Meredith, George

England, (1828-1909)

CONTINUED

  1. ‘Tis true the wisdom that my mind exacts
  2. Through contemplation from a heart unbent
  3. By many tempests may be stained and rent:
  4. The summer flies it mightily attracts.
  5. Yet they seem choicer than your sons of facts,
  6. Which scarce give breathing of the sty’s content
  7. For their diurnal carnal nourishment:
  8. Which treat with Nature in official pacts.
  9. The deader body Nature could proclaim.
  10. Much life;have neither. Let the heavens of wrath
  11. Rattle, then both scud scattering to froth.
  12. But during calms the flies of idle aim
  13. Less put the spirit out, less baffle thirst
  14. For light than swinish grunters, blest or curst.

Editor’s Note:

It is interesting to note the zoological metaphors used by many Victorian poets and writers to express their contempt for the public and their criticisms. Landor, Swinburne, Tennyson all had their own metaphors. Here Meredith made a dichotomy of his readers into “summer flies” and “swinish grunters.”

 George Meredith. The works of George Meredith. New York: Russell & Russell (1968).

About the Poet:

George Meredith, England, (1828-1909) was a poet and novelist of the Victorian era. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature seven times.

Meredith’s novels and poetry were often inspired by nature. His writing was characterized by a fascination with imagery and indirect references. He had a keen understanding of comedy and his Essay on Comedy (1877) is still quoted in most discussions of the history of comic theory. [DES-10/19]