Ist ein Barbar, er sei auch wer er sei”?
(He who has no ear for the voice of poetry is a barbarian, be he who he may.) And there is considerable truth in the statement. No one would be proud of physical partial deafness and blindness; they constitute nothing to be elated about in the mental sphere. If you “do not care for poetry,” you had better at least give yourself a chance of caring for it by reading some poem on a subject which seems likely to appeal to you. In this way you may find out that you have an unsuspected capacity of being touched by this music. If you do not appreciate Milton, you may enjoy a simple poem by Coleridge; if Tennyson does not please you, Rudyard Kipling’s stirring words may cause your heart to throb and your eyes to melt; if Browning is too obscure, Tennyson’s melody may charm you; if Keats and Shelley are too mystical, Scott’s “Marmion,” or “Lady of the Lake,” may prove fascinating. In any case, give yourself every chance of entering into your immortal and divine heritage of “truth and pure delight.”
The greatest literature of all ages has a tendency to become poetry, as you will see if you consider the Hebrew Psalms, Homer, Æschylus, Sophocles, Virgil “lo buon maestro,” and Dante his pupil, Shakespeare, Goethe. Poetry is the language in which highest aspirations, loftiest truths, naturally clothe themselves. Coleridge’s definition in Table Talk is worth remembering.
“I wish,” he says, “our clever young poets would remember my homely definitions of prose and poetry: that is, prose—words in their best order; poetry—the best words in their best order.”
We must not, however, be led away into a disquisition on the extremely difficult question of the true nature and scope of poetry, but must give a few hints to the reader. Here much depends, and must always depend, on individual taste and habit of mind.
Dante, the great poet of the Middle Ages, should be read and studied by all who have the necessary time and capacity, but unfortunately no translation can render the poetry of the original. It is worth while to learn Italian in order to read the “Divine Comedy,” but if that is impossible, it is also worth while to read it in Dean Plumptre’s, Cary’s, or Longfellow’s translation. Longfellow’s is absolutely literal, but truth compels us to state it is often very unmusical. For “self-culture” the intelligent study of this great poet is a mighty instrument. To enter into Dante’s thought is to enter into the view of human life and human civilisation as it appeared to the greatest man of the time, and anyone who can understand the historical allusions of the “Divine Comedy” need not blush for her knowledge of history.
Do not take Shakespeare “as read.” That is even worse than concerning yourself principally with the notes on his plays! There are small editions of separate plays, such as Cassell’s sixpenny edition, too numerous to mention, which are small enough to slip into the pocket, and may form a companion on a wearisome journey. The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, The Tempest, Richard II., may be quoted as good plays to begin with if your knowledge of the poet of poets is scanty. But you may study Shakespeare all your life without exhausting the wealth contained in his pages. Every succeeding generation sees more and more meaning in what he says, because he is true to the inner life of the human heart. The life is there. The lessons that can be drawn from the life are practically endless.
The constant issue of fresh cheap editions of the plays is a good sign. Perhaps Milton is not so much read nowadays; and yet you cannot afford to neglect him. If you are alarmed at the length of “Paradise Lost,” begin with some of his shorter poems and sonnets; and if you do not read right through Spenser’s “Faerie Queen,” you will find many beautiful scenes and thoughts here and there.
We have spoken of the great Florentine poet and the study of Italian; it will not perhaps be quite out of place to hint to students of German that a rich reward lies before them if they can master the language sufficiently to enjoy the lyric poems of Goethe, the higher flights of Schiller, and many others. The “Erl-König” (Erl King) by Goethe and the “Farewell of Joan of Arc to the Mountains” from Schiller’s play, The Maid of Orleans, were great favourites of the writer in her girlhood. German poetry is true music, whatever may be said to the contrary by those who only half know the language.
Space fails us to write in full of modern English poetry. Wordsworth, Scott, Longfellow, Tennyson, Browning, Mrs. Browning, Keats, Shelley, Matthew Arnold, Arthur Hugh Clough, William Morris, are names of varying fame, but each name brings unspeakable associations to those who know and love the poet through his work. Surely one of these may become to you a teacher who will help and inspire.