The Advance of English Poetry in the Twentieth CenturyPhelps, William Lyon
History
The Advance of English Poetry in the Twentieth Century
Phelps, William Lyon
American poetry -- 20th century -- History and criticism; English poetry -- 20th century -- History and criticism
Outside of the monologues and the epitaphs, the work of Mr. Masters is
mainly unimpressive. Yet I admire his ambition to write on various
subjects and in various metres. Occasionally he produces a short story
in verse, characterized by dramatic power and by austere beauty of
style. The poem _Boyhood Friends_, recently published in the
_Yale Review_, and quite properly included by Mr. Braithwaite in
his interesting and valuable Anthology for 1917, shows such a command
of blank verse that I look for still finer things in the future. With
all his twisted cynicism and perversities of expression, Mr. Masters
is a true poet. He has achieved one sinister masterpiece, which has
cleansed his bosom of much perilous Stuff. Tomorrow to fresh woods and
pastures new.
Louis Untermeyer was born at New York, on the first of October, 1885.
He produced a volume of original poems at the age of twenty-five. This
was followed by three other books, and in addition, he has written
many verse-translations, a long list of prose articles in literary
criticism, whilst not neglecting his professional work as a designer
of jewelry. There is no doubt that this form of art has been a
fascinating occupation and an inspiration to poetry. He not only makes
sermons in stones, but can manufacture jewels five words long. Should
any one be dissatisfied with his designs for the jewel-factory, he can
"point with pride" to his books, saying, _Haec sunt mea
ornamenta_.
Somewhere or other I read a review of the latest volume of verse from
Mr. Untermeyer, and the critic began as follows: "One is grateful to
Mr. Untermeyer for doing what almost none of his contemporaries on
this side of the water thinks of doing." This sentence stimulated my
curiosity, for I wondered what particularly distinguishing feature of
his work I had failed to see. "For about the last thing that poets and
theorizers about poetry in these days think of is beauty. In
discussion and practice beauty is almost entirely left out of
consideration. Frequently they do not concern themselves with it at
all."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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