Have a paper pointing out this fact. Read from their poems and compare them with those of the poets of the younger set who took the same themes.
Laurence Binyon, an Englishman like Phillips, has written "Persephone"
and "Porphyrin" with the cla.s.sic theme, and "Tintagel" with the romantic. Rhys Carpenter, one of the youngest American writers, has "The Tragedy of Etarre," founded on the Arthurian legend. Helen Coale Crewe has written "aegean Echoes," and Martha J. Kidder "aeonian Echoes," both full of beauty and promise. Read from these.
A concluding paper might inquire, What is it in these two themes which has always attracted the poets?
IV--POEMS OF PROTEST
Under this t.i.tle may be found the work of many of the young poets of to-day. They show sympathy with the workingman, revolt against tyranny and tenderness for suffering. They champion labor and demand the betterment of conditions. This is the "new note," as it is called, and is of immense importance. Clubs should put special study upon it, following it out in the different poems.
John Masefield, of England, one of the most conspicuous writers of our time, voices the protest strongly. His style is often that of the monologue or narrative, and while sometimes it is merely rhymed prose, at other times it is vigorous, picturesque and vivid. Read "The Widow of Bye Street," and "The Everlasting Mercy." Note also his "Daffodil Fields," which is quite different from these and full of peculiar beauty.
Wilfred Wilson Gibson is another poet with a pa.s.sion for justice. His dramatic monologues are terse, simple, direct. Read from "Daily Bread,"
and "Fires."
A third poet, Robert Haven Schauffler, takes also the poor for his subject. His "Sc.u.m o" the Earth" is a touching picture. Charles Edward Russell in his "Songs of Democracy" strikes the same note; read his "Ess.e.x Street." Edwin Markham, though not among the younger poets, had much the same theme in his earlier "Man with the Hoe," which may be recalled.
William Watson, after writing for years finished, contemplative verse, suddenly, in direct contrast to his other work, wrote "The Year of Shame," amazing England with his demand for justice to Armenia and Greece. Read "How Weary Are Our Hearts." Close this part of the study with brief readings from John Galsworthy"s "Moods, Songs and Doggerels,"
which present, again, sympathy for the oppressed.
V--PHILOSOPHICAL AND MYSTICAL POEMS
Among the many who write this serious and uplifting form of verse may be named George Santayana, who, in his sonnets, and "The Hermit of Carmel,"
studies the philosophy of life. He has no eye for nature, as most poets have, but always takes up the abstract theme.
Alice Meynell, an Englishwoman, has several volumes of finished verse with the mark of literary distinction. The devout spirit is noticeable in her work. Read "In Early Spring," and "Regrets."
Anna Hempstead Branch, author of many beautiful short poems and several brief dramas, is strongest in "Nimrod," a long philosophical poem. In this, as in her other writing, the sense of the mystical is marked.
"Soldiers of the Light," by Helen Gray Cone, is remarkable for its artistic, subtle yet uplifting feeling. Louise Imogen Guiney, who has been writing for many years, has some recent verse that is of even more than its usual spirituality; read "The White Sail," and "Tryste Noel."
Read also from the poems of Rosamund Marriott Watson, Edwin Arlington Robinson, and Agnes Lee, as well as the lovely verse of Alice Brown.
VI--LYRICS AND POEMS OF NATURE
This is one of the divisions which covers an immense field. Among the many writers who might be chosen for study is Alfred Noyes, the young Englishman who is so often compared with Tennyson. He writes spontaneous, optimistic verse. He loves sunshine and green fields and children; he is sometimes dramatic, sometimes playful, but always graceful. "The Barrel Organ" and "Forty Singing Seamen" are among his finest lyrics, but "The Flower of Old j.a.pan" is also noteworthy. Study the other work of Noyes, especially his drama, "Drake."
John Vance Cheney has many lovely lyrics, as have William Vaughan Moody, Bliss Carman, Clinton Scollard, Lizette Reese, Edith Thomas, and a long list of others. Read several of each from the books of Miss Rittenhouse.
Madison Cawein writes of nature always with the same touch of freshness.
He idealizes everyday things, fields, gra.s.s, and flowers; he has what has been called "the romantic love of out-of-doors." Sometimes he strikes a more vigorous tone, as in his "Prayer for Old Age." Read this, and "The Wild Iris."
Arthur Upson has a style peculiar for its dreamy beauty and exquisite finish. His "Octaves in an Oxford Garden" shows him at his best.
"Westwind Songs" is also full of delicacy and grace. His last work, a drama called "The City," has these same qualities.
Charles G. D. Roberts has, among many other things, a collection of verse called "The Book of the Native," with descriptive poems of Canadian forests. His "Afoot" and "The Recessional" are especially charming.
Richard Burton"s "Dumb in June" and his later "Quest of Summer" are both full of poetic insight and beautiful expression. These, with his "Lyrics of Brotherhood," are all well worth study. See "Poems," by C. G. D.
Roberts (The Page Company), and "Pipes of Pan," by Bliss Carman (The Page Company).
VII--DIALECT AND HUMOROUS POETRY
Kipling made a place for himself when he wrote "Barrack-Room Ballads"; the reproduction of the c.o.c.kney dialect has never been so well done and their humor is inimitable. Read several. In America to-day we have a poet who also does pioneer work--Thomas A. Daly. In his "Madrigali" and "Canzoni" he has used the Italian-American dialect of the streets with a result that is amusing as well as charming.
Gertrude Litchfield, too, has found something new in the dialect spoken by the French Canadians in the northern New England towns. She has written quaintly humorous verses about children. Read "Les Enfants," "De Circus," and "The Spirit of Christmas."
Robert H. Carr has a little volume called "Cow Boy Lyrics," which perpetuate the fast-pa.s.sing men of the plains. After reading from these, contrast the verses of James Whitcomb Riley with them. Note also among writers of humorous verse Carolyn Wells, Oliver Herford and Gelett Burgess.
VIII--CELTIC POETRY
Ireland has always been the home of romance, and recently it has had a strikingly interesting revival of poetry. William Butler Yeats, originally an artist, has a mystical element in his verse which gives it a sort of unearthly quality. His leading narrative poem is "The Wanderings of Oisin." "Baile and Ailinn" is a lover"s tale. "The Fiddler of Dooney" is a simple country story. His work has been called "dream drenched." Make a special study of his play, "Land of the Heart"s Desire."
George W. Russell writes verse with much of the same wistful nature as that of Yeats. "Homeward Songs by the Way," and "The Divine Vision" are two of his volumes.
Study also the work of Lady Gregory. Though best known as a playwright she has written interesting verse.
One paper may compare the Celtic verse of to-day with that of the writers of mystical verse in England and America, especially that of Louise Imogen Guiney, and discuss their difference.
IX--POETICAL PLAYS
There are many little plays written to-day in the form of verse, all lovely, poetic in feeling and style, and many of them of great charm.
Among others are "The Rose of the Wind," and "The Shoes That Danced," by Anna Hempstead Branch; "The b.u.t.terfly," and "Two in Arcadia" by Lucine Finch; four plays called "The Shadow Garden," by Madison Cawein; and "El Dorado," by Ridgely Torrance.
In addition to the study of all these modern poets, clubs should look up the work of Rabindranath Tagore, the Hindu poet who recently took the n.o.bel prize for literature; his latest poems (translated) are, "The Crescent Moon" and "The Gardener."
Robert Bridges, the present poet-laureate, also deserves especial mention.
CHAPTER V
THE WORLD"S ISLANDS
There is no subject for clubs more interesting than that of Islands, and none broader in scope; each island or group suggests the study of geology, botany, language, customs, religions, and, above all, history and literature. The encyclopedias, books of travel and current magazines, especially the _National Geographic Magazine_, will furnish abundant material for papers.
I--GRECIAN ISLANDS
The islands which cl.u.s.ter about the coast of Greece are the most important in history. Some are famous for their art treasures, others have been the birthplace of great poets, others still are a.s.sociated with legendary heroes and G.o.ds. The literature, art, and history of the two groups of the aegean and Ionian Islands offer study for many months.
Among the many which might be suggested, these should be given special attention: aegina, famous for its sculptures; Delos, the Holy Isle, birthplace of Apollo and Artemis, with the Temple of Apollo; Lesbos, the birthplace of Sappho; Corfu, for its varied history; Ceos, the home of two great poets; Samos with its Temple of Hera, and Ithaca, the home of Ulysses. Add to this list Melos, Patmos, Rhodes, Lemnos, and Naxos, each remarkable for something.