Tim's Bits and Pieces: Poetry

Harvard Classics 5 & 6 - Emerson & Burns

TimP — Wed, 13 May 2015 04:31:49 +0200

Since I'm getting back into blogging (maybe) I thought I'd update on my attempt to read through the Harvard Classics.

The fifth volume consists of the Essays and English Traits Ralph Waldo Emerson, and the sixth volume is the Poems and Songs of Robert Burns.

Good grief, Mr. Emerson's essays are boring. They seem to essentially cover the basic doctrines of his pseudo-religion, which consists of pantheism and reincarnation. I can't give the complete details, but nothing in the first third motivated me to look into it in any more depth. Eventually I decided that if I've finished a quarter of the work and don't want to read the rest I can skip ahead. English Traits on the other hand is quite interesting, it presents a view of England of the early 19th century which is worth reading.

Burns' Poems aren't too bad, but they suffer from being in the Scots dialect, and having a lot of them in the work, far too many to read in one go, so I also only read around a third of it. I may return to some of his poetry in future, but for now I'm moving on.

Harvard Classics Volume 4 - The Lost and The Regained

TimP — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 23:03:54 +0200

Yep, I'm still reading the Harvard Classics, even if I'm reading them slowly.

The fourth volume of the Harvard Classics consists of the collected poetry of Milton. I read this in three separate volumes: Minor Poems (I commend this edition due to it's extensive and well linked footnotes), Paradise Lost, and Paradise Regained.

There's not much to say about these; having read them I can see why Milton is considered to be one of the greatest English authors of all time, even if for myself I lack the taste for poetry and knowledge of the many allusions he makes to truly appreciate them to their full.

I did appreciate seeing a different view on the common Bible stories that Milton was retelling though; both the fact that he essentially interpreted the regaining of Paradise to have happened during Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness rather than on the cross, and that his interpretation of the first sin, and the relationship to Adam, Eve, and authority in inter-sexual relationships was very foreign to most modern eyes.

We're now moving on to Emerson; I've actually started already, and so far I'm not a fan of the Essays (though I'll reserve judgement until I've read a bit more), but English Traits sounds rather interesting.

In Flanders Fields

TimP — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 23:03:54 +0200

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

In Flanders Fields by John McCrae (1915)

Every Man Should Have A Rifle

TimP — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 23:03:53 +0200

So I sit and write and ponder, while the house is deaf and dumb,
 Seeing visions "over yonder" of the war I know must come.
 In the corner - not a vision - but a sign for coming days
 Stand a box of ammunition and a rifle in green baize.
 And in this, the living present, let the word go through the land,
 Every tradesman, clerk and peasant should have these two things at hand.
 
 No - no ranting song is needed, and no meeting, flag or fuss -
 In the future, still unheeded, shall the spirit come to us!
 Without feathers, drum or riot on the day that is to be,
 We shall march down, very quiet, to our stations by the sea.
 While the bitter parties stifle every voice that warns of war,
 Every man should own a rifle and have cartridges in store!

Every Man Should Have A Rifle by Henry Lawson.