Description
Alfred Edward Houseman was a British scholar and poet whose works were well-received by both Victorian and Edwardian audiences. Lyrical in form, many of his best poems are included in this beautiful collection entitled A Shropshire Lad. The majority of Housemans poems are centered around themes such as the ephemeral nature of youth. The phantoms who tell the tale of each poem find the futility of their lives to be disconcerting, as the wheel of life seems to keep turning the same way after their death, no matter what changes they tried to bring during their lives.Filled with beautiful scenery, and depicting a natural life of times gone by, where the cycle of human existence combines with that of nature in ideal, constantly repetitive harmony, the poems also paint the image of a grim future, where that natural existence is all but erased by the industrial age. Thus, the irony of death is ever-present throughout Housemans work, seeming to loom like an eerie, unwelcome shadow over the perfect world that his protagonists aspire to in such a futile manner.One of the more impressive things about Housemans poems is that the structure is sound and exact, the poet using elements such as rhythm, rhyme and punctuation like a true master. Well-organized and able to convey their meaning in a straightforward fashion, the poems from A Shropshire Lad also use words that are quite easy to understand, and Houseman integrates them so perfectly into his verses, that one could easily derive their exact meaning through context.If you are interested in the works of an unconventional poet, who continues to be acclaimed for his classical clarity and colorful depictions of true artistic quality, consider A Shropshire Lad. Youll find that Alfred E. Housemans timeless work will resonate even with modern philosophies, and may even shed surprising light on their more obscure aspects.