the man against the sky-第11章
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And terrors that began
When Death let fall a feather from his wings
And humbled the first man？
Because the weight of our humility；
Wherefrom we gain
A little wisdom and much pain；
Falls here too sore and there too tedious；
Are we in anguish or complacency；
Not looking far enough ahead
To see by what mad couriers we are led
Along the roads of the ridiculous；
To pity ourselves and laugh at faith
And while we curse life bear it？
And if we see the soul's dead end in death；
Are we to fear it？
What folly is here that has not yet a name
Unless we say outright that we are liars？
What have we seen beyond our sunset fires
That lights again the way by which we came？
Why pay we such a price； and one we give
So clamoringly； for each racked empty day
That leads one more last human hope away；
As quiet fiends would lead past our crazed eyes
Our children to an unseen sacrifice？
If after all that we have lived and thought；
All comes to Nought；
If there be nothing after Now；
And we be nothing anyhow；
And we know that； why live？
'Twere sure but weaklings' vain distress
To suffer dungeons where so many doors
Will open on the cold eternal shores
That look sheer down
To the dark tideless floods of Nothingness
Where all who know may drown。
＇End of text。＇
From the original advertisements：
By the same author
Captain Craig； A Book of Poems
Revised edition with additional poems； 12mo； cloth； 1。25
〃There are few poets writing in English to…day whose work
is so permeated by individual charm as is Mr。 Robinson's。
Always one feels the presence of a man behind the poet
a man who knows life and people and things and writes of them clearly；
with a subtle poetic insight that is not visible in the work
of any other living writer。〃 ‘Brooklyn Daily Eagle'。
〃The ‘Book of Annandale'； a splendid poem included in this collection；
is one of the most moving emotional narratives found in modern poetry。〃
‘Review of Reviews'。
〃。 。 。 His handling of Greek themes reveals him as
a lyrical poet of inimitable charm and skill。〃 ‘Reedy's Mirror'。
〃A poem that must endure； if things that deserve long life get it。〃
‘N。 Y。 Evening Sun'。
〃Wherever you hear people who know speak of American poets 。 。 。
they assume that you take the genius and place of Edwin Arlington Robinson
as granted。 。 。 。 A man with something to say that has value and beauty。
His thought is deep and his ideas are high and stimulating。〃
‘Boston Transcript'。
By the same author
The Porcupine： A Drama in Three Acts
Cloth； 12mo； 1。25
Edwin Arlington Robinson's comedy 〃Van Zorn〃 proved him to be
one of the most accomplished of the younger generation of American dramatists。
Of this play the ‘Boston Transcript' said； 〃It is an effective presentation
of modern life in New York City； in which a poet shows
his skill of playwrighting 。 。 。 he brings to the American drama to…day
a thing it sadly lacks； and that is character。〃 In manner and technique
Mr。 Robinson's new play； 〃The Porcupine〃； recalls some of the work of Ibsen。
Written adroitly and with the literary cleverness exhibited in 〃Van Zorn〃；
it tells a story of a domestic entanglement in a dramatic fashion
well calculated to hold the reader's attention。
〃Contains all of the qualities that are said to be conspicuously lacking
in American Drama。〃 ‘N。 Y。 Evening Sun'。
Van Zorn： A Comedy in Three Acts
Cloth； 12mo； 1。25
Mr。 Robinson is known as the leader of present…day American poets。
In this delightful play he tells with a biting humor
the story of the salvation of a soul。 By clever arrangement of incident
and skillful characterization he arouses strongly the reader's curiosity；
and the suspense is admirably sustained。 The dialogue is bright；
and the construction of the plot shows the work of one well versed
in the technique of the drama。
About the author： Edwin Arlington Robinson； 1869…1935。
From the Biographical Notes of 〃The Second Book of Modern Verse〃 （1919； 1920）；
edited by Jessie B。 Rittenhouse：
Robinson； Edwin Arlington。 Born at Head Tide； Maine； Dec。 22； 1869。
Educated at Harvard University。 Mr。 Robinson is a psychological poet
of great subtlety； his poems are usually studies of types
and he has given us a remarkable series of portraits。 He is recognized
as one of the finest and most distinguished poets of our time。
His successive volumes are： 〃Children of the Night〃； 1897；
〃Captain Craig〃； 1902； 〃The Town Down the River〃； 1910；
〃The Man against the Sky〃； 1916； 〃Merlin〃； 1917； and 〃Launcelot〃； 1920。
The last…named volume was awarded a prize of five hundred dollars；
given by The Lyric Society for the best book manuscript offered to it in 1919。
In addition to his work in poetry； Mr。 Robinson has written two prose plays；
〃Van Zorn〃； and 〃The Porcupine〃。
In 〃American Poetry Since 1900〃； Louis Untermeyer notes； 〃his name was known
only to a few of the literati until Theodore Roosevelt 。 。 。
acclaimed and aided him。〃 Rittenhouse's Biographical Notes （above quoted）
contain this entry immediately before Edwin Arlington Robinson's：
〃Robinson； Corinne Roosevelt。 。 。 。 Mrs。 Robinson； who is a sister
to Col。 Theodore Roosevelt； 。 。 。 has written several volumes of verse。 。 。 。〃
It is always interesting to see the coincidence of events in history；
and it is worth asking if this was not even a causal relationship。 A。 L。
End
