The Project Gutenberg EBook of Poetry for Poetry's Sake, by A. C. Bradley

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

Title: Poetry for Poetry's Sake
An Inaugural Lecture Delivered on June 5, 1901

Author: A. C. Bradley

Release Date: January 15, 2008 [EBook #24308]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POETRY FOR POETRY'S SAKE ***

Produced by K. Nordquist, Greg Bergquist and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
file was produced from images generously made available
by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)

_Poetry for Poetry's Sake_

HENRY FROWDE, M.A.
PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
LONDON, EDINBURGH
NEW YORK

_Poetry
For Poetry's Sake_

AN INAUGURAL LECTURE

DELIVERED ON JUNE 5, 1901

BY

A. C. BRADLEY, M.A., LL.D.

PROFESSOR OF POETRY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
FORMERLY FELLOW OF BALLIOL COLLEGE

OXFORD
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS
1901

NOTE.--This Lecture is printed almost as it was delivered. I am aware
that, especially in the earlier pages, difficult subjects are treated in
a manner far too summary, but they require an exposition so full that it
would destroy the original form of the Lecture, while a slight expansion
would do little to provide against misunderstandings.

A. C. B.

POETRY FOR POETRY'S SAKE

One who, after twenty years, is restored to the University where he was
taught and first tried to teach, and who has received at the hands of
his Alma Mater an honour of which he never dreamed, is tempted to speak
both of himself and of her. But I remember that you have come to listen
to my thoughts about a great subject, and not to my feelings about
myself; and, of Oxford, who that holds this Professorship could dare to
speak, when he recalls the exquisite verse in which one of his
predecessors described her beauty, and the prose in which he gently
touched on her illusions and protested that they were as nothing when
set against her age-long warfare with the Philistine? How, again,
remembering him and others, should I venture to praise my predecessors?
It would be p