Life, 1897-11-18 · page 3 of 26
Life — November 18, 1897 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of "Life" Magazine Page 407 This page satirizes modern poetry and poets through three figures: an elegantly dressed woman on the left, and two men in formal attire on the right. The dialogue "'Will you make an exhibit at the horse show?' 'My daughter is going'" suggests absurdist humor about social pretension. The text "Lament of the True Poet" mocks contemporary verse as overly obscure and self-important. It criticizes modern poets for valuing vague, incomprehensible language over meaningful content—dismissing their work as "charming chatter" lacking substance. The satire suggests that fashionable modern poets prioritize style and obscurity over clarity, producing pretentious but empty verses that confuse readers while the poets congratulate themselves on their profundity.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“(WILL YOU MAKE AN EXHIBIT AT THE HORSE SHOW ? Lament of the True Poet. (A ta Gilbert and Sullivan.) F you're anxious for to shine in a high and modern line Asa man of genius rare, You must tread the mystic mazes of alliterative phrases And spread them everywhere. All thought may be abolished, but your verses must be polished With style and grace and rhythm, well defined; The meaning doesn't matter if it's only charming chatter “MY CAUGHTER IS GOING.” Of the strictly modern kind. And everyone will say, As you walk your mystic way, “If this young man expresses himself in terms too vague for me, Why,what a very singularly deep young man this deep young man must be!” Now a little phrase like this: ** My love my true love is, And my own true love is true,” Seems a complicated riddle, but it's only “tara diddle” (From the true poetic view). Add a lane—a girl named Phyllis, Daphne, Chloe or Amaryllis, Fresh and fair (most likely vapid as to mind); All amongst this ‘stuff you scatter nouns and verbs of pleasing patter, Then your poem may be signed. But the Poet True will say, As he walks his lonely way, “If the world is content with empty words which would certainly not suit me, Why, what a very superficial, modern world this modern woria must be |" comicbooks.com