POETS AND POETRY.
MR. MASEFIELD'S "SELECTED POEMS."t I Am tempted in considering Mr. Masefield's poems on this occasion to write of him in reference to the interesting and entertaining discussion which has been caused by a poem of Miss Sitwell's and an article of mine. But though it is legitimate to say that Mr. Masefield is a good example of clarity, it would in reality be to warp our judgment of hits work to consider him as the modern apostle of clear writing. His clearness is incidental—a manifestation of his whole way of looking at men and things. I must resist, on this occasion, the temptation of joining in the fray by using Mr. Masefield • Modern Troubadours. By Lena Ashwell. London : Gyldendal. (7s. 6d.] 1 Medd Para. 137 John Maellekt. London ; WIMato Heinemann. 16.1 as an example of limpidity. He is clear because he loves narrative and movement and material things. on their own account, not because he approves of clarity.
It is with a feeling that a rather momentous issue is to be decided that we take up for the first time the selected poems of any writer for whose work we care. Mr. Masefield's work more than that of any modem writer is modified- by the fact of selection because the actual bulk of his poetic output so' much exceeds that of any living poet. Iris failures are often so fantastically bad that, divorced from the respect-inspiring main bulk of his work, they might well shock the reader more than usual. But to my mind Mrs Masefield comes exceedingly well out of the ordeal of selection. The choice of poems was presumably made by the author, himself, and in the main it has been very wisely exercised. It is interesting to have the early work from Salt Water Ballads and Poems and Ballads even if, in view of Mr. Masefield's later work, they do not seem very impressive. I am glad that selections from the long narrative poems have been included, and though these have been well made on the whole, it seems a pity that the climax. of Dauber has been left out, together with most of the beautiful epilogue. But there was very likely good reason for this ; no one who has not tried can realize how difficult it can be to make coherent extracts from a narrative poem. I do not mean coherent as to plot, but extracts which are intrinsically and not relatively effective. The choice is excellent from The Daffodil Fields, but I am very sorry that what is with very many people a favourite passage from The Everlasting Mercy has been left out. We are given "Ships," "The Wanderer," "August, 1914," and "The Poems from the Portuguese," which, though not particularly interesting at first, a good many people are gradually finding attractive. There are a number of extracts from Reynard the Fox and, strangely enough, a long piece from the execrable beginning- of Enslaved, and not a word of the wonderful account of the sea-thundering cave where the Caliph's slaves are chained. lam glad that Mr. Masefield has chosen" The Hounds of Hell" to represent his ballads rather than "Cap on Head," though both are good.
The selections from Esther, now that in this book they have got quite away from Racine and his very different range of excellence, seem very good, and we can well understand the enthusiasm of many of those who saw the play acted. Actually the point of relative effectiveness is very well illustrated here. In its place the haunting scene was as much lost as a rose window in a severe Palladian façade. Now we see that in itself it was a beautiful piece of work.
A. WisuAms-Erals.
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