Southey not much of a poet but seems to have been a very decent bloke. He looked after Coleridge's wife (who was his own sister in law) and children after STC abandoned them. And when Shelley called in at Keswick to tell the old duffer off he was instead totally charmed. Southey deserves some credit for depriving Wordsworth of the Lauriateship for several decades and more for writing 'Goldilocks and the 3 Bears'. Incidentally Wordsworth's "Resolution and Independence" is almost as barmy as Carroll's parody of it as the White Knight's Song.
When I think of Robert Southey it’s not so much his poetry that comes to mind as what he wrote to the aspiring-writer, yet-unpublished Charlotte Brontë, who sent him some poems and requested his input, saying that she wanted literary fame. He replied very nicely and told her that literary success wouldn’t be as important to her once she’d settled into her womanhood and married and had children. Brontë replied very politely, saying that she wouldn’t and couldn’t stop writing, and went on to write Jane Eyre a few years after that!
Southey's getting some abuse in these comments, Sally. We should do one of his poems, "The Battle of Blenheim," maybe, for a lighter Wednesday offering, just to remind our readers that he's more than a foil for Lewis Carroll.
I'd forgotten that poem. I think I encountered it in a slender anthology I bought from Scholastic Books in the 7th grade almost 60 years ago. Your bringing it back to mind 'tis a famous you-know-what of anamnesis. My favorite in the anthology, which I knew by heart and still almost do with a little prompting, was James Elroy Flecker's "The Old Ships."
Is this the first poem you all have done that has a They Might Be Giants recording to go with it? I ran across their rendition looking for the Irving Fine choral version I remember singing in high school... and which started playing in my head as soon as I saw the subject line of the email. (The Southey poem, I would guess, has never been set to music.)
The Burton Alice in Wonderland was lousy, from what I understand (never saw it), but the soundtrack included nice versions both of this by TMBG and "The Lobster Quadrille" by Franz Ferdinand.
At 82 my beard is white but my hair is still its original hue. I laughed out loud reading this and from now forward will adopt Father William as my guiding light.
Carroll's parody is included in John Ciardi's "How Does a Poem Mean," my first serious introduction to poetry. It was used as a textbook in a college class taken by my youngest uncle, an engineering student. He said he couldn't make any sense of it but that I might be able to. He was right. Thank you for reminding me of my late uncle and his timely gift.
Poor Southey didn't get much credit then or now. "‘God help thee,’ SOUTHEY, and thy readers too," as Byron put it. Apparently Southey and Shelley looked remarkably alike, and I suppose it's a limitation of my taste that I find Shelley about as boring.
I had never read the Southey poem! It's very nice, of course, and the sentiments are not inaccurate, but it's certainly not much fun and doesn't convey an interesting personality, as does Alice's. Thanks for the trip back through memory lane again, to reading _Alice_ back when _I_ was young.
Southey not much of a poet but seems to have been a very decent bloke. He looked after Coleridge's wife (who was his own sister in law) and children after STC abandoned them. And when Shelley called in at Keswick to tell the old duffer off he was instead totally charmed. Southey deserves some credit for depriving Wordsworth of the Lauriateship for several decades and more for writing 'Goldilocks and the 3 Bears'. Incidentally Wordsworth's "Resolution and Independence" is almost as barmy as Carroll's parody of it as the White Knight's Song.
When I think of Robert Southey it’s not so much his poetry that comes to mind as what he wrote to the aspiring-writer, yet-unpublished Charlotte Brontë, who sent him some poems and requested his input, saying that she wanted literary fame. He replied very nicely and told her that literary success wouldn’t be as important to her once she’d settled into her womanhood and married and had children. Brontë replied very politely, saying that she wouldn’t and couldn’t stop writing, and went on to write Jane Eyre a few years after that!
My mom had me memorize Carroll’s version when she was my teacher in 6th grade :).
Southey's getting some abuse in these comments, Sally. We should do one of his poems, "The Battle of Blenheim," maybe, for a lighter Wednesday offering, just to remind our readers that he's more than a foil for Lewis Carroll.
Well, I think the Southey abuse was probably instigated by me, but yes, we should feature him.
And perhaps include Byron's jabs at Southey in Don Juan for some ribal-dry, as it were.
I'd forgotten that poem. I think I encountered it in a slender anthology I bought from Scholastic Books in the 7th grade almost 60 years ago. Your bringing it back to mind 'tis a famous you-know-what of anamnesis. My favorite in the anthology, which I knew by heart and still almost do with a little prompting, was James Elroy Flecker's "The Old Ships."
Is this the first poem you all have done that has a They Might Be Giants recording to go with it? I ran across their rendition looking for the Irving Fine choral version I remember singing in high school... and which started playing in my head as soon as I saw the subject line of the email. (The Southey poem, I would guess, has never been set to music.)
The Burton Alice in Wonderland was lousy, from what I understand (never saw it), but the soundtrack included nice versions both of this by TMBG and "The Lobster Quadrille" by Franz Ferdinand.
Ah! The bane of having a clever father.
At 82 my beard is white but my hair is still its original hue. I laughed out loud reading this and from now forward will adopt Father William as my guiding light.
Carroll's parody is included in John Ciardi's "How Does a Poem Mean," my first serious introduction to poetry. It was used as a textbook in a college class taken by my youngest uncle, an engineering student. He said he couldn't make any sense of it but that I might be able to. He was right. Thank you for reminding me of my late uncle and his timely gift.
Poor Southey didn't get much credit then or now. "‘God help thee,’ SOUTHEY, and thy readers too," as Byron put it. Apparently Southey and Shelley looked remarkably alike, and I suppose it's a limitation of my taste that I find Shelley about as boring.
I had never read the Southey poem! It's very nice, of course, and the sentiments are not inaccurate, but it's certainly not much fun and doesn't convey an interesting personality, as does Alice's. Thanks for the trip back through memory lane again, to reading _Alice_ back when _I_ was young.