Life, 1910-11-03 · page 51 of 72
Life — November 3, 1910 — page 51: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a book review by Arthur Guiterman satirizing Hudson Maxim's work *The Science of Poetry*. The joke hinges on a pun: Maxim was an inventor known for the Maxim gun (a smokeless powder weapon), not a poet. Guiterman mocks the premise that poetry can be scientifically dissected like a machine. The metaphor compares Maxim to a hunter who kills Pegasus (the mythical winged horse symbolizing poetic inspiration), then analytically "pulls his very joints apart" — breaking down the creature's anatomy, breeding, diet, and skeletal structure. The satire's point: such mechanical analysis destroys poetry's essence. The final "maxim" pun suggests that applying scientific rules to art produces not inspiration but mere mechanical output — a "Hudson Maxim" (gun) rather than genuine verse. The review mocks pseudo-scientific approaches to inherently non-scientific subjects.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Rhymed Reviews The Science of Poetry (By Hudson Maxim, Funk & Wag- nalls Company) Will Shakespeare, Burns and—lots of us Who scribble unavailing pages Have been pot-hunting Pegasus Up Helicon through all the ages; But here's a modern Nimrod, one Whose fame puts Teddy’s in the chowder ; He cleans his little Maxim gun, He crams it full of smokeless powder (A Maxim silencer, of course, Deludes the prey and helps surprise him), Then, flash!—he bags the Wingéd Horse And sets to work to analyze him. Upon this worthy task intent He quickly learns enough to tip us A hint about the nag’s descent From some Beeotian eohippus. He knows the creature's varied breeds, His records in Olympic races, The corn and beans on which he feeds To make him tread in metric paces. He knows his vertebra by heart, He's plucked out every golden feather, He's pulled his very joints apart, BUT—can he put the bones to- gether? Can Vulcan draw Apollo’s bow? Will Francis Bacon prove a Maker? Ah, does this Man of Science know,— Or is he just a Nature Faker? FRENCH SARDINE GREETS YOU RENE BEZIERS & CO., Packers Perfect Fish in Finest Olive Oil MEYER & LANGE, New York, Sole Agents, Encourage the Exchange of Useful Presents The minute you start to write your Christmas list your pen suggests Waterman's Ideals. There is no other ail that you can be quite so sure will please, or the quality of which can be cf a igher standard. We recognize the: personality of writing requirements in the making of the pens, so that you may select one to suit, or exchange until suited, when it will become one of the permanent and most useful pocket pieces of the receiver. Look for the globe trade mark. The careful workmanship that is expended in the making of Waterman's Ideals and the indieidual patents make this pen one that is entirely sofe to carry and satisfactory to use. From the Best Dealers. L. E. Waterman Co., @ SCHOOL BT., BOSTON 734 MARKCT ST., SAN FRANCISCO Send for Gift Booklet, 173 Broadway, N. Y. 189 COARK Bie ErVCAGO KINGSWAY, LONDON L. E. WATERMAN COMPANY. LIMITCO. Momtacat Poor Pegasus! For every bard His gait must change! With some he ambles ; When Kipling spurs he gallops hard; With me he mostly frisks and gambols ; With Markham, ‘note his stately stride! When Scollard reins he nibbles clover; With some (whose names must be denied) He plunges, bucks and rolls all over. But Pegasus will never soar When Rules of Science overtax him: This maxim, made on Hudson's shore, Is therefore called a Hudson Maxim. —Arthur Guiterman. comicbooks.com