ia SN RARER NS. oo RERUN eas Re a ‘ sil Ey Se a OTE TOE cg Se ae rican . 4 le Satatss ¥ opine eee “6 . b) * s i : e + , ? ' ‘ ° ‘ ni ‘ e e 4 TH *, COLLEGE NEWS : SASSER CR A ANSE en can: RSTRNT creeper ncaa we « Motes 4 ! E ' handling of the sonnet. He has accomplished the feat of being original, yet keeps a con- nection with, the cultured poets of the past.” His poems of émotion and reflection deal mostly with the three great lyrical subjects, love, death and the ideal. In 1897 at the age of twenty-eight he published Children of the Night, which con- tains much smooth melodic verse. Mr Rob- inson attains ,, perfection, Professor Cestre avers, in the sonnet and the English ballad where his faultless design and drama are seen, He treats of psychological scenes and meditative thoughts. Love is not subjective but objective when it appears Disappointed life haunts him with its pathos.. His char- acters may not- wail, they endure with the fortitude of the strong. Mr. Robinson does not indulge in mere story-telling. He never goes into horrible or bloodcurdling details— nor lapses into the sensational. The sad- ness of feeling hearts, soul’s perplexities or tumults are portrayed. Mr. Robinson's complexity of meaning in simplicity of phrase Professor Cestre pointed out and explained that Mr. Robinson felt that the effort required in interpretation added to the reader’s joy. In the range of poems read some slight idea of the versatility of Mr. Robinson appeared—though in the » man he was pre-occupied in philosophical questions. The richness of coloring counter- acts the didactiscism that might appear and prevents his poetry from ever being dry or cold. In his later octaves and sonnets he unites tints and the purity of sculpture with -attic precision of style an elasticity of thought. “Edwin. Arlington Robinson's Treatment ot the Arthurian Legends” was the subject of M. Charles Cestre’s third lecture of the series on Robinson last Thursday afternoon. “Did Robinson when writing his two Arthurian poéms think of Walt Whitman’s interdict?” asked M. Cestre at the start. This will always be a matter for conjecture. At any rate Robinson realized the value of treading on ggound trod by Spenser and the Victorians, ahd abstracted himself from what had been done. As in all his poems, the strength of Robinson’s renderings lies -in their psychological insight and dramatic force, which precludes neither logical in- tensity nor sensuous opulence. Of his two Arthurian poems, Merlin is the least tainted. “Criticism is dissolved,” said M. Cestre, “before the felicity, of the phrase- ology and the imaginative creations.” Neither Tennyson nor Swinburne equal Robinson's vigor and depth of thought. Tennyson’s [dylls of the King have decora- tive grace in the plastic details, but lack the human quality.. His “pure maidens and vir- gin knights do well as church windows,” but are not flesh and blood. “At temptation, they turn aside with a shudder.” Terfnyson does not search the human soul. Furthermore he employs a weak, allegorical treatment, and the epic style detracts from the charm of the story. M. Cestre then criticized Tennyson’s Mer- lin and Vivian; Swinburne’s Tristram and [seult and Robinson’s Merlin in detail, since these three poems are comparable in subject matter. : Merlin and Vivian contajns no psychologi- cal truth; Tennyson is absorbed in the con- ventional theme of Virtue versus Vice. He endows Vivian with no dignity, no shrewd- ness, no reserve. Although the love scene between Merlin and. Vivian is prettily said, the situation remains vulgar. In Tristram and Iseult, Swinburne does justice to theesubject, although he wanders a little from the track. The best parts of the poem are glorious hymns. of passion, but too often these are diluted by a deluge of sweetness. Frequently the poem lacks a sense of yneasure or even common sense. Swinburne remains too much a slave of the original tale. Moreover the love of Tristram and Iseult is static. The poem ought there- fore to have been written in one thousand lines instead of six thousand; for static love deserves light theatment. Robinson, in dealing with the Arthurian material, chose the episodes for the thoughi and the intellectual insight into character. These guide his symbols. Time and Fate, rather than imagination, direct the theme. Robinson is “the first poet to’ express the virtualities of the Arthurian legends in sym- bols of truth.” They rise above the average human rather by their heroic use of intel- lectual powers than by the use of magic as in ,Tennyson’s rendering. Merlin and Lancelot are human stories giving an impression of grandeur. They are dramatic narratives in which the externals are subordinated and the true values brought to the fore. The physical facts of the story compose~ the background; while the core’ is the inner drama, the tragedy of the cliief characters, Like dramas, the poems have an exposi- tion and a denouement built up of narrative and dialogue. But they are epics in their rich imagery; lyrical poems in their soul ecstacy and stormy passions; and philosophi- cal poems in their spiritual idealism. In Merlin, Robinson, by transmuting things from the realm of fact to the .realm of values, has created the essence of poetry, the supreme achievement of the poetic mind, At ——_ AN seeanmnnemnes Friday and Saturday = ti, |. ,in the Verdi Requiem and the Beethoven ‘William Kincaid, first flutist of the Phil- the end, the poem is almost purely a drama of ideas. ‘In this linking of love with ideas, Robinson follows Shelley. But Robinson knows man’s limitations and makes allow- ances. “Out of this fall of heroes and ruin of empires, he sees.a ray of light to guide men to happiness.” tains an elaboration of details, but for the most part is a “penetrating expression of the eternal truth of the human heart.” obinson’s style abounds in beauty and finish, but is essentially original, His chief characteristic _is a “subtle involution of thought and mastery of effect. He renders pathos and woader by plain, short clauses; his is not the rhetoric of the romantic poets,” RIRST OF CONCERTS. IN TAYLOR HALL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 - assisigd by Horace Alwyne, .pianist, and Ellis Clark Hammann,* accompanist, on the evening of December 14, in Taylor Hall.’ -’ Harold Bauer, internationally famous pianist, will give the third concert in this series, a Schumann and Brahms recital, on Thursday, January 7. Attention is called to the fact that on account of Mr. Bauer’s ~chedule of engagements, this concert will he held o a Thursday, instead of a Mon- day, evening. f The fourth program, on Monday, Feb- ruary 15, will include several very beauti- ful but rarely heard works for flute, piano and string quartette, and unusual songs with accompaniments of wind and stringed instruments. The musicians will be Madame Irene Wilder, contralto, who appeared last season with the Philhar- monic Orchestra, of New York, as soloist Ninth Symphony under Mengelberg; adelphia Orchestra; Horace Alwyne, pianist, and the Russian String Quartette, of Philadelphia. Tickets can be obtained at the office of the Publicity Director in Taylor Hall. ee Te MANN & DILKS 1102 CHESTNUT STREET TOPCOATS SUITS DRESSES SPORT HATS Lancelot is more fimited in scope. It con-| THE FRENCH BOOK ‘SHOP «1527. 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