In fact, they are natural growths of Mr. Davidson's
philosophy of life. In his "Ballad of the Making of a Poet" Mr.
Davidson lets us know his conception of the poet's proper function.
"I am a man apart:
A mouthpiece for the creeds of all the world;
A soulless life that angels may possess
Or demons haunt, wherein the foulest things
May loll at ease beside the loveliest;
A martyr for all mundane moods to tear;
The slave of every passion; and the slave
Of heat and cold, of darkness and of light;
A trembling lyre for every wind to sound.
* * * * *
Within my heart
I'll gather all the universe, and sing
As sweetly as the spheres; and I shall be
The first of men to understand himself...."
Making, of course, full concessions to the demands of poetical
treatment, we may assume pretty confidently that Mr. Davidson intended
this "Ballad in Blank Verse of the Making of a Poet" for a soul's
autobiography, of a kind. If so, I trust he will forgive me for
doubting if he is at all likely to fulfil the poet's office as he
conceives it here, or even to approach within measurable distance of
his ideal--
"A trembling lyre for every wind to sound.
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