OBSCURE POETRY.
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]
Sin,—Without pretending to be a professional poet, I have read, in your number of December 30th, 1922, and with much interest, Miss Edith Sitwell's poem, entitled " Promenade Sentimentale," Mr. W. H. Ward's letter criticizing her, and the article on " Obscure Poetry " by Mrs. Williams-Ellis. The chief questions raised are whether the poem is obscure, what is the clue to it, and is it good poetry ? I would submit that it is not obscure, but that it is an exaggerated combina- tion of things incongruous, and that therefore it is not good poetry because, whether clear or obscure, good poetry requires a comparison of things different but congruous, such as is found in the metaphors, similes, and wonderfully apposite speeches of the different characters contained in the Homeric perms and in the plays of Shakespeare. I have another reason for taking an interest in these questions. I am not a poet, and indeed a friend of mine who is a poet tells me that I am a mere versifier. But for many years, in order to send myself to sleep when I lie awake at night, I have been constructing three verses, of which the chief characteristic is that all the alternative lines rhyme with one another without any of the rhymes being repeated. I recommend this practice as a soporific. Also, being an Aristotelian, I have made everything clear ; but I confess that, though prose cannot, poetry may be too clear. ; while at the same time I contend
that obscure poetry should be, not intentional, but as clear as possible consistently with the essence of poetry. Perhaps Mrs. Williams-Ellis would object to me that my verses are also too formal and logical to be poetical. Lastly, I entitle them " Love Speaks." Miss Sitwell begins her poem with " Professor Goose-Cap speaks." I expect her to say that my title ought to be " Professor Goose Speaks."
THOMAS CASE,
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