Book Description

Excerpt from Parodies, Vol. 6: Of the Works of English and American Authors Algernon Charles Swinburne, Mr. Swinburne, son of Admiral Charles Henry Swinburne, and grandson of Sir John Edward Swinburne, sixth baronet, was born and educated first at Eton, and afterwards at Oxford. Despite his ancient pedigree, his aristocratic connections, and his university education, the early writings of Mr. A. C. Swinburne, both in prose and verse, were coloured by Radical opinions of the most advanced description. Byron, Shelley, Wordsworth and Southey commenced thus, with results which should have taught him how unwise it is for a poet, who wishes to be widely read, to descend into the heated atmosphere of political strife. The Undergraduate Papers, published by Mr. Mansell, Oxford, 1857 8, contained some of Mr. Swinburne's earliest poems, these were followed by "Atalanta in Calydon," "Chaste-lard," and "Poems and Ballads." It will be readily understood that only a few brief extracts can be given from Mr. Swinburnes poems, sufficient merely to strike the key notes of the Parodies. The Creation Of Man. Before the beginning of years There came to the making of man Time, with a gift of tears; Grief, with a glass that ran; Pleasure, with pain for leaven! Summer, with flowers that fell; Remembrance fallen from heaven, And madness risen from hell; Strength without hands to smite: Love that endures for a breath; Night, the shadow of light, And life the shadow of death. And the high gods took in hand Fire, and the falling of tears, And a measure of sliding sand From under the feet of the years: And froth and drift of the sea; And dust of the labouring earth; And bodies of things to be In the houses of death and of birth; And wrought with weeping and laughter, And fashioned with loathing and love. With life before and after, And death beneath and above, For a day and a night and a morrow. That his strength might endure for a span With travail and heavy sorrow, The holy spirit of man. For the winds of the north and the south They gathered as into strife; They breathed upon his mouth. They filled his body with life; Eyesight and speech they wrought For the veils of the soul therein, A time for labour and thought, A time to serve and to sin; They gave him light in his ways, And love, and a space for delight. And beauty and length of days. And night, and sleep in the night. His speech is a burning fire; With his lips he travaileth; In his heart is a blind desire. In his eyes foreknowledge of death; He weaves, and is clothed with derision; Sows, and he shall not reap; His life is a watch or a vision Between a sleep and a sleep. A. C. Swinburne. American Parody. Before the beginning of years. There went to the making of man Nine tailors with their shears, A coupe and a tiger and span. Umbrellas and neckties and canes. An ulster, a coat, and all that - But the crowning glory remains. His last best gift was his hat. And the mad hatters took in hand Skins of the beaver, and felt, And straw from the isthmus land, And silk and black bears pelt: And wrought with prophetic passion, Designed on the newest plan. They made in the height of fashion The hat for the wearing of man. A Poet's Valentine Before the beginning of poet There came to the making of love Rhymes and of follies a host; Ducks with a dart and a dore; About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com