the first two stanzas? Why are these lines somewhat difficult to understand? "The Barrel Organ”. "Epilogue" Noyes (p. 316) .Noyes (p. 322) What is the particular charm of "The Barrel Organ"? Is this passage true? “... all around the organ there's a sea without a shore Of human joys and wonders and regrets; To remember and to recompense the music evermore Do you think the ballad exaggerates the power of familiar music in the lines: "A hundred thousand feet Are marching on to glory through the poppies and the wheat In the land where the dead dreams go." This poem should be read aloud to get the best effect of the music of the lines. What is the germ-thought of the little love lyric "Epilogue"? Notice how lavish the poet is with his illustrations of the one truth he is expressing. Which of these proofs do you think the most convincing? the most artistically expressed? the easiest to hold in the memory? Do you understand the meaning of "untranscended skies"? Can you distinguish any marks of the masculine or the feminine hand in these poems of men and women respectively? Which lyric do you like best of all? Have you read other lyrics by these writers? Try reading as many of the poems as possible aloud. Notice the strong rhythmical quality of each. Remember that emotion tends to express itself rhythmically and that no emotion can be long sustained. A lyric must be both poignant and brief. POETRY AS COLOR. Poetry must appeal to the senses. It compels us to see, hear, feel, smell, imaginatively. It is interesting to consider some of the pictorial aspects of modern verse. ....Lowell (p. 104) ...Lowell (p. 105) "Solitaire" "Meeting-House Hill" Notice that "Solitaire" is largely a series of pictures: streets with uneven roofs; odd, blue Chinese gardens; pagan temples with broken flutings of white pillars; purple and yellow crocus wreaths; drenched grasses; bedrooms with the candles out. Notice the series of pictures in the poem, "MeetingHouse Hill." Can you discover the rhythmical beats which fall irregularly through the unrhymed lines? "Prayers of Steel".. "Fog".. ...Sandburg (p. 119) ..Sandburg (p. 120) "From Smoke and Steel".......Sandburg (p. 120) Which of the three poems seems to you to be the most richly pictorial in quality? In "Prayers of Steel" what is the idea back of the symbol of crowbar and spike? What does the picture of old walls and old foundations versus a great skyscraper suggest? What do you call the kind of people who would cling to the mouldering wall and the rotting foundation? Do you like the suggestion of fog's coming on "little cat feet"? What word in the next group of lines carries the image further? Is the idea in "Smoke and Steel" new to you? Does it appeal to you or not? Are there any lines you do not understand? Which? Which lines do you like best? "Three Cinquains". .....Crapsey (p. 123) See how pictures are suggested in each line even when the line is only one word long. Make a list of other poems which you think are strongly pictorial in quality. "Oread" "Heat" "Pear Tree" "H.D." (p. 176) .“H.D.” (p. 177) ."H.D." (p. 177) Read these poems for pictorial quality. Which do you like best? "Images". . Aldington (p. 352) Notice how the idea is driven home solely through a series of pictures. Is it good psychology to make a point in this way? Why? LINCOLN AND THE POETS. In this collection are several poems inspired by the life and character of Abraham Lincoln. It is interesting to see how different poets have expressed their admiration for the great American. Why has Lincoln attracted the poets? Have poets written of other great Americans? "The Master" ....Robinson (p. 78) Why is the title appropriate? What are some of the qualities of Lincoln as "master"? "A Farmer Remembers Lincoln". . Bynner (p. 139) In what ways does this picture of Lincoln differ from that given in "The Master"? "Lincoln" Fletcher (p. 172) Which of the three poems do you like best? Find other poems about Lincoln in this collection. Do the poems seem to make a hero of Lincoln in the same way in which old legends treat Arthur and Siegfried? GENERAL PROBLEMS FOR DISCUSSION Study the two Prefaces to get an idea of the characteristics of the different periods of American poetry since 1830, and of British poetry since 1840. Study the Prefaces if you are interested in a discussion of our much misunderstood unrhymed, cadenced verse, mistakenly called "free." There is also material in the Prefaces for an interesting comparison of the treatment of certain similar topics by American and by British moderns. (See Foreword, p. x.) The influence of environment upon poetry makes another interesting study: How much has Sandburg's life determined his poetry? Frost's? Emily Dickinson's? Kipling's? Lindsay's? "How much the gaunt and quiet hills of New Hampshire manifest themselves in the New England soliloquys of Robert Frost, or how the noisy energy of the Middle West booms and rattles through the high-pitched syllables of Vachel Lindsay." (See Foreword, page ix.) It is also interesting to select a group of writers who have lived in practically the same environment, and compare their poetry to see how much personal traits are dominant. "The notes with their brief critical as well as biographical data, have also been prepared on the theory that poet and person have a definite relation to each other, and the enjoyment of the one is enhanced by an acquaintance with the other." (Foreword, page ix.) You may be interested in collecting photographs and 396 General Problems for Discussion 397 additional biographical facts about your favorite authors. A school or even a class or a club can sometimes arrange for an afternoon or evening lecture by some popular writer. In large cities there are always such opportunities during the winter in the ordinary course of events, if we are enterprising enough to know what is going on in the way of lectures and recitals in our own town. |