John Masefield, 1878-1967: Selected Poems

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Summary: I MUST GO DOWN TO THE SEA AGAIN AND AGAIN
Review: Fascinating compilation by one of the 20th Century's most memorable poets (British Poet Laureate from 1930-67). Testifies to the rugged durability of his evocative poetic gift. Especially nice about this volume are the range and depth of Masefield's best poetry, which spurred me to begin re-reading him and other great poets of his day (Thomas Hardy, W.B.Yeats, Frost,Walter de la Mare, Edwin Arlington Robinson, etc.). Most of the best output is early in his career (Salt Water Ballads, Dauber, Lollingdon Downs,Everlasting Mercy), the poem Sea Fever being the most representative of his genius for making nature come alive in mind and spirit. To summarize Masefield's poetic legacy: 'He writes as freshly as possible bringing us back to a marvel of sustained versecraft, leaping gaps of time and tide, reminding us of the immediacy of nature, especially tales of the open sea with a vitality and purity of resonance still affecting audiences in the 21st Century. If you have a love of the Sea, this book and Masefield's poems will whisk you there for a journey. Bon Voyage!

One of Masefield's last poems (excerpt): Musicians, painters, poets of when/Who made the world more lovely then/The story-tellers beyond price,/Bringing the news from Paradise/Those from whose handiwork we see/Horizons in eternity.

Now that my roving days are over,/And all my frontiers stop at Dover/I think of what Life used to mean/When all these artists trod the scene/And Life was in myself with them/In Troy, in Greece, and Bethlehem.

Rating:
Summary: I must go down to the seas again!
Review: Sea Fever by John Masefield

I must go down to the seas again, to the

lonely sea and the sky,

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer

her by;

And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and

the white sail's shaking,

And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey

dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call

of the running tide

Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be

denied;

And all I ask is a windy day with the white

clouds flying,

and the flung spray and the blown spume, and the

sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the

vagrant gypsy life,

To the gull's way and the whale's way, where

the wind's like a whetted knife;

And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing

fellow-rover,

And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the

long trick's over.

If that doesn't convince you, nothing will. Perhaps my favorite poem of all time. I truly must go down to the seas again myself. I was introduced to John Masefield's poetry in college speech class and memorized this poem to perfection at one point. It still tosses in my mind like a ship at sea. I can feel the wind in my hair when I read this poem. Can't you smell the salty air? If not then you have been away from the sea for far too long. Listen closely and you will hear the cry of a sea gull in the distance and perhaps the sound of sails in the wind. The imagery is vivid for me, it combines all my favorite sea memories into one poem. The only thing missing are your footprints on the beach. I know you will enjoy this book.

Rating:
Summary: John Masefield Selected Poems
Review: This is the perfect book for anyone interested in this poet's work. It has a variety of his nautical and arthurian poems. His poems about the sea and England are beautiful and full of rich textures. It is one of my personal favorites.