Article #312-2 | Gutenberg Articles

Excerpt

Excerpt from Young Adventure: A Book of Poems, by Stephen Vincent Benét

Foreword by Chauncey Brewster Tinker

In these days when the old civilisation is crumbling beneath our feet,
the thought of poetry crosses the mind like the dear memory of things
that have long since passed away. In our passionate desire for the new
era, it is difficult to refrain oneself from the commonplace practice of
speculating on the effects of warfare and of prophesying all manner of
novel rebirths. But it may be well for us to remember that the era
which has recently closed was itself marked by a mad idealisation of all
novelties. In the literary movements of the last decade --when, indeed,
any movement at all has been perceptible -- we have witnessed a
bewildering rise and fall of methods and ideals. We were captivated for
a time by the quest of the golden phrase and the accompanying
cultivation of exotic emotions; and then, wearying of the pretty and the
temperamental, we plunged into the bloodshot brutalities of naturalism.

From the smooth-flowing imitations of Tennyson and Swinburne, we passed
into a false freedom that had at its heart a repudiation of all law and
standards, for a parallel to which one turns instinctively to certain
recent developments in the political world. We may hope that the eager
search for novelty of form and subject may have its influence in
releasing us from our old bondage to the commonplace and in broadening
the scope of poetry; but we cannot blind ourselves to the fact that it
has at the same time completed that estrangement between the poet and
the general public which has been developing for half a century. The
great mass of the reading world, to whom the arts should minister, have
now forgotten that poetry is a consolation in times of doubt and peril,
a beacon, and "an ever-fixed mark" in a crazed and shifting world. Our
poetry --and I am speaking in particular of American poetry -- has been
centrifugal; our poets have broken up into smaller and ever smaller
groups. Individualism has triumphed.

Explanation

This excerpt from the Foreword to Young Adventure: A Book of Poems (1918) by Stephen Vincent Benét, written by Chauncey Brewster Tinker (a Yale professor and literary critic), is a reflective and somewhat melancholic meditation on the state of poetry—and, by extension, culture—amid the upheavals of the early 20th century. Written during or just after World War I (a period of profound disillusionment and societal transformation), the passage grapples with the fragmentation of artistic and cultural values, the loss of poetic tradition, and the growing divide between poets and the public. Below is a detailed breakdown of its key elements, with a focus on the text itself.

1. Context & Historical Background

World War I & Cultural Upheaval: The foreword was written in 1918, as the war neared its end. The "old civilisation crumbling" refers to the collapse of pre-war European order, the devastation of the war, and the rise of modernism—a movement that rejected traditional forms in art, literature, and politics.
American Poetry in Transition: Tinker critiques the rapid shifts in poetic trends in the early 1900s, from Romanticism (Tennyson, Swinburne) to Decadence/Aestheticism (the "golden phrase," exotic emotions) to Naturalism (brutal, unflinching realism). This mirrors broader cultural anxieties about modernity’s destabilizing effects.
Benét’s Work: Stephen Vincent Benét (1898–1943) was a young poet at the time, and Young Adventure was his debut collection. Tinker’s foreword frames Benét’s work as a potential corrective to the excesses of contemporary poetry.

2. Themes in the Excerpt

A. The Decline of Poetry’s Public Role

Tinker laments that poetry, once a "consolation in times of doubt and peril" and an "ever-fixed mark" (a Shakespearean allusion to Sonnet 116), has lost its place in society. The public no longer turns to poetry for guidance in a "crazed and shifting world."
Key Quote: "The great mass of the reading world... have now forgotten that poetry is a consolation..."
- This suggests poetry has become elite, obscure, or irrelevant to ordinary people, a concern that echoes later debates about modernism’s accessibility.

B. The Fragmentation of Poetic Movements

Tinker describes a chaotic succession of literary fads:
1. Imitation of the Romantics (Tennyson’s lyrical smoothness, Swinburne’s musicality).
2. Decadence/Aestheticism (the "golden phrase," exotic emotions—think Oscar Wilde or the fin-de-siècle movement).
3. Naturalism (brutal, unidealized realism, possibly referencing writers like Theodore Dreiser or Stephen Crane).
Each movement is short-lived and extreme, reflecting a culture that chases novelty without depth.
Key Quote: "We were captivated for a time by the quest of the golden phrase... then, wearying of the pretty and the temperamental, we plunged into the bloodshot brutalities of naturalism."
- The language here is visceral ("bloodshot brutalities") and judgmental ("pretty and temperamental"), suggesting Tinker views these shifts as superficial and destructive.

C. The Triumph of Individualism & the Loss of Unity

Tinker argues that poetry has become "centrifugal"—spinning outward into isolated, niche groups rather than unifying people.
Key Quote: "Our poets have broken up into smaller and ever smaller groups. Individualism has triumphed."
- This critiques modernism’s emphasis on personal expression (e.g., Ezra Pound’s "Make it new!") at the expense of shared cultural values.
- The political parallel is clear: just as democracy and nationalism were fragmenting Europe, poetry was splintering into competing schools (Imagism, Futurism, etc.).

D. The Danger of Lawlessness in Art & Politics

Tinker links literary anarchism ("a false freedom that had at its heart a repudiation of all law and standards") to political chaos (likely alluding to the rise of extremist ideologies post-WWI).
Key Quote: "a false freedom that had at its heart a repudiation of all law and standards, for a parallel to which one turns instinctively to certain recent developments in the political world."
- This foreshadows concerns about fascism and communism, which rejected liberal democratic norms.
- In poetry, this "lawlessness" might refer to free verse, experimental forms, or the rejection of meter/rhyme—seen as abandoning tradition for shock value.

3. Literary Devices & Rhetorical Strategies

Device	Example from Text	Effect
Allusion	"an ever-fixed mark" (Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116)	Invokes the idea of poetry as a stable, eternal force, contrasting with the current instability.
Metaphor	"the thought of poetry crosses the mind like the dear memory of things that have long since passed away"	Poetry is framed as a ghost of the past, nostalgic and fading.
Parallelism	"From the smooth-flowing imitations... we passed into a false freedom..."	Emphasizes the progression (or decline) of poetic styles, making the shifts feel inevitable.
Juxtaposition	"the pretty and the temperamental" vs. "bloodshot brutalities"	Highlights the extremes of artistic movements, suggesting both are flawed.
Irony	"the eager search for novelty... may have its influence in releasing us from our old bondage to the commonplace"	While novelty could be liberating, Tinker implies it has instead isolated poets from the public.
Political Analogy	Comparing literary "repudiation of all law" to political developments	Draws a direct link between artistic and societal collapse, urging caution.

4. Significance & Tinker’s Argument

A Warning Against Extremes: Tinker is not anti-modernist, but he cautions against rejecting tradition entirely. He suggests that poetry should balance innovation with continuity.
A Call for Reconnection: He implies that poets must re-engage with the public, lest poetry become a private, esoteric art (a fear that would later define debates about modernism).
A Reflection of Post-War Anxiety: The foreword captures the disillusionment of the WWI era, where old certainties were gone, and new movements (in art and politics) seemed unmoored and dangerous.

5. Connection to Benét’s Poetry

While the foreword doesn’t analyze Benét’s poems directly, it sets up his work as a potential antidote to the problems Tinker describes. Benét’s early poetry often:

Blended tradition and modernity (e.g., using mythic themes in contemporary settings).
Avoided extreme experimentalism while still being fresh.
Sought a broader audience without sacrificing depth.

Tinker’s foreword thus positions Young Adventure as a return to poetry’s public role—a "beacon" in turbulent times.

6. Broader Literary-Historical Context

Modernism vs. Tradition: Tinker’s critique reflects the tension between modernists (Pound, Eliot, Stevens) and traditionalists (Frost, Robinson). While modernists embraced fragmentation, others feared it would alienate readers.
The "Death of Poetry" Debate: His concern that poetry was becoming marginalized anticipates later 20th-century anxieties about poetry’s cultural relevance (e.g., Joseph Brodsky’s essays, or the "poetry is dead" trope).
Political Parallels: The link between artistic and political disorder was a common theme post-WWI, seen also in works like Yeats’ The Second Coming ("Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold").

Conclusion: What Tinker is Really Saying

Tinker’s foreword is not just about poetry—it’s about culture in crisis. He argues that:

Poetry has lost its way by chasing fads and rejecting tradition.
Society has lost its poetic compass, forgetting that art should unify and console.
The future of poetry depends on reconnecting with readers without sacrificing artistic integrity.

His tone is elegiac but not despairing—he hopes that poets like Benét might restore poetry’s vital role in a broken world. In this sense, the foreword is both a diagnosis of decline and a quiet manifesto for renewal.

Would you like a deeper dive into any specific aspect, such as the political parallels or Benét’s poetic style in Young Adventure?

Questions

Question 1

The foreword’s characterisation of literary movements as shifting from "the smooth-flowing imitations of Tennyson and Swinburne" to "the bloodshot brutalities of naturalism" primarily serves to:

A. illustrate the inevitable progression of artistic evolution as a response to societal trauma.
B. contrast the aesthetic refinement of the past with the moral decay of contemporary poetry.
C. critique the superficiality of stylistic oscillations that fail to engage with enduring human concerns.
D. advocate for a return to Romantic ideals as the only viable path for poetic revival.
E. demonstrate the inherent incompatibility between formal tradition and experimental innovation.

Question 2

When Tinker asserts that poetry has become "centrifugal," the metaphor most strongly implies that contemporary poetry:

A. has achieved a dynamic, outward-reaching energy that reflects the pace of modern life.
B. is increasingly dominated by scientific and mechanistic imagery, alienating emotional readers.
C. has been reduced to a purely intellectual exercise, divorced from sensory experience.
D. functions as a revolutionary force, actively resisting the constraints of conventional society.
E. has fragmented into isolated, self-referential factions, undermining its capacity for communal resonance.

Question 3

The phrase "an ever-fixed mark" (alluding to Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116) is deployed in the passage to evoke a sense of poetry as:

A. an idealised but now-lost stabilising force in a world characterised by flux and uncertainty.
B. a rigid, dogmatic tradition that stifles the creative potential of modern poets.
C. an outdated metaphorical framework that contemporary readers can no longer relate to.
D. a sentimental illusion that poets themselves have abandoned in favour of brutal realism.
E. a political symbol co-opted by nationalist movements to justify cultural conservatism.

Question 4

Tinker’s comparison of literary "repudiation of all law and standards" to "certain recent developments in the political world" is structurally analogous to which of the following arguments?

A. The abandonment of poetic meter parallels the erosion of democratic norms, both representing a dangerous rejection of foundational structures.
B. Just as free verse liberates poetry from formal constraints, political revolutions liberate citizens from oppressive governments.
C. The avant-garde’s disruption of literary conventions is as necessary as political upheaval in dismantling corrupt systems.
D. Poets and politicians alike must embrace radical change to remain relevant in an accelerating modern world.
E. The public’s disillusionment with poetry mirrors their disillusionment with politics, as both have failed to address material concerns.

Question 5

The passage’s overarching tone is best described as:

A. nostalgic yet cautiously hopeful, lamenting cultural fragmentation while gesturing toward potential renewal.
B. indignant and polemical, condemning modern poetry as a symptom of broader societal decadence.
C. resigned and fatalistic, treating the decline of poetry as an irreversible consequence of historical forces.
D. didactic and prescriptive, offering explicit solutions to the crises it diagnoses in poetic practice.
E. ironic and detached, using understatement to highlight the absurdity of literary and political extremes.

Solutions and Explanations

1) Correct answer: C

Why C is most correct: The passage frames the rapid shifts between literary movements—not as a meaningful evolution (A), a moral decline (B), a call for Romantic revival (D), or an inherent conflict between tradition and innovation (E)—but as a surface-level chasing of novelty ("the quest of the golden phrase," "bloodshot brutalities") that lacks depth. Tinker’s critique targets the ephemeral, reactive nature of these shifts, which fail to engage with "enduring human concerns" (e.g., poetry as consolation or a "beacon"). The juxtaposition of disparate styles underscores their superficiality, not their inevitability or moral weight.