The device of the pilgrimage, with alternating narrative and song, is put to new uses by this young English poet. For the end of the matter is not mere entertainment by the way, but philosophical discussion, in which the views of the watchmen, the merchant, the scholar, the sheikh, the sceptic, and even the camel, are represented.
“‘The singing caravan’ hammers mysticism into clean, efficient verse, which in its ease and correctness, displays the immense technical equipment of the recent English poets; but his subject matter shows the lack of freshness and homeliness that handicaps the Georgian poets as a group in comparison with their American rivals.”
+ − Dial 68:537 Ap ’20 50w
“Eastern mysticism and the imagery of the caravan form the vehicle by which Mr Vansittart conveys his mind upon final things; but there is no affectation of the Orient in his thought, and even his words are straightforward and plain; he has Schubert’s knack of turning common phrases into bewitching melody.”
+ Spec 123:118 Jl 26 ’19 50w
“The charm of Persian landscape, the wealth of Persian poetry have been woven into these tales, and they may be read just as profitably for the pictures they paint as for the lessons they teach.”
+ Springf’d Republican p11a Jl 25 ’20 150w
“‘The singing caravan’ is ‘a tale of Persian mystics,’ and with the Persian mystics we are few of us on intimate terms. But its rich and clear colouring, innocent of purple patchwork, though ‘local,’ may none the less charm the untravelled; and the poem may be enjoyed either for its landscape and characters, its allegory, its remarkable craftsmanship, or for the sake of the mind and spirit which are revealed in it.”
+ − The Times [London] Lit Sup p447 Ag 21 ’19 1000w