i. An Elegy of a Broken Heart. In the Book of Job this intervenes between the Story Prologue, which is prose, and the main body of the poem, which takes a dramatic form. Job breaks the silence to dilate, with lyrical elaboration, upon the situation of utter ruin which is to be the starting-point of the dramatic discussion. Hence the title of the section in the whole poem of Job is 'Job's Curse': but it admits of being separated from the action of the drama as an independent poem, with some such title as I have given it.—In metrical scheme it falls into two sections. Section 1 is an example of 'interruption' (compare note to vii of the sonnets). It will be seen that the last two lines continue the sentence begun by the first two lines, making with them a quatrain: between come masses of parallel lines interrupting with a tour-de-force of execration. Section 2 is made up of introductory quatrain, strophe, and antistrophe.
ii. The Creator's Joy in his Creation. This selection from Job is a part of the 'Divine Intervention,' which may be read as a complete poem. That drama introduces the Voice of God out of the whirlwind as taking a part in the dialogue. The link between the Divine Intervention as a whole and the general argument is the impossibility of any mortal grasping the mysteries of the universe, which mysteries enfold the glories of nature as well as the dark ways of providence which Job and his friends have been discussing. As a part of this general thought the portion here cited works out the idea of the Creator's joy in his creation—a joyous sympathy with the infinities of great and small throughout the universe. It might be an expansion of the words in the story of the creation: "And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good."—The metrical scheme of this poem is a variation of the 'pendulum structure.' [Page 251.] It may be called a 'triple pendulum,' or alternation between three notes: one note is made by the startling questions of nature mysteries, another (lines indented to the right) exquisitely pictures the details of these wonders of nature, while for a third (lines still more to the right) there is a word of challenge to Job to answer.
iii-v. These three selections are lyrics in the strictest sense. Originally all poetry is of the form technically called 'Ballad-Dance,' that is, verse combined with musical accompaniment and dancing. When this primitive poetry branches out into other forms, lyric is the form which retains most of the musical element. The poems here cited are lyrics in the strict sense that their structure is determined by the mode of their musical performance. This is seen by the 'antiphonal' distribution of the matter, for example, between choruses of men and women, and by the recurrence of passages ('refrains').
iii. Song of Moses and Miriam. This is arranged for a Chorus of Men, taking the successive sections of the song, and a Chorus of Women, singing the refrain. The metre is Antique Rhythm (above, page 242): the successive strophes augment with the growing fulness of the theme. The first strophe (after the prelude) simply states the fact of the deliverance; the second pictures it in detail, the third meditates on the consequences to the furthest future.
iv. Deborah's Song. This also is arranged for a Chorus of Men, led by Barak, and a Chorus of Women, led by Deborah. It is in Antique Rhythm (above, page 242). Its structure is antiphonal as between Men, Women, and the two combined. The structure is further elaborated by 'interruption' [passages printed in italics], where the singers encourage one another.
To appreciate the matter of the song it should be compared with the description of the incident in plain historic prose (Judges, chapter iv). It is not difficult to make out from this narrative (1) that Heber the Kenite, Jael's husband, was acting as a spy against his allies of Israel, and betraying their movements to the tyrant. Jael's act was treachery in retaliation for the treachery on the other side by her husband. This explains the exultation over her deed in Deborah's Song. (2) This treachery of Heber had upset the plans of Deborah and Barak: helpless against the iron chariots, their only hope had been to assemble secretly on the heights of Kedesh and attempt a surprise. But while the army of Sisera, warned by Heber, were awaiting them on the plains of Esdraelon, a sudden thunder storm with rain (commemorated in the Song) converted the whole plain into a morass. The army of Barak fell on the foe while their horses were struggling in the mud, and extirpated them at a blow.
v. David's Lament. This simple elegy is cast in quatrain stanzas. Its only elaboration is an augmenting refrain. This beautiful refrain seems to rest for its effect upon the bringing together of two ideas, like a crescendo and decrescendo in music: How are the mighty < > fallen! This fragmentary refrain as it appears at the beginning is enlarged at the passage from the section on Saul to that on Jonathan, and still further enlarged at the close of the whole.
vi. David's Song of Victory. This is in Antique Rhythm: its structure is 'strophic' (above, page 243). There is an introduction and conclusion, and three unequal strophes: the first pictures the deliverance, the second meditates on the principle involved (deliverance of the righteous), the third extends the confidence thus produced to the whole past and future. The most notable artistic effect is the sudden change at the prayer of the afflicted one: all nature is convulsed as the Almighty rushes to the rescue.
vii. The Bride's Reminiscences. This is introduced as an example of the Lyric Idyl. The term 'idyl' has been explained above (page 248, note to iv): such idyls may be either narrated as stories, or brought out lyrically or dramatically, as in the present case. It is one of a series of lyric idyls making up the poem of Solomon's Song. The story underlying this poem has been variously interpreted; the interpretation followed in this series (Biblical Idyls volume) is that King Solomon, visiting his vineyards on Mount Lebanon, has come by surprise upon a beautiful Shulammite maiden. As she flies from the royal suite he seeks her in shepherd disguise and wins her love, then he brings her as queen to his palace. The present selection is Idyl II of the series, and contains two of the Bride's Reminiscences of this courtship. The first is of a visit by the disguised king on a fair spring morning, and how the lovers were interrupted by the harsh voices of the Bride's Brothers crying out that the foxes were in the vineyards. The second is a dream of losing and finding her lover. [The passages in italics are not spoken by the Bride, but are the poet's interludes, dividing the different sections of the poem.]—Metrical scheme. The idyls are a combination of Antique Rhythm and Antistrophic structure: but the parallelism of strophe and antistrophe must be reckoned in strains, not in lines (see above, page 242): thus we have four strains balanced by four, then two by two; then (in the Dream) three by three. [The refrains are outside the metrical scheme.]
viii, ix. These are songs from the books of the prophets.