The Project Gutenberg EBook of John Marr and Other Poems, by Herman Melville

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Title: John Marr and Other Poems

Author: Herman Melville

Release Date: July 7, 2004 [EBook #12841]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JOHN MARR AND OTHER POEMS ***

Produced by Geoff Palmer

JOHN MARR AND OTHER POEMS

By

HERMAN MELVILLE

_With An Introductory Note By_
HENRY CHAPIN

MCMXXII

Introductory Note

Melville's verse printed for the most part privately in small
editions from middle life onward after his great prose work had
been written, taken as a whole, is of an amateurish and uneven
quality. In it, however, that loveable freshness of personality,
which his philosophical dejection never quenched, is everywhere in
evidence. It is clear that he did not set himself to master the
poet's art, yet through the mask of conventional verse which often
falls into doggerel, the voice of a true poet is heard. In
selecting the pieces for this volume I have put in the vigorous
sea verses of _John Marr_ in their entirety and added those others
from his _Battle Pieces_, _Timoleon,_ etc., that best indicate the
quality of their author's personality. The prose supplement to
battle pieces has been included because it does so much to explain
the feeling of his war verse and further because it is such a
remarkably wise and clear commentary upon those confused and
troublous days of post-war reconstruction. H. C.

CONTENTS

Introductory Note

John Marr And Other Poems
JOHN MARR AND OTHER SAILORS
BRIDEGROOM DICK
TOM DEADLIGHT
JACK ROY

Sea Pieces
THE HAGLETS
THE AEOLIAN HARP
TO THE MASTER OF THE "METEOR"
FAR OFF SHORE
THE MAN-OF-WAR HAWK
THE FIGURE-HEAD
THE GOOD CRAFT "SNOW BIRD"
OLD COUNSEL
THE TUFT OF KELP
THE MALDIVE SHARK
TO NED
CROSSING THE TROPICS
THE BERG
THE ENVIABLE ISLES
PEBBLES

Poems From Timoleon
LINES TRACED UNDER AN IMAGE OF AMOR THREATENING
THE NIGHT MARCH
THE RAVAGED VILLA
THE NEW ZEALOT TO THE SUN
MONODY
LONE FOUNTS
THE BENCH OF BOORS
ART
THE ENTHUSIAST
SHELLEY'S VISION
THE MARCHIONESS OF BRINVILLIERS