Thomas R. Lounsbury, ed. (1838–1915). Yale Book of American Verse. 1912.
Written to introduce the first general collection of his poemsJohn Greenleaf Whittier 18071892
John Greenleaf Whittier71 Proem to Edition of 1847
I
Which softly melt the ages through,
The songs of Spenser’s golden days,
Arcadian Sidney’s silvery phrase,
Sprinkling our noon of time with freshest morning dew.
To breathe their marvellous notes I try; I feel them, as the leaves and flowers In silence feel the dewy showers, And drink with glad still lips the blessing of the sky. The harshness of an untaught ear, The jarring words of one whose rhyme Beats often Labor’s hurried time, Or Duty’s rugged march through storm and strife, are here. No rounded art the lack supplies; Unskilled the subtle lines to trace, Or softer shades of Nature’s face, I view her common forms with unanointed eyes. The secrets of the heart and mind; To drop the plummet-line below Our common world of joy and woe, A more intense despair or brighter hope to find. Of human right and weal is shown; A hate of tyranny intense, And hearty in its vehemence, As if my brother’s pain and sorrow were my own. Nor mighty Milton’s gift divine, Nor Marvell’s wit and graceful song, Still with a love as deep and strong As theirs, I lay, like them, my best gifts on thy shrine!