“Come Hither”
(Made By)
Walter de la Mare
1948 Reprint
Ferrick Gray
Snippets
Volume 2, Issue 2 (May 1)
Prefatory Comments
⠀ Often it is far better that when reviewing a collection of verses or essays, it is done using more quotes rather than rephrasing the author’s original words. In what follows, I have attempted this due to the unique nature of this volume.
About “Come Hither”
⠀ Come Hither is an anthology compiled and annotated by the famed Walter de la Mare. The beauty of this anthology is the diversity of poets whose work he has chosen. Not every well-known poet has been chosen, and there are many poems from unknown sources. In other words, the poet’s name is a mystery, and so they are presented as anonymous works. So much more the pity.
⠀ One of the interesting aspects of this collection is the inclusion of his notes at the end of the volume in About and Roundabout. Not all poems have notes, but it is rare to find an author’s thoughts included. Some of his comments are a pure delight, and one cannot help but smile in agreement.
The Introduction
⠀ The introduction itself is a wonder to behold and enjoy, The Story of this Book. It is like a short story in itself, and gives the reader a taste of de la Mare’s skill as a writer.
In the rovings and ramblings as a boy I has often skirted the old stone house in the hollow. But my first clear remembrance of it is of a hot summer’s day. I had climbed to the crest of a hill till then unknown to me, and stood there, hot and breathless in the bright slippery grass, looking down on its grey walls and chimneys as if out of a dream. And as if out of a dream already familiar to me. (p.vii)
⠀ Personally, I was pleasantly surprised with his introduction as many an anthology’s introduction is filled with uninteresting facts about the poets. It is tiring to read what we should read, how we should read it, and what is considered appropriate or not. His introduction continues as a young boy (later always addressed as Simon, even though his name was not Simon) discovering poetry collected by another (Mr. Nahum).
But the more I read, the more I came to enjoy them for their own sakes. Not all of them, of course. But I did see this, that like a carpenter who makes a table, a man who has written a poem has written it like that on purpose. (p.xxix)
⠀ Throughout there are gems of advise.
With this thought in my head I tried one day to alter the words of one or two of the simple and easy poems; or to put the words in a different order. And I found by so doing that you not only altered the sound of the poem, but that even the slightest alteration in the sound a little changed the sense. Either you lost something of the tune and runningness; or the words did not clash right; or you blurred the picture the words gave you; or some half-hidden meaning vanished away. I don’t mean that every poem is perfect; but only that when I changed them it was almost always very much for the worse. (p.xxix)
⠀ In such a way, one would wonder whether the introduction was indeed fact or fiction. It is up to the reader to make their choice, but de la Mare stays in character throughout, including his notes.
The Notes
⠀ Normally, one does not think that there is a great deal of difference between editions or reprints of a book. On occasions there will be mostly corrections such as spelling, changes to archaic words or missing words, minor additions and the like. Nonetheless, the 1948 reprint has many more pages of notes than the original 1923 edition. (A person finding this at the time may have been really bummed.) But there have been good reasons for such an increase.
For every reading of a poem–though it may have been familiar from early childhood–some hitherto hidden delicacy of rhythm or intonation may be revealed; new shades of meaning show themselves; and even difficulties may become apparent which before were unheeded. (p.497)
⠀ In fact there has been an increase from 171 pages to 293 pages of notes regarding the poems.
Still, it must be confessed that some of the pages that follow are not only without rhyme, but with very little detectible reason. An even larger number are, in fact, confessions of ignorance. (p.498)
And last, owing to the pleasant custom of printing poetry so that, in intention at least, it cannot be mistaken for prose, any reader of the following pages who has a natural distaste for any annotator, can easily skip from rhyme to rhyme, dream on from poem to poem; and ignore everything else. (p.498)
Reading the Poems
⠀ Reading these poems is always a source of enjoyment due to the variety that have been included. For most, it is up to the reader to determine their rhythm, but this can generally be decided from the outset. However, he does give some advice which hints at the scansion of poems.
(But) … complete tomes have been written on this subject; and the authors of them rarely agree. They add to one’s knowledge, but not much to one’s delight in the reading of poetry, and still less, I imagine, to the writing of it. In general, if you read a poem quietly over, first, to your head, then to your heart; most technical difficulties vanish like morning mist. (p.521)
⠀ Not all poems will be agreeable to everyone, but there is that little spark of beauty in each, especially when the technical difficulties vanish like morning mist.
In Conclusion
⠀ Perhaps I have failed with respect to more quotes than my prattle, but I hope to have given some idea of what the reader may have in stall for them if they chance upon this anthology. I remember reading that W. H. Auden felt himself extremely fortunate to have this anthology because it was so varied in terms of the different styles and poets. It had a significant and life-long influence on his work, and he considered the volume to be an important guide to poetry.
⠀ Finally, from Walter de la Mare:
Yet all in order sweet and lovely. …
And so, Farewell. (p.789)