No More Learning

With sympathy, with simplicity, with true understanding, and always with perfect taste, he tells of the delights which the man who loves learning, beauty and the satisfaction of the soul can draw from the Greeks. —/. St. L. Strachey.
160
Meynell, Alice, ed. The school of poetry; an anthology
chosen for young readers. Scribner, 1924.
I have taken some poems for their happy, courageous and honorable thought, some for the very poetry of poetry. —Introduction.
161
Monroe, Harriet, ed. The new poetry; an anthology of
twentieth century verse in English; ed. by Harriet Monroe
and Alice Corbin Henderson, enl. ed. Macmillan, 1926.
"Includes no poems published before 1900. The work of poets al ready, as it were, enshrined by fame and death has also not been quoted. "
162
Morse, Lewis Kennedy, ed. Melodies of English verse; se
lections for memorizing. Houghton, 1910.
"To suggest and stimulate the joy-bringing habit of learning poetry by heart. "
163
Newbolt, Sir Henry, ed. Book of verse chosen for students
at home and abroad. Bell, 1922.
A hundred poems so broad, so universal in subject and in mood that they may be readily understood and welcomed by all, even by those to whom our creeds, our classics, our old wars and our social customs are unknown. — Introduction.
164
Page, Curtis Hidden, ed. The chief American poets; sel.
poems. Houghton, 1905.
165
Palgrave, Francis Turner, ed. The golden treasury; se lected from the best songs and lyrical poems in the English language. rev. ed. 2v. in 1. Macmillan, 1909. (Everyman) Dutton, 1906.
A touchstone as well as a treasure of poetic gold. —Andrew Lang.
30 POETRY AND POETS
166
Quiller-Couch, Sir Arthur, ed. The Oxford book of bal
lads. Oxford, 1910.
The ballads have been arranged in seven books in the hope that the volume may thus be useful to the student as well as to the lover of poetry for whom it is chiefly intended. Bk. l, Magic, the "Seely Court," and the supernatural. Bk. 2, Stories of absolute romance. Bk. 3, Ro mance shading off into history. Bk. 4, Early carols and ballads of Holy Writ. Bk. S, Greenwood and Robin Hood. Bk. 6, From Chevy Chase and Homeric deeds of Douglas and Percy to Border feuds. Bk. 7, The ballad in various aspects of false beginning and decline.
167
The Oxford book of English verse, 1250-1900. Ox ford, 1900.
On the whole, all things considered, perhaps the most satisfying an thology of English poetry. It follows the long, glorious stream of Eng lish lyric verse from the middle of the thirteenth century to the very close of the nineteenth. The edition on India paper is a perfect instance of "infinite riches in a little room. "
168
The Oxford book of Victorian verse. Oxford, 1912.
Whatever may be included that we might vote to exclude, whatever may be omitted that we miss with pain, there must be cordial acceptance of the wealth of beauty gathered and profound gratitude for such treas ure condensed to the light burden of one hand.
169
Richards, Mrs. Waldo, ed. High tide: songs of joy anc vision from the present-day poets of America and Great Britain. Houghton, 1916.
The compiler believes that poetry, specially lyric poetry carrying lovely thought, has power to waken joy and hope and to stir enthusiasm to the point of action and achievement.
170
Sanders, Gerald De Witt, ed. Chief modern poets of Eng land and America ; ed. by Gerald De Witt Sanders and John Herbert Nelson. Macmillan, 1929.
171
Squire, John Collins, ed. Songs from the Elizabethans.
Dial, 1925.
Fortunately most of these poets have a common spirit. They reflect the ever-growing exuberance of England. . . . They sang of love, death, ambition, virtue—all very simply. . . . They explored like adven turers all the tricks and surprises of words, all the fine ways of saying things already known. . . . And they did this with delight and capering grace. — The winged horse.
172
Stevenson, Burton Egbert, ed. The home book of verse,
American and English, 1580-1912. 5th ed. Holt, 1925.
ANTHOLOGIES 31
The compiler's purpose was not only to bring together the best short poems in English from Spenser's time onward but to collect also a body of verse which if not great poetry yet has great popularity, to recognize the validity of popular taste as well as of classical taste.
173
Teasdale, Sara. Rainbow gold; poems old and new selected
for boys and girls. Macmillan, 1922.
A small, exceedingly well chosen selection for children of over rather than under ten years. The introduction by the compiler is a direct invi tation to read poetry for its own sake. —Anne Carroll Moore.
174
Untermeyer, Louis, ed. Modern American poetry. 4th ed.
rev. Harcourt, 1930.
The selections from each author are introduced by biographical and critical essays. This edition has liberal representation of the work of poets lately come into prominence.
175
Modern British poetry. 3d ed. rev. Harcourt, 1930.
A companion to his Modem American poetry making with that vol ume a convenient means for comparison between the recent work of the two countries. The preface and the biographical and critical notes make a truly critical anthology.
176
This singing world ; an anthology of modern poetry for young people. Harcourt.
177
Yesterday and to-day; a collection of verse, mostly modern, designed for the average person of nine to nineteen and possibly higher. Harcourt, 1926.
178
Wilkinson, Marguerite, ed. New voices ; an introd. to con
temporary poetry. Macmillan, 1919.
An understanding and tolerant yet critical introduction to recent poetry of both this country and Great Britain, for the general reader.
179
Wooldridge, Dorothy, ed.
Faber, 1926.
180
Wright, John Henry, ed.
Houghton, 1902.
The poetry of toil; an anthology.
Masterpieces of Greek literature.
An attempt to group "a considerable number of representative pas sages, each of distinct intrinsic interest, from Greek poetry and prose, mainly of the classical age, in the best available translations. "—Intro duction.
POETRY AND POETS
III.
THE JOY AND PRAISE OF POETRY
The poetry of life is the poetry of beauty, sincerity and elation. — Book of St. Kavin.
181
Abercrombie, Lascelles. The theory of poetry. Harcourt, 1926.
32
A remarkable and fascinating book, of vivid English prose. —Nation (L).
which besides, masterpiece
182
Brett-Smith, H. F. B. , ed. Peacock's Four ages of poetry;
Shelley's Defence of poetry; Browning's Essay on Shelley.
Houghton, 1921.
The object of this edition to enable the reader to trace the connec tion between the attack and the defence by prefacing the one by the other. Browning's Essay on Shelley, poet's praise of poet, added as "no unworthy sequel to poet's praise of poetry itself. "—Book Review Digest.
183
Brown, Stephen James. The realm of poetry; an introduc tion. Macmillan, 1922.
A study of poetry considered in three parts What poetry —What can poetry do for us? —Learning to love poetry.
184
Dixon, William Macneile. English epic and heroic poetry.
Dent, 1912.
Delightful reading. It leaves clearer understanding of the influence of epic and heroic verse in literary history. —Boston Transcript.
185
Eastman, Max. Enjoyment of poetry. 9th ed. Scribner, 1921.
"The purpose of this book," so begins the preface, "is to increase enjoyment. " This precisely what does to the nth degree. — Chicago Evening Post.
186
Erskine, John. The kinds of poetry, and other essays. Duf- field, 1920.
Keen criticism, interesting to teachers and students, and poets too.
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187
THE JOY AND PRAISE OF POETRY 33
Gayley, Charles Mills. English poetry, its principles and progress; by Charles Mills Gayley and others. new ed. rev. Macmillan, 1920.
The purpose of this book— first and foremost, to inspire young people with love of poetry. Preface.
188
Ker, William Paton. The art of poetry; seven lectures,
1920-1922. Oxford, 1923.
Scholarly essays rich in allusion to remote literatures, and illustrated by many quotations. —A. L. A. catalog, 1926.
189
Lowell, Amy. Poetry and poets. Houghton, 1930.
Four essays on poetry and its making, one each on Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson and seven short sketches. Pungently expressed opinions. —Booklist.
190
Lowes, John Livingston. Convention and revolt in poetry.
2d ed. Houghton, 1930.
The purpose to point out the continuous actions and reactions in English poetry as convention breaks away before revolt, which again crystallizes into convention. —Book Review Digest.
191
Mackail, John William. Lectures on poetry. Longmans, 1911.
Besides its intrinsic merits as criticism [it] has one quality which sets apart from most works of its class— interesting. —N. Y. Times.
192
Mallam, Phosphor. An approach to poetry. Crowell, 1930.
Prepared for younger readers, but quite as useful for older ones. analyzes words as sound and as meaning, considers feeling, beauty, thought and imagination. —Saturday Review of Literature.
193
Monroe, Harriet. Poets and their art. Macmillan, 1926.
Brief essays reprinted from Poetry. Two excellent chapters on the rhythms of English are added.
194
Neilson, William Allan. Essentials of poetry. lectures, 1911. ) Houghton, 1912.
Well-written, timely and stimulating. — Yale Review.
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34 POETRY AND POETS
195
Noyes, Alfred. Some aspects of modern poetry. Stokes, 1924.
A poet's message to the modern generation and he supports his theme with the best possible argument, an abundance of delightful quotations from some of the most beautiful passages in English poetry. —New Statesman.
196
Perry, Bliss. A study of poetry. Houghton, 1920.
An unusually clear analysis, supported by rich and apt quotations, of the effects of poetry upon the reader. — Outlook.
197
Quiller-Couch, Sir Arthur. Poetry. (Fellowship books) Dutton, 1914.
To clarify the notion of what poetry what by nature aims to do the purpose of this slight but illuminating essay. —Booklist.
198
Roxburgh, F. The poetic procession. Blackwell, 1921.
He says, very simply, "What poetry does for us to give us new ideas, clearer visions, stronger emotions and also to express as we could not have done for ourselves, what we have already thought and seen and felt. "
199
Strachan, Robert Harvey. The soul of modern poetry. Hod-
der, 1922.
Its great value lies in the fact that approaches poetry again, not as doctrinaire art, but as part of life, of daily life. —John Drink- water.
200
Tinker, Chauncey Brewster. The good estate of poetry. Little, 1929.
The charm of style, delightful irony and humor, sane judgment and —deep sense of spiritual values have seldom been more happily blended.
Yale Review.
Analyticals on the praise poetry.
Arnold, Matthew. Essays in criticism, v. p. 1-55.
[210]
Auslander, Joseph, and Hill, F. E. The winged horse,
p. 1-16; 412-420. [211]
Bradley, A. C. Oxford lectures on poetry, p. 3-34. [219] Drinkwater, John. The muse in council, p. 1-74. [250]
The way of poetry, p. xv-xxx. [152]
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FORMS, MEASURES AND RHYTHMS 35
IV.
THE FORMS, MEASURES AND RHYTHMS OF ENGLISH POETRY
201
Alden, Raymond Macdonald. An introduction to poetry.
Holt, 1909.
Covers the technique of poetry in a complete, concise and scholarly manner. —Booklist.
202
Andrews, Clarence Edward. The writing and reading of
verse. Appleton, 1918.
An interesting introduction to the technique of poetry, the measures, the forms, the rhythms and cadences.
203
Hubbell, Jay Broadus. An introduction to poetry; by Jay
Broadus Hubbell and John O. Beatty. Macmillan, 1922.
Intended for use during the first two years of college. It gives a clear discussion of the technical methods of poetry with interesting quotations.
204
Jones, Llewellyn. First impressions; essays on poetry, crit icism and prosody. Knopf, 1925.
205
Ker, William Paton. Form and style in poetry ; lectures and notes ; ed. by R. W. Chambers. Macmillan, 1928.
206
Untermeyer, Louis. Forms of poetry ; a pocket dictionary of
verse. Harcourt, 1926.
The simplest and easiest to use of the introductions to verse-making, containing the sort of information the larger books are often too lordly to set down. —Saturday Review of Literature.
V.
STUDIES OF THE CHOSEN POETS AND THEIR POETRY
207
Adams, Joseph Quincy. Life of William Shakespeare.
Houghton, 1923.
It is something "more than authoritative, it is also preeminently read able— a fascinating book in and of itself. " —Atlantic Bookshelf.
36 POETRY AND POETS
208
Alden, Raymond Macdonald. Alfred Tennyson ; how to
know him. Bobbs, 1917.
A sound interpretation. The important briefer poems are given entire, with critical comments, the longer poems in part. —Booklist.
209
Shakespeare. (Master spirits of literature) Dufneld, 1922.
Comprehensive, unprejudiced. Characterised by a lively distrust of the unproved and unprovable. — Tucker Brooke.
210
Arnold, Matthew. Essays in criticism, v. 2. (Eversley ser. ) Macmillan, 1902.
211
Auslander, Joseph. The winged horse : the story of the poets and their poetry; with decorations by Paul Honore and a bibliography by Theresa West Elmendorf ; by Joseph Aus lander and Frank Ernest Hill. Doubleday, 1927.
The story of the development of poetry from the war cries and the labor chanties to the modern poets of England and America. It opens the gates most invitingly to the wide realm of poetry, not to young people only, but to older folk as well.
212
Bailey, John. Milton. (Home univ. lib. ) Holt, 1915.
Still a figure of transcendent interest, the most lion-hearted, the lofti- est-souled of Englishmen, the one consummate artist our race has produced. —Introduction.
213
Shakespeare. (English heritage ser. ) Longmans, 1929.
It is written with the aim of adding to the ordinary reader's enjoy ment of Shakespeare. The author goes through the poems and the plays keeping as close to the text and the meaning as possible. —Book Review Digest.
214
Walt Whitman. (English men of letters) Mac millan, 1926.
It is one of the best pieces of literary criticism of recent years. — /. St. L. Strachey.
The author does not know American customs and sentiment.
215
Bazalgette, Leon. Walt Whitman, the man and his work.
Doubleday, 1920.
A good short life. —North American Review.
STUDIES OF THE CHOSEN POETS 37
216
Benson, Arthur Christopher. Essays. Heinemann, 1896.
217
Boissier, Gaston. The country of Horace and Virgil; tr. by
D. H. Fisher. Putnam, 1896.
One of the most enjoyable of guides. Light, lucid and up-to-date. M. Boissier's essays make travel interesting and scholarship entertaining. — Academy.
218
Boynton, Percy Holmes. Some contemporary Americans; the personal equation in literature. Univ. of Chicago, 1924.
219
Bradley, Andrew Cecil. Oxford lectures on poetry. Mac-
millan, 1909.
Profound, vigorous and original. About one third of the volume is devoted to Shakespeare, the rest to Hegel, Wordsworth, Shelley and Keats. — A. L. A. catalog, 1926.
220
Shakespearian tragedy; lectures on Hamlet, Othello,
King Lear, and Macbeth. 2d ed. Macmillan, 1905.
A great achievement. Nothing has been written for many years that has done so much as these lectures will do to advance the understanding and appreciation of the greatest things in Shakespeare's greatest plays. —John Bailey.
221
Bridges, Horace James. Our fellow Shakespeare. 2d ed. rev. Covici, 1925.
Studies of the more popular plays, written in the hope of interesting some who fear Shakespeare as a classic to the enjoyable reading of the plays.
222
Brooke, Stopford Augustus. Studies in poetry. Duckworth, 1907.
Contents : William Blake, Sir Walter Scott, Inaugural address to the Shelley Society, The lyrics of Shelley, Epipsychidion, Keats.
223
Brooks, Alfred Mansfield.