tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24761391.post1029154543823120570..comments2023-10-26T22:06:11.166+11:00Comments on Metamagician3000: After proud knowledgeRussell Blackfordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12431324430596809958noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24761391.post-1341529597917842022009-12-29T08:42:59.904+11:002009-12-29T08:42:59.904+11:00I read parts of Southey's poems years ago, Ru...I read parts of Southey's poems years ago, Russell, but I wasn't persuaded to read further. A sort of magical "then...and then...and then..." with no reason for any event except that he had twelve books of blank verse to fill. Oriental tales in prose and verse were fashionable then "Scenery, romantic affairs, fantastic travel, cosmic warfare, other grandiose but trifling thrills" just about sums them up- nothing wrong with that but the best of them- like the best SF- provided something more and I don't think Southey's did. Southey also wrote an enormous Shandean prose novel, <i>The Doctor</i>, which is more or less unreadable even in Edmund Blunden's abbreviated version.<br /><br /><i>Milton's God </i>changed the way I thought, not just about christianity but about every accepted idea, so I'm biased. All the same Empson, whose biography and letters have just been published and are well worth reading, was an extraordinary man whose criticism is worth reading even if you aren't interested in the writer concerned.Rogernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24761391.post-21042886569859197952009-12-28T12:25:36.996+11:002009-12-28T12:25:36.996+11:00One correction to my original post: according to i...One correction to my original post: according to its Wikipedia article, "Thalaba the Destroyer" did not sell well in its day. "Curse of Kehama" was more commercially successful.<br /><br />Thanks for the link, Alison.Russell Blackfordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12431324430596809958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24761391.post-85196353318262928952009-12-28T04:38:36.399+11:002009-12-28T04:38:36.399+11:00Hi Russell. This book sounds very intriguing. Link...Hi Russell. This book sounds very intriguing. Link to Southey's poems here http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-curse-of-kehama/Alisonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24761391.post-79400589894804941342009-12-27T09:26:49.551+11:002009-12-27T09:26:49.551+11:00Yes, I did read Milton's God a very long time ...Yes, I did read <i>Milton's God</i> a very long time ago, but it may well be worth revisiting. <br /><br />Roger, have you actually read those two major Southey poems? It would be interesting to have an opinion on them other than the official view that they are rubbish. I mean, maybe they are - but there seems to be something wrong with the picture.Russell Blackfordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12431324430596809958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24761391.post-28893757382975129252009-12-27T08:21:59.882+11:002009-12-27T08:21:59.882+11:00Well, for your next reading in literary history, W...Well, for your next reading in literary history, William Empson's extraordinary and magnificent book <i>Milton's God</i> shows just how problematic god, Christ and christianity were for Milton.<br /><br />Southey himself was not always a bad poet and if he can be criticised for becoming reactionary, so can Wordsworth and they both had good reason to react against much of what happened after the French revolution. It is not for what they reacted against but for what they chose to support that they should be blamed.Rogernoreply@blogger.com