Project Gutenberg's The World's Best Poetry -- Volume 10, by Bliss Carman

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Title: The World's Best Poetry -- Volume 10

Author: Various
Edited by Bliss Carman

Release Date: July 17, 2004 [EBook #12925]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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THE WORLD'S BEST POETRY

[Illustration]

I Home: Friendship
II Love
III Sorrow and Consolation
IV The Higher Life
V Nature
VI Fancy: Sentiment
VII Descriptive: Narrative
VIII National Spirit
IX Tragedy: Humor
X Poetical Quotations

THE WORLD'S BEST POETRY

IN TEN VOLUMES, ILLUSTRATED

Editor-in-Chief
BLISS CARMAN

Associate Editors
John Vance Cheney
Charles G.D. Roberts
Charles F. Richardson
Francis H. Stoddard

Managing Editor
John R. Howard

1904

The World's Best Poetry
Vol. X

POETICAL QUOTATIONS

AFTER ALL, WHAT IS POETRY

By
JOHN R. HOWARD

* * * * *

AFTER ALL, WHAT IS POETRY?

BY JOHN RAYMOND HOWARD.

Considering the immense volume of poetical writing produced, and lost
or accumulated, by all nations through the ages, it is of curious
interest that no generally accepted definition of the word "Poetry"
has ever been made. Of course, all versifiers aim at "poetry"; yet,
what is poetry?

Many definitions have been attempted. Some of these would exclude work
by poets whom the world agrees to call great; others would shut
out elements that are undeniably poetic; still others, while not
excluding, do not positively include much that must be recognized as
within the poetical realm. In brief, all are more or less partial.

Perhaps a few examples may make this clearer, and show, too, the
difficulty of the problem.

"Poetry," says Shelley, "is the record of the best and happiest
moments of the happiest and best minds." But how can this include that
genuine poetic genius, Byron, who gloried in being neither good nor
happy? Lord Jeffrey, one of the keenest of critics, says that the term
may