat wic eevates must aways surrise e eicatio s ot a separabe aito to oem t s rgaically essetial to it We o ot ave two experieces e of peasure a oe of eicatio t is oe experiece whic we aalyse ito costtuets I ugig te permaece of te principes of a critc begg to a age very ieret rom our ow we must co t ly reiterpret is laguage to our situato te most geeralize seseaccorig I suppose tato eicaton eas oy tat from goo oetr certany rom reat oetry
JOHNON A
CRITIC
AND OE
we must derive some benet as wel as pleasure If we identif edicaion wih he propagation of the mora ideas of John sons tim e ideas whic h Christi ans ma hold to be taint ed with deis m and which others ma nd too Chris tian we fa il to see that it is mere our notions of edicatio that have hanged \hen Matthew Arnold said that poetr as a criti cism of life, he was maintaining the standard of edication ven the doctrine of art for arts sae is onl a vaiation under the guise of protest and in our time, the defence of poet as substitute for religion, and the atempt not alwas successfu or benecial to poet, to express or impose a social philosoph in verse, indicate that it is onl the content of edication' that changes If, therefore, we allow to edication all the easticit of which the term is capable, it seems to come to no more than he assertion that poetr should have some serious value fo the reader proposition which will not be denied and which is therefore hardl worth arming Our onl disagreement wil be about the kind of content which we consider edifing. Our eal dicut wih Johnson's view is rather dierent Ve dis tinguish more clearl between the conscious intention of the witer, and the eect of the wor We distrust verse in which the author is deliberatel aiming to instruct or to persuade This distinction does form one Iofbelieve, the commonplaces of Johnsons thinking Henot is, however, reall concerned with the morait of the poem and not with the moral designs of the poet. ossu is of opinion sas Johnson in his Life of Milon that the poets rst work is to nd a moral which his fable is afte wrds to ilustrate and establish. This seems to have been the prcess onl of Milton the moral of other poems is incidental and consequent; in Milton's onl it is essential and intrinsic I thin that this statement is true of Milton, though if Johnson had been better acquainted with Dante he might not have tken Milton as an unique example It appears to show how
2
ON POETRY
AD
POETS
eer, ha wha nerests Jhnsn is he edifying pwer f he em, rather han he delibeae intenin f he pe We are all, f curse, inuenced in ur degree f aracin t any paricuar wrk f art, by u sympahy wth, r anipahy wards, he ideas, as well as the persnality f the authr We endeau, and in ur ime must endeaur, t discun this atractin r repusin, a a us aluain f he aristic merit If in werder ed,ikearrie Jhnsn, n an age f relaie uniy and f generaly accepted assumtns, we shuld prbably be less cncerned make this ert f we were agreed upn the nature f the wrd we le n, n the pace f man in i and n his destiny f we were agreed as t wha we mean by wisdm, by he gd ife fr the ndiidual and fr sciey, we shud apply mral udgments pey as cndeny as did hnsn u n an age n which n w wrters need agree abut anything, an age in which we mus cnstant admi ha a pe wih a iew f life whch we beliee be mistaken, may write much beter pery than anther whse iew is he same as ur wn, we are frced t make his astacin; and in making , we are tempted ignre, with unfrunae resuls, he mral alue f petry a gether S tha, f a pet's ew f fe, we ncne ask, n is i rue?' bu is i rigina?' And is ne f the heses man tained in his iscussin f Jhnsn's criticism, hat Jhnsn was in a psiin, as n critic f eual sature has been since, t ite purely lieay cicism, us because he was able t assume that here as a general atttude twards life, and a cmmn pinin as he pace f petry n it I cme n Jhnsn's use f the erm peic dicin T ms peple nwadays, I imagine, petic dicin means an idim and a chice f wds which are ut f date, and which perhaps were neer ery gd at hei bes If we ae tempeae, we he use f idimidim and cabulary brrwed frm pets f amean dieen generatin, and cabuary n lnger suita le fr er. If we are etreme, we mean tha this dim and
JOHNSON S R ND OE
ocabulary were away ba een whe they were freh Worsworth in hi Preface ays there will alo be foun in these oumes litte of what i uually cae poetic iction. Johnon uses the term in a eulogitic ene In the Life of Den he remars: There was therefore before the time of Dren no poetical iction no sstem of wors at once from grones of ometc use an free from the rene hashnes of the tems appo piate to particular arts \o too familiar or too remote efeat the purpoe of a poet rom thoe souns which we hear on mall or on coare occaion e o not eaily receie tong impreions or eightful image an wor to which we are ney stanger wheneer they occur raw that atten tion to themeles which they shou tranmit to thing We must bear in mn with regar to ocabular an con struction what I trie to put before more generaly that the notion of the anguage as perpetually in change is not one which ha imprese itsef upon the age of Johnson He ooe bac some two centurie an mare in language as in manner a continuous impoement As fo the improe ment whch he note he wa not eceie but he ha neither the awaeness of anthing ost nor the apprehenion of in eitable changes to come. Nor oes \orsworth hmelf eince morechange conscousness o Johnson the contancy which laguageanymut than oes what with he thouht he a etablihe was a etu to a iction of popua sm plicity an rural purity In hi perception that the anguage of literature must not loe it connexion with the language of speech \orworth was ght but hi tanar of the rigt poetic iction wa no more eatie than Johnon's Ve on the contray shoul be able to recognize that there shoul be for eer perio ome tanar of correct poetic iction neither ientical wth remote from curentfty peech an must concee thatnorthetooright poetic iction yeas hence wil not be the ame as that for toay I mean that the
O O' AD OES
voabuay, the idiom, ad the gammatial ue fo poety aot be idetal with thoe of poe the hoie of wod, Joho' etitio emai tue that thoe oud whih we hea o mal o o oae oao ae to be avoied eept, mut add, whe it i the pupoe of the poet to pe et omethig mal o oae ad that wod to whih we ae ealy tage, theyta ou, that attetio to the melve whih wheeve they houd mit daw to thig' eept houd add, whe the wod i the oy wod fo that thig o whe it i the poet' pupoe to daw attetio to the od o itiize the poeti ditio of eighteethetuy poety i oe thig, to itize a eighteethetuy theoy of poeti ditio i aothe. We mut emmbe that if thee i o poeti ditio admitted, we have o tadad fo itiizig good ad bad itig i poety to dey tht thee i ay ight ommo tyle i a dageou a to iit that the poeti tye of ou time houd be the ame a that of the ieteeth e tuy Ou mode voabulay aommodate may ompaatively ew wod whih to Joho would have ouded ba baou e have bee ivetig, dioveig, fahioig ad theoizig at a ate ukow to ay ealie time, ad a ew wod etabihe itef muh moe uikly No wod i too ew, if it i the oly wod fo the pupoe o wod i too ahai, if it i the oly od fo the pupoe Ad may oa io, whih to Joho would have eemed ml o oae', eem to u t oao to be elebated i vee Joho' view of poeti ditio emai oud; but we have to ue ou ow wit i the appliatio of it hat Joho wa alet to the vie of mannersm appea fom aothe paage i hi ife of Dyde, a paage whih houd be take to heat by everyoe who apie to wite good vee He who write muh will ot aeaily a mae, uh a euee of patiua mode may eape eaily be oted Dy de i alway another and the same; he doe ot ehibit a
OHNSON AS
CRTC
AND OE
second tie the sae eegancies in the sae or, nor ap pears to have any art other than that o expressing ith cear ness hat he thinks ith vigour His syle coud not easiy be tated, either seriously or ludicrously or, bing alays euable and alays varied, it has no proinent or dscrina tive characters. I ished to dra particular attenton to ths point o poetic diction, because it is an essentia standard o ohnsons crti cis and because I think that the absence o any coon standard o poetic diction s a eakness both o odern verse and o our crtics o it And I deiberatey took this up directy ater touching upon hs standard o edcaton That oetry, hen t lustrates soe ora truth or culcates soe vrtuous practice, is ore to be coended than hen it does not; and that poetry hich recoends or insinuates bad principles, or eads nto eror, is to be condened, is shon throughout n ohnsons treatent o his authors Yet ohn son said, in prasing Akensds Pleaures of manaton th the philosophical or reigious tenets o the author I have nothing to do y busness is th his poetry ohnson did no conuse hs judgent o hat an author as saying ith hs judgent about the ay n hich he said it No I obsee soetes in conteporary criticis o poet, and n the
ore abitious revieing o poetry,hasa been conuson o these judgents The standard o edication ractured into a ariety o prejudices: ith no coon opinion as to ha poetry ought to teach, the critic is not necessariy lberated ro oral udgent, but ill requenty declare a poe good or bad according to his spathy ith or antipathy o, he authors pont o vie Not nreuently too, the critics knol edge o the authors vies ill be derived ro other sources than the particular pe presented or hs crticis, and i nuence hs judgment upon that poe And ith the ues tion hether a poe s el or il rtten hether it coud be proved, hether the cadences are usica, hether the
ON POETRY AND POETS
choice of words is fastidous and literate, whether the iagry is haily found and roerly distributed, whether the synta s correct and hether the violations of noral construction ar ustied such questons are avoded as if they lai th questioner under susicion of edantry The result is too oftn coent which is of no value to the author, ecet when if favourble, it ay be god advertiseent; a criticis of th hustings, by which revewers range theselves for or against a articular oet That there is today no denite standard of taste in oety, is artly the result of condiions of socety and histor orgins, beyond our control and beyond our resonsbilty Th ost, erhas, that we can do, and that is worth the doing, is to learn to recognize the benets to the wrter and to his critic of common stye in oetry t is in fact only when a coon styl is recognzed fro which the oet ay not deart to far without censure, that te ter oetic diction, in any bt derogatory sn, has eaning When such standards fo coon style eist, the author who would achieve srcinality s coelld to attend to the ner shades of distinction To srcnal withn denite lits of roriety ay require great talent and labour, than when eve an ay write as h leases, and when the rst thing eected of hi is to b dierent Toto be obliged work uon nera shades is to b of coelled strive for to recision and the clarty good deal what s blaed as wilful obscurity on the art of odern wrters is the result of the lack of any coon style, and th consequent dculty of couniction. Those conditons aso favor the owering of soething for hich Johnsons own verse, at its best, s eent oqece Eloquence is a virtu associated with great oratory it should be distinguished fro the baser, and far cooner tye of olitical oratory, by th test of its aeal to thetoreason and to and the sensibility, and its avoidances of aeal the coarser ore inaabl assions Eloquence is that which can stir the eotions of the
JOHNSO AS CRTC AND OE
inteligent and judicious. ut in poetry not a poetry hich does this is in my use of the od eloquent poetry is eo quent only if the poet is appealing to emotions hich the intel ligent and u dicious c an eperience together in othe r ords not to a single reade but to an audience It is not an uniersal virtue in poety it is eective of some results and incompatible ithdisplayed the attainment of others most of the geat poets have it on occasion It but is related to that peculiar force in the poetry of Johnson and Goldsmith as in the poetry of Dryden and Pope before them hich I may in dicate by saying that every ord and epithet goes straight to its mar In comparison much of later poety has employed ords rather for the sae of overtones associations and in enite suggestiveness he greatest poets have done this too e must admit that e can err by ecusive attention to th one ind of use of ods or to the other In the Life of Pope Johnson denes as illustrated in Popes poety the three qualities hich constitute poetic genius He says signicantly that Pope has these three quaities in pro ortions very nicely adjusted to each other; hich is a hoe some reminder that it is not separate qualities but qualities in relation to each ot her by hich e must u dge a poet that in fact the perfection of their proportion is itsef the nal quaity Henventn ites as follows He had by hich ne trains of eents are formed and ne scenes of imagery displayed as in The Rape the Lk, and by hich etrinsic and adventitious emblishments and illustrations are connected ith a non subect as in the Essay n Ctcsm He ad magnatn hich strongy im presses on the riters md and enables him to convey to the rder the various forms of nature incidents of life and ener gies of passion as in his Elsa Wndsr Frest and Ethc Epstles judgment, had purpose hich and seects ife orthenature hat the He present requies by from separating es
sence of thngs from its concomitants often maes the rere
ON OTR AND OT
ntation mo powfu tan t it and ad coou of anguag wa bfo im d to dcoat i matt wit v gc of gnt xpion a wn accommo dat i diction to t wondfu muipicit of Hom ntimnt and dciption dang of attmpting to cataogu t facuti of t pot a of two kind dnomination ma paat in t mind of t ad facuti wic a on found to t; and t ma b takn too iou a na pco ogica o pioopica tut wn t a m ana of pagmatic vaidit to b ttd b ti ufun in ping u to wig t mit of pticu pot t i pudnt not imp to coo t t of dnition wic w nd mot con ni C to aum tat tat on i mot xact wic i mot cnt; but to coat a to of pctab autoit of dint g V nd tat t v a gat da in com mon onon foo Ddn in t u of t tm iveio but put it bid imiio wa Ddn ad mad iveio a pci of imiio, togt wit cy and elocuio oon do not mpo elocuio but intoduc udme Coidg concntat upon imiio in wic nd dpt of maning unupctd b it Ddn o onon and bitt cy wit a apn of ditinction cy imiio btwn nd dicutand to app in pctic and cang in t wic maning of wod t cang of mpai a pat of t ito of ou civiiation A contmpoa citic nggd in t am tak of anai woud poduc anot and mo compicatd account wic woud pobab b inuncd b t tud of cinc of mo cnt gowt modn account woud t in btt wit ou mnta funitu but woud not nci b mo tu fo ti on bcu of t unttd tat of t cinc
upon wic migt dw mgt of vn mo incind to ta fom iwat i t tuitpupo ucbdicimination t p t aod in dicning t mit and dfct of
OHNSON AS
CRITIC
AND OE
patcula peces f pety. The accunt f Dyden and hn sn, because these ctcs ee cncened th teatue as lteatue and nt th psychlgy sclgy and because f the ve smplcty, have endung usefulness The patc ua nteest f hnsn's vaatn, I thnk, les n hs use f the tem udmen a emnde f the geat mptance f thenctca faculyagne ceatve the pesent the pe tcmpstn I uld sh t be unde std as speakng geneally, and thut allusn t ndvdual names seem s t ppse t h mse lf as hs man bject and as that hch s the mst chaactestc f hs at, ne and stkng mages th ncdents that nteest the aectns ecte the custy Bth hs chaactes and hs descptns, as much as pssble ae specc and ndvdual, even t a de gree f ptatue In hs dctn and mete, n the the hand, he s cmpaatvely caeless These ds ae nt mne, but Cledge's They culd ell enugh be appled t the pesent tme; and n the the hand the pncple mantaned s ne hch I am sue hnsn uld have appved Smlarly, Cledges bseatns n petc dctn hen cmpaed th hnsns sh a funda mental ageement n the deence beteen the use f an guage n vese and ts use n pse. n an age lke us, lackng cmmn standads, petsupn needthse t emnd themselves tha tt s nt sucent t ely gfts hch ae natve them, and hch they eecse th ease, but that gd pety must ehbt seveal qualtes n pptn, f hch ne s gd sense. The judgmen shuld als be emplyed, n ds cveng f themselves the suces f the n stength and eakness n cubng the euence f the fce, and avd ng ccasns n hch they uld dspay nly the ek ness I emembe nce beng tld that a famus tenns playe had sad, that she as bette f beng natually eak n cetan stkes; f all the the et t vecme he decency and maneue s that t shuld be least epsed had geatly
0
ON PORY
AND
POTS
nrad r rourun r omtng r w pot gt pondr A toroug xamnaton o onon' rtm would rqur, rt a tudy o t gtntntury bakgroun ond, a tudy o onon ml, not a t ubt o andot but n otr work, and n rlgou and polta opnon and, nally, a mu mor dtald tudy o rt m o t gratr o t pot wo am undr obraon akpar, Mlton, Drydn, Pop, ray. Su would a work o mor olarp tan I po I only want to uggt to t tudnt o ngl poty and o t rtm o potry tat r a ubt w drv mu mor r ou nvtgaton tan t a yt rvd And, n long, I w to um up to pont w m to m to v par tular rlvan to t rtm o potry n our own tm In t rt pla, t rmarkabl tat onon Lvs o t Pos t only monumntal olton o rta tud o Engl pt n t languag, wt a orn, a wl a an ampltud, w no otr ngl rtm an lam It wort l ang ourlv wy no latr work o rtm o t am kn d Nntnt ntury rt m, w n t a n ot bongd prmarly to t atgo o olarly rar, t prntaon o t artanabl at about on autor or anotr, a tnddmrg to b omtng purly Colrdg, rtm nto ploopy and altrar toyWt o att wt Arnold, t mrg nto t and propadut, and tratur bom a man toward t ormaton o aratr n om rt, o wom atr a pmn, t ubtat tr o rtm bom a prtxt o anotr knd In our own a, t nun o pyology and o oology upon ltrary rtm a bn vry notabl On t on and, t nun o oal dpln av nlargd t d o t rt, and avtarmd, n a world w otrw nlnd to dprat mportan o ltratur, t rlaton o tratur to l But rom anotr pont o vw t nrmnt
OHNSON AS
CRITIC
AND O
as as b a imprishmt r th pury itrary alus h apprciati gd writig r ts w sak ha bcm submrgd wh litratur is udgd i th ight th c sidrats That this has happd must t b attributd ithr r appral r disparagmt t diidua crtics t s simply that th cditis udr which litratur s udgd simply ad aturally as itratur ad t athr thig g prail Fr such udgmt itratur t b th r mal ad atural task th critc a sttld scity s cssary; a dit ad imitd public th midst which thr wud b a smallr umb prss tast ad discrimia ti with th sam backgrud ducati ad mars. t must b a sciy whch blis itsl a scy i whch th dics rlgius ad pltical ws ar t trm O such a scty ca th stadad a oon syl gd witig bcm stabishd ad uqustd. That s th kid scity which hs t t s dc th chag scty accratd u w tm a chag which brigs taby a chag i th cscusss th itrary critc hims that i attmptig t pa t mysl ad t my audic th pcular trst hs's critcism am rcd t put mys at a pit iw s r dit rm his w ad itrud th suggsti scia backgrud whch hasTh bcm th cssay ccr crticsm cclusi that wrk cmparab t Th Lis of Pos cud b wtt tday shuld t ad us th t at hs t a pacl ad amt th dci cli which maks such crtcsm mpssibl shuld it th thr had tmpt us t trat ths ssas mrly as a cus baig up ur actual prblms Thir rst au s a alu which al study th past shud ha r us that t shuld mak us mr cscus what w a ad u w lmtatis ad g us r udstadig wrld i which w w i Thir scdary au s that by study g thm ad i s dg att t t s at t
ON OER AD OES
uthor point of iew we may recoer ome of the crieria o udgment which hae been diappering from the crticim of poetry We o not need to accept al of Johnon udgment o agree with a hi opinion to extract thi eon Nor do we need to oerrate the poetry of that period of which the name of Dryden and Johnon may ere a boundarie ut amongt the rietie chao of n anguage which we nnd our ouree today one ofa chao which there are immered dcoer abe no tandard of iting and an ncreaing indierence to etmoogy and the hitory of the ue of word And o the re ponibiity of our poet and ou critic or the preeration o e anguage we need to be repeatedy remnded
Byron part of yros lfe ae bee ell se fort,facts oftea large last fe years, by r Harold Ncolso ad
T r Q ue ell, o av e al so provde d terp retatos c ac cord t eac oter ad c mae te caracter of yro more tellgble to te preset geerato No suc terpretato as yet bee oeed our tme for yros verse ad out of uverstes, Wordsort, Colerdge Selley ad Keats ave bee dscussed from varous pots of ve yro ad Scott ave bee left peace Yet yro, at least, ould seem te most early remote from te sympates of every lvg crtc t ould be terestg, terefore, f e could ave alf a doze essays about m, to see at agreemet could be reaced The preset artcle s a attempt to start tat ball rollg Tere are several tal dcultes t s dcult to retur crtcally to a poet o se poetry as suppose t as for may of our cotemporares ecept tose o are too youg to ae read ay of te p oetry of tat pe rod te rst b oyhood etusasm To be told aecdotes of oes o cldood by a elderly relatve s usually tedous ad a retur, after may years, to te poetry of o s accomped by a smla gloom mages come before te md, ad te recolecto of some te maer of DonatJan tged t tat ds llusoverses ad cycsm oly possble te age of stee, ch • Cottd to m Ae a oto o y dt omy Do. Puhd C & Co 37.
ON OERY AND OE
appeared in a schoo periodical There are more impersona obsaces o overcome The buk o yon's poery is disress ing, in proporion o is qualiy; one woud suppose ha he never desroyed anyhing Ye buk is ineviabe in a po o yon's ype and he absence o he desrucive eemen in his composiion indicaes he kind o ineres and he kind o ack o ineres he ookvery in poery We have come odisied epec poery o beha somehing concenraed soehing bu i yron had disied his verse here woud have been nohing whaever le When we see eacly wha he was doing we can see ha he did i as we as i can be done Wih mos o his shorer poems one eels ha he was doing somehing ha To Moore coud do as wel or beer in his onger poems he did somehing ha no one ese has ever qualled I is someimes desirabe o approach he work o a poe ompeey ou o avour by an unaiiar avenue I y avenue o yon is a road ha eiss ony or my own mind I hal be correced by oher criics i may a al evens upse preudice and ncourage opinion o orm ise anew I here ore sugge s considering yron as a Scoish poe I say Scoish no Scos since he wroe in English The one poe o his ime wih whom he could be considered o be in co peiion a poe o whom he spoke invariably wih he highes respec was Sir Wae Sco I have always seen or iagined ha I saw in buss o he wo poes a cerain resemblance in he shape o he head The coparison does honour o yron and when you eamine he wo aces here is no urher re emblance Were one a person who iked o have buss abou a bus o Sco would be somehing one could live wih There is an air o nobiliy abou ha head an air o agnaniiy and o ha inner and perhaps unconscious sereniy ha b ongs pudgy o greaace wrisuggesing ers who arae endency aso gea om en . u yrona ha corpuence eakl sensual mouh ha resess riviali o epression an
BYRON
orst of all that blnd ook of the sefconscos beaty the bst of yo s that of a ma ho as eer ch the torg trageda et t as by beng so thoroghgog an actor that on arred at a knd of koledge of the orld otsde hch he had to lear somethg abot order to play hs oe n t ad of that part of hmsef hch as hs role Sperca knoedge of corse bt accrate so far as t et. Of a Scottsh qalt yros poty shal speak hen I come to Don Juan t there s a ery mportat part of th oc makep hch may approprately be metoed be fore consderg hs poet for hch thk hs Scotth ate cedece proded the materal hat s hs peclar dabolsm hs d elght n pos g as a dam ed cre atre ad pro dg edece for hs damato a ather horrfyg ay No he dabosm of yro s er aythg that the omatc Agoy as Mr. Praderet calls t)from prodced Catholc cotres And I do ot thk t s easly dered from the com fortable compromse betee Chrstat ad pagasm ar red at Eglad and characterstcally Eglsh t cold come oly from the relgos backgrond of a people steeped n Calstc theolog yons dabolsm f ndeed t desees the name as of a med tpe He shared to some etent Sheeys Prometean atttde ad the omatc passo for Lberty; ad ths pas son hch spred hs more poltcal otbrsts combed th the mage of hmself as a ma of acto to bg abot the Greek adete Ad hs Promethea atttde merges to a Satac Mltoc atttde he romac concepto of M tos Sata s semPromethea and also cotemplates Prd as a iu. It old be dclt to say hether yo as a prod man or a man ho lked to pose as a p rod m a the possblty the to atttdes beg combed the same perso does notof make them ay c ssmar n the abstrac on as certanly a an man in te smpe ays
ON POETRY AND POES
I ant oplan whose anestors are there rnes Radulhus - ehtandforty anor f that y eory doth not greatly err \ee te r reward for fol lowng lly ban ners
Hi ee o dmatio wa ao mitigated by a touch of ueaity a maothig o occupied withcoud himef ad with the he wa tocuttig outie be altogether real.gure It i therefore impoible to make out of hi diaboim aythig coheret or ratioal He wa able to have it both way, it eem; ad to thik of himelf both a a idividua ioated ad u perior to other me becaue of hi ow crime ad a a aturally good ad geerou atue ditorted by the crime com mitted agait it by other It i thi icoitet creature that tur up a the Giaour the Corair, Lara, afred ad Cai oly a Do Jua doe he get eaer to he truth about himef ut i thi tage compoitio of attitude ad belief e eemet that eem to me mot rea ad deep i that of a erveio f he Calviit faith of hi mother acetor e reao for the egect of yro i I thik, that he ha bee admired for what are hi mot ambitiou attempt to be poetic ad thee attempt tur out, o eamiatio, to be fake othig but oorou armatio of the commopace with o depth of igicace A good pecime of uch impoture i the wellkow taza at the ed of Cato XV of Don Juan eween two orlds lfe hoers lke a star 'Twxt nght and orn, upon the horzon erge How lttle do we know that whh we are How less what we ay be The eternal surge Of te and tde rolls on and bears afar Our bubbles a the old burst, new eerge Lahed fro the foa of ages; whle the grae Of epre heae but lke soe passng waes
BYRO
vr hich ar ot too goo for th cool magazi yro ral cllnc i o a irnt lvl from th. Th qualiti of arrativ vr hich ar fou i Don Juan ar o l rmarabl th arlir tal for ur tang th ay ha ot ra th tal ic th ay of my choolboy ifatuatio, a I approach thm ith ap prhnio araraabl Hovr abur tir taleteller vi of lif, Thy thy ar, tal, vy ll tol A a mut rat yro vy high i I ca thi of o otr c Chaucr ho ha a gratr raability, ith th cptio of Colrig hom ro abu a from hom ro ar a grat al A Colrig vr achiv a arraiv of uch lgth yro plot, if thy that am, ar trmly impl at ma th tal trting i rt a torrtial uncy of vr a a ill in varig t from tim to tm to avoi mootoy; a co a giu or ivagatio Digrio, in, o of th valuabl art of t tory tllr Th ct of yro igrio i to p u itrt i th toytllr himlf, a through thi itrt to itrt u mor i th tory. O cotmpora rar ti itrt mut hav b trog to th poit of chatmt; for v tll, onc ubmit ourlv to th poit of raig a pom through, th attracto of th pronality i porful Any f li, if quot in almot ay compay, will probably prov a momtay ttch of mrrimt Her eye ar char 'tere van to tell But gae on that o the Gaelle t wll at th ancy ell A large a languhngly ar But o ul bea oth n ev ey ar
but th pom a a hol ca p o atttio. The Gaou a log pom, Aa t plotprumably i vy impl, thoughhaotmaag, alay ay to follo Chritia, a Gr, by om ma of hich ar ot tol to cra acquait
ON PORY
AND
POS
e wih oug wom who beloged o he hem o w pehp e fouie wfe of Molem med H he edeou o epe wih e Chii loe eil ep ued d illed i due oue he Chii wih ome f h fied mbuhe d ll H We ubeque dioe h he o of hi ede o p of beig ol d b he Giou himelf o eldel pie b w of mg hi ofeio. I igul id of ofeio beue he Gou eem hig bu peie d me que le h lhough he h ied o ell b h ow ful He eem mplled he b he me moie he Ae Mie h b de ie fo bo luio whih o ld hdl he bee ge bu he dee h i ue i podg mll ompliio o he o A I he id i i o lo ghe e o dioe wh hppeed he begig log poophe o he hed glo of Geee heme whih Bo ould wih ge ll he Gou me dmi ee: Who thundeing coes on blackest steed, Wit slackened bit and hoof of speed?
d we e gie glimpe of hm hough Molem Though young and pale, that sallo fon s scathed by ey passions bun
whih eough o ell u h he Gou eeg peo beue he od Bo himelf pehp he hee log p ge bou h e deolo of H houe hbed ol b he pide he b h owl he wild dog d wed w fe h he poe h pped o o he oluio of h le d h we e o ex pe he Giou o ill H whih i of oue wh hppe No Joeph Cod ould be moe oudbou he budle piil dopped o h e d we upe i o be he bod of eil. he foow eee pge medig ueo o Beu h
BYRON
ind, and emorse eila turns u agan, alive for a moment, but this is another disloation of the order of events. hen we witness the sur rise of Hassan and hi s train this may have been mont hs or even y ers after eila 's death by the Giaour and his banditti and there is no doubt but that Hassan ied Falln Hassan lis - his unclosd y Yt l oing on h is ny
Then omes a delightful hange of metre, as wel as a su en ansition just at the moment when it is needed Th bowsing cals blls a tinkling His oth lookd fo h lattic high Sh saw th dws of v bspinkling Th gn bnath htwinkling: y Shpastu saw th plants faintly Tis twilight - su his tain is nig h
Then folows a sort of exequy fo Hassan evidently soen by another osem Now the Giaour reaears nine year ater in a monastey as we hear one of the mons ansering an inquiry about the visitors identity In what aaity the Giaour has attahed himsef to the monastery is not lear; the mons seem to have them aeted him without his behaviour among is very odd but weinvestigation, are told that and he has given the monastery a onsideabe sum of money for the rivilege of staying there he onuion of the oem onsists of the Giaour's onfession to one of the mons \hy a Gree of that eriod shoud ave been o oressed with remorse [athough wholly imenitent for ilng a oslem in what he woud have onsidered a far ght, or hy eila shoud have been gulty in eaving a huband or mater to whom she wa resumably united without her onsent are questions that we annot answer. I have onsidered the Giaour in some detai in order to ex
ON POETRY ND POETS
hibi o exaodia igeui i oelig he i ohig aighfowad abou he ellig o he impe ale we ae o old evehig ha we hould like kow ad he behaviou of he poagoi i omeime a uaccuable a hei moive ad eelig ae coued Ye he auho o ol ge awa wih i bu ge awa wih i naatie i he ame gi ha o wa o u o bee accou i
Do Jua ad he eao wh Do Jua i ill eadable
i ha i ha he ame aaive quali a he eaie ale. i I hik woh oig ha o developed he vee cote coideabl beod Mooe ad Sco if we ae o ee hi populai a ahig moe ha public capice o he a acio of a clevel exploied peoai hee eleme ee i i ceail. u o all, o vee ale epe e a moe maue age of hi aie fom ha Sco a Sco epee a moe maue age ha Mooe Mooe Lalla Rookh i a mee equece ae oied ogehe b podeou poe accou of he cicumace f hei aa io [modelled upo he Aabia Nights Sco pefeced a aighfowad o wih he pe of po which he wa o emplo i hi ovel o combied exoicim wih acuai ad developed mo eecivel he ue of suspense. hik alo ha he veicaio of o i he able bu i hi kid o ee i i ecea o ead a legh if oe i o om a im peio ad elaive mei cao be how b quoaio o ideif eve paage ake a adom a beig b o o b Mooe would be cooieuhip beod m powe bu hik ha aoe who had ecel ead o ae wuld agee ha he followig paage could o be b him Ad oh to see the ubuied heaps O whih the loely o o light sleeps Te ey ultues tuaaway, Ad sicke at so foul pey! Ol the ece hyaea stalks
BYRON
Thrughut the ctys desate waks At mdnght and hs carnage pes We t the hadead wretch wh meets The garng thse arge bue eyes Amd the darkness the streets! Laa o Rkh This b is some om ede nd ws mked s i wit po te ondon ib Chde Hard seems to me ineio to tis goup o poems [The Gaur The Brde Abyds The Crsar Lara, etc Tme nd time gin, to be sue, Bon wkens ding inte est b puple pssge, but Bon's puple pssges e nee ood enoug to do te wok tt is expected o tem in Chde Hard Stp! r thy tread s n an Empres dust!
is ust wt s wnted to eie inteest, t tt point but the tnz tt olows, on te Bttle o \teoo, seems to me uite lse nd quite epesenttie o te sit n wch on tkes euge wenee e tres to wite poet Stp! r thy tread s n an Empres dust! An Earthquakes sp s sepuchred bew! s the spt mark d wth n cssa bust? Nr cumn trphed r trumpha shw? N; but the mras truth tes smper s the grund w bere s et t be; Hw that red ran hath made the harest grw And s ths a the wrd has ganed by thee, Thu rst and ast eds! kngmakng ctr?
It is l the moe dicult, in peiod wic s te ost te ppecition o te kind o itues to be ound n Bons poet, to nlse ccutel is ults nd ices Hence we il to gie cedit to Bon o te instinctie t b wic in poem ike Chde Hard nd stil moe ecientl n Bepp o
ON OETRY ND OETS
Don Juan, he avds mntny by a deterus turn frm ne
subjet t anther He has the ardinal virtue f being neer dull But, when we have admitted the estene f frgtten rtues, we stil regnie a fasity n mst f thse pasages whih were frmerly mst admired what is this fasity due? Whatever it s, n Byrn's petry, that s wrng', we shud be mistaken i alng t rhetri thingsthave been lleted under that nam and fT we many are gng think that we have aunted fr Byrns verse by alling it rhetrial, then we are bund t avid using that adjeive abut Ml tn and Dryden, abut bth f whm n their very der ent kinds] we seem t be saying smethng that has meaning, when we speak f their rhetri Their failures, when they fai are f a higher kind than Byrn's suess when he su eeds Eah had a strngly indivdual idim, and a sense f anguage; at their wrst, they have an nterest n the word u an regnie them in the single ine, and an say: here is a partiular way f using the anguage There is n suh nd idaity in the line f Byrn If ne lks at the few singe nes, fr the Water passage in Childe Haold whh may pass fr familiar qutatns', yu annt say that any f them s great petry And all went merr a a marriage bell On wth the dane let jo be unonned
Of Byrn ne an say as f n ther English pet f his minene, that he added nthing t th anguage that he ds vered nthing in the sunds, and develped nthing n th meaning, f indivdual wrds I annt think f any ther pet f his distintin wh might s easy have been an am lished fregner writing Engish The rdina persn talks Engish, but nly a few pepe n every generatin an write t d upn this undeiberate labratin between a greatwrting many peple talking a iving language and a very few peple t the ntinuane and maintenane f a language depends
BYRON
us as an arisan o an alk Engis eauiully le abou s ork or n a pubi bar, may ompose a eer painu ien in a dead language bearing some resembane o a nespaper leader, and deoraed i ords ike maesrom and pandemonium so does Byron rie a dead or dying an guage Tis mperepiveness o Byron o e Englis od - s a e as o use a gea many ords beore e beome aar o i m ind iaes o r pra i al purpo es a de eve se nsibil i I say or praial purposes beause I am onerned i sensibiiy in is poery, no is privae lie or i a i as no e language in i o epress eelings ey mig a e no eis We do no even need o ompare is aoun o Waerloo i a o enda o eel e lak o minue pariulars bu is sensibiiy, or remarking a values e prose Senda, beng as some o sensibiity poery ao Byron ompleey msses Bron did or e language ver mu a e eader riers o our ournals are doing day by day I ink a is ailure is mu more imporan an paiude o is inermien pilosopiing Every poe as u ered plaiudes, every poe as said ings a ave been said beore I is no e eakness o e ideas, bu e soobo ommand o e language, a makes s ines seem e and is oug salo: Mais que Hugo aussi tat ans tout ce peuple Te ords o Pguy ave kep driing roug my mind ile I ave been inking o Byron Non pas vers qui aen dans la mmore, mais vers qui dans la mmoire sonnen e reenissen omme une anare, vibrans, rpidans, sonnan omme une anare, sonnan omme une arge, ambour ernel, e qui bara dans l mmoires ranaises quedesesrgimens rgemenair tambours auront esslongemps de bare aprs au ron u Bron as no in ths peope, eier o London or o
N ERY AND ES
ngland, but n his mothers peope and the most stirng stana o is Waterloo is this: Ad wld ad hgh the Caeo's gatheg' rose! The waote of Lohel whh b's hlls Have head ad head too have he Saxo foes; How the oo of ght that pboh thlls Savage ad shll But wth the beath whh lls The outappe so ll the outaeers Wth the ere atve dag whh stls The stg eo of a thousad eas Ad va's Doald's fae gs eah laa's ea
Al things wored togethe to mae Do Jua the greatest o ons poems. he stana that he borrowed rom the Italian was admiraby suited to enance is merts and concea his deects, ust as on a orse o in the water he was moe at ease than on oot His ear was mperect and capable only o crude eects and in this easygoing stana, with is habitually eminine and occasionaly triple endings, he seems aways to be eminding us tt he s not realy tryng ery hard and ye pro ducing someting as good or better than that o the soemn poes who taes their ersemaing more seriousy. And yon eally is at his best when he is not tryng too hard to be po etic when he tries to be poetic n a ew ines he poduces things ie the stana I hae aready uoted, beginnng Betwee two wolds lfe hoves lke a sta
ut at a lower intensity e gets a surprising range o eect is genius or digression, or wandering away rom his subet [usually to ta about himsel and suddeny returning to it, s, n Do Jua at te height o its power he contnual bante and moery, which his stana and his Italian mode sere to eep constantly in hs mind, as an admirable antacid to the hghuin wch in thesere earie romances tends to upset the readers stomach and his socal satie heps to eep hm t
BYRON
the obective and as a sincerity that is t least plausible if not pofound he portrait of himsef comes much nearer to hon esty than any that appears in his earlier work his is worth eamining in some detail. Charles Du Bos in his admirable Bon et le besoin de l ftlit quotes a long passage of selfportraitue from L D u Bos deserves full credit for recognizing its importance; and on deserves all the credit that Du Bos gives him for haing itten it his pssage strikes me also as a masterpiece of self analysis but of a self that is la rgely a deliberate fabricaton a fabrication that is ony completed in the actual witing of the lin he reason why Byron undestood this sef so well is that it is largely his own invention and i is only the self that he invented that he understood perfectly If I am coect one cannot help feeling pity and horro at the specacle of a man devoting such gigantic energy and prsistence to such a useless and petty purpose: though at the same time we must feel sympathy and humility in reecting that it is a vice to which most of us are addicted in a tful and less persevering way; that to say Byron made a vocation out of what for ost of us is an irregular weakness and desees a certain sad admiration for his degree of success But in Don Jun we get something much nearer to genuine selfrevelation For Juan in sspite themay brilliant which him o thatof he hold qualities his own with among the Bon Englishinvests aristocracy is not an heroic gure here is nothing absurd about his presence of mind and courage during the shipwreck or about his powess in the ukish wars: he ehibits a kind of physical courage and capacity for heroism which we are quite willing to attribute to Byron himself But in the accounts of his rela tions wth omen he is not made to appear heroic o even dignied and these impress us as having an ingedient of the genuine well ble as ofthe It is nasotic andmakebelieve this c onrms I think the view of on hed b y r. Pete Quenne ll that in these oeepi
0� POERY AND POETS
sdes ws ke he psse e Ee ee, sp f he e d ge f h hd f e, ppes he s he sede h he seded hs epsde s he ges d ms efy eb e f he m s ps sges, d hk desees pey hgh mks s e h fe Js ee by D J, we e hdy s eds s beee he ee bed hm wh dee b hs shd ed s dsmss he desp as fse The nnocence f s meey sbse f he pssvy f By d f we ese he e we egze he sme he desdg f he hm hea d ep sh es s ls Tey were so youn so beuful So lonely lovn helpless nd e ou s t n wc te het lwys full nd vn oer self no fuher power omts deeds eernty cnno nnul
T e f D d f Hdee s s he m, w fee b sbseqey he fe f Chee h Ge de wh m, e sspe s, By hd peped hmsef b hs egh mhs wh he Cess f Oxfd Ad hee ems, f ee, h sge pssy h h s ee Beweeesembe he s dhe sed p f he pem, bewee Js dees bd d hs dees Egd hee s ebe deee he s p he se s de he s pesqe, d f he bes kd Bys e ee fs he shpwek, a epsde we kw qe, s smehg qe e ad qe sessf ee f be smewh ede by he f bsm whh mes he s wd adee s dey fe 's Egd, whe he s hed p by fpds he wy d d he e ga, hk, he by f he ded hghwym, s smehg ew Egsh ese
BRON
He fom the wold had ut o a eat mn, \ho in his time had made heoi bustle. \ho in a ow like om ould lead the van, Booe in the ken o at the spellken ustle? ho quee a at? \ho [spite of Bowsteets ban On the high tobspie so ash the mule? Who on a lak ith blakeed al hs blowing o pime so sell so nutt, and so knowin?
That is rstrate t is ot a bit lke Crbbe but it is rathe uggestive o Burs. The last our catos are uless am geatl mistake the most substatial o the poem To satirize humait i geera reuires either a more geia talet tha Bros such as that o Rabelais or else a more prooudl tortured oe such as Sts thescee tter i parthch o Don is cocered th aBut Eglish thereJuan asBro or him othig romatic let he is cocered ith a restrcted eld that he had ko ell ad o the satirizig o hich a acute a mosity sharpeed his poers o observatio His uderstadig ma remai supercia but it is precise Quite possbl he udertook somethig that he oud have bee uabe to ca to a successu cocusio possibl there as eeded to complete the stry o that mostrous housepart some high spirits some capacit or laughter ith hich Byo as ot edoed. He might have oud it impossible to deal th that emarkable persoage Aurora Rab the most serious charcter o his vetio ithi the rame o his satire Havig veted a character too serious i a a too real or the orld he ke he might have bee compeled to educe her to the sze o oe o his ordia romatic heroies But od Hery ad ad Adeie Amudeville are persos exactl o the leve o capact or has uderstadig the have a reat or Bros hich their author perhaps otad eceived due credit at puts the last catos o Don Juan at the head o
O PORY AND POETS
o work i thik that the ubect matter gave hi at at a aeuate object for a geuie emotio The emotio i hatre of hpocri a if it wa reiforce b ore peroal a ptt feelig the feelig of the m who a a bo ha kow the humilitio of habb ogig with a eccetric mother who at ftee ha bee clum a uattractive a uabe to ac with Mr Chaworth ho remaie ol alie amog th e oc iet tht he k ew o well thi it ure of the srci of hi attitue towar Eglih ociet o give it greater iteit A the hpocri of the wor that he atirize wa at the oppoite etreme from hi ow Hpocrite iee ecept i the srcial ee of the wor i harl he term for yro He wa a actor who evote immee trouble to boig a role that he aopte; hi upercialit wa omethig thatpoetr he create t i a icult i of coi erig ro' ot toforbehief raw ito aali the ma but much more attetio ha alrea bee evote to the ma tha to the poetr a prefr withi the liit of uch a ea thi to keep the latter i the foregrou M poit i that ro atire upo Egih ociet i the latter part of Do J i omethig for which ca o paral le i Egih iteature He wa right i makig the hero of hi houepart a Spaiar for what ro uerta a ilike about Eglih ociet i ver much what a itelliget foreiger i the ame poitio woul uerta a iike Oe caot leave Do J without calig attetio to a other part of it which emphaize the ierece betwee thi poem a a other atire i Eglih the Deicator ere The Deicatio to Southe ee to e oe of the mot e hilaratig ece of abue i the laguage Bo b Sohy o po - Po L Ad rpsv o ll h r Alhogh is h yo d o Tory
BYRO
ast yours has lately been a comon case; And no my Epic Renegade hat are ye at?
kept up thout emsson to the end of seenteen stanzas Ths s not the sate of Dyden stll less of Pope t s pehaps moe lke Hal o aston but they ae bunles n compa son Ths s not ndeed Enlsh sate at all t s eally a yting and close n feeln and ntenton o the sate of Dunba ene larbar loungeour baith losy in lisk and lonye Fy skolderit skyn tho art both skyre and skrumple; For he that rostit arance had thy grunye And he that hid anct Johnis ene ith ane omple And he that dang anct Auguste ith ane rumple Thy oll ront had and he that Bartilmo aid; The gallo gaipis etit thy graceles gruntill tho ald or ane haggeis hungry gled
To some ths paal may seem questonable but to me t has bouht a keene enjoyment and I thnk a juste appec aton of Bon than I had befoe I do not petend that Bon s lon no fo othe easons does Dunba o Buns equal he Fench poet] but I hae come to nd n hm cetan qual es besdes hs abundance that ae too uncommon n Enlsh poety as el as the absence of some ces that ae too com mon. And hs on ces seem o hae tn tues that closely esemble them Wh hs chalatansm he has also an unusual fankness th hs pose he s also a pote contumace n a sol emn county; th hs humbu and selfdecepton he has also a eckless ash honesty; e s at once a ula patcan and a dned tosspot; th all hs bous dabosm and hs any of petendn to dseputablty he s enunely supesttous and dseputable. I am speakn of the qualtes and defect sble n hs ok and mpotant n estmatn hs ok no of the pate lfe th hch I am not concened
Goethe as the Sge* of my oce room tere as stood fo Nsome matelpiece ftee years ad more amog portraits of literar
O frieds te facsmile of a drawig of Goete i old age T THE
drawig is full of life te w ork, oe fee ls, o t oly of gifted draugtsma but of a artst ispired by is subject. Goete stads witadisteads casped beid back t te soulders are bet posture stoopig; but is altoug ody may be weakeed by irmities, t s obvously still ruled by a vigorous mid Te eyes are large ad lumious te erssio miscievous, bot beig ad mepistopelia: w re i te presece of a ma wo combies te vitality of out wit t wisdom of age Tere ws a momet, som ears ago, we te picture was violetly dislodged, togete wit its matelpiece compaios but, as oe would expect of Goete, tisicidets portraitof seree, alert ad gored te tat disturbed timecrical, survived a Tis is te Goete of te days of te coversatios wit ckerma. t is Goete te Sage ad as wat ave to sa ere migt almost be called a Discourse i Praise of Wisdom tis picture would form a appropriate frotispiece to my tet f oe employs ts word sage wit all te care ad scruple t deserves, te o as i mid oe of te rarest acievemets of te uma spirit Poetic ispiratio is oe too commo addss dld a ambg ivy as h awa h Hasa Gh 5, ay 55 Th as I am d was Mals h a g ma a v to · Wima
GOETHE AS THE SAGE
ut the true sage is rarer tha the true poet a whe the w ifts that of wisom a that of poetic speech are fou the same ma you hae the great poet It is poets of this k who eog ot mely to ther ow peope ut to the worl t s oly poets of this ki of whom oe ca thk, ot pri marily as limte y their o aguage a atio ut as eat Europeas At rst I ha oere whether there remaie aythig t ay aout Goethe which ha ot ee etter sai area Whe I cae howeer to the poit at which I ha to choos a topic a outie my moe of treatmet I fou myself e wilere y excess of possiites y the umerless aspect of Goethe a the umeess cotexts i whch Goeth cou e cosere I the e I was ae to reuce my possile topics to two ut o further metato I iscoere that the two were so closely coecte i my mi as to form o prolem whch I must treat as a whoe The rst prolem was what are the commo characteristics of that select umer of uthors of whom Goethe s oe who are Great Europeas A the seco was what s the process y which oe e comes recocile to those geat authors to whom i oes youth oe wa s iier et o r atipat het ic ot ol y why t tkes place ut why it ought to take pace ot oy the process ut the mora ecessity ofthese the process I theicourse f this essay I shal e cosierig wo prolems tur I hope that the reaer may come to agree that the sutitle I hae ha i mi a Discour se i Praise of Wis om is ot wholly uuste I the eelopmet oaste a critcal ugmet i itea e a part or a aspect of the total process f co g to maturit y there are acco ri g to my o experece three impotat phases. I aolescece I was swept wth ethusiasm for oe author aother to whicheer respoe the istctie ees after at my stage of eelopmet At thistoethusi stic stage the crtical facuty s harly awake for there is
ON POETRY ND POETS
omaison of on autho with anothr no ful awarnss o th basis of th rlationshi btwn onslf and th autor in whos work on is ngrossd Not onl is thr but littl awar nss of rank thr is no tru undrstanding of gratnss This is a standard inassib to th immatur mind at that tag, thr ar on th writrs b whom on is arrid awa and thos who lav on old As an ons radingvarit is xtndd on boms aquaintd with inrasing of th and bst itrs of ros and vrs, at th sam tim aquiring gratr xrin of th world and strongr owrs of rtion, ons tast boms mor omrhnsiv ons assions almr and ons undrstanding mor rofound At this stag, w bgin to dvlo that ritial abilit that ow of sfritiism with out whi th ot will do no mo than rat himslf to th nd of his lif Yt, though w ma at this stag no undrstand and ariat an indnit varit of artisti and hilosohi gnius, thr will rmain obstinat ass of au thors of high rank whom w ontinu to nd antiathti So h third sta g of dv lomnt of ma turat ion so fa a s that ross an b rsntd b th histo of our rading and tu d is t hat at whi h w bg in to n qui r int o th rasons or our failur to no what has bn found dlightful b n, has man gnratons of mn as wl qualid o ttr qualid for ariation than ouslvs In ting to ndrstand wh on has faild to ariat ightl a atiu ar autho on is sking fo ight not onl about that author but about onslf Th stud of authos whos work on fais to njo an thus b a vr valuabl xris though it is on to whih ommon sns imoss imits for nobod has th tim to stud th work of all th grat authors in whos work h taks no asur This ross of xamination is not an ort to njo what on has faild to no it is an or to undrstand that work to undrstand onslfon in rlation to it Th njomnt willand om if it dos om as a on un of th undrstanding
GOEE AS E SAGE
here ar obious rasons in on case for dicult with oethe For anone lik self ho cobins a Catho lic cast of ind a Calinistic heritag and a uitanical te praent oethe dos indeed present soe obstacls to b srounted ut expernce is tha recognition of the ob sacles a ecognition quiring selfexa inati on still or han exaidisappar nation of the while less it does not ak Dier hes obstacles can author renderthe iportant ncs whch are unexained neer erge fo th obscuit of preudice the btter we understand our failur o appreci at an author the near er we co to appreciation si nce undrstanding and spath a closl relatd ithout eer haing dnid othes genius wihout reaining unod b hat part of his poet ost asil assilaed b a foreigner had fear ben irritated b hi n ti cae to under stand tha quar el with oth was apart fro soe p er sonal trais which no see to of diinishd iportance priaril a quarr l with his age fo r had o the ars fond slf alinated fro the aor English pots of he nintnth cntur both of th Roantic Moent and of th icorian period still eno particular poes; but with the ec epion of Col ei dge and Colridge rather a s philo so phe and thologian and social thinker than as poet hae ore and Arnold ore lost touch their wih philosoph thei authors rowning Meredith of lifTennson cae to sm to e is thir religious foundations insecur ut had had th xpience of liing through that pot in bohood tha reaind to had ben for a ti r ch oed b these pots flt and feel that had learned fro h what was capabl of larning and what th wer capable of teaching e ith oh it is a dient attr As for the English poets to who ha just alluded can iagin the gratr pots heldi ss a dirent of lif utaswith oeth on ifthth ohrhad hand right w and necssa that h should hae blid wha h did and
ON OERY AND POS
behaved a he did And antipathy overcoe when it i an tpthy to any gure o great a that of Goethe i an iportant iberaton fro a iitaton of one' ow ind It y ee egotitic frivoity for e to pend o uch tie on the utation of y own attitude toward Goethe do o for two reaon Firt becaue the few cattered refer ence to denigrato Goethe in y earierif critica ing and o that a toea jutifyareyoty preentgrudg a tude and avert a upicion of inincerity ut give oe ac count of the evoution of y own ind Second becaue think that the ituation can be generaized in uch a way a to be of vaue have aid that o far a y own deveopent i typica one efeducation begin in adoecence by being enraptured invaded carried away by one writer after another [ a thinking of coure of one education n poetry] Sube uenty one acuire a knowedge and enjoent of a va riety of work; one i inuenced by ind of increaingy dierent character one becoe ore efpoeed critica udgent deveop one i ore concou of what one i doing and of what ihappening n one exporation of the ater piece of tought and iaginaton After idde age again wo further change have coe upon e On the one hand y iteray prediection hrink: wih t return ore and ore often to the work of fewer and fewer poet And on the other hand nd that there ay be a few author who have never reay known in the ene of ntiacy and eae with who ut ette y account before die began oe year ago to thnk that ut eventuay ake the eort to recncie yef to Goethe nt pray to repair an injutice done for ne ha coitted any uch iterary injutic witout copunction but becaue houd otherwie have negected oe opportunity of efdeveop ent which it woud be cupabe to negect entertain thi feeing i aready an iportant adiion it iTourey the ad iin that Goethe i one of the Grt European The rder
GOETHE AS THE SAGE
wll w see pe , w t s tat te tw sub ects te prblem reccat ad te det te Great ur pea bec me s cls el eta le d m m tat culd t csder e wtut tuc te ter. It seems t me tat te saest apprac t ts det, s t take a ew me wse rt t ts tte s uersall ad mtted, ad csde wat te ae cmm I sall rst, wee la d te lmts wt wc m select s made I te st place, I sall lmt msel t pets, because petr s te departmet wc I am best qualed t appre cate ratess te secd place sall eclude all Lat ad Geek pets M reas r d ts s dcated b te ttle wc Tedr Haecker ae t s essa rl e g, ate de Abenane Te reat pets Greece ad Rme as well as te prpets srael, are acestrs Eu rpe rater ta Eurpeas te medaeal ad mder sese It s because ur cmm backrud te ltera tures Geece Rme ad Israel tat we ca speak Eupea lterature at al ad te sural Eurpea lteratue, I ma met pass depeds ur ctued eeat u acestrs As suc, te are set apart rm m peset estat Tere ae als mder pets, wse uece as bee er mptat cutres ad lauaes t ae tera w are te usutable m purpse. r we pet w was pet r a Ae ad r tat Ae te pet all Eurpe I Edar Pe, Amerca prduced a pet w lael tru s uece tree Frec pets tee successe eerats, ma be csdeed Eurpea but te eact place ad ak tese tw me s stll ad peraps wll alwas be te subject ctes ad I ws t lmt msel t me wse qualcats are udsputed \at t be wt are ur crtera? Tw surel, are Pe manene ad Uneat Te Eurpea pet must t l be e w lds a certa pst str s wk must
ctue t e delgt ad beet t successe eerats
ON POER AND POES
is inun is no a mr of isorical rcord only; h wil coninu o of valu o vry Ag, and vr Ag will undrsd im dirnly nd compd o assss is work afrs d mus s iporn o rdrs of is o ra nd ngug s o ors os of his own rac and lnguag will fl a h is wholy on of m nd indd ir rpr si rod o rdrs of dirn nions and dirn ags h my man mny dirn hings u his impornc o nion or gnraion will usion Th isor of wha has n in aou work of suh a man wil a pr of h hisor of h Europan mind Oviously on cnno draw up wo liss on of gra pos wo ar gra Europans h or of hos who fai o ulify for his disinion. All w n do I ink, is o agr pon miniml numr onsidr wha comon haracrisis hy hav and ndavour o approxim o a dniion, y wich w hn procd o msur ohr pos Of r I do no hink h hr an ny dou y ar Dan Shak spar and oh Hr I mu nrodu a word of cauion I dou whhr w should all a po a gra Europan unlss h is aso a gra po; u I ink a w hav o adi h hr ar gra pos who r no ra Europns Indd I suspc ha call limis any Man of rs a yra ar wn cdinw g h of purly i rr j udgmEuropn n w w r making an hisorica socil nd an hica vauaion as wll. Compar oh wih a somwha youngr Engish onm porary illia Wordsworh Wordsworh was surly a gr po if rm has ny mning a; his s his igh ws much hgr han ha of Byron and as hig as ha of oh His inunc ws orovr disiv for Englis po ry a crin momn: his n marks an poch Y wil vr mn o Europeans of ohr naionaliy wh mns o his own oprios nor n h n o his own oprios wha oh mans o h . Si miary h
GOETHE AS THE SAGE
pea k wh becog ece e o e po ble o aa ha Hlerl wa a oe ore pre ha Goehe e he alo ca ever be o he ae egree a Euro p gure o he poble accou of he eece be ee he wo k of poe o o propoe o eer wh o h coex o re ou ha f Dae Shakepeare a Goehe e laguage o erel becaue heyare arecoeabl he geae Europea poe of her he oul o be grea Europea ule he were grea poe bu her gre a Europea oehg ore coplex ore coprehee ha he uperor over oher poe of he o laguage here alo he epao wh Shakepeare a Goehe hough o wh Dae o hk of he wo grea hcal gure who he creae Hale a Fau ow Hale a Fau have becoe Europea bol he have h oo wh Oeu a Do Quxoe ha each ver uch of h o cour a e he felowcoura of al of u \o coul be ore Geek ha Oeu ore Spah ha Do Quoe ore Eglh ha Hale or ore Gera ha Fau? Ye he have all eere o he copoo of a ll of u h e have all helpe a he fuco of uch gu re o expl a Euro pea a o he lf So we a epe clafhe Shakepeare Goehe a Euro p be e p obecaue hae eacha ceae a Europea hhero Ye he pla of amet a he raa of Faus are ol pa of he rucure bu b Shakepeare a Goehe par whch wou be ver uch he f each were he ol work of ahor \a gve Shakepeare a Goehe her au o a oe aepece bu he oa ork of a lfee A o he ohe ha Cervae for hoe of u ho are o leare Spah leraure he a of book howeer book h oa eough o geoe Cervae a place grea wh he Dae Shakepeare Goehe. Don Quixot uqueoabl aog ha elec ube of
ON OETY AND OTS
books that satsy the test o Europea lterature that s t say boos wthou t a kowlede o whch the sese o ha ot oly read but assm late d o ma o Eu rop ea ra c ca be truly educated ut we caot say that t s ecesary or the educated Europea to kow Cerates the sese whch we ca say that the educated Europea must kow Date Shakespeare ad Goethe As a ma o oe book Cer ates s or us etrely that book he s so to speak Do Quote uderstad hmsel \hat part o the work o Date Shakespeare or Goethe ca we solate ad say that t es us the essetal Date Shakespeare or Goethe? t s ot to belttle Cerates smpy to say that we caot kow hm as we ca kow these three other me Ad am ot commtt the error o separat the me rom ther wrts ad dolz the me thouh that especaly the case o Goethe where we hae so much documetato about the ma as well as the mmese body o hs ow work s daerously easy o do am speak o the me as they est ther wrts the three worlds whch they hae created to rema oreer art the Europea eperece would say rst as someth mmedatey obous that the work o these three me we d three commo character stcs Abundane, Apliude ad Uni Abudace: they al wrote a ood deal ad oth ay o elble y Ampltude mea that each hadthem a erywrote wde s rae o terest sympathy ad udertad. There s a arety o terests there s uersal curosty ad a more comprehese capacty tha that o most me Other me hae had ersatle talet other me hae had restless curosty what characterzes the arety o terests ad the curosty o me lke Date Shakespeare ad Goethe s the udametal Uty hs uty s hard to dee ecept by say that what each opot themoes se theEuropea Word see a partcular ewusos a partcuar ae rom ad partcular ma that ae
GOETE S TE SAGE
ae o eed o dlae upo he dersy of he eress d aces of Dae ad Goee. Sakespeare s rue coed hmself or was coed by crcumsace o he mdum of e heare; bu we we cosder he mmese rage of eme ad caracer w a framework e m mese arey ad deelopme of s ecque s couous o ew problems we mus ackowledge leas ha aack s amplude ad abudace Shakespeare sadsaapar e from ose few wrers for e eare who as dramass d poes are s equals As o Uy k ha e uy of Daes polcal eologcal moral ad poec ams s oo ede o eed demosrao would asser from my ow experce ha e uy of Saspeares work s suc a you o oly cao udersad e laer plays uless you kow e early plays you cao udersad e eary plays ou kowg e lae oes s o so easy o dec e uy Goee's or Fo oe hg s more bewldergly mscellaeous ha ha of eher of he oher me for aoer g mus cofess ha ere s so much of s as work ha do o kow or kow oly suprcally a am far rom beg he adocae bes qualed o plead e case wll say oly e a belee scerely a e beer kew hs work eery olu me o f e mo ol um ous ed o he more cera should be of s uy e es s does eery par of a mas work elp us o udersad e res sall rsk armg s belef a e po a wc s mos lkely o be quesoed. For mos of my lfe ad ake for gra ed ha Go ehe s scec eores s spec ula os abou e playe abou meralogy d abou colour were o more a he amable eccerces of a ma of boudg curosy who ad srayed o regos for wch e was o equpped Ee ow hae made o aemp o read o hese subecs was e rsleared a e ua myhs of gs rdcule ad e ease w wc hese maers appear o dsmss Goees ews mpelled me o
N PRY AND PS
woder whether Goethe may ot have bee riht or at st whether his critics mht ot be o he oly a few yrs ao I came o a boo i which Goethe's views were actuay defeded: Ma or Matter by Dr Erst ehrs It is true tha Dr ehrs is a discipe of Rudolf Steier ad I believe that Rudof Steier's sciece is cosidered very uorthodo but that stht o Goethe's my aair scietic What Dr ehrssomehow did for me was with to su-h est iews ttd maiative wor that the same isiht was struli for epressio i both ad that t is ot reasoable to dismiss as utter osese i the eld of scietic equiry what we accept as ispired wisdom i poet I shall retur to this poit presetly i aothr cotext but at the ris of exposi mysel to ridicule I will say that i cosequece of what Dr ehrs has writte about Goethe's sciece I thi I uderstad parts o f Faut such as the opei scee of Part II better tha be fore ad ow I believe that Part II is a reater wor tha Part I the cotra ry o f wh at I h ad al ways bee to ld by those more lered tha mysef It is at least>certai that we must i edeavouri to uder stad such me as the three I am tali about try to eter ito all of their terests iterary criticism s a activity whch must ostatly dee its ow boudaries aso it must co sttly be oi beyod them the oe variable rule is that whe the literary critic ecees his frotiers he shoud do so full cosciousess of wht e is doi We caot et very far with Date or Shaespeare or Goethe without touchi upo theoloy ad philosophy ad ethics ad politics ad i the case of Goethe peetrati i a cladestie way ad without leitmatio papers' ito the forbidde territor of sciece My arumet or pleadi up to this poit has bee purely eative I have merely armed i the wor of Date Shaespeare ad Goethe you d that Abudace Amplitude ad Uity Abudace ad Amplitude patetly ad Uty if you tae the trouble to loo for t Havi postulated that Date
GOETHE S THE SGE
hakepeare and Goethe were three grea Europan it eem to oow that thee characteritic mut be ound together in any othe author beore we can awrd hm the ame rank It poibe however that an author might iutrate Abun dance Ampitude and Unity and yet ai to be a great Euro pean I think there i a urther poitive cractr to be con idered term ut beoe approaching the na probem tere i another to be dicue: Univeat o ar a we can udge rom our tree exempar the Euo pean wter i no e emphaticay a man o hi own country race and anguage than any o thoe eer author whoe ap pea i excuvey or with ew eception to their own com patriot One may even ay that Dante akepeare and Goethe are not ony very Itaian ve Engih very Germn but are ao repreentative each o the paticuar region in which he wa born It i obvou o coure that the ene in which they are oca i no imitation o their appe though there i much about eac to wic ony i eowcountrmen an repond They are oca becaue o their concretene to human i to beong to a particuar region o the earth and men o uch geniu are more conciou than other humn being The Europen who beonged to no one country woud be an abtra ct m an a bank ace peaking every anguag wth a oreign And the pot i te eat neither abtactaonative men nor becaue e iaccent the mot bound by i own anguage he cannot even aord to know anothe nguage quay we becaue t i or the poet a ietime work to expoe the reource o hi own he way in which he i at tached to dependent uon and repreentative o hi own peope not I houd add to be dentied wit patriotim [a conciou repone to partcuar circumtance though it be the kind o attacment out o which the nobet patiotim may It iwith a kind attachment which o maymany evenobethe in happring contrat theopatriotic entiment poet compatriot ext the European poet not neceariy a poet whoe
ON POERY
AND
POES
work is esier to trnste into noter nu tn t o poets wose work s sinicnce onl o teir fellowcountr men His ork is more trnsltble onl in tis w t weres in te trnsltin of suc poet s Skespere into noter ue just s muc of te oriinl sinicnce is lost s is lost wen we rnslte lesser Enlis poet ere is ls more sdrmtc e foplot r more ere \t be rnsl ed A ostor tews impressios of cn liin crcte in ction n ime proposition V cnnot be trnslted is te incnttion te music of e words nd tt prt of e menin ic is in e music Bu ere in we e not ot to te bottom of te mtter; we e onl ttempted to inice wt mkes poe rnstbe nd not put our ner on te reson w Dnte Skespere nd Goete cn be sid to beon s we cnno wit eul condence s of n oter poets not onl to teir fellowcountrmen but o ll Europens We cn tink ccept witout muc dicut te pprent pdo tt te Europen poet is t te sme time no less but n w rter more positiel mn of is prticul rce countr nd ocl culture n is e poe pprecibe onl b is comptriots \e cn t one nd te sme time fee tt sc poet to wteer ntion e beons is our com prio nd et tt e is representtie one of te retest representties of is own people Suc mn cn elp is felowcountrmen to undersnd temsees nd elp oter people to understnd nd to ccept tem Bu e uestion of te w in wic e is representtie of is own e is some wt more dicult. In w w is mn representtie of is own e nd et of permn ent i mportnce not bec use of is rep resenttie cr cer but in imself l one for subseuen es we tsould epect bein from te foreoinpoet jut jus s s mn beAs re poet witout Europen' e cn cn be rpesenttie of is people nd e interest for oter eo
GOEHE AS HE SAGE
es ony in that capacity so a man can e representative o hi own time and be o importance to other times only as a hep towards the understandng o his own time But as I tried to ay earlier we are interested in Dant Shakespeare and Goethe not ony in ration to their on countr language and race but tmessly and directly eery educated European must ask the uestion iespectie o hs language his citenship his heredt and the age into which he was born what have Dante and Shakespe are a nd Goethe to sa y dir ectly to me and how shall I anser them? It s this drect conrontation that is o ultmate importance o i e take the ord iterally the realy epresentate' man o a period ike the representative man o a nation is a man ho is neither too big nor too small I do not mean that he is lhomm moen sensuel But a man who was insgnicant coud ony represent an insi gnicant period and no period in history is so neg liible as that; wheeas the ver exceptionait o a truly great man must make us suspect that he is not altogether repentatie I think that i e could take our three poet as whoy repesentatie o their ages we shoud nd that they ere each imited by his age in a ay in which they are not limited. In short we take these men as reresentatie ony to nd thm unrepresentatie. For a man can be un representatie onyit by being behnd or ahead o his age but by being not aboe Certainly e must not assume that such men as these share all the ideas o their age. The shae the problems they share the language in which the problems are discuss ed but th ey may repu diae a ll the currnt sol utions nd een when thy ead a socia or a public e the hae aso more solitude than the majorit o men. Their representatie character representatie they b must be something that e eel but cannot atogether ormulate There is a great dealdoeknow do not knowShakespeare about Dantebout the man there is very lttle e bout th e o Goethe a great dea s kno I am I coness not on
4
O POERY
ND
POS
o toe o kno ery muc. ut te more e lernt bout Goee rom i on ork nd rom commentrie on it e le I nd it oibe to ideniy im it i ge nd m ometie in comlete opoition to i ge o com plete er o e ben gretly miundertood. He em to me to e lied more ully nd conciouly on eerl leel tn mot men eo Pri o a mll courtoter te collector printCouncillor dring te nd lion intglio lo te mn o ly ke in ngui in eimr becu n ertuke tking pce in Mein Ater reing r. er' book to ic I e lluded nd ten rereding certn pge o aut it cme to me tt Nture to ordort nd to Goete ment muc te me ting tt it ment om eting ic t ey d experienced nd ic I d not experienced nd tt tey ere bot trying to epr ometing tt een or men o exceptionlly endoed it t git o peec utimtey inebe Not o ery long go I ent potcrd reproduction o portrit o Willim Blke: it ellkno drng it ic I uite milir• But I ppened to et it or moment on my mntepiece beide te portrit o Goete nd I tougt noticed imilr expreion in teir eye Only Blke looked oterorldly Goete looked t te moment en te rtit d cugt im eully t ome in bot ord Bke o rejected ome o te dominnt opinion o i ge You ee tt cnnot get y rom te Frbenlere nd te UrPnze I it imply uetion o o rigt Goete or te cienti Or i it poible tt Goete ong ony i n tinking te cientit rong nd te cientit ong only in tinking Goete rong? i not poible tt Goete itout oy noing t e doing to ert te clim o dierent tpe o concioune rom tt ic tn to dominte nineteent nd tentiet o Goete i te bout unrepreenttie o icenturie Age mn o eniu cn be And perp te time come he
GOETHE S THE SGE
e an sa that thee is something n fou of being able t see the uniese as Goethe saw it athe than as the sientist hae seen it no that the liing gament of God has be ome somehat tatteed fom the esuts of sienti manipuaton etain Goethe was of hs age \e an hadl ignoe eat as adental the fat that ante Shakespeae and Goethe should hae ome to stand eah fo a peiod in mod n Euopean hsto in so fa as a poet an oup that ole nd we emembe Goethe's own wods about the man and the moment ut we must emembe fo one thing that e tend to think of an Age in tems of the man whom e take as epesentatie of it and foget that equall a pat of the man's signiane ma be his battle wth hs Age I hae meel been ting to ntodue some autious eseations into u use of the tem epesentatie dangeous when applied t suh men The man ho s a epesentatie of his people ma be the seeest iti of hs people and an outast fom t he man ho s epesentatie' of his time ma be in oppositon to the most widelaepted beliefs of his time So fa I hae been engaged st in eognizing etain quali ti in default of whih e annot admit a poet to this selet ompan and then in dening the sense n whih epesent tieness' eithe of a plae and language o to of an ma be onsideed haateisti uta we hae et askage what the qualit hih suies tanslation? whih tansends plae nd time and s apable of aousing a diet esponse as of man to man n eades of an plae and an time? It must b lso something hh a n be pesent i n aing degees fo obiousl ante Shakespeae and Goethe ae not the onl Euopean' poets ut it must be something apable of eog nition b a geat diesit of men fo the ultimate test of suh poet as I hae said ofat his thewo begnning, is that Euopan who is quite ignoant k a be all ednoeduatd hethe the poet's language s his on o whethe he has
ON POETRY AND POETS
e lguge by pul sud o wee e c oly ed slo Fo wle complee goce o e lguge ve owly lms oes ppeco o suc poe s o excuse weve o complee goce o s ok m d e wod I m bou o poouce wl se my e s clmx o s exodum o s smpy e wod Wisd ee s o wod oweve mo mossble o dee d o wod moe dcul o udesd o udesd w Wsdom s s o be wse oesel d I v oly e degee o udesdg o Wsdom c be ed by m wo kows e s o wse ye es o beleve e s wse e ws wey yes go I s we yes go becuse I m ude e dsess ecesy o quog seece I ped 1933 · I s s: 'O Goee peps s ue o sy e dbbled bo loopy d poey d mde o ge success o ee s ue ole ws o e m o e wod d sge L Rocouculd L Buye uvegues ve eve eed e pssge wc s seec bu I ve l wys oud e eed g o my o w pose gs o pul sk. I dscoveed s quoo o so vey lo g o M M c el H mb uges oduco o s ed o d slo o e ex o Hldels poems: M Hm buge s myuoy bug sdsppovl seece o Imysel He quoed I eed o dly sy w s eesg seece eesg becuse euces so my eos so ew wods ogee w oe u Goe ws ge Bu e eo o wc I pculy ws o cll e s e deco o wsdom w woldly wsdom doe o dms m dmo o L Roceouculd o sy e wsdom o m o e wold' s ve med wsdo deed bu ow les I c o loge cooud e w wsdoms eewc s woldly sdom eemy s sp ul wsdom Vsdom s meey e d ome u u e ed o be oll goes o ses o judg
GOETE AS TE SAGE
ose higs which ae beyod s desandig; wisdom which s pely spal sdom may be of o help n aais of his old So I hk ha geeally we mea, whe we speak of a ma as wise ad whee he coex does o show ha we mea oe kid of wsdom he han aohe ha sch a ma has wsdom of a geae age ha ohe me Ad his e Goehe. I may bebha hee ae ieesed aeas of ws domca hasayheofdd no peeae I am moe in yig o ndesad he wsdom he possessed, ha i denig s limiaios e a ma is a good deal se ha oeself oe does o complai ha he s o wise ha he is Thee may be obseed aohe eo i he seece which I qoed agais myself, beyod he oe I have js poied o I seems o sgges ha wisdom is somehig expessibe n wise saigs aphosms ad maxims; ad ha he s of sch maxms ad sayigs, icldig hose which a ma has hogh b eve commicaed, cosie his wisdom These may be okes of wisdom ceaily ad o sdy he ayigs of a sage ca coibe owads he deelopme of ay wisdom of which he eade s capable B wisdom s eae ha ay sm of wse sayigs ad \isdom hesef s eae ha he acalizaion of sdom i ay hma sol Wsdom shll pse herself nd shll glory n the mdst of her people In the ongegton of the Most Hgh shll she open her mouth nd trumph before Hs poer
Eccls xxiii The sdom of a hm being esides as mch i silece as in speech; ad says hilohs of Siai, me wih a silen mid ae vey aely fod.' \Visdom s a aie gif of iio ipeed ad gie appicaio by expeiece, fo desadig he nae of higs, cealy of livig higs, mos s elevant to menton an eay y Josef Piepe:
Goetes (selVeag nhen )
Ueber d Schweigen
ON OETR AND OT
ert o the hum hert some me t m pper t ull d oso, or oe eme the rpture o a sgle experee bet or wul m e Goethe t appers to hve bee ostt sted d seree ut the wse m, orst to the mere worldwse o the oe hd, d the m o some tese vso o the heghts or the depths o the other, s oe whose wsdom sprgs rom spr tu soures, who hs proted b experee to rrve t uder stdg, d who hs qured the hrt tht omes rom uderstdg hum begs ll ther vret o temper met, hrter d rumste Suh me hod the most dverse bees; the m eve hod some teets whh we d abhorre; but t s pr o our ow pursut o wsdom, to t to uderstd them I beleve the, tht t s b vrtue o the wsdom ormg hs wor, tht Europe eters ths tegor o grt Europes; b vrtue o hs wsdom tht he s the ommo outm o l o us He s ot eessr es to uder std; s hve sd, he m preset s m dultes o terpretto s other ut th oreger who hs bee rdg Dte or Shespere or Goethe trsto, or who hs bee hdpped b mperet owedge o the guge red g the or g, do ot s, s he m as bout m o our get wht s tths thtuthor? ts,ormEgshme, or Ger ms, dpoets, to dmre r rom suggestg tht the wsdom o these poets s somethg dstt rom th poet, d tht wht the oreger ejos s the ormer wth out the tter he wsdom s essetl eemet mg the poetr, d t s eessr to pprehed t s poet orde to prot b t s wsdom he oreg reder, bsorb g the wsdom, s beg eted b the poetr s wel For t s the wsdom o poetr, whh woud ot be ommuted , t were ot expereed b the reder s poet here rses, t ths pot, questo whh ot be let uswered: prtl beuse hve rsed t mse, some
GOEHE AS HE SAGE
59
wat dieret fr, ay ears ag ad a lger sais ed wit my w accut f it ad partly because it as re cetly bee raised by a pilspical critc fr se piis I ae great respect Prfessr ric Heller f Cardi I refer t a recet bk, he Dsnher M, ad particularly t a capter Rile ad ietzsce Prfessr Heller criticizes seerely but witut asperit, certai pruceets f my w houht an Bee n Poetr, ade ay years ag me f wat I sad te I uld t defed, ad se suld w be clied t qualify r put dieretly bt wit egard t ter f my assertis, I a t t dwcast by rfessr Hellers cesure, iasuc as, by Dr Hellers adissi, I sare tese ers t Gete iself Te ques ti is as t te place f ideas i petry, ad as t ay pi lspy r system f beliefs eld by te pet Des te pet ld a idea i te sae way tat a pilsper lds it ad we e epresses a particular pilsp i is petry, suld e be epected t belie tis pilspy, r may e legitimately treat it erely as suitable aterial fr a pe d furtere is te readers acceptace f te same pi lspy a ecessary cditi fr is full appreciati f te pe Nw i s far as atig I ae writte te subect i te past says suggests tatcse te pet eed tibelee a pil spical idea r wic e as t ebdy is erse, Pr fessr Heller is dubt quite rigt i ctradictig e Fr suc a suggesti wuld appear t be a usticati f isi cerity, ad wuld aiilate all petic alues ecept tse f tecical accplise T suggest tat ucretius delib eately cse t eplit fr petic purpses a cslgy wc e hugt t be false, r tat Date did t beliee te pi lspy draw fr Aristtle ad te sclastics, wic gae te ateal fr seeral e cats i te Puratorio
bshd by Bes & Bs Cambrde A Gea di has b b shd d Eterbter est ( ShrkamVa)
ON O AD OS
wud be cnden e pe ey we Bu I ink a fe ee eipe e pbe by geneazng f e aicua cae a e i gui e in i eay cncened w a ike wa n ny deepy inuenced by iezce in i yu bu a e iew f ife eeed in ike aue pe a knd f p eic equiae n f e py f iezce And I que peped adi a n e cae f e ean f ike iezce, D ee ake u a ey gd cae T epe e pbe f peic beef eu pipic beief and e naue f e aiude [wee f beief f Aae f e pe wad a pipic ye wud n ny ake u ey fa bu wud ake u a ng way f my ubjec wa i wee penen u ineigan e quein f e beief caed f f e eade f a e D ee ee e ipy a e eade ief u accep e pipy f e pe, f e i appeciae e pey. I i appaeny n i gund a D ee cen ue e judgen f a biian cc, an gn uen, bu k ' e dea [f ike] wee a ubug, ay . ee f, a e uen ay in i bk abu ike3 ey wee a ng n e ene f cnadicing a Rlke: b H E Holhusen Bowes & Bowes, ambdge, n an ecellen !res (Sude Mde Epea Lieae ad Thgh) eded r Hee hmsef Helle does no uoe, u he followng paaaph from Her 1olhusens essa mus be he ogn of hs commen: nce absaced fom he concree lveness of her meaphorcal anguage fom he ashec conex, and regarded as phosophcal docne kes deas" ae wrong nd hs asseron s vald f we assume ha hee s an ojecvel vad ceron of dsncon beween gh" and wrong deas ha here s a knd o nuve ogc governng goups of deas n her aree men h he eng of man, ha n ref here exss an nelecua eulb rum enabng us o dsngush rgh deas from wrong ones The dea of m o deah s wrong because deah canno be conueed b monsc feeng o deah ms aas reman whol ohe han ousees, a conues houh ha whch s aen o us an nvason of human rea a real ha s moe han hua The dea of ove h abdcaes fom Possesson s rong: so s he dea of a gorcaon of he world of creaon hou a creao, of m manence hou ranscendence : he meamorphoss of al ranscenden eal
OETE AS TE SAE
tutiv o w tl u wat i a tu a wat i a al ptu o ma t t poty woul av lttl a o b wat blv it to b at poty' D Hll o o a a to ay: t o poty lt i w tat t "a a al to t po o bi a toto o t tu ma o ma' a l t m to t ta ouo tat H Holtu i u om a luio w ma tat o t poty o Ril bau o m t a b o poty lt A o t ot a D Hl ml i v to apt a tolabl tuato tat o a it w a ma t pobl o mot Cita ot o l o at lat ot to l alo a tu may "tu wi a ompatbl wt t tut o ti at' Vi ot oly e ompatibl m you but wi e iom patbl Butoi tut w t tut o ompatibl o t li woly illuoy? I myl ut' amt wt H Holtu a i i o a D Hl t t I a oly oy t poty o Rilk u a mi tai \a I am aimi at by a vou out i t tabl mt o a tito bw t hiosohy o a pot a wisdom Ul it i pobl to aw u a ititio I am om to mai bli to t mt o om o t at pot But t mut vtu aa toy o t atio btw apta o It piloopy oymt o poty It i bt tk to kp i m o t piloopy o a pot o tat ma y va wit i v lopmt but t pi loopy o wat a b all a ploopal pom a t obvio xampl t Bhgdgit, De eum n e it a immiet alade he divig f Gd i iad: h dlvig f Hi p i the m itee feelig the amig f th ivie i e f eeig - ideed he he cala f he aale ad ive" l hee idea ae a g a the prpheti the iethe - he de f the Eteal Reee, f he Spea ataim" f Badelaie'
ON PORY AND POES
ur of ucrtus, an t Diine Comedy of Dant n t
tr of ts as pcular avantags for our purposs n tat t s bas upon tologcal octrn c blongs to t strn orl an wc s stll blv by a gat mny opl Ts tr poms rprsnt tr vws of t worl n as sarp contracton of ac otr as possbl Ignorng t otr r nt t fact t at t Bhgvdgit s t most mot from m n languag an n cultur, an tt Dnt s arr to m n tm tan ucrtus am I call upon to amt tat as a Crstan I can unrstan Dants pom btr tan t otrs toug I ougt to b abl to unrstan t stll bttr f I was a Roman Catolc? It sms to m tat wat I o, wn I approac a grt pom suc as t Hoy ong of Inan pc, or t pom of ucrtus s not only, n Col rgs my sblf, to try n t wors, postontoofsuspn a blvr ut ts but s only ontoofput tmyslf two movmnts of my crtcal actvty t scon movmnt s to tac myslf agan an to rgar t pom from outs t blf If t pom s rmot from my own blfs, tn t f ort of wc I m t mor conscous s t ot of nt caton f t pom s vry clos to my own blfs, t or of w I am mor conscous s t ort of tacmnt Vt t Diine Comedy I n a kn of ulbrum t s ratr wt parts popts anmost of t all t Gt osppotc ls, tat I nof t t bl ort t of tac mnt tat s, ort t o apprcat t bl as ltrat ur an n t tran s latons of our utorz rson an of Martn utr t bl s a part of bot our ltra turs tr , s t ort of tacmnt most cult t t Duinese Elegies I amt, I n myslf at t oppost xtrm I coul b contnt to njoy t vrbal bauty, to b mov by t musc of t vrs an I av to forc myslf to try to ntr nto toug wc s for m bot cult an uncongnal You wll obsrv tat n ts systol an astol, ts ovmnt to an fro, of approac an wtrawal, or nt
GOETE AS TE SAGE
cati a isticti I have bee crel t ai the term form a content The ti f areciai f frm itht ctet, r f ctet igig frm is a illsi: if e ig re the ctet f a em e fai t areciate the frm i e ig re the f rm e have t gr ase t he c te t fr the meai g f a em ei sts i the rs f the e m a i thse rs ly r es hat I have bee talkig abt ehast the ctet We have t i hat I have st bee sayig, bee ccere ith the hle f the ctet: ly ith the ctet as hilshical system, as is hich ca be frm ate i ther rs, as a system f ieas t hich there is al ays sme ssible alterative system fr the reas t accet This hishica system mst be teable: a em arisig t f a religi hch strck s as hlly vile r t f a hilshy s re sese, simly aear thich be aseeme em att all. Otheise, he t l reaerst eqal iteligece a sesibility arach i a great em, the e frm the startig it f belief i the hilshy f the athr, a the ther frm the startig it f sme if feret hilshy they shl te tars a it, hich they may ever qite reach, at hich the t areciati crres Ths it is cceivabe that rfessr Heller a Herr Hlthse might almst aive at the it f sharig their areciati Rilke I etere fthis aalysis t fr its wn sake, bt i rer t reach the cclsi that there is smethig mre i the greatest etry tha ieas f a ki that e mst either accet r reect eresse i a frm hich makes the hle a rk f art \Vhether the hilshy r the religis faith Date r Sha keseare r Gethe is acc etable t s r t a iee ith Shakeseare, the qesti f hat his beliefs ere has ever bee ally settle there is the Vism that e ca a accet. It is recisely fr the sake f learig Wism that e mst take the trble t freqet these me it is becas they are ie me that e sh try, if e e f the
ON POERY AND POETS
ncngenal vercom ur avern o nderence Of e eaed elgon and of ploopcal em we mu belev a one g and e oer rong Bu wdom Myo< tw, e ame fo all men everwee f were no o a po could European gan from e Upanad o Budd Nkaa Onl ome nellecual exerce e fac n of a cu or an nereng enon lke a of a ng ome exoc orenal d ave ad a dom canno eall be dened Wa e Wdom of Goee A ave uggeed Goee ang n proe o n vere are merel lluaon of wdom e bet evdence of e wdom o a grea we e emon of oe wo can a afer a ong acquanance w work feel a wer man becau f e me a ave pen m Fo wdom comuncaed on a deepe level an ta of logcal propon all language nadequae bu probabl e language of poet e language mo capable f communcang wdm e wdom of a grea poet concealed n wok bu n becomng aware of we become ourelve more we a Goete as one of te e f men ave lng admed at e wa a grea lrc poe ave long nce come o recogne but ta te wdom and e poer ae neparable n poe of e ge rank omeng ave onl cme o peceve n be cmng lleGoee wer melf eurn oave gaenamed at e m feaure ofa e on m u mantelpece and two oer a e ree pe wo are nconeabl gret Euopean Bu ould no lke o cle wout remndng ou a nk of ee men a e apar no n knd bu n degree a ee ave been o er even n lvng memo wo oug of lowe rank are of te ame compan and a one meaure of e urvval of u Eurpean culure n e fu tue wll be e ablt of European people to connue produce poe And me an come wen e Europeanuc leraue ceaef te ave meanng enerm e leaure f eac o ou naon and language wll wte wa and per al
Ruyard Kipling
HE are several easns f ur nt knwing Kipling pems s well as we think we d. hen a man is pr
marily kn as a ite prse ctin we are inclined
and usually t hink ustly t regard his verse as a byprdu ct I am I cnfess alays dubtful whethe any man can s divid himself as t e able t make the mst f tw such very dierent frms expressin as petry and imaginative prse I make an exceptin in the case f Kipling it is nt because think he succeeded in making te divisin successfully but bcause think that reasns wich it will be partly the pu pse f this essay t put frward his verse and his prse ar inseparable that e must nally judge him nt separately a a pet and as a write f prse ctin but as the inventr mixed r. Sf ahisknwledge his prse isf essential th understanding verse and fa knwledge his verse tis e sential t the understanding f hs prse n s ar therefre a cncern myself ere with is verse by itself it is nly ith the aim restring it t its place afterards and seeing the ttal wrk mre clearly n mst studies f Kipling that I hav read te writers seem t me t ae treated the verse as sec n dary and in s ding t have evaded te questin hich is nevertheless a questin that evern e asks hether Kip ling's verse really is petry and if nt what it is
* he ntrodt on to Chice f Kilg's Vese, pbhed n 194 Engand by aber & Fabe n aocon h ehen and Macma and n Ameca by hae Srbner Son
ON PORY AND POS
e sarig poi or Kipigs erse is e moie o e baadmaker; ad e moder baad is a ype o erse or e appreiaio o wi we are o proided wi e proper riia oos We are ereore iied o dismiss e pos by reeree o poei rieria wi do o appy mus ereore be our ask o udersad e ype o wi ey beog beore aempig o aue em: we mus osider wa Kipg was ryig o do ad wa e was o ryig o do e ask is e opposie o a wi wi we are ordi nariy aed we aempig o deed oemporary erse We expe o ae o deend a poe agais e arge o obsuriy; we ae o deed Kiping agains e arge o exes ie uidiy We expe a poe o be reproaed or ak o respe or e ineigee o e ommo ma or ee or deiberaey ouig e ieigee o e ommo ma we ae o deed Kipig agais e arge o beig a oura is appeaig oy o e ommoes oeie emoios We expe a poe o be ridiued beause is erse does o appear o sa we mus deed Kipig agais e arg o wriing iges n so peope are exasperaed by poery wi ey do o udersad and onempuous o poery wi ey udersad wiou eor us as a audiee is oeded by a speaker wo aks oer is ead ad by a speaker wom i uspes o aking dow o i A urer obsae o e appreiaio o may o Kipigs poems is eir opiaiy eir oasiona araer ad eir poiia assoiaios eope are oe inied o disparage poery wi appears o ae o bearig o e siuaio o oday bu ey are aways iied o igore a wi ap pears o bear oy o e siuaion o yeserday A poiia as soiaio may ep o gie poery immediae aeion i is i spie o is assoiaio a e poery wi be read i i is read omorrow Poery is odemed as poiia we we disagree wi e poiis and e maoriy o readers do o a eier mperiaism or soiaism i erse. u e uesion
RDYARD KIPNG
not hat i ephmeral but hat i permanent a poet wh appear to be wholly out of touh th hi age may till ha omthing ery impotant to ay to it; an a poet who ha teate probl of hi time ill not neearily go out of ate. Arnol' Saza e Grae Carreue oie a moment of hitori oubt reore by it mt repreentatie min a momnt whih h pe whih mot of u hae gone beyon in one iretion or another; but it repreent that moment foreer. We hae therefore to ty to n the permanent in Kipling ere but thi i not imply to ioiate form from ontent Ve mut onier the ontent itef, the oial an politial attitue in it eelopment n making an eort to etah urele from the aumpton of our own generation, enquire hether there iariature omthingof more in Kipling than i expree by Berbohm the Bank Holiay ornet irtuo on a pree. I
In my eletion of Kipling' ere I hae foun no plae fo the riet publihe to be preie, the eletion begin from page 8 of the Collete Eiton. The ealier work i uenilia yet it i work whih, haing been publihe in it time an ha aingue in it time i eential for ita wa full intene uneran of Kipling' progre. Mot ofreaing it i what t be, light reaing n an Englih nepaper in Inia it exhbit that ame preoiou knowingne about the more uperial leel of human eakne that i both eetie an iitating in ome of hi early torie of Inia. t i obiouly the work of a leer young man who miht go far in journalim, but neither in feeling nor in hythm oe mot of t gie any hint that the author woul eer write a memorble poem It i unneear to ay that it i not poetry what i urpriing an inteetig i that i oe not preten to be poty, that it i not the wor f a youth whom anyone woul upet of a apiration t
ON OETR AND OETS
te poetr Tat e gfted tat e wort watchng obvo wen o know ow ong e : bt te gft appear to be on for te epemera and the wrter appear to am at notng ger There were however terar nence n te backgro nd We ave among h vere a patce of Atalanta in Caldon made for h own mmedate prpoe we remember alo that Mcnto Jeladdn wo ntrodced a fallng over a came foal whle rectng he on o the oer on one oc caon rected te wole of Atalanta btng tme wt a bed stead eg Tere wa Kplng' faml connecton wth Pre apaete ocet and Kpng' debt to Swnbrne con derabe. It never an mtaton: te vocabar der ent the content derent the rthm are derent Tere one earl monooge wch mc more oel mtated from Brownng than antng mtated from Swnbrne bt t n two poem extreme nlke B rown ng' n tle McAndres Hmn and he Mar Gloter- tat Brownng' nence mot vble. Wh the nence of Swnbrne and Brong o derent from wat o wold expect It de I tn t� a derence of motve hat te wrote the ntended to be poetr Kpng wa not trng to wrte poetr at all beenth man of ver wo not of amed t Tere wrtngave poet: thewrter excepon of te fewave wrter moro vere te are motl qckl forgotten The derence tat te never dd te poetr Kplng doe wrte poetr bt that not what e ettng ot to do It th pecl art of ntenton that I have n mnd n calng Kplng a balladwrter and t wll take ome tme to make clear wat I mean b tat For I am extendng and alo omewat mtng e meanng of the word ballad It tre tat tere an nbroken tread of mnng connectng the varo knd of ere to whch te term ballad' a been apped In the nar tve Border Baad te ntenton to te a tor n wat at
RUDYARD KPG
ha ag of lraur h aural for for a or whch dd o arou moo h por of cdal ad o om x ucocou h form h hor rhmd aza h ao of h radr cocrad o h ory ad characr ad allad mu hav a mag mm dal apprhl audor pad harg ma corm h mpro ma rpa h c u full udradg hould covd a harg h m cal form mu of a mpl kd hch wll o call ao o lf u rpo ad rfra ma coru a ca ao c hr hould o mrcal complcao corrpodg o ul of flg ha cao mmdal rp od d o A aoh r ag of cu lur a Aglo Saxo ad h laora fo rm of \ lh po dvlop a co cou vruoy rqurg a vruo of apprcao o h par of h audc h form mpo upo h ard rrc o ad oacl ovrcomg whch h xh h kll I mu rmmrd ha h ophcao o ol pr wha w call modr' lraur or h lar ag of dvlopm of clacal lraur uch a ho of La Grk Sakr Pra or Ch a ag omm rachd h po of popl of lowr culur Ad o h ohr had allad vr o mpl a ag horcal dvlopm h allad pr ad dvlop ow wa ad corrpod o a prma ll of om of lraur hr alwa a poal pulc for h allad u h ocal codo of modr oc mak dcul for h good allad o wr I prhap mor dcul ow ha wa a h m wh Barrack Room Baas wr wr for Kplg had a la h prao ad rfrhm of h lvg muchall I ordr o produc h comporar allad of o parcular hlp o hod advacd ocal vw or o lv ha h lraur of h fuur mu a popular lraur h allad mu wr for ow ak ad for ow pur
ON O AND POS
po would b mi o nd uprciliou kind of mik o uppo udinc fo blldry coni of fcory worr mill nd minr nd gricuur bourr do conin pop from cgori bu compo iion of udinc upc no lion o ny ocil nd conomic ricion of ociy T udnc fo mo dvlopd vn vl fo mor kind porygly i cuid from vry ofn oric unducd ndof ir o ccp n do lfducd On or nd udinc for bld incud mny wo r c cording o rul igy ducd i includ mny of powrful lnd igly pcilizd inio of popriy do no mn o ugg wo udinc oug o b or mu b wo world bu r wil b on udinc cpb only of w my cll blld nion nd mll udinc cpb of noying bo bd nd mor dicu fom of pory Now i i o blld nion ipling ddr imlf bu do no mn ll of i pom pp l only on v l W i unul bou ipling blld i i ingn of innion in mping o convy no mo o impl mindd n cn b n in on on rding o ring Ty r b wn d loud nd quir no rining o follow m ily \i i impliciy of pupo go conumm gif of word pr nd rym T i no po wo i l opn o crg of ping imlf n blld nz mu no b oo long nd ym cm mu no b oo complicd nz mu b immdi ly pprnibl wol fin cn lp o ini upon idniy wiin wic imid ng of vriion i po bl vriy of form wic ipling mng o dvi fo i blld i rmrbl c i diinc nd prfcly d o nd mood wic pom o convy Noi conn vricion oo gulr i monoonou hh plg ld mag v dl fm
RDYARD KPING
271
bea only when he monoonous is wha is required; and he irregulariies of sansion have a wide sope One of he mos ineresing eerises in he ombinaion of heavy bea and ari aion of pae is found in Danny Deever a poem whih is eh nialy [as well as in onen remarkable The regular reur rene of he same endwords whih gain immensely by imperfe rhyme [parade and aid gives he feeling of marh ing fee and he movemen of men n disiplined foaion in a uniy of movemen whih enhanes he horror of he o asion and he sikness whih seizes he men as individuals and he slighly quikened pae of he na lines marks he hange in movemen and in musi here is no single word or phrase whih alls oo muh aenion o iself or whih is no here for he sake of he oal ee so ha when he lima omes What that that himper overead aid FieonParade It Danny ou that pain no the Coour ergeant ad
[he word hmper being ealy righ he amosphere ha been prepared for a ompee suspension of disbelief I woud be misleading o imply ha all of Kiplings poem or a leas al ha maer, are ballads' here is a grea varie of kinds mean only ha he approah o he undersanding of he moive was ing do, inroduion, in al his aied is hrough hewha ballad heobes for verse m presen pur pose, is o all aenion o a dozen or so pariuar poems repre seni ng his dieren pes For he reader o whom he ballad a p proah o poery is he mos naural, here is no need o sho ha Kipling's verse reah s from ime o ime he inensiy of poer' for suh readers i is more useful o disuss he on en, he view of life and o ovrome he prejudies whih hey may enerain agains any verse whih has a dieren sub je maer or a dieren poinioffurhermore view from ha hey happen o aep o deah fromwhih irreevan assoiaion wih subsequen evens and aiudes Tha I shal
ON POERY ND POES
attempt the ext sectio choosig the exampes whch follow here hae i mid rather the reader who if he be liees that Kplg wrote political igles srsses the wor ingles rather tha the word poliial he rst impressio we ma tae from ispectio of a um ber of the poems chose to show the ari et is that ths ariet itha suspicousl greatof Ve mawho thatcould is fail seehad ittomore the irtuost a writer turto his a form ad matter at wll: we ma fail to discer a ut e ma be brought to admit that oe poem after aother dos i oe w or aother hae its poetc momet a et beliee that the momets are ol accdeta or illusor t would be a mstae to assume that a few poems ca be chose whch are poetr ad that the rest b mplcatio eed ot be read A selectio made i this wa would be arbitrar because there is haful of poems which ca be so isolated from the rest it oul be misleaig because the sgicace of the poems ould be lost except wth the bacgroud of the erse ust as he sgcace of the erse s msse except i the cotext of he prose N art of Kipligs wor ad o perod of his or is wholl apprecabe wthout taig ito accout the others: ad i the e ths wor which stude piecemea ap pears to hae o ut beod the haphazard of exteral cr cumstaces comes to show a uit of a er complicated id f trfore call partcular attetio to anny eever as barracroom bllad which somehow attas the itest of poetr t is ot with the purpose of isolatg it from the other ballads of the same tpe but with the remier that with Kplg ou caot draw a le beod whch some of the erse becomes potr ad that the poetr whe it comes wes the grait of its mpact to beg somethg oer ad aboe the bargai somethg more tha the writer uertoo to ge ou thathere the matter is eer simpl a pretext a occasio for ad poetr ae other poems whch the ele met of poetr is more dcult to put oes ger o tha i
RDYRD KIPING
Danny Deever wo poem wih belon ogeer ar An dres Hymn and The ary Gloster ey are drama
monologue, obviouly, a I ave ad, owing omehing o rownng invenion, hough merially and inrnally ba lad he popular verd ha hoen he r a e moe memorable I nk ha he popular verd rg, bu u wha a raie Andes Hymn above The ay Gloster no eay o ay he rapaiou old hip owner of e aer i no eaily dmied, and e preene of he ien on give a drama qualiy aben from Mndrew' oliloqu One poem no e uefu han e oer If he Mndrew poem i e more memorabe, i i no beaue Kiping s more inpired by he onemplaon of e ue of flure han by a of he falure of ue, bu beaue here s greaer poery n e ube maer I i Mndrew who reae he poery of Seam, and Kipling who reae he poery of Mndrew \e omeme peak a f e rer who mo onoul and painakngly he rafman were he mo remoe from e inere of e ordinary reader and a if e popular wrer were he arle ier u no wrier ha ever ared more for he raf of word an Kpling a paion whih give him a prodgiou repe for he ari of any a, and he
1
rafman any Maonry raf, and hi perhap is repe forofree e problem of henvoled ieray nari onany reur n i oie: 2 in reless, for inane, where he poor onumpive emi' aian i for a ngh dened wih Kea a he momen of wring The e of St Anes; n The Fnest Stoy n t/e orld, where Kplng 1 Te Bll Tat T t n h ln ad noosly; h fd d· fa h dspad in sas aandon and hn ashd ino fsh paosms of ah aas h h dahmn of h as ho nos ha h is h ss of a moon hn ohs no h s
dink In Pf f Hy Wt [a soy plshd in h Sex dtion on] Shaspa and J oon dsss a pom of ho of ods p fo on of h anslaos of h Kn Jams Bil
ON OER AND OES
take the toube to povde a vey good poem, n athe fee ee [the ng f the Galle laves and a vey bad poem n ega vee to tate the deence between the poem whch foce t way nto the concone of the poet an the pem whch the wte hmef foce he deence between the caft and the at of poey of coe a dct to dete mne a to thedecde deence between poety and baady wony not ep the pace of Kpng n poety: we Itcan say that Kpng caftmanhp moe eabe than that of ome geate poet and that thee hady any poem, even n the coected wok n whch he fa to do what he ha et t to do he geat poet caft may ometme fa hm bt a h geatet moment he dong what Kpng uay dong on a owe pane wtng t anp aent y, o that ou at tenton dected to the obect and not to the medm Sch a et n ot mp y attaned by ab ence of deco aton fo en the abence of decoaton may e n cang attenton to te f bt by neve ung deco ato n fo t own ak e thogh, agan the appaenty peo may be what eay m tant w e of the pobem whch ae conceng Kp ng eated to that k of caftmanhp whch eem to enabe hm to pa fom fom to fom though away n an dntabe dom, and fom bject t bject o that we ae awae no nne wte abot athe that ofa vea ttycompon whch maytomake peth ct hm of than ben g no moe than a pefome Ve ook n a poet a we a n a novet fo what Heny Jame caed the Fge n the Ca pet Vth the geatet of moden poet th Fge pefecty manfet [fo we can be e of the extence of the Fge wthot pefecty nde tand ng t] I menton eat at th pont becae of the contat between h deveopment, whch vey appaent n the way he wte and Kpng deveop mnt hch ony appaent n what he wte abot We ex
� The grea seeh f Enbabs n Ay ad Clepata s highly d aed b he deain has a pse bend is n beay
RDYRD KIPL�G
c l wh a gra wrr, ha h }ad wr ab h sbc h k, an n ha wa Vh n r qal m nn Kplng s hs nnr cmplsn hs ny n r mr cl scrn pass rm h arlr ballas mnn a scn cagr Kplng's rs hs pms whch ars , r cm mn pn pcal ns Sm hs sch as e ce the Bear n h rm an aplg n am hh4 b abl wr g rs ccasn s a r rar g n Kpng h h g an h k h blan mp r srsl. hs p pm shl p Geha a pm nspr b h Marcn scanal s r hgh as a passna nc rsng ral lqnc an a pm whch lsras ncnal h mpran nnc blca magry an h Ahr rsn langag pn hs ng h pms n Canaa an Asraa an h q n Kng war ar clln n hr kn, hgh n mmrabl nall. An h g r c casna rs s all h g r hr kns rs n whch Kplng cll h pgram an h hn pgrams n ngsh ar r w an h gra hmn wrr s ry rar h ar rml bc ps rs h can an sh b charg wh nns lng, b ms b a lngsha can b cmpll shar. hk arh pssbl wr mprsnal as Kplg an shl rara k anl a h Eptaphs the War cal Kpng a ga hmn r n h srngh Recessnal s a pm alms wll kn n ha h rar's ann cal , cp pn ha s n h pms n wch smhng braks hrgh rm a pr l han ha h mn h cnscs bsrr plcal an scal aars smhng whch ha s h r prphc nspran Kpng mgh ha bn n h ms nabl hmn hgh Th T th Ba hld b t amn t m h dn ' lt nht
ON POETRY AND OES
wrers Te sae g o propecy appears on e polca plane n oer poes suc as The Sto Cone bu noere w greaer auory an n ecessonal s possble oever o al o Kplngs pos no one or anoer o several dsnc casses ere s e poe Gethseane, wc I do no nk I undersand5 and wc s e ore yserous because o e auors avng cosen o place so early n s colleced edon snce bears e subeadng 4118 And ere are e poes o e ae perod. e vers o e laer perod sos an even greaer dversy an e early poes e word experenaon' ay be ap pled and onouraby appled o e work o any poes wo deveop and cange n aury. As a an gows older e ay urn o new subjecaer or e ay rea e sae aera n a deren way as we age we bo lve n a deren word an becoe deren en n e sae word e canges ay b expressed by a cange o ry o agery o or e rue experener s no peled by resess curosy or by desre or oel or e ws o surprse and asons bu by e coplson o nd n every new poe as n s earles e rg or or eelngs over e developen o wc e as as a oe no conrol u jus as w Kpng e er developen' does no ere see que rg so neer does e er experenaon' s grea varey and ere ar o{ very rerable nnovaons ndeed as n The ay Thoh the Woos and n The Hap Son of the Dane Woen What s a oan that yo fosake he An the heathe an the hoeace To o wth the ol ay Wowake? nes on elans So u ere were and n e very ne euay orgnal nvenons earler [Danny Deeve an ere
i Tog d o o mu b cu o y
RUDYARD KIPING
r too, among t latr pom om ry n on at n mor onntonal form u a Cold Iron The nd Th Childrens Song.
I onf trfor tat t rtal tool w w ar a utomd to u n analng and rtng potr do not m to work I onf furtrmor tat ntropton nto my pro aord atan of apart of o tdrnt fana on own of t ubjt n tnoxploraton mnd from on own I am automd to t ar for form but Kplng nr m to b arng for form, but onl for partular form for a pom So w nd n t pom an x raordna art, but no dnt pa ttrn t onnxo n to b tabld n om otr ll. Yt t no dpla of mpty rtuot, and w an b ur tat tr no ambton of tr popular or otr u for t own ak 1 tr not on rou, a a oaton ompltl ambdxtrou, tat to a ompltl abl to xpr mlf n r or pro but nt for oftn xprng t am t n a tory and n a pom a mu dpr nty tan tat mrl to xbt kll I know of no tr of u grat gft for wom pot m to a bn mor purl n ntrumnt. Mot of u ar ntrtd n t form for t o a k not apa rt from t ont nt, but bau w a m at mang omtng of all ofbextng, omtng w n onqun wllw aall t rt apablt wtn a lmtd rang a ondrabl art of rpon from drnt radr For plng t pom omtng w ntndd to c - and for t mot part pom ar ntndd to lt am rpon from all radr, and onl t rpon w t an mak n ommon For otr pot at la t, for om otr p ot t po m ma bgn to ap t lf n fragmnt of mual rtm, and t trutur wll rt appar n trm omtngtoanalogou to mual pot ndot xpdnt oup tr onouform mndand wtu t raftman problm lng t dpr manng to mr
ON POTRY AND POET
from a ower ee is a quesio e of wha oe cooses o be coscous of, a of ow much of he meaig, i a poem is coeye irec o he eigece a ow muc s co eye iirecy by he musica ipressio upo e sesibiiy aways rememberig a he use of e wo musica' a of musica aaogies, i iscussig poery, as is agers if we o o cosay ceck is imiaios for e music of ese is iseparabe from he meaigs a associaios of wors f say he, a his musica cocer is secoary a ifre ue wih Kipig am o mpyig ay iferioriy of crafs masip, bu raer a iere orer of aues from ha which we expec o eerme he sucure of poery f we beog o he ki of cric wo s accusome o co sier poems soey by e saas of he work of ar we may e o ismiss Kipigs erse by saas wic are o mea o appy f, o he oer a, we are e biograpica criic, ierese primariy i e work as a reeao of e ma Kipig is he mos eusie of subjecs: o ier has bee more reice abou himsef, o gie fewer opeigs for cui osiy, fo perso a aoraio or isike Te purey hypoheica reaer who came upo his essay wi o preious acuaiace wih Kipigs erse, migh per haps imagie ha a bee brefe e cause of some opeessy wie, a was ryig,some as asma ex ibiio of secorae my geuiy as aa aocae o secure remissio of he peay of obiio Oe migh expec ha a poe who appeare o commuicae so ie of his priae ec sasies a espairs wou be u; oe migh expec a a poe wo ha gie so muc o is ime o he seice of he poiica imagiaio wou be ephemera oe migh expec a a poe so cosay occupie wih he appearaces of higs wou be saow We kow ha e s o u because we a, awe oekow ime a or aoher, by epemera, oe poem orbecause aoher beeae hrie he is o we emember so muc of wha we hae ea As for shaowess
RUR IIG
that s a charge whch can ony be brought by those who hae ontnue to rea hm ony wth a boysh nterest At tmes Kpng s not merey possesse of penetraton but amost pos sesse' of a kn of secon sght It s a trng cuosty n t sef that he was reproe for hang pace n efence of he a a oman Legon whch hstorans ecare ha neer been near t an whch scoees proe hae to nee been statone there thatate s the sort of thng onetocom epect of Kpng. There are eeper an arker caerns nto whch he penerate whether throug h eperence or through magnaton oes not matter there are hns n The End of he Passae an ate n The Woman in H Le an n he Same Boa oy enough, these stores are foreshaowe by an eary poem whc h I ha e not ncue, Nu Blanche whch ntrouces one mage whch reappears n The End of he Pas sae Kpng knew somethng of the thngs whch ae uner neath an of the thngs whch are beyon the fronter5 hae not expane Kpngs erse o the permanent ho that t can hae upon you. It w be enough f can hep to keep hm out of the wrong pgeonhoes. If the reaer of ths
& Compae the descpton of the agony in
I th Sam Boat [a story the end o f which s truer t o the expeience than is te end of h Bshood Bo] : Suppose you were a oln stng - batng and som eone put his n ge on you' wth the mage of the banjo string dra ght for the beaing wae n ompe the sto Stovolnic th Wold. A Matt oftoa ofh the Fst submane eption which aso procts the seamonste the sua] wth the opening paages of Ali Wodlad both depct ex teal een whch hae exact nightmare coespondence to some sprtua teor A Matt of Fat is a bette stoy than I th Sam Boat for the cholol expanaon in the latte comes as anclmax to the epeence Dr J H Oldham has dra my attention to the releance of the chapte on Art and agic' in that ey emakable boo h Pipls of At by P fesso R Collngwood ollinood takes Kping as an example of the at as magcan, and denes a magl at as an at which s representate and theefore eocate of emotion, and eokes of set purpose some emotions rather than othes in orde to dischage them into the aairs of practl life'
Profeor contibution heeofseem ut while ollingwoods Kipling s a e good example what to he me lsextmely the arstvaluable; as mag an', I do not fel that the artist as macan s a complte de�pton o Kping as a tr of verse.
ON OERY AND OE
book denies that Kiping is a geat wite of ese, I ho t east that he wi hae found new easons fo his udgent fo the odina chages bought against hi ae eithe untu o eeant I hae been using the te ese with his ow u thoit fo that is what he caled it hisef Thee is poet in t; but when he wites ese that is not poet it is not becau he has tied to wte poet and failed He had anothe u pose, and one to which he adheed with ntegrit It s psed in the foowng poe [fo A Dersty f Creatu TH FAULISTS 94918 When all the wrld wuld keep a atter hd Snce ruth s eld frend t any wd Men t n fable as ld sp dd Jestng t that whch nne wll nae alud nd th they needs ust d r t wll fall Unless they lee they are nt heard at al When desperate Flly daly labureth wrk cnfusn upn all we hae When dlgent Slth deandeth Freed's death And banded Fear candeth Hnurs gra Een n that certan hur befre the fall Unless en please they are nt heard at all Needs ust all please yet se nt all fr ed Needs ust all tl yet se nt all fr gan But that en takng pleasure ay take heed Wh present tl shall snatch fr late pan hus se hae tled but ther reward was sall Se thugh they pleased they were nt heard at all
This w the lck that lay upn ur lps hs was the yke that we hae undergne
RUDYARD K
Denyng us all pleasan fellowshps n our me and generaon ur pleasures unpursued age pas recall nd for our pans - we are no hea rd a all ha man hears augh excep he groanng gu? haeach manman's heedslfe augh save wha nsan brng hen all maged lfeeach ouru ha man shl pleasure n magnngs? o has fallen as was bound o fall, e are no nor we were no heard all
hae epresse he ew ha he are o Kplgs ers s muaos rom oe peropaer o aoher caoeelo be ac coue or a ge a ue b racg me as we mgh wh mos poes Hs eelopme cao b uersoo hrough hs erse aloe because he was as I sa he begg a egral proseaerse wrer a o uersa chages we hae o coser he prose a he rse ogeher Kplg appears s o be a er o ere hases a occupaos who each phase s compleel e elope who s eer so comme o he pursu o oe erse orm as rom o beoher preee romhemog o aoher Hemerel s so ere poes ha laz cc s mpe o asser ha he s o a poe a al a leae a ha The chages hs poer whle he cao be eplae b a usua scheme o poec eelopme ca o some ee be eplae b chages hs ouwar crcumsaces I sa o ome ee' because Kplg apparel merel he reeco o he worl abou hm s he mos scruable o auhors A mmese g or usg wors a amazg curos a power o obseao wh hs m a wh all hs seses he mas o he eeraer a beo ha a queer g o seco gh o rasmg messages rom elsewhere a g so sco
O OETR AD OES
cerng when we are made aware f ha hencefrh we are never sure when s not presen al hs makes Kpng a er mpssble whll undersand and que mpssble belle Ceran an ecepna sensveness envrnmen s he rs characersc f Kpng ha we nce s ha n ne eve we ma race hs curse b eeal crcumsances a lfe wuld have made f such a man had hs brh grwh, maur and age all aken place n ne se f surrundngs, s bend speculan as fe dreced he resul was gve hm a pecuar deachmen and remeness frm al envrnmen a unversal fregnness whch s he reverse sde f hs srng feelng fr Inda fr he Empre fr England and fr Susse a remeness as f an alarmng nellgen vsr frm an her plane He remans smehw alen and alf frm al wh whch he denes hmsef The reader wh can ge a l e dsane bu n deep en ugh belw he leve f Kplngs ppular as a eller f ales and recer f ballad and wh has a vague feelng f smeng furher underneah, s ap gve he wrng eplanan f hs wn dscmfr I have red dsurb he belef ha Kpng s a mere wrer f jngles we mus nw cnsder wheher hese jnges are n a dengrar sense, plca' T have ears ben here brn ns aInda and have spen he rs re membered crcumsance f capal mprance fr a chld f such mpressnabl T have spen he ear frm seveneen wenfur earnng hs lvng here s fr a ver preccus and bservan ung man an mpran e perence als The resul s, seems me ha here are w sraa n Kplng's apprecan f nda he sraum f he chld and ha f he ung man I was he laer wh b served he Brsh n Inda and wre he raher cck and acd ales f Delh and Smla bu was he frmer wh lved he cunr and s peple n hs Indan aes s n he whle he Indan characers wh have he greaer real, becaus
RUDYARD KIPIG
tey ae teated it te undetandg o love. It Puun agat, it te ou geat Indian caacte in Km o ae eal te Lama, abub A, Huee Cunde ookejee, and te eaty do om te Not A o te iton, toe i om e i mot ympaetc ae toe o ave ueed aen c n to Jellaludin a le aned moe t an St ick land.7 Kiplng i o Inda in a dieent ay om any ote Engiman o a itten, and n a deent ay om tat o any paticua Ind ian, o a a ace, a ceed, a ocal abit a tion and, i a Hindu, a cate He migt almot be caled te t citizen o India And i elation to India detemne tat about im ic i te mot impotant ting about a man, i eligou attitude It i an attitude o compeenive toleance8 He i not an unbel ieve on te cont ay, e ca n accept all ait tatPaee o teo olem o teteHindu tatimagina o te uddit, Jain, eventat toug itoical tion tat o ita i i undetandng o Citianity i le aectionate, tat i due to i AngoSaon backgoun d and no doubt e a enoug in India o clegy uc a ennett n Kim To epain Kipling eeing o te Empie, and i late eeling o Sue, a meely te notalga o a man itout a coun, a te need o uppot elt by te man o doe not belong, oud be a peculia mitake contibution wic ouldTo pevent om undetanding Kpling epainuaay i patiotic eeing in ti ay i ony neceay o toe o conide tat uc eeling i not a pope teme o vee Tee ae peap toe o ill admt to epeion in poety patiotim on te deenve Sakepeae Heny V i ac ceptable, in i otee embaaing gandioquence, be caue te Fenc amy a a good deal bigge tan te Engli oce, even toug Heny a could ady be decibed a sujc o Ki's hcs ad h ps of ma hch h hods s a aa ssay y . Boamy o T mp n 7upOfohspc te. 8 No h oa o oac o di
ON OETR AND OES
a densie one. ut i tere is a prejudice agins patriotic erse, tee is a still stronger prejudce aginst iperial patriot s in erse For too any people, an Epire as becoe soething to apologize or, on te ground tat it appened by accident, and wit the addition that it is a teporary aai anyway and will eentually be absorbed into soe niersal world association and patriotis itsel is expected to be in articlate ut we ust accusto ourseles to recognizing that or Kipling te Epire was not erely an idea, a good idea or a bad one it was soeting te reality o wic he lt. nd in is expression o his eeling he was certainly not ai ing at attery o national, racial or iperial anity, or attept ing to propagate a political prograe: e was aiing to counicate the awareness o soeting in existence o ich e elt that ost people were ery iperectly aware t was an awareness o grandeur, certainly, bt it was ch ore an awarenes o responsibiity ere is te qestion o wheter poltical' poety is ad sible; tere s te question o te way in wich Kipling's poit cal poetry is poltical tere is te question o wat is politic were; and nally, tere reains the question o wat we a to say o tat consideable part o his wok wich cannot, by any stretc o te ter be called political at all t s who pertinent toe one oter great writer pt topocall iticsattention int o ers Dryden he Englis question weter Kipling was poet is not nrelated to te qetion wete Dryden was a poet e autor o Absalo and Achitophel was satirizing a lost case in retrospect, and e wa on the successul side; te autor o he Hid ad the Pnthe was arging a case in ecclesiastical politics; and both o tes purposes wee ery dierent ro that ich Kipling set i sel ot o Drdens poes are oe political in teir appea to te reason tan any o Kpling's. ut the two en had uc in coon. oth were asters o prase, both ployed rater siple rhyths with adroit ariations; and by
RUDYARD KLNG
oth the medium was emoyed to vey a simle forefu statemet, rather tha a musial atter of emotioa overtoes Ad [if it is ossibe to use these terms without o fusio] they were both assia rather tha romati oets They arrive at oetr through eoquee; for both, wisdom has the rimay over isiratio ad both are more oered with the world about them tha with their ow joys ad sorrows, ad oered with their ow feeigs i their ikeess to those of other me rather tha i their artiularity ut shoud ot wish to ress this likeess too far, or igore the geat dieres ad if Kilig suers i some resets by the omarso, it must be remembered that he has other ualities whih do ot eter ito it at a. Kilig ertaily thought of verse as wel as rose as a medium for aeubli we are toiass uo his urose, must urose; to setiforselves the judgmet historia situatios i whih his various work was itte ad whether our reudie be favourabe or atagoisti, we must ot look at his observatios of oe historial sitatio from the oit of view of a later eriod Aso, we must osider his work as a whoe, ad the earlier years i the light of the later, ad ot eaggerate the imortae of artiular iees or hrases whih we may ot like Eve these may be misiterreted Mr Edward whowhose has witte o Kiig that I haveShak, read [ad haterthe obest Thebook roet of Emire resumes Kiigs olitial views admirably] says of the oem aled Lt a sodier balad desribig the was of etortig hidd e treasure from tive s] this is wholy detestabe, a d it makes the ommetator o Kiig tur red whe he edeavours to elai it This is to read a ttitude ito the oem hih I had eer suseted I d ot believe that i this oem he was ommedig the raaity ad greed of sh irregularities, or odoig raie If we thik this, we must lso rsume that he dies was writte to glorify miseae ous misegeatio o the art of rofessioa sodiers uar
z86
ON PORY AND PO
tr in rign lans Kiping, at th pi t hih ths pms ng unutly lt that th prssin ank an his rs t r unappriat y thir pau un trymn at h, an that in th tratmnt th sli n th isharg slir thr as tn lss than sial usti: bt his nrn as t mak th slir knn, nt t ializ him H as asprat y sntimntalism as ll as y pria tin r n gt an ithr attit i s ial t k th thr ha sai that in Kiping as a pt thr is n pmn bt mutatin; an that r th lpmnt must lk t hangs in th nirnmnt an in th man himsl Th rst pri is that nia; th sn that tra an resi n in Amria th thir is that his sttmnt in Suss hs iisins a ius: hat is nt s ius is th lpmnt his i mpire, a i hih pans an ntrats at th sm tim H ha aays n ar m unritia th ts an rngs th British Empi, but hl a rm li in hat it shu an might n his at phas Englan an a partiular rn Engan am th ntr his isin H is mr n ith the pr m th sunnss th r mpi: this is sm thing r, mr natura an mr prmannt But at th sam his isin iinan h ss Rmantim Empi an thtaks paa argr Englan it Th isinth is almst that an ia mpir ai up in han An ith all his ggaphia an histrial imaginatin, n n as arthr than h rm intrst in mn in th mass, r th manipulatin mn in th mass his sym as aays a partiula iniiual Th sym ha n, at n tim suh mn as Muany Strikan: it am arnsius an n Thnial mhanis nt ls thi harm him irlss an aatin su stam, an in n his ms t t hrlly stris a nsi ral pa is lay an ar an nt r ria m a mt
UDYAD KILN
: rsis ad Hobd or ipora a cis O is dfdr of ciilizaio [of ciiliz io o of ciilizaio absrac agais barbaris or rprss ss coac of ciilizaio soil a sd a r is aays soig ie ao Kiplg, as of sior fo aor pla ad o so read y sill s ali i is ideicao of iself i ss Tr is a of tour de force i all is ork ic k so radrs coforabl: r aays ss picios of popl o r oo clr Kiplig s ap o aros so of e sae diss as aor gra a o as ali i ery di r y d o o orldly lel og oo ad is isio of pir ad is ass of profod sigor Eos o Gdso adir Disreli osy aylik d e ss as i er a d is poiics or o B Disralis forigss as a co paraily sipl ar Ad dobdly dirc o arly oe o c Kipligs forigess is d g i a dsdig of Eglis corysid dir ro dersadig of o d brog p i i d pookd i i ogs abo i ic old do ll o ed y el b fora a as old a gra sccss arlyfor i if irpio o ork a or i yp of ork for is arly ork is a is r bd y, d pop [criics, soies os of all] do o boer o ris ir opiios i accodac i is lar ork Wi Kiplig, freor a prdic agais co ay cobi i ack of drsadig of for o prodc icosis codeaio O grod of coe, is clld a To ad o grod of syle is cled a oralis Nier of s s o sr, ed b d i ayg b oor: for s co o ac r poplar odi by a lgar idicao i a as
ON OTRY AND OTS
ame o may peope a criica aude owards democrac as come o mp y a redy aiude owards ascis m which rom a ruy Tory poi o view is merey he x em degradaio o democracy Simiary he erm jourais wh appied o ayoe o o he sa o a ewspaper has com o cooe rucg o he popuar ase o he mome pig was o eve a Tory he sese o oe givg u uesioig oyay o a poiica pary he ca be caed a Tor a sese i whch oy a hadu o wers ogeer wih umber o mosy iaricuae obscure ad uiueia ppe ae ever Tories i oe geeraio Ad as or beig a our ais [ he sese meioed above] w mus eep mi ha he causes he espoused were o popuar causes whe h voiced hem; ha he did o am o ideai eher border r are or he proessoa sodier; ha his reecios o he Br War are more admoory ha audaor I may be propo ha as he dwe upo he gory o empire so doig he heped o cocea s more seamy side he commerciaism poiaio a d egec o aeive reade o ipig c maia however ha he was uaware o he aus o Briish rue s simpy ha he beeved he Brish Empire o b a good hig ha he shed o se beore hs readers a d o wha i shoud be bu was acuey aware o he dcuy o eve approximag hissuch idea ad o ashemigh perpeua dage o aig away eve o rom sadard be aaied I cao d ay juscaio or he charge ha he hed docrie o race superiory He beieved ha he Brsh have a greaer apiud or ruig ha oher peope ad ha hey cde a greaer umber o dy corrupibe ad useseg me cpabe o admiisraio; ad he ew ha scepicism i his maer is ess iey o ead o greaer mag aimiy ha i is o ead o a reaxaio o he sese o re sposibiy. Bu he cao be accused o hodig ha ay Bro simpy because o hs Brish race is ecesary i ay he superior or eve he equa o a idivdua o aohe
UDYARD KIPLING
ae The ypes of en which he adies are unliited by any preudice his aturest work on India and his greatest book i Kim. The notion of Kipling as a popula entertainer is due to th act tha his works hae been popular and that they entertain oweer i is peritted to express popular iews of the o ent in an unpopular style: it is not approed when a an hods unpopuar iews and expresses the in soething er dabe I do not wish to argue longer oer Kipling's early iperialis because there is need to speak of the deeop ent of his iews. It should be said at this point before pass ing on that Kipling is not a doctrinaire or a an with a pro grae is opinions are no to be considered as the antith sis of those of H G Wells Wellss iaginaion is one thin and his poiical opinions another: the latter changed but did ot ature But Kipling did not een in the sense in which that actiity can be ascribed to Wells thin his ai, and hi ift i s o ake people see for he rst condi tion of igh thought is right ssation the rst condition of understan ing a foeign coun is to sell it, as you sel India in Km If you hae seen and felt ruly then if God has gien you the power you ay be able to hink righly The siplest suary of the change in Kipling in his id dle years is the deelopenoofthis he deelopent iperial iaginaion into th historical iaginaion' his settling in Sussex ust hae contributed to no sal degree: for he had the huiity to subdue hisef to his surroundings and the eshness of ision of he stranger y references here wi be to stories rather than to poes: tha is because the later unit is a poe and a sto t ogeher or a sto and tw o po es obining to ake a fo which no one has used in the sae way and in which no one is eer ikely to excel h hen I speak of historical iagination I do not assue that there is only one kind wo dierent kinds are exepied by ictor ugo and Stendhal in thei accounts of the batle of Water
O OERY AD OES
loo For te rst t s te arge o te O Guar an e sunken roa o Oain or te atter t s Fabres suen awareness tat te tte patterng nose aroun im s ause b buets Te storan o one kn s e wo gies e to abstratons te storan o anoter kn ma mp a woe ilzaton n te beaour o a snge niua H G Wes an ge Kplings an ep graneur to te aumuation o an Ameran ortune imagnaton wes on te partiuar eper ene o te partuar man ust as s Ina was reaize n partuar men In Th Fin Sory in h World tere appears te same passon or te eat eta tat s gen sope in s stues o maner Te Greek gale is esrbe rom te pont o iew o te gae sae Te sp was e kn rowe wt oars an te sea spurts troug te oaroes an te men row sttng up to ter knees n water teres a ben runnng own between te two nes o oars an an oerseer wit a wp walks up an own te ben to make te men work Teres a rope runnng oerea loope to te upper ek or te oerseer to at o o wen te sp rolls Wen te oerseer sses e rope one n als among te rowers reember te ero augs at m n ge ts ke or it He's a ine t o s oar o ou rse te ero wt an ron ban roun is wast e to te ben e sts on an a sort o anu on s let st anng im to te oar Hes on te lower ek were te worst men are ent an t onl lgt oes rom te atwas an roug te oaroles Can't ou magne te sungt ust squeezng troug between te ane an te oe an wobbing about as te sp moes? Te storal aginaton ma ge us an awul awareness o te etent o te or t ma gie us a zz sense o te nearness o te past It a o bot Kpng espeal in Puck Pook Hilloan Fairi o ams tnk to gie atofone a sense te ward antqut and o Engan te Inumber
o generations an peoples wo ae laboure te sol an n
RUDYA PLG
urn been bured beneah , and o h conemporane o the past Hang preous ehbed an magnae grasp o space and ngand n t, he no proceeds o a smlar achee men n me The tales o nglsh hstor need o be con sdered n elaon to he ater sores o conemporar Susse, such as An Habitation Enforced, My ons Wife and The Wish Hoe, ogether th They n one aspect o hs curous sto Kpngs aareness and loe o Susse s a er deren aar om he eeng o an oher egona er o comparable ame, such as Thomas Hard It s no merel that he as hgh conscous o hat ought to be pesered, here Hard s he chroncler o deca or ha he roe o he Susse hch he ound h ee Hard wote o he Dorset tha a s aread passng n hs bohood It s, rs, hat the conscence o the abus and he conscousness o the poltcal and hstorca magna on are alas a work. To thnk o Kpng as a rter ho coud urn hs hand o an subject, ho ote o Susse be cause he had ehausted hs oregn and mpera materal o had saaed the publc demand or t, or mere because he as a chameleon ho took hs colour rom enronment, oud be o mss he mark compete ths ater ork s the ontnuaon and consummaton o he earer. The second pecuar o Kplngs Susse sores I hae alread touched
upon and the aact that he deeoped brngs to hs he reshness o a mnd sensb andork maured n qute der ent enronment he s dscoeng and ecamng a los n hertance The Amercan Chapns, n A Habitation Enforced hae a passe oe the proagons n he stor s he house and the le that t mpes th the proound mplcaton that the countan belogs to the and, the landord o hs en ants, the armer o hs labourers and no the other a abou. Ths s a delberate reersa o he aues o ndusral soce The ns, ndeed ecep or the pon therocomng rom Chap a countr o ndusrazed mentlt aeoa knd mask o Kpng hmse He s also behnd he hero o a ess success
ON OETRY ND OTS
ul story th sam group, My Sos Wife I call this sto ss succssul bcaus h sms to point his moral a lttl too dirctly, ad bcaus th cotrast btw th garrulous socty o odo or suburba n tllctuals and t sclss solcitor's daughtr who liks hutig s hammrd with to grat sistc h cotrast btw a bucolc world n whc th world scondrat stllth partcipats good, adand an ntllctual whch scdrats th usually sham always tirsom s ot quit air aimus whch h ds plys agaist th lattr suggsts that h dd ot hav his y o th obct: or w ca judg oly what w udrstad, ad must costatly d with th opposito. hat s most m portat i ths storis ad Te Wish House ad Fiely Book, s Kiplg's vson o th popl o th soil It is o t a Christ ian v sio b u t t s at l ast a pa ga vis o a contadicton o th matralistc vw t s th isight ito harmoy wth nt whch must b stablshd i th trul Christia maginaton s to b rcovrd by Chrstians What h is tryig to covy s, agai, ot a programm o agraran rom, but a pot o viw utlligbl to th dustalizd mid Hc th artstic valu o th obviously crdibl mt o th suratural The Wsh House, whch is quisitly combd with th sordid ralsm o th womn o t dialogu th country bus th suburba villa ad h cacr o th poor This hard ad obscur story The Wish Houe has to b studid i rlation to th two hard ad obscur poms not hr icludd whch prcd ad ollow it, ad whch would b still mor hard ad obscur without th story W hav go a log way, at th stag rom th mr storytll a log way v rom th ma who lt it hs duty to try to mak crtai things plain to his coutym who would not thmtim H o ould hardly thought thattroubl may popl hs ow at ay timhav would tak th to ud stad th parabls o v to apprciat th prcso o obs
RUDYARD PLNG
aion, auaing pains in seeing an ombining ee mens, e oie of wor an prse, a were spen in eir eaboaion He mus ae known a is own fame wou ge in e a, is repuaion as a soryeer, is repuaion as a Tory journais' is repuaion as a faie rier wo ou as o someing abou wa appene eseray, is repua ion eenan as aear ier of books for iren wi iren ike o ea rea I reurn o e begnning. Te ae poems ike e ae sories wi wi ey beong are someimes more obsure beause ey ae ring o express someing more iu an e eary poems ey are e poems of a wiser an mor maure wrier. Bu ey o no sow any moemen from erse' o poery' ey are us as insrum ena as e eay work bu now insrumens for a maure purpose Kiping ou ane, from e beginning o e en, a onsierabe ariey of meres an sanza forms wi perfe ompeene e inro ues remarkabe ariaions of is own bu as a poe e oes no reouionize He is no one of ose wriers of wom on an say, a e of Engis poery wi aways be ier en from wa i wou ae been if ey a no rien a funamenay iereniaes is erse' from poery' is e suborinaion of musia ineres Many of e poems gi, iee jugeonomaopoei by e ear, anere impression of e moo, some are isiny is a aronis of poer wi no merey is beyon eir range bu wou inerfere wi e inenion I is possibe o argue exepions bu I am speaking of is work as a woe, an I mainain a wiou unersaning e pupose wi animaes is erse as woe one is no prepare o unersan e exepions I make no apoogy for aing use e erms erse an poery in a oose way: so a wie I speak of Kiping's work s erse an no poery,an I am o speak of iniiua omposiions as as poems, asosioabe mainain a ere is poery in e erse Vere erminoo is oose were w
ON OETRY AND OET
ae not e ocabay fo istinctions ic e fee o ony ecision s fon in being aae of te imefection of o toos an of te ieent senses in ic e ae sing te same os It so be cea tat en I contast ese' t oety' I am not i this contt imying a ae g ment. I o not mean ee by ese te ok of a an o o ite oet if e co I mean by it someing ic oes at oety co not o Te ieence ic o tn Kiing's ese into oety oes not eesent a faie o eciency: e kne efecty e at e as oing an fom is oint of ie moe oety' o intefee it is ose n I make te caim tat in seaking of Kiing e ae entite to say gat ese Wat ote faos oets so be t nto te catego of geat ese ites is a qestion ic I o not ee attet to anse Tat qestion is coicate by te fact tat e so be eaing it mattes as imecise as te ae an size of a co o te beginnig an en of a ae B t te it e ose o k is awas ceay ese is not a geat ese ite if a ite is to be tat tee mst be some of is ok of ic e cannot say ete it is ese o oety n te oet o co not ite ese' en ese as neee o be itot tat sense of stc te ic is eqie to make a oe of any engt eaabe o sggest aso tat e too easiy assme tat at is most aabe is aso most ae an ice esa I can tink of a nbe of oets o ae itten geat oety ony of a ey fe om I so ca geat ese ites n ness I am mistaken Kiings osition in tis cass is not ony ig bt niqe
Yeats generaon of poe n our age eem o coer a pan Hof abou weny year do no mean ha he be wo
of any poe lmed o wen year: mean ha abou ha lengh of me before a new chool or yle of poer ap pear y he me ha o ay ha a man fy he ha hnd hm a knd of poery wren by men of eeny an before hm anoher knd wren by men of hy Tha my poon a preen and f le anoher weny year hall epec o ee ll anoher younger chool of poey One e laon o Yea howeer doe no no h cheme hen wa a young man a he unery n Amerca u begn nng o e ere Yea wa already a condeable gure n he word of poery and h early perod wa well dened canno remember haA h ha who agemade anyrre dee mpreon upon me epoery youngaman hmelf o wre no prmarly crcal or een wdely apprecae He lookng for maer who elc h concoue of wha he n o ay hmelf of he knd of er ha n hm o e he ae of an adolecen wre nene bu narrow deermned by peronal need The knd of poey ha needed o each me he ue of my own oce dd no e n Englh a all; wa only o be found n French Fo h reaon he poe of he young Yea hardly eed fo
* ul Y Lcu l o h F f h Ih c· y h bby h Dul Suquly pulh in Ppos
ON POERY AND POES
nti atr my ntsiasm ad bn won by t potry o oldr Yats and by t at tm I man, rom 199 on y own cours o otion was arady dtrmind nc nd mysl rgarding im, rom on point o iw, as a con tmporary and not a prdcssor and rom anotr point o iw, can sar t lings o youngr mn, wo cam to now and admir im by tat work rom 919 on, wic as rodcd wil ty wr adolscnt Crainy, or ongr pots o Engand and mrica am sr tat tir admiration or Yatss potry as bn oly good is idiom was too dirnt or tr to b any angr o imitation, is opinions too dirnt to attr and conrm tir prjudics It was good or tm to a t pctac o an nqustionaby grat iing pot, wos styl ty wramong not tmptd to co and s wos idasriting, opposdmor tos in ogu tm You wi not in tir an passing idncs o t imprssion mad, but t ork, and t man ims as pot a bn o t gratst igicanc to m or all tat Tis ay sm to contradict at I a bn saying about t kind o potry tat a young ot cooss to admir ut I am rally taking about som ting dirnt Yats would not a tis inunc ad not bcom a grat pot bt t innc o wic I spak is d to t gr o t pot imsl, to t intgrity o is passion or is art and is crat wic proidd suc an im pus or is traordinary dopmnt Wn isitd Lon don ikd to mt and talk to youngr pots opl a omtims spokn o im as arrogant and orbaring I nr ond im so in is conrsations wit a youngr writr I always t tat ord trm o quality, as to a o orkr, a practitionr o t sam mistry It was, I tink, tat, unlik many as itrs moroorimsl potstan or is own rputation a potor card is pictr a pot rt was atr tan t artist and tis ing communi
YEAS
ae o oers wic as wy youn ger en ere neer a se n s copany is I a sure was par f e secre of is ability, afer ecoing unuestonably e aser o reain always a coneporary Anoer is e coninua eelopen of wic I ae spoken is as ecoe alos a conplace of cricis f s work But wle i is ofen enione, s caus an is nature ave no been ofen analyse One reasn, o course, was siply concenration an ar ork An bein a is caracer I ean e special caracer of e artis a aris a is, e force of carac ter by ic Di ckens ing exause s rs inspiraion was able in ie age o procee to suc a aserpiece so ieren fro is early work as Bleak Hoe. I s icul an unwise o generalize abou ays of c opo sit on so any en, s any ways bu y experence a owars ile age a an as r coices stop iing alogeer, repe self wi praps an increasing skill of irtuosy or by taking toug aap self o ile age an n a ieren way of workng y are e laer lng pes of Broing an winburn stly unrea It is I ink, because one ges te essentia rowing or winbue enire in earier poes an in ater, one is reine of e early fresness wic tey ac tout anyk of copensaing en a beng an isae engaaware ge inofwor absrac onew ugualiti if er is suc a ting as wlly absrac oug outsie f e aca sciences is in can aure, ile is eoion eier rean te sae or ony atropy an it will n atter Bu aturing as a poe eans auring as te woe an, experiencng new eotions appropriae o one's age, an i e sae intensity as te eoions of yout One for, a perfec fr, of eelopen is a of ak speare, one of teof few work ere of aurity is jus a exciting as ta erpoes earlyose ano is, n erence between e eelopent of akespeare an Y
ON OETRY AD OETS
whh mak he ae ase s me s Wh hake peae ne see a slw nns deepmen f masey f hs af f ese and he pey f mdde age seems m p n ha f eay may Afe he s few eba ex ses y say f eah pee f wk: Ths s he pefe expes sn f he sensbly f ha sage f hs deepmen Tha a pe shld deep a al ha he shd nd smehng new say and say eqaly we n mdde age has aways mehng mas ab n he ase f Yeas he knd f deepmen seems me deen I d n wn e he mpessn ha I egad hs eale and hs ae wk ams as f hey had been wen by w deen men Re ng hs eae pems afe makng a se aqanane h he lae ne sees begn wh ha n ehnque hee s a w and nns deelpmen f wha s lways he ame medm an dm And when say deelpmen I d n mean ha many f he eay pems f wha hey ae e n as bafly wen as hey ld be Thee e me sh as ho Goe ith Feru? whh e as pefe f he knd a nhng n he angge he bes and he bes k nwn f hem hae hs m an ha hey ae a asfaty n san as anhlgy pees as hey ae n he nex hs he pems f he same ped I am sense busy snganhlg he em anhgy peepems n a he a n any y nd sme whh e y mpee sasfan and degh n hemsees suh h y ae hady s wh e hem hady wan k fhe n he wk f ha pe Thee e hes n nessay s pefe mpee whh make y essbly s knw me f ha pe hgh hs he wk aualy hs dsnn appes nly sh pems hse n whh a man has been abe p ny a pat f hs mnd s a mnd f any sze Wh sme suh y fee ne h he man wh w e hem m s hae had a gea d ea me a n deen nexs f eqa nees w amng al
YEAS
e poems in Yeass earier voumes nd only n a ine ere or ere, a sense of a unique personay wi makes one si up in eiemen and eagerness o earn more abou e auors mind and feelings Te nensy of Yeass own emo ona eperiene ardly appears e ave suien evdene of e inensiy of eperiene of is you, bu is from e rerospeions in some of is laer wok a we ave our evi dene ave n eary essays, eolled wa alled impersonaiy in ar, and i may seem a n gvng as a reason for e su periory of Yeass aer work e greaer epression of per soniy in i, am onradiing myself. may be a pressed myself bady, or a ad only an adoesen grasp of a dea as an never bea o reread my own prose wr ings, am wiling o eave e pon unseled bu hnk now, a eas, a e u of e mae s as foows Tere are wo fos of impersonaiy a w s naural o e mere sklfu rafsman, and a w is moe and mor aeved by e mauring aris Te rs s a of wa J ave aled e anology piee, of a lyr by Lovelae OI Sukng, or of Campion, a ner poe an eie Te seond mpesonay is a of e poe wo, ou of nense and per sona eperene, s abe o epress a genera ru; eainng a e pariuary of is ing eperiene, make avng of a general smbol And e srange is aoYeas, been a gea afsman in e rs kind, beame a grea poe in e seond s no a e beame a dieren man, for, as ave ned, one fees sure a e inense eperiene of you ad been lved roug a d n deed, w ou s ealy eperene e ould neer ave aained anying of e wisdom wh appears n is lae wriing Bu e ad o wai fo a aer ma uy o nd epression of eay eperene and is makes im, ink,ea early unique andwi espeialy neesng poe. When Consder poem s n every anology, ou re d nd grey nd fu of seep, or A Drem of Deth n
ON OTRY AND OS
th am voum of 13 hy ar autiul pom ut oy cratma' work cau o do ot fl prt thm th particularity which mut provid th matria for th ral truth y th tim of th volum o 10 thr i a dvl opmt viib i a vry lovly pom The Foy o Being Co orted ad i Adas Curse omth i comi throuh ad i to pak a a particular ma h i ii to pak for ma hi clarr til i th pom Peae th 1 volum ut it i ot fully vicd util th volum o 1, t volt ad trl pitl ddicatory of Responsi biites with th rat Pardon that o baren passions sake Athough I ae ome ose on fortynine . •
d o toharrv a th frdom pom i of iicat tha t half ami a liftim at thi pch Itor a trumph hr wa much al for Yat to work out o iml v tchiqu To a your mmr o a roup o pot o of th crtaily of ayti ik h tur u urthr dvlopd i thir limitd pat may arrt for a tim a ma dvlopmt of diom Th aai th wiht o t pr Raphalt prti mut hav trmdou Th Yat o th C ltic tw iliht wh o m to m to ha v mor th Yat of t pr Rapha lit twilit u Clti c olor almot a William orri u cadiavia olklor Hi or arrativ pom ar th mark o ori Idd th pr Raphalit pa Yat i y o ma th lat of th prRaphalit. I may mitak ut th play The Shado Waters m to m o of th mot prct pro o th vau chatd auty of th at choo l yt it trik m thi may throuh a imprtc o myofpara thou a th wtr dcrid th ack widow i Kito Irih myth for th Klmcott r ad w I t v
EAS
uale he speakers he play he have he grea m reamy eyes of he kghs a laes of BureJes. I hk he phase whch he reae rsh lege he mae of osse or Morrs s a phase of cofuso He o maser hs lege ul he mae a vehcle for hs ow creao of characer o really ul he ega o we he Plays for Dances The p s ha ecomg more Irsh o
suecmaer u expresso he ecame a he same m uversal The pos ha I parcularly wsh o make aou Yeass eveopme are wo The rs o whch I have alrea ouche s ha o have accomplshe ha Yeas h m le a la yers s a gea a permae examp le whch poe socome shou l su y wh reverece of wha I have calle Characer of he Ars a k of moral as well as ellecual excellece The seco po whch follos a urally afer wha I have sa crcsm of he lack of co plee emooal expresso hs early work s ha Yeas s preemely he poe of mle age By hs I am fa from meag ha he s a poe oly for mleage reaers he a ue owars hm of youger poes who wre Eglsh he worl over s eough evece o he corary Now heor here s o reaso why a poes sprao or maeral shoul fal mle age o a ay s me hmself efore sey. For awo ma who s capale of experece a ere every ecae of hs lfe as he sees wh ere eyes h maeral of hs ar s coually reewe Bu fac very f poes have show hs capacy of aapao o he years I requres ee a exepoal hoesy a courage o fac he chage Mos me eher clg o he expereces of youh so ha her wg ecomes a scere mmcry of he earler work or hey leav her passo eh a wre ol from hea hea wh a hollow a wase aoher ee worse empao ha ofvruosy ecomgThere gs e of ecomg pulc gures wh oy a pulc exse ce
ON ORY ND O
coatracks hung wth dcoratons and dstnctons dong say ng and vn tnkng and fng ony what thy bv th publc xpcts of thm Yats was not that knd of ot and t s prhaps a rason why young mn shoud nd hs tr potry mor accptab than oldr mn asy can For th young can s hm as a pot who n hs work rmand n th bst who vn snstobcam young as hsns agdalways ut thyoung old unlss th naron strrd somthng of th honsty wth onsf xprssd n h poty wll b shockd by such a rvaton of what a man raly s and r mans hy w rfus to bv that te ar k that ou tink it oible tat lust and age Sould dane attendane upon m old age Te ee not su a plague en I as oung Wat else ave I to spu me into song
hs ns ar vry mprssv and not vry pasant and th sntmnt hs rcnty bn crtczd by an Englsh crtc whom gnraly rspct ut I tnk h msrad thm. do not rad thm a prsona confsson of a man who drd fom othr mn but of a man who was ssntay th sam as most othr mn th ony drnc s n th gratr cary honsty and vgour o what honst man old nough can ths sntmnts b ntry aln? y can b subdud and dscplnd by rgon but o can say that thy ar dad Only thos to whom th mam of a Rochfoucauld appls Quand s vcs nous quttnt nous nous attons d a cranc qu cst nous qu ls quttons h tragdy of Yatss pgram s al n th last n. Smlay t play Pugato s not vry plasan thr hr ar aspcts of t whch I do not k mysf wsh h had not gvn t ths ttl bcaus cannot accpt a purgatoy n whch no hnt at st no mphass on utthr aparts from thorxtraordnary thatrcalupon skllurga wth hch h has put so much acton wthn th compass of a vry
A
short see of but itte movemet te pay gives a master epositio of the emotios of a od ma I thik that the epigram have ust quoted seems to me just as much to be tak i a dramatic sese as the pay Purgatory h e ic po et ad Yeats as aays ic ev e h e dramat ic ca sp k for every ma r for me very dieret from himsef but t o this he mst for the momet be abe to idetify himsef ith every ma or other me ad it is oy his imagative po of becomig this that deceives some readers ito thkig that he is speakig for ad of himsef aoe espec iay he the prefer ot to be impicated I do ot ish to emphasize this aspect oy of Yeatss poe of age oud ca attetio to the beautifu poem i Th Widig Stair, i memory of va GoeBooth ad Co ar kieic, i hich the picture at the begiig, of To girls i silk kimoos, both Beautiul, oe a gazelle,
gets grt itesity from the shock of the ater ie Whe ithered, old ad skeleto gaut
a aso to Coole Park, begig I meditate upo a sallos ight, po a aged oma ad her house
I sch poems oe fees that the most ivey ad dirabe emotios of youth hae bee preserved to receive their fu ad ue epressio i retrospect For the iterestig feeigs of age are ot just dieret feigs they are feeigs ito hich the feeigs of youth are tegated Yeatss deveopmet i his dramatic poetry is as iterestig as that i his yrica poetry I have spoke of him as havg bee a ic poe t ias aric sesead i hich ot thik mysef for istace, by thsI Ishoud mea rather a cerof tai kid of seectio of emotio rather tha paricuar metr
ON POERY AND POES
al fors u ere is no eason wy a yi poe soud no also be a draai poe and o e Yeas is e ype of yrial draais I ook i any years o eoe e draai for uied o is genius Wen e rs began o wie pays poei draa ean pays wrien in blank erse. ow blank erse has been a dead ere for a ong ie. I would be ouside of y go inowi all ewas reasons for a bu i well is obiby ous frae a ao for andled so now supreely Sakespeare as is disadanages If you are wriing a play of he sae ype as Sakespeares e reinisene is oppressie if you ae wiing a play of a dieren ype i is disraing Furerore as Sakespeare is so u greaer an any drais wo as folowed i blank erse an ardly be disoiaed fro e life of e sieen and seeneen en uries i an ardly a e rys wi wi Englis is poken nowadays ink a if anying like reguar blank rse is eer o be reesabised i an be afer a ong deparure fro i during e ourse of wi i wil ae iberaed iself fro period assoiaions. e ie of Yeass eary plays i was no ossibe o use anying else for a poe pay a is no a riiis of Yeas isef bu an asserion a anges in erse fors oe a one oen and no a anoer His early ersepays inuding e Geen Helmet, wi i s wrien in a kind of irreguar ryed foureener ae a good deal of beauy in e and a leas ey are e bes erse plays wrien in eir ie nd een in ese one noies soe deeopen of ireguariy in e eri Yeas did no uie inen a new ere bu e blank erse of is a plays sows a grea adane owards one; and wa is os asonising is e irual abandonen of bank erse ee in Pugto One deie used wi grea suess in soe of laer plays is e yria oa inerude u anoer and iporan ornaen ause of iproeen purgingpar ou ofof eial is perapsis iseegradua os painful e labour so fa as e ersiaion goes of e ode o
EAS
who tres to ite a a in erse Th corse o mroement s towards a reater and reater starkness The beat lne or ts own sake s a x daneros een or the oet who has made hmsel a rtoso o the technqe o the theatr What s necessar s a bea whch shal not be n the lne or the soabe assae bt woen nto the dramatc textr itsl s o that o can hardl sa whether the ines e rander to the drama or whether t is the drama whch trns the wor nto oetr One o the most thrilin lnes n King La the sime: N, n, n, n, n
bt aart rom a knowlede o the context how can o that it s oetr or een cometent erse?] Yeatss rcaton o his erse becomes mch more edent n the or Plays fo Dancs and n the two n the osthmos olme thos n act n which he had ond hs riht and na dramatic orm It s n the rst three o the Plays fo Dancs aso that shows the interna as contrasted with the external wa o handlin Irsh mth o which I hae soken earier In the erer as as in the earier oems abot leendar heroes and heroines I ee that the characters are treated wth the resec that we a to leend as creatres o a dierent world ro ors In erhas the aternot las the Th are niersal men and Bons womenqt I shold ncde Daming of h n ths cateor becase Dermot and Deorlla are characters rom modern hstor not res o rehisto bt I wold remark in sort o what I hae been san that in ths la these two oers hae somethin o the niersal o Dnte aolo and Francesca and ths the oner Yeats cold not e in them. So with the Cchan o Th Hawks Wll the Cchlain Emer and Eithne o Th Only Jalosy f E; the mth is not resented or ts own sake bt as ehcle or a sitaton o nersa meann. I see at thi oint that I ma hae en the mresson con
ON OETRY ND OETS
ary to my desre and my belef that the poet and the plays f Yeatss earer perod can be gnored n fao of hs ater work Yo cannot dde the work of a great poet so sharply as that Where there s the contnty of sch a poste peron lty and sch a snge prpose the ater work cannot nderstood or properly enjoyed wthot a stdy and apprec aton of the earler and the late work agan reects ght pon the earer and shows s beaty and sgncance not befoe peceed We hae also to take accont of the hstorca con dtons As I hae sad aboe Yeats was born nto the end of a lteay moement and an Englsh moement at that ony those who hae toed wth angage know the abor and con stancy eqred to fre e oneself from sch n ences yet on the other hand once we are ama wth the oder oce we can hea ts ndda tones een n hs eaest pbshed erse. In my own tme of yoth there seemed to be no mmed ate great pow of poetry ether to help o to hnder ether to rn from or to rebe aganst yet I can nderstand the d cty of the othe staton and the agntde of the task Wth the erseplay on the other hand the staton s e ersed becase Yeats had nothng and we hae had Yeats H started wrtng pays at a tme when the proseplay of con temporay fe seemed trmphant wth an ndente ftre tetchng t when theofcomedy of lght th certanbefore preged strata metopotan lfefarce anddeat whenony the eros play tended to be an ephemera tract on some transent ocal problem. We can begn to see now that een the m perfect early attempts he made are pobaby more peaent lteratre than the pays of Shaw and that hs dramatc wok as a whole may proe a stronger defence aganst the sccessf rban Shaftesbry Aene lgarty whch he opposed as stotly as they. Jst as from the begnnng he made and thoght hs poetry n terms of speech and not n terms of prnt so n the dama he aways meant to wrte plays to be played and not erely to be read He caed I thnk more for the thtre as
YEAS
n orgn for the epression of the cosciousness of peope, thn s mens to his own fme or chieement nd I m coninced that it is ony if you sere it in this sprit tht you cn hope to ccompish nything worth doing with it Of course, he hd some great dantges, the reci of which does ot rob him of ny of his go his coegues, peope wth a ntur nd unspoit giftwht for he speech ndthe forIrish cting It is from im possibe to disentnge did for theatre wht the Irish theatre dd for him From this point of dan tge, the de of the poetic drm ws kept aie when eery where ese t had been drien underground I do not know where o ur debt to him s a drmatis t ends and in tme, t wi not end unti that drm itsef ends In his occsion ritings on dramatic topics he has sserted certn princip to which we must hod fst such s the primcy of the poet oer the ctor, nd of the ctor oer the scenepinter and th principe tht the thetre, whie it need not be concerned ony wth the peope in the now Russian sense, must be for the peope tht to be permnent it must conce itsef wth funda ment situtions Bo nto word in which the doctrine of Art for Arts ske ws genery ccepted, nd iing on into one n whch rt hs been asked to be instrumenta to socia purposes, he hed rmy to the right iew which is between these, though in ny way compromise between them, isnd showed tht annot rtist, by sering his rt wth entire integrty, t the same tme rendering the gretest serice he can to his own non nd to the whoe word To be be to prase, it is not necessary to fee compete greement; nd I do not dissimute the fact that there re spects of Yetss thought nd feing which to mysef re un sympthetic I sy this ony to indicte the mits which I he set to my crticism The questions of derence, objecton nd protest rise been in theconcerned ed of doctrine, ques tions. I he ony withnd thethese poet are nd it drmtist, so fr s these cn be isoted In the ong run they cnnot h
N ERY AND ES
hoy soate A fu an eaboate examnaton of the tota ok of Yeats must some ay be unetaken pehaps t nee a onge pespete Thee ae some poets hose poet an be onsee moe o ess n soaton fo expeene an eght Thee ae othes hose poety though gng equay expeene an eght has a age hstoa mpotane Yeats as one of the atte he as one of those fe hose hstoy s the hstoy of the o tme ho ae a pat of the onsousness of an age hh annot be unestoo thout them Ths s a ey hgh poston to assgn to hm but I beee that t s one hh s seue
