later poems-第3部分

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ALICE　MEYNELL'S　COMMENTS/NOTES



EPITHALAMION

Written　by　Spensor　on　his　marriage　in　Ireland；　Elizabeth　Boyle　of
Kilcoran；　who　survived　him；　married　one　Roger　Seckerstone；　and　was
again　a　widow。　　Dr。　Grosart　seems　to　have　finally　decided　the
identity　of　the　heroine　of　this　great　poem。　　It　is　worth　while　to
explain；　once　for　all；　that　I　do　not　use　the　accented　e　for　the
longer　pronunciation　of　the　past　participle。　　The　accent　is　not　an
English　sign；　and；　to　my　mind；　disfigures　the　verse；　neither　do　I
think　it　necessary　to　cut　off　the　e　with　an　apostrophe　when　the
participle　is　shortened。　　The　reader　knows　at　a　glance　how　the　word
is　to　be　numbered；　besides；　he　may　have　his　preferences　where
choice　is　allowed。　　In　reading　such　a　line　as　Tennyson's

〃Dear　as　remembered　kisses　after　death；〃

one　man　likes　the　familiar　sound　of　the　word　〃remembered〃　as　we　all
speak　it　now；　another　takes　pleasure　in　the　four　light　syllables
filling　the　line　so　full。　　Tennyson　uses　the　apostrophe　as　a　rule；
but　neither　he　nor　any　other　author　is　quite　consistent。


ROSALYND'S　MADRIGAL


It　may　please　the　reader　to　think　that　this　frolic；　rich；　and
delicate　singer　was　Shakespeare's　very　Rosalind。　　From　Dr。　Thomas
Lodge's　novel；　Euphues'　Golden　Legacy；　was　taken　much　of　the　story；
with　some　of　the　characters；　and　some　few　of　the　passages；　of　As
You　Like　It。


ROSALINE


This　splendid　poem　（from　the　same　romance）；　written　on　the　poet's
voyage　to　the　Islands　of　Terceras　and　the　Canaries；　has　the　fire
and　freshness　of　the　south　and　the　sea；　all　its　colours　are　clear。
The　reader's　ear　will　at　once　teach　him　to　read　the　sigh　〃heigh　ho〃
so　as　to　give　the　first　syllable　the　time　of　two　（long　and　short）。


FAREWELL　TO　ARMS


George　Peele's　four　fine　stanzas　（which　must　be　mentioned　as
dedicated　to　Queen　Elizabeth；　but　are　better　without　that
dedication）　exist　in　another　form；　in　the　first　person；　and　with
some　archaisms　smoothed。　　But　the　third　person　seems　to　be　far　more
touching；　the　old　man　himself　having　done　with　verse。


THE　PASSIONATE　SHEPHERD


The　sixth　stanza　is　perhaps　by　Izaak　Walton。


TAKE；　O　TAKE　THOSE　LIPS　AWAY


The　author　of　this　exquisite　song　is　by　no　means　certain。　　The
second　stanza　is　not　with　the　first　in　Shakespeare；　but　it　is　in
Beaumont　and　Fletcher。


KIND　ARE　HER　ANSWERS


These　verses　are　a　more　subtle　experiment　in　metre　by　the　musician
and　poet；　Campion；　than　even　the　following；　Laura；　which　he　himself
sweetly　commended　as　〃voluble；　and　fit　to　express　any　amorous
conceit。〃　　In　Kind　are　her　Answers　the　long　syllables　and　the
trochaic　movement　of　the　short　lines　meet　the　contrary　movement　of
the　rest；　with　an　exquisite　effect　of　flux　and　reflux。　　The
〃dancers〃　whose　time　they　sang　must　have　danced　（with　Perdita）　like
〃a　wave　of　the　sea。〃


DIRGE


I　have　followed　the　usual　practice　in　omitting　the　last　and　less
beautiful　stanza。


FOLLOW


Campion's　〃airs；〃　for　which　he　wrote　his　words；　laid　rules　too
urgent　upon　what　would　have　been　a　delicate　genius　in　poetry。　　The
airs　demanded　so　many　stanzas；　but　they　gave　his　imagination　leave
to　be　away；　and　they　depressed　and　even　confused　his　metrical　play；
hurting　thus　the　two　vital　spots　of　poetry。　　Many　of　the　stanzas
for　music　make　an　unlucky　repeating　pattern　with　the　poor　variety
that　a　repeating　wall…paper　does　not　attempt。　　And　yet　Campion
began　again　and　again　with　the　onset　of　a　true　poet。　　Take；　for
example；　the　poem　beginning　with　the　vitality　of　this　line；
〃touching　in　its　majesty〃…

〃Awake；　thou　spring　of　speaking　grace；　mute　rest　becomes　not　thee！〃

Who　would　have　guessed　that　the　piece　was　to　close　in　a　jogging
stanza　containing　a　reflection　on　the　fact　that　brutes　are
speechless；　with　these　two　final　lines　…

〃If　speech　be　then　the　best　of　graces；
Doe　it　not　in　slumber　smother！〃

Campion　yields　a　curious　collection　of　beautiful　first　lines。

〃Sleep；　angry　beauty；　sleep　and　fear　not　me〃

is　far　finer　than　anything　that　follows。　　So　is　there　a　single
gloom　in　this　…

〃Follow　thy　fair　sun；　unhappy　shadow！〃

And　a　single　joy　in　this　…

〃Oh；　what　unhoped…for　sweet　supply！〃

Another　solitary　line　is　one　that　by　its　splendour　proves　Campion
the　author　of　Cherry　Ripe　…

〃A　thousand　cherubim　fly　in　her　looks。〃

And　yet　〃a　thousand　cherubim〃　is　a　line　of　a　poem　full　of　the
dullest　kind　of　reasoningcurious　matter　for　musicand　of　the
intricate　knotting　of　what　is　a　very　simple　thread　of　thought。　　It
was　therefore　no　easy　matter　to　choose　something　of　Campion's　for　a
collection　of　the　finest　work。　　For　an　historical　book　of
representative　poetry　the　question　would　be　easy　enough；　for　there
Campion　should　appear　by　his　glorious　lyric；　Cherry　Ripe；　by　one　or
two　poems　of　profounder　imagination　（however　imperfect）；　and　by　a
madrigal　written　for　the　music　（however　the　stanzas　may　flag　in
their　quibbling）。　　But　the　work　of　choosing　among　his　lyrics　for
the　sake　of　beauty　shows　too　clearly　the　inequality；　the　brevity　of
the　inspiration；　and　the　poet's　absolute　disregard　of　the　moment　of
its　flight　and　departure。　　A　few　splendid　lines　may　be　reason
enough　for　extracting　a　short　poem；　but　must　not　be　made　to　bear
too　great　a　burden。


WHEN　THOU　MUST　HOME


Of　the　quality　of　this　imaginative　lyric　there　is　no　doubt。　　It　is
fine　throughout；　as　we　confess　even　after　the　greatness　of　the
opening：…

〃When　thou　must　home　to　shades　of　underground；
And　there　arrived；　a　new　admired　guest〃

It　is　as　solemn　and　fantastic　at　the　close　as　at　this　dark　and
splendid　opening；　and　throughout；　past　description；　Elizabethan。
This　single　poem　must　bind　Campion　to　that　period　without　question；
and　as　he　lived　thirty…six　years　in　the　actual　reign　of　Elizabeth；
and　printed　his　Book　of　Airs　with　Rosseter　two　years　before　her
death；　it　is　by　no　violence　that　we　give　him　the　name　that　covers
our　earlier　poets　of　the　great　age。　　When　thou　must　Home　is　of　the
day　of　Marlowe。　　It　has　the　qualities　of　great　poetry；　and
especially　the　quality　of　keeping　its　simplicity；　and　it　has　a
quality　of　great　simplicity　not　at　all　child…like；　but　adult；
large；　gay；　credulous；　tragic；　sombre；　and　amorous。


THE　FUNERAL


Donne；　too；　is　a　poet　of　fine　onsets。　　It　was　with　some　hesitation
that　I　admitted　a　poem　having　the　middle　stanza　of　this　Funeral；
but　the　earlier　lines　of　the　last　are　fine。


CHARIS'　TRIUMPH


The　freshest　of　Ben　Jonson's　lyrics　have　been　chosen。　　Obviously　it
is　freshness　that　he　generally　lacks；　for　all　his　vigour；　his
emphatic　initiative；　and　his　overbearing　and　impulsive　voice　in
verse。　　There　is　a　stale　breath　in　that　hearty　shout。　　Doubtless　it
is　to　the　credit　of　his　honesty　that　he　did　not　adopt　the　country…
phrases　in　vogue；　but　when　he　takes　landscape　as　a　task　the　effect
is　ill　enough。　　I　have　already　had　the　temerity　to　find　fault　for　a
blunder　of　meaning；　with　the　passage　of　a　most　famous　lyric；　where
it　says　the　contrary　of　what　it　would　say　…

〃But　might　I　of　Jove's　nectar　sup
I　would　not　change　for　thine；〃

and　for　doing　so　have　encountered　the　anger　rather　than　the
argument　of　those　who　cannot　admire　a　pretty　lyric　but　they　must
hold　reason　itself　to　be　in　error　rather　than　allow　that　a　line　of
it　has　chanced　to　get　turned　in　the　rhyming。


IN　EARTH


〃I　ever　saw　anything；〃　says　Charles　Lamb；　〃like　this　funeral　dirge；
except　the　ditty　which　reminds　Ferdinand　of　his　drowned　father　in
the　Tempest。　　As　that　is　of　the　water；　watery；　so　this　is　of　the
earth；　earthy。　　Both　have　that　intentness　of　feeling　which　seems　to
resolve　itself　into　the　element　which　it　contemplates。〃


SONG　（Phoebus；　arise！）


All　Drummond's　poems　seem　to　be　minor　poems；　even　at　their　finest；
except　only　this。　　He　must　have　known；　for　the　creation　of　that
poem；　some　more　impassioned　and　less　restless　hour。　　It　is；　from
the　outset　to　the　close；　the　sigh　of　a　profound　expectation。　　There
is　no　division　into　stanzas；　because　its　metre　is　the　breath　of
life。　　One　might　wish　that　the　English　ode　（roughly　called
〃Pindaric〃）　had　never　been　written　but　with　passion；　for　so　written
it　is　the　most　immediate　of　all　metres；　the　shock　of　the　heart　and
the　breath　of　elation　or　grief　are　the　law　of　the　lines。　　It　has
passed　out　of　the　gates　of　the　garden　of　stanzas；　and　walks　（not
astray）　in　the　further　freedom　where　all　is　interior　law。　　Cowley；
long　afterwards；　wrote　this　Pindaric　ode；　and　wrote　it　coldly。　　But
Drummond's　（he　calls　it　a　song）　can　never　again　be　forgotten。　　With
admirable　judgment　it　was　set　up　at　the　very　gate　of　that　Golden
Treasury　we　all　know　so　well；　and；　therefore；　generation　after
generation　of　readers；　who　have　never　opened　Drummond's　poems；　know
this　fine　ode　as　well　as　they　know　any　single　poem　in　the　whole　of
English　literature。　　There　was　a　generation　that　had　not　been
taught　by　the　Golden　Treasury；　and　Cardinal　Newman　was　of　it。
Writing　to　Coventry　Patmore　of　his　great　odes；　he　called　them
beautiful　but　fragmentary；　was　inclined　to　wish　that　they　might
some　day　be　made　complete。　　There　is　nothing　in　all　poetry　more
complete。　　Seldom　is　a　poem　in　stanzas　so　complete　but　that　another
stanza　might　have　made　a　final　close；　but　a　master's　ode　has　the
unity　of　life；　and　when　it　ends　it　ends　for　ever。

A　poem　of　Drummond's　has　this　auroral　image　of　a　blush：　　Anthea　has
blushed　to　hear　her　eyes　likened　to　stars　（habit　might　have　caused
her；　one　would　think；　to　bear　the　flattery　with　a　front　as　cool　as
the　very　daybreak）；　and　the　lover　tells　her　that　the　sudden
increase　of　her　beauty　is　futile；　for　he　cannot　admire　more：　　〃For
naught　thy　cheeks　that　morn　do　raise。〃　　What　sweet；　nay；　what
solemn　roses！

Again：

〃Me　here　she　first　perceived；　and　here　a　morn
Of　bright　carnations　overspread　her　face。〃

The　seventeenth　century　has　possession　of　that　〃morn〃　caught　once
upon　its　uplands；　nor　can　any　custom　of　aftertime　touch　its
freshness　to　wither　it。


TO　MY　INCONSTANT　MISTRESS


The　solemn　vengeance　of　this　poem　has　a　strange　tonenot　unique；
for　it　had　sounded　somewhere　in　mediaeval　poetry　in　Italybut　in　a
dreadful　sense　divine。　　At　the　first　reading；　this　sentence　against
inco