Wordsworth wrote an endless poem in blank verse on” the growth of a poet’s mind.” I shall attempt a more modest feat for a more distracted age: a blog, “Things which a Lifetime of Trying to Be a Poet has Taught Me.”
He who would write traditional poetry in this degenerate age treads a lonely path. One finds oneself looking for companionship in the past. At least there one can find actual Poets instead of purveyors of fractured prose!
TO MY PREDECESSORS
Their glory has not faded! Though the years
Have been kind to barbarians, and, worse,
Have yielded to their hands the realm of verse;
Though students cannot scan; though I have fears
That Keats may cease to be read by my peers
Except as an assignment and a curse;
Yet still this melody I will rehearse:
I come to sing the English sonneteers.
Their glory cannot fade! My tongue repeats
The words with wonder, hour after hour,
Of Sidney, Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, Keats,
Of Wordsworth, Hopkins—tastes within their bower
Rich viands, cates, and soul-sustaining meats:
Each line a world of wit compressed to power.
Remember: for more poetry like this, go to https://lanternhollow.wordpress.com/store/ and order Stars Through the Clouds! Also look for Inklings of Reality and Reflections from Plato’s Cave, Williams’ newest books from Lantern Hollow Press: Evangelical essays in pursuit of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty.
Donald T. Williams, PhD
Posted on March 31, 2016, in Donald Williams, Edmund Spenser, Poetics, Poetry, Shakespeare, Sir Philip Sidney and tagged From, Hopkins, Keats, Milton, Poetry, Shakespeare, Sidney, Sonnet, Sonneteers, Spenser, Wordsworth. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.