ENGLISH LITERATURE.

Northern Advocate, 1 December 1921, Page 3

ENGLISH LITERATURE.

SPIRIT OF THE AGES.

ARTS SOCIETY LECTURE

Dr. Alfred Clarke, of the Education Board, better known to the general public, perhaps, as the author of '' The Marguret Book," "My Erratic Pal," etc., gave a delightful lecture to a small coterie of enthusiastic members the Whangarei Arts and Literary Society in Mrs Younghusband's studio last Monday evening. The lecture was entitled "The Spirit of the Ages of English Literature." To begin with, Dr. Clarke mentioned one of the earliest examples of English literature, "The Story of Beowulf," which seemed to show the dawn of Christianity and the spirit of that Anglo-Saxon age. The next poet mentioned was Caedmon, and the* lecturer related the story of this herdsman who was at a feast one night, and as was the usual custom the harp was passed round among the guests and each san<j in turn some song in praise of their heathen gods; but Caedmon had been converted at the Abbey of Whitby, Yorkshire, and therefore would not sing of heathen gods, and yet was not able to sing of the Creator, and so left the hall. Shortly after that Caedmon had a vision in which a messenger of God commanded him to sing of "How God made all things." The outcome of this vision was a poem by Caedmon entitled "The Story of Creation.'? "We now jump to the year 1350,"

said Dr. Clarke, "where we find one poet who stands out like the lion on the monument at Waipn, William Lang-

land, the author of "Piers Plowman." This work was supposed to be Langland's conception of Christ. The lecturer then proceeded to read extracts from the poem illustrating that it represented the spirit of the 14th Century. From then he jumped to the Elizabethian period, Shakespeare's Age. He showed how the poets of that time revealed the humour, youth and good temper of the age which .was the outcome of the discovery of - America, the opening up of a new world. Dr. Clarke said that the period which followed was the blackest in Eriglish literature, reaching its evil climax at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century. There were a few outstanding names, such as Steele and. Addison, but they were only the exceptions which proved the rule. At this stage the lecturer read passages from a book of natural history printed in 1825. It proved to be very inferior in quality and extremely inaccurate in its statements, and was considered by the speaker to be the worst example of verse he had ever come across. "Verse," said Dr. Clarke, "is the flower of the literature of any age. The, Victorian era killed all that was finest in English literature, and the men of the times for the most part all pandered to the sloppy sentiment that was then in vogue." It was an age also of absurd prudery, and in the opinion of the lecturer ruined the works of all save Browning and Swinburne.

It was evident that Dr. Clarke condemned the Poets of Nature, and fully endorsed the sentiments of Browning as expressed in the "Lost Leader," a poem suggested by Wordsworth having accepted the office of Poet Laureaute. This poem was undoubtedly written from the heart.

'' The flower of English poetry to-day reveals the same note," said the lecturer in conclusion. "It is coloured with vivid hues of expectancy, revolt against selfishness, materialism and all the evils that are strangling the life of the nation to-day. The works of Anatole France, Arnold Bennett, Rupert Brooke, Noyes, Dobson, Masefield, Kipling and H. G. Wells, all reflect the same spirit of expectation and give us every hope for the future of English literature.'' At the conclusion of the lecture the president, Mr O. P. Owen, thanked Dr.

Clarke on behalf of the society for the interesting address he had given them, and a hearty vote of thanks was accorded him.

General discussion arose among those present and lasted until suppertime, after which, the singing of the National Anthem brought another enjoyable evening to a close.