LITERATURE & HUMANITIES

MY FAVOURITE POEM and WHY

Seven Members of the Group on 18 September 2001

Victor Suchar started with an untitled poem by the German poet Rilke. Surprisingly nostalgia was Victor's main reaction, and he saw it as irreversible urbanisation and loss of the countryside.

Betty Suchar presented a love poem by Edna St.Vincent Millay a contemporary of Joyce and Eliot, and a reaction against their anti-romanticism. It was therefore traditional but in a modern idiom. Although its meaning was not evident at first, at second reading every line was loaded, and was a classic example of the use of negatives to reinforce the positive. It seemed very personal, as if written to a lover of the author, but who remained unnamed.

Jane Coates chose "Signs of Rain" by Edward Jenner, the originator of a smallpox vaccine, and told us about his life and local connections.

Peter Valentine read, "Le Medecin Malgre Lui" by the influential American poet William Carlos Williams, who was a general practitioner all his life. He died in 1963 and was a contemporary of Pound, Eliot and Joyce. Peter said he had exactly the same thoughts about the things he should have done but never got round to, and now it was too late, like so many things in life. Members observed that tidiness had little to do with creativity, and observed the freedom of structure of this poem.

Geoffrey Catchpole presented the short but well-known poem "Adelstrop", by Edward Thomas, born 1878 and killed at Arras in the First World War. These "Georgian" poets were seen as decadent by Pound and Eliot, but claimed by Leavis as "originals of rare quality". Geoffrey made interesting comments on what it meant to him in terms of nostalgic images, both personal and universal, static and dynamic, constant or sudden and unexpected. Some members had been to the railway station of that name.

Martin Sturge recited dramatically Shakespeare's Sonnet Quarto 94 and gave us insights into different versions and word emphasis. As always with Shakespeare, the richness of meaning became evident in the discussion. There were a variety of opinions by members as to their interpretation of the essential "thing". The convenor thought it was about the uses and abuses of political and sexual power. It reminded him of the mastery of Queen Elizabeth the First over her subjects and rivals.
Finally, Bill Leigh quoted "Inversnaid", by Gerard Manly Hopkins. Bill said that to him the alliterations such as "fawn-froth", or "fell frowning", affected the inevitable power, energy and wildness of nature.

Members seemed to enjoy this session and it was a good start to the season.

Peter Valentine