The Advance of English Poetry in the Twentieth Century by William Lyon Phelps

	community	directory	books	authors	images	encyclopedia

[ Table of Contents ] [ Previous Page ] [ Next Page ]

The Advance of English Poetry in the Twentieth Century by William Lyon Phelps
Book, page 71 / 248

poetry easily takes first place in empty, tinkling artificiality. In
_Stonefolds_, we have six tiny plays, never containing more than
four characters, and usually less, which represent, in a rasping
style, the unending daily struggle of generation after generation with
the relentless forces of nature. It is surprising to see how, in four
or five pages, the author gives a clear view of the monotonous life of
seventy years; in this particular art, Strindberg himself has done no
better. The experience of age is contrasted with the hope of youth.
Perhaps the most impressive of them all is _The Bridal_ where, in
the presence of the newly wedded pair, the man's old, bed-ridden
mother speaks of the chronic misery of her married life, intimates
that the son is just like his dead father, and that therefore the
bride has nothing ahead of her but tragedy. Then comes the conclusion,
which reminds one somewhat of the close of Ibsen's _Lady from the
Sea_. The young husband throws wide the door, and addresses his
wife as follows:

   The door is open; you are free to go.
   Why do you tarry? Are you not afraid?
   Go, ere I hate you. I'll not hinder you.
   I would not have you bound to me by fear.
   Don't fear to leave me; rather fear to bide
   With me who am my father's very son.
   Go, lass, while yet I love you!

     ESTHER (closing the door). I shall bide.
   I have heard all; and yet, I would not go.
   Nor would I have a single word unsaid.
   I loved you, husband; yet, I did not know you
   Until your mother spoke. I know you now;
   And I am not afraid.

The first piece in _Stonefolds_ represents the tragic
helplessness of those newly born and those very old, a favourite theme
with Maeterlinck. A lamb and a child are born on the same night, and
both die before dawn. The lamb is a poetic symbol of babyhood.
Nicholas, the aged shepherd, who longs to go out into the night and do
his share of the work that must be done, but who is unable even to
move, thus addresses the dying lamb:

[ Table of Contents ]

[ Previous Page ] [ Next Page ]

Knowledgerush Search