Popular PoetryPopular Verse The English attitude to poetry has been ambivalent. Lord Macaulay once suggested (in ‘The Edinburgh Review’)that ‘perhaps no person can be a poet, or enjoy poetry, without a certainunsoundness of mind’.On the other hand, poetry can crystallize and summon up forus certain responses to life and events that are important to us. It can liftour spirits, open up our hearts, broaden our sympathies and lead us, if onlyfor a moment, into a different way of seeing — even of being. Above all, it canbe memorable.Poetry does not, in its essential nature, belong toliterature. It comes before literature, when the place of books was occupied byvoice and memory; It is meant not so much to be read as to be heard. And theartifice — the rhyme, the rhythm, and the language working to the limits of itscapacity — is what makes poetry stick in the mind like music. At the same time,a skilled interpreter can make a well-worn poem as fresh as if it had neverbeen read before. In this collection, we have chosen to make a distinctionbetween ‘popular poetry’ and ‘popular verse’. It is in some way an artificialdistinction, as ‘poetry‘ and ‘verse’ are largely interchangeable terms. But ifwe consider that prose can sometimes be characterized as poetry (as in a ‘prosepoem’) but never as verse, then we can begin to pick out the implications ofthe distinction.Molière’s ‘Bourgeois Gentilhomme’ is told: ‘All that is notprose is verse, and all that is not verse is prose’. As literary theory this isnot all that profound, but it makes the point that verse is the straightantithesis of prose. So verse basically amounts to the arrangement of words inlines, usually governed by meter. It might even be possible to translate thefull meaning of a piece of verse into prose: all that would be lacking would bethe delight communicated by the form. In this sense, verse conforms to the neo-classical model of poetry as ‘ornamented thought’. Wemay even say that the eighteenth century, the great age of prose, produced thepoetry that it did rather despite its own better judgment. Poetry is really a more complicated category. Its creationis a mysterious process, even a religious one, born out of the poet’srelationship with a power beyond himself — what is traditionally termed his‘Muse’. And the result is something, which puts the listener in touch with thatwhich is beyond words, with that which cannot be spoken of. Content and formare more closely involved, and an unusually sensitive handling of language andimages communicates an unusually complex or profound meaning. So poetry is verse that fulfils a more ambitious projectthan simply the decoration of an idea. Perhaps the usual distinction is between ‘serious verse’ and‘light verse’. However, this leaves out of the reckoning some well-lovedserious verse that is very much stranded on the lower slopes of Parnassus —commonly late Victorian, and in intent sentimental or stirring. Such a piece isTennyson’s The Charge of the Light Brigade. It was, apparently, produced in amatter of minutes, and we have only to compare it with his labored attempt tohonor an altogether worthier feat from the same battle, The Charge of the HeavyBrigade, to realize what truly inspired versifying went into it. We may go so far as to say that every item in thiscollection, whether great poetry or popular verse, is in some way amasterpiece. All have survived the comings and goings of literary fortune bylodging themselves in the minds of a whole people, as the brightest and mostenduring fragments of a national culture. Notes by Duncan Steen About theReaders Anton Lesser is one of Britain’s leading classical actors. He has played many of the principal Shakespearean roles forthe Royal Shakespeare Company including Petruchio, Romeo and Richard III. Hiscareer has also encompassed contemporary drama, notably The Birthday Party byHarold Pinter. Appearances in major TV drama productions include The Oresteia,The Cherry Orchard, Troilus and Cressida and The Mill on the Floss.In his first five years with the Royal Shakespeare Company,Simon Russell Beale has played many leading Shakespeare roles ranging widelyfrom Richard III to Ariel in The Tempest, though his dramatic range extends toSamuel Beckett. Beale’s performance of Ariel earned him an Olivier Awardnomination. Other credits include Ferdinand in The Duchess of Malfi and Moscain Volpone at the Royal National Theatre. He also frequently appears on TV andRadio.