Public Domain

The Poet S Poet Essays On The Character And Mission Of The Poet

Most of us, mere men that we are, find ourselves caught in some entanglement of our mortal coil even before we have fairly embarked upon the enterprise of thinking our case through. The art of self-reflection which appeals to us as so eminent and so human, is it after all much...

Chapters

1. Chapter 1

Most of us, mere men that we are, find ourselves caught in some entanglement of our mortal coil even before we have fairly embarked upon the enterprise of thinking our case thro...

2. Chapter 2

sighs Poe, and the envious note vibrates in much of modern song. There is an inconsistency in the poet's attitude,--the same inconsistency that lurks in the most poetical of phi...

3. Chapter 3

Do the _Phaedrus_ and the _Symposium_ leave anything to be said on the relationship of love and poetry? In the last analysis, probably not. The poet, however, is not one to keep...

6. Chapter 6

If English poets of the last century are more inclined to parade their moral virtue than are poets of other countries, this may be the result of a singular persistency on the pa...

8. Chapter 8

No matter how strong our affection for the ingratiating ne'er-do-well, there are certain charges against the poet which we cannot ignore. It is a serious thing to have an allege...

5. Chapter 5

The first note that I heard, A magical undertone, Was sweeter than any bird --Or so it seemed to me-- And my tears ran wild. This tale, this tale is true. The light was growing...

9. Chapter 9

Not even a paper shortage has been potent to give the lie to the author of _Ecclesiastes_, but it has fanned into flame the long smouldering resentment of those who are wearily...

7. Chapter 7

There was a time, if we may trust anthropologists, when the poet and the priest were identical, but the modern zeal for specialization has not tolerated this doubling of functio...

4. Chapter 4

Dare we venture into the holy of holies, where the gods are said to come upon the poet? Is there not danger that the divine spark which kindles his song may prove a bolt to anni...